Osterkraut wrote:
irish44j wrote:
In reply to Osterkraut:
hah, you know I was being facetious, right?
the 4R just has the usual lockable torsen center diff and open f/r. No reason for anything more, frankly. I only drive it on family vacations anyhow, it's my wife's DD.
Of course, it does have something no current subie does: 2WD mode 
. For mad-tyte JDM burnouts yo!
and, of course, a non-functional hood scoop for the non-existant TMIC.
Fa-ce-t-ious? Sorry mister, I went to public school, that's a right big word right there!
I went to a DoD school, so you have a leg up on me!
Look, Subarus are ugly. They always have been. Who cares? Motorsports are not beauty contests.
That said, I actually like the looks of my 2009 WRX. I didn't like the wheels or the stock grille when I got it, so I changed those. I added the factory Sport grille and some Rota Torques to replace the heavy and narrow stock wheels. Now it looks like a 1st gen Mazdaspeed 3 with a hood scoop. Nothing wrong with that!
Example:
On the new Legacy:
It's really hideous, even for a Subaru. the 6-speed is NOT the STI 6-speed, just a version of the WRX 5-speed with one more gear and different ratios. They put the turbo under the engine on these, which on paper diminishes lag a bit, but I'd rather have it up away from the road. The GT is half baked and makes similar power to the WRX, but in a much larger car. The 05-09's are cool though, especially the super rare 05-only GT manual wagons.
On buying a used STI (or any used turbo Subaru):
Be VERY careful with what you are buying. Most dealers would have absolutely no clue if a trade-in was formerly modded. There are threads every day on the Subaru forums with people either returning their cars to stock for a trade-in or buying a car that they thought was nice only to inherit a ton of problems. This is the reason why I bought new when I bought my 2009.
irish44j wrote:
Of course, it does have something no current subie does: 2WD mode
Although any autotragic Subie can be FWD with the insertion of a fuse(10A?) in the underhood fusebox. /nitpick
Nice 4Runner.
I've done trannys in a few and REALLY like how they're put together and drive.
ValuePack wrote:
irish44j wrote:
Of course, it does have something no current subie does: 2WD mode
Although any autotragic Subie can be FWD with the insertion of a fuse(10A?) in the underhood fusebox. /nitpick
Nice 4Runner. I've done trannys in a few and REALLY like how they're put together and drive.
ah, but why would you want to go FWD??? :D
(OT)
Yeah, the truck has been great. It's my wife's daily and our vacation vehicle and has had zero problems in 2 years so far, and just feels so damn solid and high quality, compared to her Mazda3, my Maxima, or my WRX. The only thing that sucks about it is the stereo system, which is awful! Plus it has all kinds of nifty features....
irish44j wrote:
and...
At first I thought this was some new type of traction circle, but I suppose that is wrong...
I ran across this old thread, and I wanted to address the OP's questions regrading a NON-LSD AWD system vs. a FWD with an LSD.
On the Non-LSD AWD system with a car properly set-up for track use, you will always have inside wheel lift to some degree under cornering and steering, most notably in the rear. In a NON-LSD AWD, like my 2009 WRX, this causes drive-loss and under-steer as the outside front wheel becomes the sole drive wheel and the tire is overtaxed as the power is shifted to the inside rear because it is the path of least resistance. Ideally you would like to set the front of the car in and have it slightly oversteer around the corner by rotating the rear, this is what makes AWD so great for novices like me- rear is rotating but front is driving so it has a huge sweet spot and spinning out is less likely.... so it will do that, for sure, but not every time.
I have driven the STI on the track, which has an adjustable torque split center diff, and a rear LSD, and it is very easy to set into the corner and get the rear to rotate. Part of this is putting more drive power to the rear, and part of it is the LSD pushing both wheels. Now the outside rear in a given corner has drive and is suffering the higher load making the tire slide slightly and the rear to rotate.
In a FWD with an LSD, you still have understeer, but torque steer is reduced, which may allow the front wheels to track through the corner better since the tires are not fighting for grip. I had a prepped GLI and the lightweight of the rear and the tight chassis really helped the back end to track as if it were almost oversteering.
An AWD with a rear LSD, in my experience, will allow the car to work in a way that might be advantageous to a FWD. I find an AWD w/o and LSD works well, but when I want the rear to rotate, often times the rear losing drive will cause the front to understeer and push like a FWD car.
An AWD system is generally more flexible and dynamic than FWD, but it does cause more parasitic drivetrain power loss, is heavier and has more parts to break. Subaru's generally have a very good durability track record.
