Car Guy's Guidance

[Maximus]

Well Ladies and (mostly) Gents, I am in a pickle. I have an opportunity to obtain a new car to play with and I am looking at a '06 or '07 WRX (giving the wifey my GTI). Since I have moved away from my old car club buddies (DSMs) and Auto-X pals (old Evo) I thought I'd pose this question to ya'll. What do you think about buying an '07 now and then working with it over the next two years before parting it for an 818? I have to wait to AUG 2015 to receive my kit.

[philly15]

id do it i think the 06-07 is the best year for a swap i just put money down on a crashed 06, im a huge fan of the ej255, has the avcs as in the earlier model STi's, im also a fan of the 5 speeds over the Sti 6 speed since it has longer gear ratios, and just seems smoother another thing i like about the ej255 is the higher compression pistons works very well with e85, race gas, etc id say go for it if you have the funds it will be a blast until the kit arrives thats one thing i wish i could do drive my donor until the kit arrives but i got a steal of a deal on an 06 that was in an accident so im stuck without a fun car until then although if you can find an 06 do that over the 07 for the aluminum control arms the 06 had em the 07 doesnt

[metalmaker12]

Absolutely, problem is you might like it to much to part out lol, been there done that. The 818 with a "subie drivtrain" is not a DSM, just have to put that out there lol. I like them both, but I am loyal to subaru for life. I would build up that wrx the way you want the 818 to be. The EJ255 is a solid engine, and likes to be tuned while holding up well. I also like the 5spd for its longer gears, which is a great thing for the 818. Good luck in your ventures.

[longislandwrx]

Sounds like a cool idea, just figure out ahead of time what you'll do for a DD in 2015. Also if you plan on upgrading, choose parts that will carry over to the 818, engine, brakes, etc. In the short term no need for exterior bling and no need to buy a catback exhaust when a downpipe will let you run stage 2.

[wallace18]

Sounds like a cool idea, just figure out ahead of time what you'll do for a DD in 2015. Also if you plan on upgrading, choose parts that will carry over to the 818, engine, brakes, etc. In the short term no need for exterior bling and no need to buy a catback exhaust when a downpipe will let you run stage 2.

I think it is a good idea. I agree with keeping the upgrades so they transfer to the kit.

[Maximus]

Yeah, those were basically my thoughts. A DD won't be an issue later as I already havei a couple others. I really just need to get familiar with the EJ since as Metal observed, its no 4g63. I don't plan on doing any modding, just optimizing the platform for the 818. Anywho, I guess its time to start shopping. Anyone want an '05 Outback? :) And I was curious about the '06, but prob not a huge deal just for lighter control arms.

[Mechie3]

06 is slightly easier to remove the air pump.

The only problem with parting a running car is that it usually will cost you more. Insurance gave me $17k for a wrecked 06 with 70k miles. I bought it back for roughly $4k. You can likely buy a running car for $14k, but that still puts you $10k over where others started.

[Maximus]

That certainly is something to think about. If I don't go with a WRX, I'll be picking up something newer and then just waiting to find something used in a couple years when I graduate...which certainly be cheaper and probably make a little more sense. I'd rather not spend more than $20,000 since I just bought my GTI 8 months ago. Her Outback will offset about $5-6k of the new car which is nice. Such a love/hate relationship with car shopping/buying.

[BrandonDrums]

That certainly is something to think about. If I don't go with a WRX, I'll be picking up something newer and then just waiting to find something used in a couple years when I graduate...which certainly be cheaper and probably make a little more sense. I'd rather not spend more than $20,000 since I just bought my GTI 8 months ago. Her Outback will offset about $5-6k of the new car which is nice. Such a love/hate relationship with car shopping/buying.

You can get a good chunk more than 5-6k for an 05 outback most likely. I'd say closer to 10 if it's in good condition and lower than 125k miles.

A wrx is great, it's no monster but there's something about them that makes them special. Make sure you get a whiteline Anti-lift kit and if you can, get an OBX front LSD and upgrade the shift linkage and all the shift bushings. Those things transform the driving experience in a WRX. If they did that from the factory people would skip the mazdaspeed 3 and ALWAYS would get a WRX.

