Bye, Bye 2000 Impreza RS

Never had the cojones myself to test drive a new car at triple-digit speeds. Assume that wasn't in the parking lot and I guess the salesman didn't come along for the ride. Had one chew me out for winding a Focus SVT up to 75 in 2nd. The Mazdaspeed3 has gotten some great press, and you do get a lot for your $. But as with any car with that much power going through the front wheels alone I wonder about torque steer. Up to you as to whether that makes it harder to control or more enjoyable, or at least challenging, especially on slick pavement. One of the reasons I lean toward AWD. As you've seen, I'm also a big LSD fan, but a limited slip differential can often exacerbate torque-steer. Any other cars you're considering?

But the circumstances are questionable to you because you have no idea as to the full circumstances. Jumping to conclusions is also foolish.

Never had the cojones myself to test drive a new car at triple-digit speeds. Assume that wasn't in the parking lot and I guess the salesman didn't come along for the ride. Had one chew me out for winding a Focus SVT up to 75 in 2nd. The Mazdaspeed3 has gotten some great press, and you do get a lot for your $. But as with any car with that much power going through the front wheels alone I wonder about torque steer. Up to you as to whether that makes it harder to control or more enjoyable, or at least challenging, especially on slick pavement. One of the reasons I lean toward AWD. As you've seen, I'm also a big LSD fan, but a limited slip differential can often exacerbate torque-steer. Any other cars you're considering?

Good point about the torque steer. We had a Saab come into the shop, had twin turbos. I goosed it on the on ramp and was not happy with its responce; the power was quickly overriding its ability to go straight and stay stable. We opted not to sell that car and sent it back to the seller.

I have heard good things about Blizzaks, but one negative is that they last only about 2 winters because they're such a soft tire. Just so people know the tradeoff. I'll be getting something different as our winters are so long that I need something that'll last more than 2 winters.

Never had the cojones myself to test drive a new car at triple-digit speeds. Assume that wasn't in the parking lot and I guess the salesman didn't come along for the ride. Had one chew me out for winding a Focus SVT up to 75 in 2nd. The Mazdaspeed3 has gotten some great press, and you do get a lot for your $. But as with any car with that much power going through the front wheels alone I wonder about torque steer. Up to you as to whether that makes it harder to control or more enjoyable, or at least challenging, especially on slick pavement. One of the reasons I lean toward AWD. As you've seen, I'm also a big LSD fan, but a limited slip differential can often exacerbate torque-steer. Any other cars you're considering?

My 1989 Ford Probe GT had terrible torque steer, especially when the Turbo kicked in. In my 1993 Ford Probe GT with the 2.5L V6 they changed it to equal length half shafts which corrected the torque steer problem. There are limits to how much power you can get to the front wheels in a FWD car without problems. I drive a different rental car every week, and still many have torque steer issues.

The Mazda site shows the Mazda Speed3 does have a front LSD.

Blair

I view them as a three winter tire myself, but figure the 400-600 dollars I don't spend repairing my car is a good trade. Toyo has there version, has a harder compound, so it should last longer at a slight trade of traction. If its a lot of snow, the Firestone winterforce studdable is impressive looking. A friend at work put high end Goodyears directional all weather, (don't know the exact one) on his outback, He has driven through 1 foot of snow with no problem.

Back to Blizzacks, I only put them on when the risk of a freeze gets high, and remove them as soom as the weather looks like its done for the season. I have them on seperate rims. IF you have a "ehm" Faster sub or a heavy foot, no guarentees ;) Once the tire hits 4/32, its official traction device rating is gone, but they do still grab, well OK. At that point I drive them almost bald. I'm getting a used subie this year, and will have blizzacks for it.

Where do you live?

Thanks for the Toyo reference; I will check those out. I live on Lake Ontario in western New York, where we basically wear our winter tires from November-April. The weather here is just too unpredictable not to have the snow tires on the car the entire time. I still remember the snowstorm on May 9, 1989, that dropped 10 inches on us: that Sunday I walked to brunch with some friends, and on the walk home, the snow started falling. I couldn't believe it. We average 90+ inches of snow a winter here, so I like snow tires, especially ones that last

3 winters or more.

I thought you had said that buying new was out of the question ?

Anyway, if you have been disappointed by the 2008 WRX, check when the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart (a kind of Evo-light which competes with the WRX) will be available.

