I thought about the WRX, but I wanted a prettier car that was significantly faster from a roll than my Maxima. The WRX wasn't either so I got a 300zx Twin Turbo parked next to my maxima now and couldn't be happier. Rear wheel drive is way more fun than AWD to me (I've had 2 AWD cars). Also accelerating hard from 40-80 is better than 0-30 any day. If you get the STI, the acceleration thing isn't as big a problem though.

 

I wouldn't say "all day", but it has been done. There are 6 WRXs that run at my track. Bonestock, the best they've told me is a 14.7@91mph with a 2.0 60'. With a boost controller was a 14.4@94mph with 2.0 60'. With a boost controller, up-pipe, and turboback was a 13.9@96mph with a 1.9 60'. These are the "bests" at my track which sits at 1200'. I've also watched WRX guys running solid low 15s at 89-93mph (with mods) only because they bogged and were afraid to launch above 4500rpms. If you're pulling 2.2 60 foots in a lightly modified or stock WRX, you'll be looking at mid to high 14s. These cars are so dependent on their launch. With my Maxima, I'm stuck in the 2.2-2.3 range, but my car has the ability to "leg" it out after the first 100' of the race. None of the WRXs owners are remotely close to getting anything over 96mph. I was getting 96mph with a y-pipe, intake, and UDP.

The WRX is about so much more than just running the 1/4 mile. It's a better road course car than a 1/4 mile car.


Dave

 

shut your mouth you ignorant kiddie. what you meant to say was a 2.0 liter turbo with enough upgrades to keep you busy only a year after its release. an awd system that reads traction SIXTY times a second, will outcorner- out accelerate, and outrun a maxima all day.

supercharge your 4G max with a $3000 invesment, and put the same into a WRX and see what happens to your amazingly fast sport sedan timeslip. put $3000 in virtually nonexistent aftermarket parts for a 5G and you might keep up.

trust me, im a doctor.

 

It all comes down to how much power you are pushing. THere are guys who are still on stock trans with stock clutch who push more power then i did. Hell, even I was running the stock 5spd. Any trans given a lot of power will break. If you are not breaking parts, then you aren't making enough power. Simple.

 

You are right, I shouldn't have said all day. Some people I know are more consistent then others. It all comes down to the driver. Guys should be able to pull 1.8 60fts stock given they are "good". I was running 14.3@94mph bone stock with a 1.9 60ft. THis was my first time out with the car. My first pass ever was a 14.5. Maybe you guys are at higher elevation or they just don't know how to drive the car that well yet. I know you are familiar with some of the WRX stages. For example, the Vishnu Stg 0 (up-pipe, uni-chimp, pulley, mbc). Its a very simple setup an dproduces about 220awhp on a DynoJet or even a Dynapack. A Mustang dyno should read about 200awhp. Guys run anywhere from 13.9-13.0 with this setup. Their traps tend to range from 100-103mph. There were a few guys on the board with the VS Stg0 running consistent 13.1-13.0's all day. They were cutting 1.7 60fts. Also, the TXS Stg4 you should be running roughly 12.9-12.7 trapping from 106-108mph. There are a few guys also who has perfected this setup and were running 12.3's. When I mean perfected, they ran a "general" mapping and just kept dragging with the same setup. When I had my setup, I couldnt pull anything better then a 12.5@117 with my TD06. I was cutting 2.1-2.2 60fts. This is with a stand still launch. I am not doing my usual slip at 4K rpms. Yes, those are terrible 60fts times for a WRX but they are stand stills with no launch what so ever. SO the WRX can be still effective w/o its high revved launch. I am not saying the WRX is the worlds fastest car, its not. I am in no way knocking anyone or any car down. Sh*t, I have owned 2 Maximas so I know both ends of the ropes on these cars.

It's really funny that you say its a better road course car. I feel the car handles great-so I am agreeing with you. A lot of people feel its not a great road course car at all, don't know why.

If you can drive the car right, it can do anything.

