Q&A's with SOA Blog Here

[mugenXP]

SOA Blog,

did you guys fire the designer(s) of the 2008 impreza line-up yet?

bring back our awd rally inspired machines. and for some suggestions... there are little things you guys can add to the WRX to make it look a lot better to enthusiasts. all it really has to do is win in those magazine tests. for one, those re92's have to go.

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[Digitalfiend]

Yes, better tires are a must. I told my wife that when we get the WRX for her the tires are being thrown out for summer tires. I'm actually considering working tires (or the at least the cost of them) into the purchase discount. If SOA wants to stick with the RE92s, at least offer summer rubber as an upgrade from the factory (i.e. at a discounted price over what you'd pay off the shelf).

As dphoenix said, UHP summer tires would go a long way to improving the WRXs mag numbers.

[kirbwrx]

havent they figured out how crappy the re92s are by now? that was my biggest complaint on my 04 wrx and my wifes 05 lgt, thankfully my spec.b came with alot better tires

[Hondaslayer]

Originally Posted by kirbwrx

havent they figured out how crappy the re92s are by now? that was my biggest complaint on my 04 wrx and my wifes 05 lgt, thankfully my spec.b came with alot better tires

Funny, they have one of the lowest rolling resistance of any tire out there.....


FWIW the Legacy comes with Advan tires, not RE92's

[paycer]

^My dad's 07 LGT has RE92s on it, they must have switched for 08?

-unless the normally aspirated cars get different (better?) tires than the turbos.

[Hondaslayer]

Originally Posted by paycer

^My dad's 07 LGT has RE92s on it, they must have switched for 08?

-unless the normally aspirated cars get different (better?) tires than the turbos.

My wifes has Advans (as do the cars on our lot) regional thing maybe?

The Advans BTW are noisy as hell, I'd gladly trade for some RE92's

[remowgn]

Originally Posted by hondaslayer

Funny, they have one of the lowest rolling resistance of any tire out there.....

And that right there is probably the biggest reason for having them on there. Low rolling resistance comes with a performance hit, but it also boosts gas mileage. I'm guessing subaru ships 'em with crappy tires to bump the EPA numbers.... especially now.

[kirbwrx]

advans must be regional, all legacys i have seen have re92s, and they handle like crap in the rain, in the snow, and even on the dry roads...not meant for a performance sedan like the lgt or wrx...i can see putting them on the NA versions of the cars but not the turbo ones.

[Paisan]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The RE92s are a good compromise for an OEM tire due to the different factors that the MANUFACTURER needs to meet.

EPA Milage
Longevity
Grip
Price
Etc.

I've driven on RE92s on lots and lots of RACE TRACKS on subies and while not suited for the track, if you are overdriving the RE92s on the street, then you are clearly driving well beyond the limits of on-street driving. If you track your car often, then you will likely have a better set of tires for the track and your RE92s will not even be a factor.

I've passed many a comparable car on track with RE92s on the subaru I was driving, they are not as bad as folks make them out to be. Perhaps those screaming so loudly about them should look in the mirror at their own driving skills before immediately blaming the RE92 tires.

-mike

[Scooby43055]

Originally Posted by hondaslayer

My wifes has Advans (as do the cars on our lot) regional thing maybe?

The Advans BTW are noisy as hell, I'd gladly trade for some RE92's

the 2.5i has Advans
2.5GT has RE92s
The SpecB and 3.0r have RE050As

[rsholland]

Originally Posted by Scooby43055

The SpecB and 3.0r have RE050As

Don't think so. The spec.B has summer tires and the 3.0R Legacy has all-season tires. Yes, they're both 215/45x18, but they're different tires.

Bob

[unclemat]

3.0R has the ultimate Subaru tire.... RE92.... in popular 215/45/18 size

[Scooby43055]

Originally Posted by unclemat

3.0R has the ultimate Subaru tire.... RE92.... in popular 215/45/18 size

yep they are RE92As, my boss' 3.0R has RE050s but it was one of the first ones out

[Hondaslayer]

Originally Posted by Scooby43055

the 2.5i has Advans
2.5GT has RE92s
The SpecB and 3.0r have RE050As

That makes better sense, I had forgotten that we did a wheel swap with the one my wife took.

[mugenXP]

Originally Posted by Paisan

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The RE92s are a good compromise for an OEM tire due to the different factors that the MANUFACTURER needs to meet.

EPA Milage
Longevity
Grip
Price
Etc.

I've driven on RE92s on lots and lots of RACE TRACKS on subies and while not suited for the track, if you are overdriving the RE92s on the street, then you are clearly driving well beyond the limits of on-street driving. If you track your car often, then you will likely have a better set of tires for the track and your RE92s will not even be a factor.

I've passed many a comparable car on track with RE92s on the subaru I was driving, they are not as bad as folks make them out to be. Perhaps those screaming so loudly about them should look in the mirror at their own driving skills before immediately blaming the RE92 tires.

