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Old 10-08-2012, 12:41 PM   #51
Zeeper
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I will also point out that I was able to switch over my front and rear differential fluid to Amsoil Severe Gear (the transmission and front differential share the same fluid) in my driveway, and it cost me about $60 or so.

If you want to service the CVT fluid, that has been reported to be a $300 job (just to buy the correct fluid).

A while back I bought a used low miles 1988 Honda Accord, that within a year needed an auto transmission rebuild (the long and the short of it is it was the prototypical only driven on sunday car, and that was a problem. Whoever owned it before let the carbs gum up and the transmission seals dry out because he or she barely drove it and never burned out the carb residue). It cost more than the car was worth, but was cheaper than buying another car, so at the time I bit the bullet. That repair put a bad taste in my mouth vis a vis Automatic transmissions.

Since I plan on driving this car for many years, the cost of a new clutch vs the cost of a CVT band or other CVT work was also in the back of my mind.

Even the AWD system is cheaper to service and maintain.

Those costs will only be apparent in 5-10 years (or maybe longer in my case at ~10,000 miles a year), but they are future considerations on choosing more complicated over more simple.
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Old 10-08-2012, 02:34 PM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nels0300 View Post
You're obviously looking for people with manuals and buyers remorse to reaffirm your decision to get the CVT. I disagree with the idea that the Impreza isn't a drivers car so you might as well get the CVT. If you want a manual, get a manual, or get something else.
oh yeah obviously

I'll do a cliffs notes version for anyone without the ability to comprehend what they read. Both transmissions have their pros and cons. Just comparing notes here.
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Old 10-08-2012, 02:42 PM   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeeper View Post
I will also point out that I was able to switch over my front and rear differential fluid to Amsoil Severe Gear (the transmission and front differential share the same fluid) in my driveway, and it cost me about $60 or so.

If you want to service the CVT fluid, that has been reported to be a $300 job (just to buy the correct fluid).

A while back I bought a used low miles 1988 Honda Accord, that within a year needed an auto transmission rebuild (the long and the short of it is it was the prototypical only driven on sunday car, and that was a problem. Whoever owned it before let the carbs gum up and the transmission seals dry out because he or she barely drove it and never burned out the carb residue). It cost more than the car was worth, but was cheaper than buying another car, so at the time I bit the bullet. That repair put a bad taste in my mouth vis a vis Automatic transmissions.

Since I plan on driving this car for many years, the cost of a new clutch vs the cost of a CVT band or other CVT work was also in the back of my mind.

Even the AWD system is cheaper to service and maintain.

Those costs will only be apparent in 5-10 years (or maybe longer in my case at ~10,000 miles a year), but they are future considerations on choosing more complicated over more simple.
I'm not sure I'd let your experience with the accord affect all future decisions involving automatics - particularly this one since it's a completely different beast.

The fluid costing more I'm not too worried about - it will be some time before I have to cross that bridge (I don't drive that many miles/year). General work on the transmission is a little concerning though so I'm hoping that works out for me (and everyone else who bought a CVT).

Generally though I think cars are pretty reliable these days. Even my old VW from a notoriously unreliable year (2002) cost me very little over the 10 years that I had it. All of the issues I had with it were electrical (sensors, coil pack, etc.). Mechanically it was extremely sound. I'm hoping subaru can at least beat VW on that front
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Old 10-08-2012, 02:49 PM   #54
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You mentioned your wife not being comfortable with a standard, I am in the same boat, I also have one new driver and two to follow in the future.

The fact that they can't beat my car up because it is one of those "standards" is a benefit for me...

Now my wife can actually drive a standard (technically) but hasn't in a while so she will only take my car if she needs to, when I am not around. It hasn't happened yet.
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Old 10-08-2012, 02:51 PM   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeeper View Post
You mentioned your wife not being comfortable with a standard, I am in the same boat, I also have one new driver and two to follow in the future.

The fact that they can't beat my car up because it is one of those "standards" is a benefit for me...
By the time any of my children (real or hypothetical) can drive my car I'm sure I'll be happy to let them have at it

My wife - I trust her to drive it. It's only about 1 time every two weeks. She babies the car more than I do b/c she likes getting good MPGs.

I actually would like to teach my kids how to drive standard if they still exist in 15 years.
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Old 10-08-2012, 05:31 PM   #56
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I saw somewhere in the owners manual that there is a shift light? Is this true?
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Old 10-08-2012, 05:32 PM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M45 View Post
Just comparing notes here.
Why? You drove the manual, didn't like it, bought the CVT instead. I'm assuming you like the CVT, so what do you care what people who bought manuals think?
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Old 10-08-2012, 05:36 PM   #58
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Originally Posted by n00b on demand View Post
I saw somewhere in the owners manual that there is a shift light? Is this true?

i tried to enable it just to see if my mpg would change if i followed it or not. long story short, i enabled it, you can see the triangle as the guages do their test thing, but when driving it never shows up again.
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Old 10-08-2012, 05:39 PM   #59
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i tried to enable it just to see if my mpg would change if i followed it or not. long story short, i enabled it, you can see the triangle as the guages do their test thing, but when driving it never shows up again.

Damn. That would be awesome if it showed up while driving.
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Old 10-08-2012, 06:24 PM   #60
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Quote:
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Why? You drove the manual, didn't like it, bought the CVT instead. I'm assuming you like the CVT, so what do you care what people who bought manuals think?
is someone holding a gun to your head to read this thread or something? I guess discussing things isn't what the forum is for??
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Old 10-08-2012, 06:25 PM   #61
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I think it is only enabled in some foreign markets, not in the US.

