I'm thinking that maybe someday I'll be interested in getting a WRX, like when I get tired of my RS. With all the accident pix I've seen and stories I've heard here about folks crashing their WRXs, I'm thinking the insurance are going to assign this new car a higher risk rating. I'd hate to see this car get a bad rap because people who are new to the scene think that AWD makes crashing impossible. It's not a Ferrari; I'd hate to pay Ferrari insurance rates for it.

Ok, my flamesuit's all buttoned up, bring it on.

Im not gonna flame you, I agree, but mostly want to request...
STOP crashing the beloved GC8 body style, we need to keep these rare, beautiful Subarus running in good order. So please, please stop destroying the only good looking subaru:D :p (besides the Legacy)
My flame suit is now on too!

Originally posted by Skirvdawg
I'm thinking that maybe someday I'll be interested in getting a WRX, like when I get tired of my RS.

one more thing... that's blasphemy!, tired of an RS?!? pish posh!
that's ridiculous!

You also have to consider that almost as many WRX's have been sold as all the previous year RS's. More cars out on the road mean more crashes. :(

Seth

yeah, there's a WRX buffer.. eh.

Next person that's going to wreck thiers.. call me beforehand and I'll take it off your hands.

Hmm. I have given some thought to this post and other similar ones. There is no way of knowing whether the WRX has crashed and burned more than any other car. Say the number of WRX’s sold in the US was 50,000 (I don’t really know the number) but just pretend. Also say that the people most likely to visit this web site are more hard core race enthusiast and their numbers here are 1,000 people with 50 of them having had car crashes.
Perhaps because they enjoy racing they are more prone to wreck thier car.
Or people who are more likely to visit this site are younger and more prone to accidents than the average population.

What could be determined from this web site when talking about car accidents in the WRX? The answer is nothing.

I guess my point is speaking statically (which is what insurance companies use) I would not even give it a second statistical thought based on the evidence from this web site. There are other factors that may be at work here which have nothing to do with the car.
I am not saying that there is, but only that there could be.

p.s. the RS is a beautiful car

...wadding...?

Did you make that word up, or am I living in a cave? :confused:

Statistically in significant, think again!

Let's say that by the time the WRX has been in the US for 1 year, 25 have been reported totalled on the i-club. If that seems unreasonable, insert your own figure. Furthermore, lets say that each totaled WRX costs the insurance company $25,000.
(we'll just worry about collision right now, and figure that any money they get for what's left cancells out the costs of handling the claim / making money). Now, let's say there are 12,500 WRX's on the road (this number is fairly accurate). So 25 * $25,000 / 12,500 = $50.
That's 50 bucks extra per driver, per year. Perhaps not financialy significant, but certainly
statistically significant. Basically, every time
a WRX owner totals their car, everybody has to cough up at least $2. Probably more like $5-$10.
Think about that next time you see an, "I rolled my baby" post

...wadding...? Yeah, wadding....You know. Take a piece of paper and crumple it up into a little ball. That's wadding up a piece of paper.

Yes, wadding! I made it up (I think), got a problem with that? I'm an inovator and a trend setter, so sue me. That and I couldn't think of the other word I was looking for to describe crashing. You know how the Brits have all those cool words to describe things, that's where the word I was looking for came from. Ok, so my original intention wasn't so inovative, but the end result was.

Now that you know what it means, stop doing it!

I didn't want to be prejudicial and say that it's all the people new to the AWD scene, because, well, I don't know. If I had to take a guess, though...Besides, I feel like there are more new members (post WRX intro) than old (people who heard of rally before March of this year).

I'm a sick ba$tard, therefore it's OK for me to confess that this morning while sitting on the pot, I was reading my WRX manual, [user pauses til snickering from other users subsides].

Anyways, one of the many little warning boxes in the manual says to not let the extra confidence from the stability of AWD influence us to drive in a dangerous way, so that we don't overbrake, make sudden manuevers, etc. I'm paraphrasing, because I don't have my manual with me, but that little box certainly applies to what Skirvdawg is saying.