 

Luxbond, way to throw the "trust me im a doctor" line in there. Do you want a gold star or a hershey bar for that accomplishment, as it of course has no bearing on a post relating to cars. Sorry, my big pet-peeve going through medical school was the people who seemed to be enrolled solely for the purpose of using the line you just dropped. Agreed the WRX is more mod friendly, and AWD destroys FWD on a road course or in inclement weather. However out accelerating the max may be stretching it without mods, as a 02/03 6-speed generally traps higher than a stock WRX. So on the highway you might have a tough time walking away, but at least your AWD will be reading your traction 60 time per second. I would like to know how many WRX owners actually track their cars, which is the one place it would really shine. I have a feeling there aren't many. I cross shopped the car, but prefer to have more room, heated leather, sunroof, Xenon, and the lack of a turbo whining in my ear at highway speeds. I guess I've never found myself in a situation where I needed my traction read at sixty times per second. I think I'm getting old.
-Getz

 

i agree, it is a road course car. thats one of the main reasons i am getting one, i live in a suburban area and i wouldnt really get an oppertunity to launch at 4500rpm at every stop light. (although its always good to have). but it handles amazingly and you can take corners at insane speeds and hug the road. its also pretty good with stability and handling at high speeds, i.e. highway.
everyone has their opinion, but i am only 18 and looking for a new car, and i think this car best suits my needs. its just fun as h*ll. you cant deny that. o, most of the people i know with wrx's are running between 14.2-14.6 stock. the 14.2 is an awesome driver and launches real hard, but it gets the job done and nothing has broken yet. one guy runs low 15's, but he cant drive and is afraid of the car, so launches at 1500 and shifts way before redline.

 

getz- im just stating how advanced and calculated the subaru awd system is, afterall were not talking about an awd 91 chevy s10. its very true that power is drained through the different drivetrains, front wheel being the least absorbing of power. but front wheel also being the least responsive to acceleration and turning. this is particularly why some of the most road and trackworthy cars are rear engine rear drive with no loss in power and all the pluses of rear drive. alot of recently produced awd systems take either the front or rear axle out of the loop after acceleration/or out of corners where wheel slip is minimal. which is why from a roll runs and high speed races are unaffected by drivetrain.

a rwd will outcorner fwd, but not have better tracition
a fwd has less powerloss through drivetrain but no cornering
a awd has better traction throughout but drag at high speeds

its all a tradeoff and whatever you like to do is your perogative. personally if i had the choice i would take a wrx, but its your car and your money what other people think dont matter.

 

Yea I see what you're saying. The Porsche 911 Turbo has a system like that. When there is a loss of traction, it sends up to 40%of the torque to the front wheel in extreme situations and as little as 5% in others. This technology IMO, is the only excuse for having a AWD car. Unless of course you live up north, where ice on the road becomes a problem. Like I said earlier, most people don't go to the track on a regular basis, either for road racing or 1/4 mile. So this apparent advantage(traction) disappears and becomes a liability.

 

Luxbond, I agree wholely with what you stated. The WRX is a superior car when pushed around a road course and the AWD drive system is top-notch. Subaru put a ton of money into the engine and drive train to produce a rally ready vehicle, which is what you are paying for. I personally had no plans of rally racing, and found the ride of the maxima to be more comfortable for the 90% of highway driving that I do. If Subaru had offered a sunroof, and some leather, then perhaps I would have a made a different choice. I want my daily driver to coddle me a bit. My previous car was a 99 328i, which was an ideal combo of performance and luxury, but I felt like I was getting raped at the service department. The maxima does a pretty good job of juggling both worlds, but it has its low points, and road feel/cornering are not on par with the real sport sedan contenders. The maxima does very nicely in a straight line, which is where I spend most of my drive, and I have had no problems with highway acceleration when desired. I must admit that I do miss the BMW, and have a feeling that an M5 may be in the works shortly (low mileage M5s in the low 50k range now). Unfortunately that could bring me to a whole new strata of service department abuse. Oh the things we tolerate for the pursuit of automotive happiness.
-Getz

 

Why in the f*ck would you want a WRX? The car is ugly as he77. Then to compare it to a Maxima. Some of you people need to get a life and stop making dumb a$$ statements.