That doesn't mean much. Conditions at the time might have been different. Even if there was no black ice or something like that, someone might had spilled some oil or diesel fuel that made the surface more slippery at the time and now was washed away.

The equal-length half shafts are the simplest way to address the torque-steer issue, unless the design is already in production and has to be re-engineered to accomodate them. I used to have a Sentra SE- R. Nissan used equal length shafts and an LSD when they installed the

2.0 engine, and the combination worked beautifully. The standard engine, a 1.8 liter, didn't have either, but Nissan wisely added them with the whole SE-R package, which also included better brakes, tires and different gear ratios (although I don't know whether the transmission was the same) and marketed the car to a very different audience. The SE-R was very much like the WRX in this respect, a well- integrated set of modifications that transformed a practical compact to an affordable high-performance car. Too many manufacturers miss the boat on how to accomplish this, notably Honda, Toyota and GM, opting instead to build completely different models to target the enthusiast market. Much riskier and more expensive, from a business POV.

Hi, We're at a Nissan dealer this afternoon to look at used G35 AWD they had. Then a guy came in and traded in his like new '06 WRX for Frontier truck for his new job. We talked to the guy and test druve it, bought it on the spot. Definitely felt better than '08 WRX. We'll pick it up on week end after they clean the car inside and out and put a coat of wax. Hope this one will last a while. Thanks for all the helpful comments. Donating the wrecked one to Kidney foundation FWIW.

Car should last fine. The problem is will your boy crash it. Hope he doesnt hurt anyone else the next time!!!

Another of my favorites. Got one (a very good lease deal) as soon as they hit the market. Only complaints were that it:

1. devoured front brakes [a set every 9,000 miles or so. Got Infiniti to cover under warranty, but took some badgering] 2. difficult to change the oil yourself. filter is hidden waaaay up without much clearance around it 3. low ground clearance. great for handling, but constantly scraped on the small ridge entering my driveway

Haven't driven a G35x, but will likely be my wife's next car. Would like to hear of your experience with it. Good luck.

I'm surprised that there was that much of a difference. I was looking at an '08 for my wife. I haven't tested one yet. What is the difference in the feel Tony?

I can assure you that steel rims hold not much better and it does not take a lot to bend the. Not a complete disintegration of course but you still have to replace the rim. At much lower price though :-) I would know cause I bent 3 of them in a single accident.

And, of course, I'm really glad the OP is not buying a regular impreza or

08 wrx as a replacement. Both being 100% certified trash.

Except your Mazda3 does not have LBS in front while MazdaSpeed3 does have it. Let me guess: you curently run some all season trash on your Mazda3 to complement the open front diff?

I'm getting lower opinion of Subaru owner daily and am very glad I left the club.

Hi, '06 has tighter feel, has shorter shift, etc. '08 has cushy cushy softer ride, longer shift stroke, etc. didn't feel like sporty car. But it has more interior space for sure, little taller and wider. I like cars with road feel, little tight suspension, quick shift like that. My son felt same way. He declined to get '08. Mazda Speed3 somehow has poor seating and right leg is rubbing the side of center console no matter how I adjust the seat. But it'd be a good choice if it were AWD. AWD kept us from getting Mazda. There is a rumour Mazda may come out with AWD on Speed3. My Cul De Sac has 7 houses. Out of 7 households, 3 have Nissam G35X. They replaced, Jaguar AWD, BMW 5-series, Audi Quattro. G35 is very popular around this neck of wood.

I have had the car less than a month, and I'm driving on the Goodyear Eagle RSA tires it came with, which are less than ideal for our winters (to say the least!). I intend to buy four dedicated snow tires and rims for the car in August. So, back off on your insulting assumptions and just ask direct questions.

Driven a few million km with yes, a few accidents, but nothing in the last

20+ years. Extreme cold can do odd things, as traction decreases as the tires get colder. I think TH lives in Alberta, and at recent temperatures out west getting down past the -40 mark (F and C are the same at -40) even winter tires get like hockey pucks. What was fine yesterday at -25 can be an OMG! at -40. So, don't presume that Tony's son is an idiot.

BTW, a close friend learned the hard way that All Season (so-called!) tires are NOT a safe alternative to winter tires (all other things like tread and rating being more or less equal), the further the temp drops below freezing. Basically, AST start losing grip a few degrees above freezing.

Jim B on PEI