Instead, they like the WRX to understeer and feel gummy from the factory. Kinda misses the point.

[emironov]

I have to wait to AUG 2015 to receive my kit.

I know the kits are coming out this year, but is AUG 2015 when FF5 says you will receive your kit, or just when you cane make it work?

Thanks

[Maximus]

They are into late Spring 2014 right now. I need a delivery date then since I'd rather have the means to build this with a bigger budget and have the time.

[pondo]

Hello fellow RIC guy! For the life of me, I can't see scrapping a perfectly good car unless it has a branded title or something. Buy the WRX, have fun with it and keep it! Search for a wrecked one in the mean time and by the time you get the 818 kit you'll know so much about the WRX platform you may never daily drive anything else. I had an '02 wrx through college and a few years afterwards that I regret selling...should have kept it as the daily beater!

[Maximus]

Howdy! Yeah, I do like my GTI a lot and I haven't even hit 20,000mi. It really is the perfect DD, esp with the killer DSG. The wife said she wants a new Focus Titanium so I'm going to have to wait a year or so. Oh well. I can't start the teardown until Spring 2014 anyway so I'll grab a trashed WRX or go with my original plan and use something a little different for propulsion :-).

Pondo - What are you driving? I spend most my time downtown at MCV. Also don't know of any local car clubs.

[Maximus]

Well, after extensive talks with some of my old friends and a couple of tuning companies, I decided to go with my original plan and scrap the donor idea. Now to start the waiting game until the summer and final production details are out. Waiting is so hard.

[pondo]

Howdy! Yeah, I do like my GTI a lot and I haven't even hit 20,000mi. It really is the perfect DD, esp with the killer DSG. The wife said she wants a new Focus Titanium so I'm going to have to wait a year or so. Oh well. I can't start the teardown until Spring 2014 anyway so I'll grab a trashed WRX or go with my original plan and use something a little different for propulsion :-).

Pondo - What are you driving? I spend most my time downtown at MCV. Also don't know of any local car clubs.

I just sold my '06 corvette and picked up a '10 BMW 335d. Gotta love 425 ft/lbs torque and 38 mpg. I don't know any local car clubs here either...I lived downtown & the fan for many years and now bought a house on southside (VCU graduate).

[Maximus]

Nice. Picking up a kit soon?

[pondo]

Nice. Picking up a kit soon?

After the wedding and when my fiance starts working...I've been supporting us for the past 1.5 years so things been a little tight for toys.

[Maximus]

Ha, I hear ya there. I had to ditch the toys when I thought it would be a good idea to leave a six-figure job for MCV...genius. Congrats, Good luck and I'll keep an eye out for the build thread!

[Xusia]

The internet says MCV stands for "Mean Corpuscular Volume" which relates to blood tests, but I'm pretty sure that's not what it stands for here. So what is MCV? :)

EDIT: Added the missing word "not"!

[thestigwins]

The internet says MCV stands for "Mean Corpuscular Volume" which relates to blood tests, but I'm pretty sure that's what it stands for here. So what is MCV? :)

I am just taking a stab at this.. but he has a "med school beater" and lives in virginia. So my google search gave me the answer of: Medical College of Virginia (MCV)

:)

[RM1SepEx]

Since when is a 2010 GTI DCG a beater? I run my 1991 Miata during the winter her in Maine, that or my 1993 Del Sol are true beaters... My best vehicle is a 2004 Silverado!

[pondo]

I am just taking a stab at this.. but he has a "med school beater" and lives in virginia. So my google search gave me the answer of: Medical College of Virginia (MCV)

:)

Correct!

[Maximus]

Since when is a 2010 GTI DCG a beater? I run my 1991 Miata during the winter her in Maine, that or my 1993 Del Sol are true beaters... My best vehicle is a 2004 Silverado!

Fair enough, I do like it. Just not all that "me".

[Xusia]

Wait. You made OVER $100k ("I thought it would be a good idea to leave a six-figure job for MCV") as a Naval Officer?!? That seems high...

[metalmaker12]

LOL you guys are funny.

[Maximus]

Yeah, way off topic. Partially my fault. I'll post again once I've ordered to start a build thread. I'm looking forward to some info from Moochfest!