Recently a local driver, while test driving a WRX from a local dealership with his mother in the passenger seat, used a tree to stop the car. The manuever put himself and his mom in the hospital, with his mom seriously injured. That was a bad thing, but I would have to assume that the good news is that his family will probably refuse to help him buy a WRX. If he buys a WRX, he is a driver who is more likelyl to drive our insurance rates up.

The WRX is alotta car and that makes it darned fun to drive, but Skirvdawg is correct. We gotta stopping wadding them up, or the insurance is gonna kill us!

Ok, my flamesuit's all buttoned up, bring it on.

LOL! :D

There are less than 10,000 WRX's sold at this point. Remember they are only bringing 10,500 into the states. But there's probably more like under 20 WRX's totaled that we have heard about from I-Club members.

*not gonna say i told ya so*
*not gonna say i told ya so*
*not gonna say i told ya so*
*not gonna say i told ya so*
*not gonna say i told ya so*

:D

nope... not me :lol:

j.
www.subiegal.com

yeah .. I haven't seen close to 20 "wrecked" WRX's on the board yet... it's more in the neighborhood of 6-8.... I've seen half that number in dealer related mishaps as well... Should we stop taking our cars to the dealers cuz they have a "significant" amount of accidents too?

Yes, wadding! I made it up (I think), got a problem with that?

Heh, no prob, I make up weird words like that myself, was just curious if I was missing out on something. :)

You? Smug? If you hadn't signed it it'd have thought it was an imposter. :D

We all bend cars every now and again, and the new WRX drivers I've seen are taking the same interest in learning to drive their cars well, as we did.

Insurance companies will continue to screw us, no change there.

Dave's 0.02Ruble :D

OnTheGas: paraphrased from the manual...
one of the many little warning boxes in the manual says to not let the extra confidence from the stability of AWD influence us to drive in a dangerous way, so that we don't overbrake, make sudden manuevers, etc

I'd be interested to find out just how many of those who were in accidents were on the RE-92's, or who had changed to a more sticky tire. Also whether or not the suspension was or was not modified. We may be able to narrow down the reasons the WRX's have been in accidents other than careless driving.

Some of the totalled WRX's may not fit in this catagory, so if you totalled your WRX, but it was an accident with no idiocy involved, then don't take what I am about to say personally. :)

I, too, am tired of people driving these around like they are the next Colin McRae without having one bit of knowledge about what they are doing. :mad:

And I'm really tired of the people that say I am not allowed to bitch about insurance rates. If you drive like an idiot and total your WRX because you are being an idiot, then guess what, you are helping the insurance rates go up for others and that is not fair. :mad:

When you drive a car such as the WRX or even a RS, you have to know your skill limit and not go above that. They are 3,000 pound lethal weapons and you should treat them as such. You should keep the "Colin McRae" style driving to the track/autox/rallyx in a controlled enviroment.

Now, don't get me wrong- this doesn't mean drive like a granny or even drive the speedlimit. ;) But when you are weaving in and out of traffic going 100+, that's being an idiot. Streetracing- that's being an idiot. Driving while intoxicated- that's being a complete idiot.

Just do yourself and us a favor and know the limits of the car and yourself and don't even COME CLOSE to them when on the street.

I suspect that we should expect some of this with the new WRX, and unfortunetley with the STi as well. I can't wait to see what insurance is going to cost me on that one. :D

JJ

People like to think they are really better drivers then they actually are.

With the WRX, due to AWD and PDG (Pretty Darn'd Good) suspension from the factory, it feels like you are Colin McRae up to a certain point.

What most people don't realize is that Mr McRae has been doing this for many years, has much better equipment on his car, and most importantly.... doesn't drive 120mph into a turn on the freeway. (Cept in Germany, heh)

Mcrae and most other rally drivers have also been in very nasty accidents on several occasions and suffered serious injury. And their cars are about as safe as they can be made for the driver.

