Dixon

Have been experiencing a few teething problems (or so we think)with our Subary WRX 2.0L 2001 Yr. On braking (especially hard braking)the steering seems to pull quite severly to either side, plus the braking seems very hard. We've taken it into a Subaru dealers who have driven the car and have told us that the car drive exactly how they whould expect it and that the WRX suffers generally from tramlining and is very sensitive to the camber of the road which whould cause the steering to pull and that the hard brakes are normal for this car. Could anyone confirm the garage's dignosis and is this normal driving for this car?

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

Sort of correct..

depends on the tyres fitted and the tracking of the steering I have found on mine..

Mine is an older Subaru but I have found the same on any car I have owned.. it is tramlining like they say.

Might be worth getting the tracking checked on the front..
a small tyre place charge anbout £15 rather than Subaru's £30.

My car has had 4 sets of different wheels and tyres on of various sizes and all tramlined by differing amounts.. just get used to holding the wheel tightly when you brake hard.

JGM

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

The problem is obvious: you've ACTUALLY bought a cut-and-shut Nova, rebadged, wrongly as a "Subary":
Trade it in quick and get a real one!!
alcazar

greasemonkey

As has been said, this is tramlining. Common trait on any car with wide, low-profile tyres and sporting suspension settings.

What you mean? You've got to press the brake pedal harder to make the car stop? Press it harder then!

This is probably a combination of harder, higher performance pads with a lower friction coefficient, and slightly less servo-assistance than whatever you used to drive.

Net effect of this is to produce a harder pedal with more feel, and a more linear relationship between pedal pressure and retardation. Once you get used to it, you'll find it much better than stodgy, grabby, over-assisted brakes that fade with the slightest provocation, as found on many modern family saloon cars.

You might be able to alter this situation by changing the pads, but, to be honest, you'll probably be cutting off your nose to spite your face if you do so.

I'd be tempted to believe them. If they could see an opportunity to relieve you of your cash, they'd probably take it. Thus, if they're a well regarded dealer and think it's alright, I'd probably take them at their word.

...As you'll find on most decent performance cars. Most enthusiastic drivers would regard this as communicative, responsive steering - good thing, not bad! However, again it would probably be a bit strange to someone used to being coocooned in a repmobile. Are we to take it that this is your first proper car?

As for "hard" brakes, again, they might be harder than what you were used to, but in the great scheme of things, they're not that bad. Try a competition car with no servo and brakes that don't bite (at all) til they're hot!

Erm, not without jumping behind wheel and trying it ourselves! The explanation offered by the garage certainly makes perfect sense.

If you want to invest a few quid in your peace of mind, you could always get the tracking checked, and you could also make sure you're using four tyres of the same type, and as near to the same tread depth as possible. Beyond that, it sounds rather as though you're someone experiencing the differences between a good car and a bad one for the first time!

Edited to say: As a matter of interest, what did you have before?


[Edited by greasemonkey - 6/28/2003 10:40:16 PM]

stevem2k

Which tyres are on ? The OEM Bridgestones ( RE010 ? ) were very suceptible to tramlining. A swap to Toyo's sorted most of this on my MY2001.

Steve

Dixon

<<This is the person DIXON sits next to at work answering for her because she posted a message on this board on the day she left to go on maternity leave for 6 months, where she has no internet access at the mo. I blame it on the hormones!>>

She owned a Golf GTI beforehand. I used to own one of those (got an M Roadster now) and i understand the brake differences she's noticing. The GTI you virtually have to punch your foot through the floor and stop it with your heel. She says you only have to look at the brake pedal in the Subaru and you've done an emergency stop. I'm sure it's just a matter of getting used to it.

She says the tramlining under braking is REALLY noticeable so she's going to go get a test-drive in a new one to see if it's specific to her car/tyres/nail varnish or not.

Finally, she says thanks for getting back to her with all the responses, much appreciated.

<<P.S. Thanks to the cut-and-shut poster, had the office all laughing at her on Friday. >>

greasemonkey

Lol! Now this is the sort of motherhood preparation I like to see! To hell with painting the bedroom blue/pink and buying loads of nappies and soft toys! No, first priority is to get hold of a decent car to put the baby seat in!

Can also see why she's so keen to make sure the car's top banana. Sure it is, but its always good to be sure