looking at a new 2005 RSX Type S

I thought the Subie was more $$$ and the interior looks cheap. I *love* my '05 RSX-S because of how well it handles. The Subie will sound like a lawn mower sooner or later (sooner!) and the Acura will always sound sweet IMHO.

-- Russ Panneton snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com Nederland, CO "Too bad ignorance isn't painful"

You are correct. However, local Subaru dealer give me a better deal than the Acura dealer so the price is about the same, give or take a few hundred $$. For that matter the local Mazda dealer has better deal for the RX-8.

I *love* my

How you like the Bose system? Any kick from the sub above the spare tire?

The Subie will sound like a lawn

Either one would be ok - Acura would be more reliable and holds a better resale value. For the sweetest sound I prefer a Ferrari but its way out of my price range.

Subaru has a great ad campaign, but the Acura will smoke it in all other areas, especially longevity. The Subaru may be good for a month or so, but I have had Acuras for years and the only thing that compares is maybe a Toyota (or Lexus) for reliability and long lifespan. You will, of course, get somewhat biased opinions in this group, but one thing you will find is that we all LOVE our Acura products (even the ones we have problems with). Also Acura stands behind their products. I faxes Acura USA about an issue I was having and got a response within 48 hours. You might try faxing Subaru Customer Service and see how long it takes for a response just to be fair. Posted by the Rubber Dino.

I had two GSRs but not problem free. Both needed batteries within 24 months, both had transmission problems (both 5 speed, manual), one had a cracked wheel, one with slow window operation on both sides and a few minor items.

One transmission would not go into first gear, fixed under warranty. Other transmission makes a funny noise - know defect - refused to fix under warranty because dealer said it does not impair performance! One of the wheels cracked but the same dealer said its only chipped paint, had to go to another dealer who confirmed it's cracked and replace under warranty on the spot. The one with the bad windows, the bad dealer had it over 10 hours and all he did was spray lube on the tracks (total fix time about 10 seconds!) but didn't fix anything and refuse to do more under warranty. Before I could take to the good dealer for window repair, the GSR was stolen.

I have a few concerns with the Type S. One: For warranty work, the bad dealer is in town while the good one is out of town. Need to take a day off and rent a car. Two: High thief rate. My insurance only paid about 75% for the stolen GSR based on the street value not including the any after market components which amounted to thousands of dollars. I understand this 75% compensation is and typical. Three: The Bose system - not sure I could live with this and upgrading it may be a pain and expense.

Some additional spin-

I just got a base 2002 rsx, after really wanting a type s, and spending some serious time reconsidering.

The bose system isn't that great, and is slightly harder to upgrade than the bottom end system, which truly sucks (the base model system, that is). The hardest part is the dash panel, but you can get the base model panel easily enough and put in a normal head unit. I don't have much experience with the spare tire sub, but have read that it sucks. The rest of the speakers in both versions are about the same, and are actually the best part of the system.

Several factors about the base model - it uses regular gas, gets better mileage, and uses cheaper tires. And you may have noted that it costs less. I test drove the type s, and the extra power isn't noticeable during 98% of the driving one does in normal life. The better suspension in the type s is noticeable, and I miss it though. For most normal drivers the base model is a better choice.

I wouldn't say it sucks but it isn't great, either. I'd say just adequate and likely a royal pain to upgrade. The sub works okay, again just adequate and certainly not great.

No argument there!

I think the RSX Type S' greatest asset is its handling. My work commute includes 15 miles of twisty canyon road and the baby Acura is such a willing dance partner!

Cheers,

Russ

-- Russ Panneton snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com Nederland, CO "Too bad ignorance isn't painful"

Bose always did funny things starting with their series 901 home speakers way back in the dark ages of 1968. As for the tire sub I couldn't see how it could push any kind of air. The GSR that was stolen had a dual 10" sub with a 10 cd/mp3 changer driven by a clean amp - clean and sweet.

First set of tires I bought, keeping the same make and model as factory, were way too expensive. Now I buy Korean tires from Tire Rack - way cheaper and much better handling than the stock tires.

And you may have noted that it

I agree with you, the torque is the same but the base RSX comes in at half the rpm.

I just noticed this morning you could get the 2005 WRX for perhaps below $20K, about the same price as the base RSX. It comes in the form of a Saab

9-2X AERO made in Japan of all things! It has the same platform and drive train as the WRX but with $6,000 rebate and employee price.

Tires are garbage on the Type S anyways. But most new cars have crappy tires. Most Type S owners swap out tires as soon as they get the Type S home! I went with Kumho Supra 712's which have a great deal of grip.

Both the WRX and the Type S have transmission problems. I'm not sure if it is fixed with the 2005/2006, but the Type S has grinding in 2nd gear and sometime the third gear will not go in all the way (feels like it isn't in but it is) From what I hard heard, the 2005's do indeed have transmission problems.

The factory stereo is okay. I'm swapping mine out for an aftermarket system. But I've lived with factory for 20000 miles. You can get a Base faceplate or you can get a dash kit made by Metra, Schosche or AI.

The Type S is significantly faster than the Base. I ran a 14.7 with just a Comptech intake and upgraded tires. With the same mods in the base, you'll be probably 15.8.

As for theft, the Type S is a difficult car to steal. Sure it can be done. But either the person has a flatbed or has an extra ECU sitting around.

you can?t go wrong with either vehicle.... I love both cars, both for their styling, handling, horsepower, esthetics, they?re both sweet rides, and both of them are easily modded. I agree with the fact that the Acura will retain a higher resale value, however, this all has to do with how you treat your ride, no matter what kind it is. That would definitely be a hard choice for me man, I like Subaru?s symmetrical all wheel drive, that?s definitely a feature that it has over the type-s. Whatever you do, do NOT decide to grab a WRX STI off of lease or something, when it comes to either of these cars, I?d recommend buying new... more expensive immediately, but I almost guarantee that it WILL save you money in the future. As for how both of the cars sound... oh man, they BOTH sound sweeeeeeeeeeeeet, I love the way a WRX sounds tuned properly, especially witha blow off valve

*drools*.