Random Thoughts - Part Deux [NO POLITICS]

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by spike021

Just dropped the car off at the Subaru dealer for the parking brake issue. The guy who checked it in attempted to duplicate the problem and couldn’t. So I told him just to check it out anyway. After driving my car for 18 months I think I have a good idea of something suddenly not working 100% correctly for the past two weeks. ����*♂️

I'm telling you, start with some decent basic tools. You're young. DIY is life.


I've said it many, many times. Can't train/pay people to give a shit.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by p1l0t

I thought we were allowed to give bad advice in OT... besides I said 'until it freezes' which is isn't technically untrue...

lol troll

[ScoobsMcGee]

More opinions no one asked for.

So after driving a WRX STi and Giulia Ti Sport back to back and for about an hour each, I enjoyed driving the WRX a lot more. The Giulia is significantly more refined and quiet with a much nicer interior and so much leather that the smell made my nostrils burn, but the engine is awful in any driving mode if you push it. The redline is only 5500 RPM and even at WOT the interior is so quiet that you can barely hear it, so if you have any music on forget operating the paddle shifters without staring at the tach. The paddles do react quickly to inputs and blip the engine nicely if you downshift, but the engine then sounds like metal is shearing inside of it while it does so (if you can hear it). Conversely the WRX's shifter can feel vague at times, although the 3/4 throw is nice which is where I spent most of my time driving it. The Alfa is more responsive to steering input, but the WRX gives more feedback. Both have about the same size, shape, and feel to steering wheel. Both have rather high seating positions, with better visibility in the WRX despite the goofy wing on the back.

Definitely worth noting that the Alfa is sporty luxury car while the WRX is a done-up Impreza (no matter what Subaru says), so comparing the two may not be exactly fair, and the Alfa does have a lot more options (for $10,000 more). That said, I definitely liked the idea of owning an Alfa a lot more than driving one.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I'm telling you, start with some decent basic tools. You're young. DIY is life.


I've said it many, many times. Can't train/pay people to give a shit.

- shame on you guys (you too @p1l0t ) for ah picken on @spike021 , just because he wasn't given a 9/16th, box end wrench for a teething ring.





humfrz

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by ScoobsMcGee

after driving a WRX STi and Giulia Ti Sport

Those are massively different cars. Problem with the STI is that you're essentially getting a 15-year-old design that felt out of date when it was brand new, so call it a decades old design. Why bother? I'd rather have something sublime, like a twin.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by ScoobsMcGee

More opinions no one asked for.

So after driving a WRX STi and Giulia Ti Sport back to back and for about an hour each...

I've seen a Giulia in white and in red, and in person it doesn't even seem that attractive from a looks perspective. I actually think the Kia stinger looks better overall.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

I'd rather have something sublime, like a twin.

Understated, underestimated, misunderstood...

[ScoobsMcGee]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

Those are massively different cars. Problem with the STI is that you're essentially getting a 15-year-old design that felt out of date when it was brand new, so call it a decades old design. Why bother? I'd rather have something sublime, like a twin.

What's interesting about this comment is that it speaks to a specific mindset of people I was thinking about while driving the STi. The EJ25 is absolutely an ancient mill, but as someone who took an extended test drive in a Giulia, owns a BRZ and FiST, and also was able to drive a Focus RS, Golf R, FA20 WRX, ND Miata, and 718 Cayman, it didn't feel dated at all. It has abysmal fuel efficiency. It probably emits more CO2. It sure as hell didn't feel old when new, nor does it now.

That said, you can relax. This isn't a WRX vs Giulia vs BRZ comparison. I'm keeping the BRZ and replacing the FiST. A car which was nice enough to eject the driver's side footwell HVAC pipe for the ninth time (or was it ten? I lost count) while on my way to the Alfa dealership, and was a lease that expires soon.

Oh yeah, I know they're different cars, which I spoke to. The main purpose of the Alfa was me wondering if I hit a price point where I should start looking at something nicer (I guess you can say nicer?) than go-fast versions of economy cars. The best way I can summarize the two is that the STi Limited is a $25,000 car with $17,000 in go-faster bits and R&D, while the Alfa is (as built) a $50,000 car that was designed to benchmark against a 3 series. Turns out I prefer the go-faster bits to the more expensive car.

Originally Posted by Spuds

I've seen a Giulia in white and in red, and in person it doesn't even seem that attractive from a looks perspective. I actually think the Kia stinger looks better overall.

I've yet to see a Stinger in person, to be honest. I really only like the Giulia in red and with the minor tweaks from the Ti Sport model. However, in that trim, I really like it.

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by ScoobsMcGee

the WRX is a done-up Impreza (no matter what Subaru says)

I guess they took out the Impreza name so that asshole customers can't say oh so the WRX and WRX STI are like one version older than the newest Impreza?!?

[spike021]

So the tech at the dealer ended up tightening the parking brake quite a bit. It's much stiffer now and I think only goes about 4 or 5 clicks, compared to before where I'd say it did around 8-10 clicks.

Will have to try it out for a few days and see if it fixes the issue though. I'm going back in around a week because they're going to replace my gauge cluster hood under warranty; the leather/sewn seam was peeling/coming un-done.

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by ScoobsMcGee

What's interesting about this comment is that it speaks...

Did you check out the Audi RS3? Or Tesla Model 3? My mindset is that the STI is overrated, underpowered, and old. It's got history and coolness, but I don't much care for those in cars of the last 20 years. The Alfa is pretty, but I hate dealership visits, and the QF is the one to get, no doubt. The luxury car with the fast bits.

