MY04 Handling In the Wet. . :-) Help!
 

Hey All,
I am a newbie to the forum who is about one step away from buying a 2004 STI PPP. I currently run a Honda S2000 but have had two scoobies a P1 :D and then later a WRX Wagon:Whatever_ . Having run the honda for 18months or so i am looking to get back to the scoobies as much as anything for the 'All weather' ability i remember them having. . . and of course the performance.

However i have read a few articles today that cause me a little concern as they say the MY04 (correct me if i am wrong) can be tricky in the wet!!
:eek2:

Is this really true?

Is there anything else i should be aware of when looking at one of these?

Any help would be much appreciated. . . so thanks in adavance!

Thanks
Newbie Al!

Any car can be tricky in the wet, just depends on application.

I find my STi to have better handling than my classic did. No wet problems, but then i back off anyway.

Links to articles?

Never had a problem with my 03 or 05 cars, would have thought different tyre combos may be more suitable, for example some complain that Toyos are not so good in the wet, however nothing inherent in the car setup.

PS - an 04 car is the same setup as an 03 car unless it is a WR1 in which case it is closer to an 05.

Here is the link to one of the articles by Evo magazine. . . they also quote it as being 'Edgy in the wet'.

Subaru Impreza STi PPP | evo Car Reviews | Car Reviews | evo


I understand any car can be tricky in the wet, especially the honda i was just interested in how tricky the STI was and other peoples views from their ownership.

Thanks Again!

As with any car, if you go into a corner under power and let off half way round it will snap.

Constant power round wet corners has yielded no problems in mine except in a particularily monsoon track session at Donnington where the dog carrying end made a valiant attempt to pass the the noisy metal thing end!!!

Mines a MY05 WRX wagon with roughly the same power as and Sti (at the moment)

Tyres. Simple.
When I got my 05 STI PPP it had the bridgestone RE070's and was a nightmare in the wet. Half throttle accelerating off a round about would have the rear end trying to beat the front end up the road.
A change to Michelin Pilot Sport 2's made all the difference. :thumb:

Any car, no matter what tyres it's wearing can be edgy in the wet if provoked, but a good set of boots can make a rear difference. My advise is make sure it's got decent rubber on it, or get some put on if you buy one.

With the right rubber, a AWD car is better fantastic in the wet.

I had a massive problem when I first bought it....thought the car lived on rails and it didn't.....the I realised it wasn't the handling...but the torque having a small factor in breaking traction in all 4 wheels!! :norty:

It has the same handling traits as any Impreza IMO. At the limit it exposes the same charteristics as the other models. The point and predictablility of when it does decide to snap is hard to answer, I say its not much different maybe a little more twitchy but the end effect when you do lose it is the same. Other people tend to think otherwise, but I stand my ground :)

Tyre choice makes a huge difference too - most importantly and especially in the wet, damp and cold (you get what you pay for, sometimes even less)

Echo what's said above: Tyre choice critical and you have to bare in mind that in the end, answer to Newton and he always wins!! :D Driven sensibly, Scoobies are ulta secure in the wet!

Only thing is, when this happens in a scooby, you're generally going quite a bit faster than you might have done in a runabout! :o

Ns04

You know what worries me? Not being a dick saying this so dont think its just a stupid comment, merely intrigued... You drive an S2000, aren't they RWD? Hardly the slowest car out there and lacking traction control must be a little viscious in the wet so why would you be worried about the scooby if you're used to such a fickle motor in the wet

I understand the sentiment, but with the S2000 you are more aware of it being RWD and what "can" happen. The Impreza has a nasty habit of lulling you into a false sense of security, then..... whoops :D

Thanks for your replies all, i guess i need to go and drive the car then and hope its raining. . . i live in holland so it should not be too difficult!

I never had anything but totally stable wet weather driving in my last imprezas and i am hoping things have improved not deterioated?!

The one i am looking at has 18 inch wheels on it. . . wil that make things better or worse?

Any ideas?

"Ye cannae break the laws of physics" Scotty from Star Trek, I guess the question should be how progressive are they as all cars lose traction if pushed too far. I think tyres and geometery have a lot to influence this and major improvements can be made.

ps then Scotty engaged warp drive and travelled at 9x the speed of light:cuckoo:

Tilly you are correct the S2000 is a handful in the wet and that’s the problem. Whilst i have seen Tokyo Drift I am no drifter and its one of the reasons i want to go back to the Scooby. Its not that I am terrified I was just surprised to read about them being twitchy after my previous owning experiences as I had never experienced it. Maybe I just didn't drive them hard enough. . .

I have a 300Hp classic on coilovers (600Lb springs) and parada spec 2
you guys think you got problems :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:




Even with this setup as long as you use the slow in fast approach if it does let go it's just a gentle slide easily corrected (assuming your not booting it)
No wheelspin in a straight line though, nice and predictable ;)