Whenever I'm feeling cocky on the road and pissed at other drivers and contemplating doing something stupid like lane weaving I think about how I would feel if I WADDED the car into someone else and killed them. How much fun is jail going to be?

I drive quicker than most people on the road around here, but I'm also a better, more observant driver than most people. I'm not infallible; in fact I've had 2 close calls where my driving 9/10s on the street almost got me in a tree or somebody's yard. So now I try to slow the heck down and get my jollies in empty parking lots or dirt lots where the only person I can injure is myself.

Orange cones don't have families. I don't feel bad about running over them.

Originally posted by Iowannaski
Let's say that by the time the WRX has been in the US for 1 year, 25 have been reported totalled on the i-club. If that seems unreasonable, insert your own figure.

Ok, two things. First of all, 25 was a projected estimate for the first year WRX's are on the road. The first US WRX has been on the road for about 6 months now, so only about 25% of the first year's worth of US WRX miles have been accumulated at this point. Secondly, let me reiterate - if that seems unreasonable, insert your own figure. Looking at the math again, it doesn't seem at all unreasonable to think there will be at least 25 reported i-club rex rex by next march. Something
tells me when winter hits a lot of WRX drivers will think they are even more invincible.

Originally posted by remarcable
, but I'm also a better, more observant driver than most people.

[fire prevention] This is not at all directed at you, remarcable, I'm just borrowing your words for an example [/fire prevention]


90% of people believe they are better than average drivers.

Wadding? Nonsense!

If you've rolled your WRX, you've crinkled its jammy dysfunction, and you're a smegging knob.

Beyond that...

We've only seen reports of a few accidents, especially considering the thousands of WRX owners represented on this board. Please bear in mind that you're going to see reports of accidents much more often than you'll see reports of "I drove to work today, then home again, and didn't hit anything."

In fact... is there any accurate count of how many WRX owners are on this board? Considering the WRX Non-tech forum is the most active at the moment, I'd assume something in the ballpark of a third to a half the users, but that's just a wild guess. Certainly more than a thousand. Out of that, hearing about 20 accidents isn't a staggering number... it's nearly in line with normal averages. Who here HASN'T been in a car accident?

JJ wrote:

I, too, am tired of people driving these around like they are the next Colin McRae without having one bit of knowledge about what they are doing.

And I'm really tired of the people that say I am not allowed to bitch about insurance rates. If you drive like an idiot and total your WRX because you are being an idiot, then guess what, you are helping the insurance rates go up for others and that is not fair.

When you drive a car such as the WRX or even a RS, you have to know your skill limit and not go above that. They are 3,000 pound lethal weapons and you should treat them as such. You should keep the "Colin McRae" style driving to the track/autox/rallyx in a controlled enviroment.

Now, don't get me wrong- this doesn't mean drive like a granny or even drive the speedlimit. But when you are weaving in and out of traffic going 100+, that's being an idiot. Streetracing- that's being an idiot. Driving while intoxicated- that's being a complete idiot.

Just do yourself and us a favor and know the limits of the car and yourself and don't even COME CLOSE to them when on the street.

I agree. Quit wadding up yer Imprezas, you numbskulls. :mad: You're not Colin McRae, and you'll never be able to drive like him (but you CAN play his video game!) :D

And hey, rogue, I don't think we're reading about all the i-club members who have wrecked their WRXs; I bet a lot are too "shy" to talk about it on the board. :p

Originally posted by rogue
....hearing about 20 accidents isn't a staggering number... it's nearly in line with normal averages. Who here HASN'T been in a car accident?.....

Dude.. Insurance people work directly for the devil himself..