I'd like to see a smaller version of the Taycan. 4 wheel steering. Active roll bars. AWD. No transmission. Torque shifting differentials. I'd probably prefer a Macan-type body and suspension, letting me hop urban curbs with aplomb while shooting through canyons. Effortless speed.

Then when I want to be in control, the FRS.

[krayzie]

I thought old cars are awesome that's why they made the 86/BRZ.

[ScoobsMcGee]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

Did you check out the Audi RS3? Or Tesla Model 3? My mindset is that the STI is overrated, underpowered, and old. It's got history and coolness, but I don't much care for those in cars of the last 20 years. The Alfa is pretty, but I hate dealership visits, and the QF is the one to get, no doubt. The luxury car with the fast bits.

I'd like to see a smaller version of the Taycan. 4 wheel steering. Active roll bars. AWD. No transmission. Torque shifting differentials. I'd probably prefer a Macan-type body and suspension, letting me hop urban curbs with aplomb while shooting through canyons. Effortless speed.

Then when I want to be in control, the FRS.

States a Giulia Ti Sport is massively different than a WRX STi. Suggests a car that starts at $3000 more than the Alfa tops out at, a $75,000 version of the Alfa, an all electric car, and a concept car as alternatives.

Ah crap, I'm in an Internet argument on a forum, aren't I? So lets talk about the cars. To be clear, I test drove a Giulia Ti Sport (Q4 to be more specific, it's difficult to find a RWD one local) which starts at about $43,000 and tops out at $52,000. Configured as I would want one it came in at around $47,000 with FCA throwing $3500 in incentives at new leases, because that is sort of FCA's thing. Comparably a fully loaded WRX STi (whcih doesn't have the adaptive cruise or interior of the Afla) is about $43,000. So from a price point, I was cross-shopping two AWD sedans with similar power (280 / 306 Alfa, 305 / 290 STi).

I do like talking cars. So the Audi RS3 starts at $55,000 and quickly breaks $60,000 if you spec it close to the Alfa I drove, with the only incentives being a puzzled "what?" from the sales rep. That said, I did briefly consider a more realistic S3, but that is more or less a sedan Golf R (292 / 280) which is only available with a DCT. I prefer both hatchbacks and 3 pedals, so I only bothered to look into the Golf R. I wasn't able to drive it too long, but it was a fantastic little car, and had better seating position than both the WRX and Alfa, with interior quality closer to the Alfa. It did feel more like a FWD car than AWD to drive. In the STi I could set the DCCD and sort of push the back end like I do in the BRZ. In the Golf, it felt more like I was pulling the front as it is in the FiST. What bugged me the most was that the high gloss piano black interior that's on the entire center console and most of the dash is a magnet for smudges and fingerprints, and the car I drove had them everywhere. I do not keep my cars spotless, but that would drive me nuts. I keep a cloth in the BRZ and FiST to wipe spots off the nav screens.

While I do like the idea of a Tesla, I'm looking for a car in the next 2 months at most, not 20. That said, the Model 3 you can currently buy starts at $49,000 for RWD and realistically equipped is closer to the RS3. There is a $7500 government incentive (for now), and I don't care what Tesla says, not spending money on gas should not be included as a discount on the price of the car. Electricity isn't free, and you still pay the money for the car. Due to those reasons I didn't even bother to drive one, so I can't comment to how it compares.

I'm sure the $75,000 Alfa QF is much faster and more technology laden than a WRX STi. As is a BMW M4. Even I'm hesitant to have a car payment be more than my mortgage, and even I say that's not a fair comparison.

The last car is a concept. There is no reasonable way that you've driven one to have any idea what it is actually like. Let alone for long enough to know what it is like to own. Take the FiST for instance. That car is still great to drive on a back road, despite having less than 200 hp. That said, interior trim pieces fall off on a regular basis, as does pieces of the HVAC system. Also if I do drive it for more than a couple of hours, my right thigh cramps up. As opposed to the BRZ, where I can putter about for 12+ hours without issue.

It's okay that you don't like the STi. Not everyone has to like the same things. I disagree with your reasoning about it being old and underpowered when compared to its rivals, and do find it amusing for someone who prefers an FR-S to use the latter half of that argument. I won't ask if you've driven the cars you're talking about since this is the Internet and you can say anything (as can I, to be fair), but I do encourage you to go out and drive a wider variety of cars before commenting on them.

Edit: Apologies for the long rant.

[krayzie]

Well when you were testing driving the Golf R it could have been 99% of the time engaged in FWD mode unless you pushed really hard for the Haldex to engage the rear wheels.

In the one year me and my gf rocked a 1st gen CR-V I can count with just one hand how many times the Haldex actually engaged (okay the new n-th version of it probably works much more seemlessly compare to the archaic one) but it was a FWD car for most of the time and this is without any of the currently advanced computer trickery (the STI will be able to get out of more sticky situations in the winter with its 3 mechanical diffs cuz it's such an old car).

These days with complex stability programs running on fast ABS computers I no longer understand the merit of paying thousands of dollars and hundreds of pounds in weight penalty to daily drive 4-motion other than bragging rights really.

Now we rock a facelift RX300 which is a full time 4x4 (basically DCCD stuck in 50:50 lock mode with a stability program you can't turn off) and this thing is so much fun when driven fast in the winter. The gas mileage sucks balls tho obviously.

BTW that nice VW soft touch interior will melt like M&Ms overtime.