 

whether or not he wants a wrx is his choice. and the reason we are comparing it to a maxima is because he is thiking about selling his maxima for one. do you understand now, or should i reiterate? i think you just made one of those dumb a$$ statement, that you were talking about above. this thread is to help someone make an important decision, and although we may not be able to help much since its a personal decision, you need to keep your mouth shut if your not going to try help.

 

Because this is the car that Subaru bases their RALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP CAR off of. It's a race car. Not some fwd family car that Nissan ignores via Nismo. It's not like the maxima is all that good looking anyway. So what do we have? An ugly 4-door that's fwd, open diff'd and has nice unequal length drive axles that's superior for torque steer. WOW!

 

FWD sucks. Get a 350Z or a WRX if you don't care about lots of passenger space.

 

First off you don't even own a maxima. You are what I call a Internet B1tch A$$. Every time you post you always refer to **** you have no clue on.
e.g.
are u auto or manual? they are great off the line, dont expect to beat on from a light, but i also wasnt impressed when i ran my friends wrx from 40-85, i hear they kinda sh*t out on the highway

 

good god! your ignorance baffles me. do me and the rest of the .org a favor and shut the h3ll up! i have owned 2 maximas idiot. a 96' gle and currently own a modded 97' SE. how bout them apples. 2nd im hardly a troll, according to .org stats i have been a member longer than you, and my status is higher. o and "**** i have no clue on", dude, do you want to have a maxima knowledge decathalon or something, just shut up and use that rather small brain of yours to think just a bit, before you open the asinine mouth of yours!

 

stop fighting haha well i would sell the max and get an 03 if i was u. just because thats what i did and i love it. i was going to get a wrx and was very into it. and my friend has one with stage 2 kit so about 300 hp it is very fast. and i dont think they are ugly. but the 03 maximas is a pimp ride. and wrc is a race car if u want a race car get that but just think about the future. oh yea also the 02 wrx tranny are very weak so get an 03 or 04. they break all the time. and if u do get an wrx do not drop the clutch over 4k rpm or your tranny will be f@cked. so get the 03 maxima i love mine.

 

Just a few points--my friend's 99 328 had free maintenance for 3 yrs and only 1 warranty claim. The Maxima is FWD. When you say low 50's, are you paying cash? Because financing 3-5 yrs you're looking at a payment that would range from $715 to $1215 or so. Even if you are rich, it's difficult to justify imho because most people who had money lost quite a bit on Wall Street the last 10 years, meaning money that they have now they'd really want to be working for them, not tied up in any vehicle. Things like an M5 are part of an overall lifestyle (isn't it like 75+ new, so how is it low 50's now?). My friend's uncle has one, but he also has a pretty expensive house, kinda like in Allen Iverson's price range. my .02

 

i plan to get an 02 in spring. I cant afford an 03 or newer, but i do know of the tranny problems, and talked to some guys that own wrx's. since i all i can do is get the 02 is there anything i can do that you know of that will help keep the tranny in good condition. will clutch and flywheel help it from cracking the gear, or just loosing all of first gear?

what can i do to prevent loosing my tranny that wont cost $92347957293754. i dont plan on slipping the clutch from 4k everyday, but once in a while it will happen

 

I know he didn't list this as an option, but if we are going here (i.e. rally cars), then why not an Evo VIII?

 

YOu are still

 

Probably because it's 5-7 grand more

 

Sunroof is an option now for the WRX. On the 02 models, the roof design was different. I guess you can kind of say "built-in" roll bar was centered in the roof design. If you really want leather, Leatherseats.com and Katzskin makes them. The whole bundle runs about $550-$650.

Stock thew WRX isnt a highway monster, nor is a Maxima, sorry. A few simple mods and the view changes. It all comes down to the driver. The driver is the best mod any car can have.

 

It's funny, the thread was keep max or buy wrx. It seemed so obvious that keep max would make sense. How rich are you fellas that you can change cars on a whim??? *lol* What I thought was funny was the thread became basically all pro-WRX, might as well be a WRX forum! Then some dude threw in he was thinking about buying an M5 used. How does that answer the original question?

Man, if you guys put all your $$$ to work you'd be retired at age 30! But you swap cars instead.

 

If you put all your money to work life can be a bit dull. A car is not an investment, but it is possible to have a nice car and be financially responsible at the same time.
Recent interest rates have made it a good time to trade without going upside down when you sign the note. Now is the time!