They'll find any reason at all to jack up your insurance rates. It doesnt matter if its 20 crashes or 100 crashes they'll still say that the WRX is a high risk car and raise the rates. Look at the reports by the governments about what type of cars are involved in crashes. They always give you numbers based on how many crashes there were in a certain year. However, it should be based on # crashes vs. # of vehicles of that type. So my point is that no matter what happens, WRX insurance is going to go through the roof anyway.

Besides they also calculate the insurance rate by how many tickets are issued to WRX drivers. And how many WRX drivers will really abide to speed limits anyway? :rolleyes:

you people are forgetting the most important figure for us RS owners -

If 25 I-club members total (wad) their WRX'es this year, that makes 25 candidates for an engine swap into my car! :cool:

the impreza is already a high-risk car to insure... if premiums raise by $20 a month that's still only a 10% increase comparatively...

Originally posted by Safir

If 25 I-club members total (wad) their WRX'es this year, that makes 25 candidates for an engine swap into my car! :cool:

That is true if the engine is NOT damaged, but when a car is totalled, more often than not the engine suffers a lot of damage. :)

Originally posted by Iowannaski


[fire prevention] This is not at all directed at you, remarcable, I'm just borrowing your words for an example [/fire prevention]


90% of people believe they are better than average drivers.



Yeah, but the thing is... I REALLY AM better than most of the drivers I see out there.

Today was insane for some reason. I was almost sideswiped twice while cruising at 55 with the cruise control on. Then I had a little old lady try to turn across 4 lanes of traffic in the middle of a block without looking either direction. She made traffic skid to a halt on both sides of the street until my supertones made her look up and slam on the brakes - in the middle of my lane.

Then I saw two more accidents on the way home.

The local high school had just gotten out, that certainly didn't help things.

I have a perfect driving record too.

I look at other drivers and can't believe how incredibly stupid they are. Common sense is 50% of street driving. Awareness of the road and other drivers is the other 50%. Those percentages, of course, already assume you know how to drive your car and work the equipment on it.

I'm not flaming you because I pretty much contradicted myself in the first post, I'm just trying to explain.

No, I'm not a perfect driver and I certainly exceed the speed limit in some areas (but nothing insane, 5-10mph). Perhaps I'm a better driver because I don't feel invincible in my car. I know exactly what happens to the human body during a collision and no matter what kind of car you are driving: physics are physics.

Plus, my trunk monkey starts throwing feces at me if I start changing lanes too fast. The outback's body roll makes him spill his Killian's Red.

Roger that, marc. I KNOW I'm better than 90% or more of the drivers out there, because I paid Skip Barber $3,500 to learn that I sucked! :lol:

Seriously, guys are wadding up the WRX because they're getting in over their heads with a car that makes getting in over your head an easy thing to do. In terms of acceleration, a stock car is no match for its stock tires.

Yet, that commercial shows the car tearing around the countryside. "Hey, I can do that now," think some guys, forgetting that the car on the commercial has the 17" wheel/tire package, STi exhaust, and (I bet) STi suspension package. Those items raise the car's limits considerably. Trust me. Except for that silly cannon of an STi muffler, that is...

It is possible to drive a WRX without stuffing it into anything, but you have to respect the car. It's easy to get to thinking that the WRX is an understeering pig of a car that needs about 50-60 more hp before it's ready to rumble from reading this board. Don't get misguided. The WRX is fast as hell, and more than fast enough to kill you. It handles really well, but is tricky at the limits. Factor in lift-throttle oversteer with soft springs, and it can get away from you in a hurry.

Margin is the answer. If you feel like opening it up, do so reasonably. Late at night on an open highway and even then, never into triple digits. You might be fine, but what if? You can corner hard on city streets and whatnot, because unless you're really stupid, the speeds aren't high enough to get into any real trouble. But you absolutely must leave plenty of margin so that if you mess up, you have somewhere to go/stop.

There were a lot of totalled RSes, especially this past winter. Makes you wonder what's going to happen this winter with the WRX. I hope all will be well.