-mike

given that the wrx is a performance car, yes those RE92's do suck for them. and when people say they suck, i'm sure they're talking about for the tracks or for any type of spirited driving(which is what the WRX is made for..), and there's nothing wrong with making that claim since it is true. but i'll admit that it's not as bad as how everyone makes them out to be. nasioc just likes to join bandwagons similar to the "f george bush" bandwagon.

[Hondaslayer]

Originally Posted by mugenXP

given that the wrx is a performance car, yes those RE92's do suck for them. and when people say they suck, i'm sure they're talking about for the tracks or for any type of spirited driving(which is what the WRX is made for..), and there's nothing wrong with making that claim since it is true. but i'll admit that it's not as bad as how everyone makes them out to be. nasioc just likes to join bandwagons similar to the "f george bush" bandwagon.

For most people the RE-92 is just fine.

For most people having summer only tires would suck.

SOA caters to most people, not you specifically.

[Scooby43055]

Originally Posted by mugenXP

^when i say "most people" ... i'm talking within the WRX owners(we are talking about RE92's after all...). from reading around nasioc and seeing different people at meets, i can tell you that most of them are into performance. i don't know where you're getting your statistics from. do you think everyone says "re92 sucks" just for the fun of it?


being at the mountains a few times already with different cars in the past, i can tell you that the RE92 is probably the least grippy of them all. however, daily drivers shouldn't be complaining about the RE92's.

Alot of the statistics we get from the hundreds of Subaru customers we deal with a year. A very small % complain about the RE92s until it comes time to buy new ones. They are way too much $ for what they are. The entusiast complain. If I had to guess Id say less than 5% of the WRX customers I have had since 01 are NASIOC members. Maybe 10% of the STIs.

Oh yeah the 09 WRXs do not have the same tires

[rsholland]

Outside North America, does Subaru use the RE92s?

Bob

[Paisan]

Originally Posted by mugenXP

given that the wrx is a performance car, yes those RE92's do suck for them. and when people say they suck, i'm sure they're talking about for the tracks or for any type of spirited driving(which is what the WRX is made for..), and there's nothing wrong with making that claim since it is true. but i'll admit that it's not as bad as how everyone makes them out to be. nasioc just likes to join bandwagons similar to the "f george bush" bandwagon.

If you are overdriving the RE92s on the street, you are driving beyond where you should be on the street, in my opinion.

-mike

[Paisan]

Originally Posted by mugenXP

^when i say "most people" ... i'm talking within the WRX owners(we are talking about RE92's after all...). from reading around nasioc and seeing different people at meets, i can tell you that most of them are into performance. i don't know where you're getting your statistics from. do you think everyone says "re92 sucks" just for the fun of it?


being at the mountains a few times already with different cars in the past, i can tell you that the RE92 is probably the least grippy of them all. however, daily drivers shouldn't be complaining about the RE92's.

The folks who go to "meets" etc. represent a very small number of Subaru owners. Even less of those people actually bought the vehicles. (probably 70% or less of people at "meets" actually bought their cars with their own money)

-mike

[Paisan]

Originally Posted by rsholland

Outside North America, does Subaru use the RE92s?

Bob

I'm not sure, but it would be irrelevent to this discusssion as really we are talking about a USDM thing. Outside the US car owners have different needs and desires. Similar to why Walmart works here and not in other markets....

-mike

[mugenXP]

Originally Posted by Paisan

The folks who go to "meets" etc. represent a very small number of Subaru owners. Even less of those people actually bought the vehicles. (probably 70% or less of people at "meets" actually bought their cars with their own money)

-mike

it may be different in other parts of the states then. in socal... any performance-model subaru that you see around town, you will most likely run into them one day if you go to a lot of local meets. most wrx/sti owners here are "enthusiasts" and majority of them here don't even have RE92's... matter of fact.. for those who are still on RE92's... it's the first thing they want to replace in their car(most of them, at least). but i guess this is all worthless since i'm only speaking from where i live .. ok carry on.

[Hondaslayer]

Originally Posted by mugenXP

it may be different in other parts of the states then. in socal... any performance-model subaru that you see around town, you will most likely run into them one day if you go to a lot of local meets. most wrx/sti owners here are "enthusiasts" and majority of them here don't even have RE92's... matter of fact.. for those who are still on RE92's... it's the first thing they want to replace in their car. but i guess this is all worthless since i'm only speaking from where i live .. ok carry on.

No, actually they are not.

MOST WRX owners are not enthusiasts, they are average people looking for a fun car.

There are more enthusiasts in STI but even then most of those are still stock.

[SOA Blog]

Originally Posted by mugenXP

ok let's do this your way.

everyone who has a stock sti can't be an enhusiast. majority of WRX owners are just average people looking for a fun car to get to work, to school, to drop flowers off for their grandmother, and back home.

Maybe you need to define what you mean by enthusiast?

[mugenXP]

Originally Posted by SOA Blog

Maybe you need to define what you mean by enthusiast?

i stated that in one of my posts earlier, but some mod came in here to do some cleaning.

i said "enthusiasts" basically means people who are into cars and performance.. 'tracks' and etc(thats what it means to me, at least). but terms like these and "sports car" have basically lost all its meaning. because we have people nowadays saying that "enthusiasts" can't drive a stock car...