So im trying to decide between some cars on what to own as a track car. Mainly between a miata and a wrx for canyon weekend rides, and once a month track events. Since this is the WRX area, l had some indepth questions about owning a WRX. Thanks in advance for your=)

- WRX is obviously a AWD car, now does switching the tires happen pretty often if you take the car out for weekend rides and once a month track events? Would you consider it an expensive part of owning a WRX?

- I am not to familiar with AWD cars and what to do if the car starts to understeer into spinning out, or oversteer. From what l heard, countersteering is no recommended because it will really throw the WRX into a wall. What is your take on it?

- The WRX is good on sticking to the ground, but does it really keep glued down more then a RWD car?

- Do you really have to drop it at 4k-5k rpm to have a good launch? If so doesnt that hurt the trany really bad?

- How is the overall maintenance for the WRX? From a starters point of view, l see the AWD as an expensive car to maintain due to switching all four tires, and or the clutch or any other parts.

- Any pet peeves with the WRX?




Again. thanks for looking =)

l think if u r looking more for a weekend fun car & really only going to track is once in a while, the WRX is a great choice. But if the tracking is something u take seriously, the Miata will be more competitive with fewer mods. It will also make u a much better driver in the long run. The WRX does understeer ans most cars r designed to do so from the factory for safety. It can easily be fixed with a good set of springs & a fatter rear sway bar but a rear sway can put u in a higher class if u autocross. l love mu WRX in the mountains. Is grips like crazy if u have a good suspension set up & a good set of tires. When u do sense a little under steer, u wand to keep on the gas & jerk the steering wheel a little further into the turn. Probably not good to say thay but u will learn over time how to control the car. It is really an easy car to drive. That is why l said the Miata will make u a better driver. l guess it comes down to what ur needs & wants really are. Maintenance is no different than any other car. Check oil regularly & change after any track event. Launching is a cool feeling if u do it right but the tranny in the Non ST l is r a little on the weak side so they can break if abused. If it is an ST l u r thinking about, they have a bulletproof tranny designed by Porsche than will handle way above 500ft/lbs of torque to the wheels.

Dude. Nice set of questions, let me try to answer them all. First of congrats on being able to afford a car just for fun! It must be nice!

l will hit ur qestions one by one:

- Tires. I've found rubber consumption to be about the same on my ST l as other sporty cars I've owned. That said, driving hard in a high power car eats soft tires fast, it is just a fact of life. l replace my summer tires every 2 years & typically buy new tires for about $400-$500 (for all 4) plus mounting & balancing ($60)

- Handling. Pretty much all cars understeer from the factory. They do it as a safty measure. This characteristic can be removed from a WRX with the use of sway bars. In general AWD gives u many options on how to handle a hot corner (counter steering, power through & drift etc). AWD is more forgiving than RWD & is generally thought of as safer.

-Handling question 2. In a word ''yes''. Professional drivers can usually get better performance out of RWD race cars on the track, but that is generally because of weight (AWD adds some pounds). On real roads l think the WRC racing series proves without a doubt that AWD cars r faster. Look for some WRC clips on youtube.

-Launch. ACK! No, u do not have to do that. All that will do is spin all 4 wheels & kill ur transmission. AWD is great because it hooks up right away with no tires spin, why would u spin the tires on purpose & wreck that great advanatage? The WRX & ST l r fast, u do not need to do anything stupid to make them more so.

- I've found maintenance to be exactly the same as on any other car. I've aways replaced all 4 tires at once even with FWD & AWD cars. It is exaclty the same, rotate ur tires & change them all when they r done. I've never, ever, ever had to do one maintenance item that l would not have had to do on any other turbo sports car. I've found clutch life to be great (I've never had to change one yet, 100,000 miles on my car). Subarus r very reliable.

- Pet Peeves. Hmmm. Not really. The paint is not of the best quality l guess.. l pretty much love my car.

1) WRX tires r pretty cheap. You can get good performance tires under $600 a set. Just a benefit of having tiny little narrow wheels. It is always a good idea to have track tires & street tires. Keep in mind all tires must be within 10% tread of each other or u will damage ur car.

2) Sorry, never been in that situation, but I've never heard of anyone not trying to correct the steering.

3) Not really, it is just easier to use.

4) Yes. And yes it does. Hence the term ''exploding into gear.''

5) Regular car maintenance costs. nothing unusual.

6) The gas mileage does not match the performance. There r 300-400+ hp cars out there doing 30mpg highway, & you're lucky to get 24 out of the WRX. AWD is a big drawback in this case.