 

If you blew all your pompous condescension out your a$$, you'd be enlightened by age 30! But you pontificate instead.

theLoon

 

a close friend of mine has modded 02 WRX.
And here's my impression.

2003 looks much better especially the headlights.

the back seats on WRX is for kids/babies/or migits only.
WRX handles very good, very good traction on bad weather.
WRX can drift.
WRX can do 13.8 stock
WRX has cramped engine bay
WRX is too tall.

1995-9 maximas:
backseats: adults can actually sit.
handles suck...aftermarket shocks and springs
drift: n/a
13.8 possible with boost
engine bay: generous, except couple stuff
height: tall, but can be made decent.


My advice: keep the maxima, wait 4-5 years, and get 350Z. Overall, extremely better car than WRX.

 

Can't go wrong with a 240sx, hehe.

-Ben

 

For one you did'nt state wheather or not you have paid off your Max or if you have any existing mods. The only thing the WRX and the Max have in common are that they have four doors. The advantages of the WRX is to suprise people when you dart off from them only to be just as suprised when they suck you up. Either way you'll have to dump gobs of money into either to over come their short comings. You did not even state what you were looking for in a car. 25k for an 03 WRX correct. $500-$600 month. I think not just on that. Used maybe. Hell save up the extra $5k for an EVO or $8k for a STI. I rode in a Gen 1 laser AWD turbo with minimal mods. Had to launch between 45k-55k and pretty much jump anyone 3-4 cars. Felt nice until you look in the rearview and look at the gear shift to make sure you are'nt in revesre. Just as honda sparked the import scene the WRX brought turbos back. Don't make the mistake of using that as credibility on the street. Just my opinion.

 

"The advantages of the WRX is to suprise people when you dart off from them only to be just as suprised when they suck you up"

 

I wounder how much it costs to replace a CV joint on a WRX?
How many are there on that car?

 

...people say he's no good, and crazy as a loon
cause he gets s***** in the morning, and ***** in the afternoon...

You stretched your mouth to let those big words come right out!

 

I'll join the bandwagon here...keep the max if it's paid for. Mo money in your pocket every month for bills, a new digital camera, new clothes, and other life stuff that everyone needs from time to time...heck, save up for a downpayment on a house if you don't have one already. I'd bet that insurance might be a bit higher too though Maxima's are generally higher than a lot of cars in its size category anyway.

 

DAMN everyone be thinking about switchin from the Max to the rex.

 

im because i just owned your stupid comments and just owned you? whatever man, im done with this. GROW UP


so is someone stated that both wrx and max have bad top end but can be fixed for $$. what mods can you do to a wrx to help top end? and what cheap tranny mods can be done, so you dont loose it?

i am still slightly considering a 2k2 6speed instead, so i want to weigh out all the options, so its not really off topic. i need to test drive a 2k2 6speed as well.

 

That is an extremely rare feat. Honestly, I don't know of any WRX that has hit 13.8 stock.

Mid 13s are possible NA. Nealoc has done 13.6@101mph on slicks and the typical bolt-ons.



Dave

 

possible yes, common? not even close. neals car is something a bit out of the ordinary. most cars with his mods (4th gen) are running mid 14's. but there are people like.. the blue that ran a 14.1 on bolt ons, emax - although a 2k2 still ran 13's, and i forget handle but the blue 2k2 auto that runs 13's. (something blue).

but like dave, i have yet to see a wrx run a 13.8
i believe there was a guy at clubwrx.net that got a 13.9 out his stock, but just like neals max, its highly irregular

(i bet neal feels special, every time someone is talking about or comparing speeds of cars with a maxima, we always use his car as the bench mark

 

wrx are more fun

 

WRX sucks too. If you want the better track car then get the Evo. It will kill the WRK on the road course.

checkout www.racingflix.com

 

I hope that when you say WRX you mean the STI, and not just a stock WRX. If you have the money to spend, there is a ton of mods that can be done to both the STI and WRX, that will increase the performance. A couple of my friends have the WRX and STI, they also considered the EVO but it sucks as a daily driver. Good luck with your decision