Finally, I don't care what you drive, respect it and its ability to get you in over your head. It's alright if you don't know what the car's absolute limits are. Because if you find those limits and aren't equipped to handle them, you will be sorry.

Kevin

And hey, rogue, I don't think we're reading about all the i-club members who have wrecked their WRXs; I bet a lot are too "shy" to talk about it on the board.

Your right about that. My friend went to a dealorship to test drive a WRX and the dealor drove the WRX into a pole with my friend and his girlfriend in the car. The numbers reported on this forum will definitely be conservative. Please keep the wonderful Subie's pretty.:) :)

Nick C

I might also add that the limits of an outback with s rated tires is reached much sooner than a WRX with H rated tires. So I keep it under 45 for doing 'fun' driving, and under 95 on the interstate.

My mom happens to be a deputy coroner and so I've been preached to (and seen results of impacts) about what happens to your life expectancy in any accident over 55MPH.

Just FYI, for every 10MPH above 55 you go, your chances of surviving an accident decrease exponentially.

I do all my crazy driving nice and slow - because to go any faster with current equipment would be stupid. A WRX just feels so incredibly solid and planted to the ground at 30MPH it feels like you're walking vs running.

I *heart* my outback. It keeps me real.

Please bear in mind that you're going to see reports of accidents much more often than you'll see reports of "I drove to work today, then home again, and didn't hit anything."

OK. Today I drove to work. 150 miles between sites. On a decreasing radius turn, at the apex, at night, there was no deer, not causeing me to swerve off the road.

Later that day, I saw some d1ck in a camaro blasting by people, so I didn't slam right up next to him, cutting him off and teaching him a lesson.

Then, I didn't decide to be a test pilot for SOA, taking my WRX up to the 130 mph limit just to see what happened. After not trying to drift on and off the offramps at gran-tourismo speeds, I didn't auger in and wad up the whole thing.

Late in the day, my cousin came over and wanted to drive the new rex.







"no."




-jamz
:D :)

Originally posted by Hiroki Tada


Dude.. Insurance people work directly for the devil himself..

dude.. insurance people are people just like you and i, doing a job that a lot of people like to bash them for.. sort of like cops, but without guns and badges (which is probably a good thing). i don't think they sit around thinking of ways to raise your insurance rates.

granted, we all hate writing that check to the big bad insurance company, but think of how bummed you'll be when you wrap your rex around a telephone pole and didn't bother with insurance. that'll show 'em, alright.

in other news, i've got 12k miles on the wrx now, and have yet to crash into anything. let's see if i can keep that up..:)

Actually on the topic of RE92`s............

I`m not convinced they are actually a bad thing ... before anyone torches me let me explain.

We all know the WRX and even the RS is a very serious performance vehicle - the limits on these things are pretty scary.

What the RE92`s do is lower that limit considerably.

What they also do is scream like a cat on fire with a rocket up it`s ass when they are pushed hard - this may help newer drivers of the car to learn the limits of the car at lower speeds and with more warning of impending "moments"

I actually find the re92`s pretty easy to catch once they have let go. Once I have burned them off I`ll up the mark somewhat with better shoes for my car. This means learning the new higher limit gradually.

The problem is people don`t take the time to learn a car - they just get in and go hard at it. That kid that wrecked the wrx up at irvine would probably have trashed any car he was given.

The WRX is a serious car and it needs treated with respect - very few 17 year olds have that respect. I know at 17 I was a lunatic ( some people reckon not much has changed but there yoo go.... ) and only lived to the ripe old age of 28 so far because I had a 1.3 corolla as a car - it had 97 Bhp - god knows what I`d have done in a 227 Bhp AWD machine.

People say that RE92`s cause accidents - no they don`t the driver behind the wheel does. The same driver would probably have pushed harder with the higher handling limit and wrecked it at higher speeds.

If this makes no sense at all please blame the brewers of Corona.

On another note - hope to see some of you at Gorman ridge tomorrow for some fun in the dirt !!!!