Which makes me kind of glad, because it is just another idiot light that I wouldn't see often, but would annoy me when it did appear, because in those cases I would be doing slightly more 'spirited' driving with delayed shifting, and would expect fuel economy to crap the bed.

Last edited by Zeeper; 10-09-2012 at 09:03 AM.
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Old 10-08-2012, 07:13 PM   #62
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I guess discussing things isn't what the forum is for??
Do you really want to discuss things, or is this a thread for you to tell MT owners that they only exist to get cheapskates in the showroom and that they were wrong to buy a MT?

Someone says they like that MT cars are default 50/50 AWD instead of mostly FWD until there are traction issues.

You: "Doesn't matter unless it's a WRX"

Someone says they like MT cars because of the driver involvement and control of a manual transmission.

You: "Doesn't matter, it's not a drivers car, should have bought a BRZ, WRX, BMW, or VW (lol), if you wanted a drivers car"

In that case, I should've just bought a mid-level Camry! It's much bigger, and is about the same price. I mean, why not get the best non-driver's car money can buy?

This isn't necessarily for you, but for anyone who is on the fence reading this thread: In my opinion, anyone who prefers a manual transmission and is considering a CVT instead is making a mistake. It's not a Miata gearbox, but it isn't even close to being so bad to make someone who prefers a manual choose a CVT.
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Old 10-08-2012, 07:14 PM   #63
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Zeeper does "spirited" driving?
lol
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Old 10-08-2012, 07:36 PM   #64
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This thing is a drivers car compared to my Tundra!
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Old 10-08-2012, 07:46 PM   #65
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Originally Posted by nels0300 View Post
summary: My vag is full of sand.
I like a MT and I don't like this one - OMG how will you sleep at night knowing that!!!???

lighten up francis.
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Old 10-08-2012, 07:55 PM   #66
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I like a MT and I don't like this one - OMG how will you sleep at night knowing that!!!???

lighten up francis.
Says the guy who picked a CVT over a manual....that choice has sandy vag written all over it.
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Old 10-08-2012, 08:35 PM   #67
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Zeeper does "spirited" driving?
lol
Not often, I tend to drive it pretty easy. It hasn't been north of 85mph, and no where close to the red line.

What I am mainly referring to is throwing it around the corners in the roads where I live, speed isn't as much a factor as much as handling and traction.
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Old 10-09-2012, 05:42 AM   #68
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Says the guy who picked a CVT over a manual....that choice has sandy vag written all over it.
You spent this whole thread defending your transmission choice while I was admitting to pros/cons of each and I'm the one who's trying to justify my choice? I'm glad to see that in defeat you can still laugh.

What is telling is that zeeper, who seems to have a reputation as a little combative in some other threads has been very reasonable in this thread. In fact, everyone except you has handled the discussion quite well. We've disagreed on some points but no panties were put into wads. It appears your panty may have been pre-wadded or something since all of my early responses to your opinions were completely reasonable and polite until you decide to try to play dr. freud with me about my underlying devious schemes for starting this thread - to make all you MT drivers feel bad!
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Old 10-09-2012, 08:56 AM   #69
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You spent this whole thread defending your transmission choice while I was admitting to pros/cons of each and I'm the one who's trying to justify my choice? I'm glad to see that in defeat you can still laugh
See, you ARE in here to "defeat" someone. I'll concede defeat because I feel bad for you. Man that would suck to have a CVT and have second thoughts. A CVT? Ouch.

Yes, you're the one trying to justify your choice. I didnt start a CVT thread like "hey CVT guys, I drove a CVT, didnt like it, didnt like so much, bought a manual instead, what do you think?"
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Old 10-09-2012, 09:44 AM   #70
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2013 here, I love the stick a lot better than the cvt and drove both. The cvt I must say was not as terrible power wise as I would have thought however after suffering with a bmw cvt in an 05 mini cooper I swore to never buy an auto or anything with a cvt. I love the impreza stick so much I am on order for another 2013. In terms of the feel its a lot nicer than the 2010 civic we had, I find it much for responsive to my shifts and when I feel like driving for fuel economy it can be reserved. 3rd gear also engages a lot nicer, had to change mtl fluid in civic to avoid honda 3rd gear pop out. All and all the impreza is so simple, and no nonsense that I wanted one for myself the moment I got the first one for my g/f.
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Old 10-09-2012, 10:02 AM   #71
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Originally Posted by nels0300 View Post
See, you ARE in here to "defeat" someone. I'll concede defeat because I feel bad for you. Man that would suck to have a CVT and have second thoughts. A CVT? Ouch.

Yes, you're the one trying to justify your choice. I didnt start a CVT thread like "hey CVT guys, I drove a CVT, didnt like it, didnt like so much, bought a manual instead, what do you think?"
The defeat is that out of everyone in this thread you somehow took a discussion about car transmissions personally. You better attack jdmartin as well (see below).

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdmartin View Post
Well, I don't own this car (yet), but I've driven both a bunch. My 2 cents, and I've driven manuals all my life (25+ years of driving).

I love manuals but I am unimpressed with this manual. For starters, there feels like there's too much distance between the gearing, so there's a big drop in RPM between gears. First gear is too touchy & jerky. The shifter feels sloppy.

Now I will admit a bias, as I've become spoiled from years of driving Miatas. But even my old B-series truck had a smoother shifting action than this gearbox. What it feels to me is cheap, as in cheaply made.

I have been waiting for the 2013's as I wanted a leather wheel and shifter, but I'm either going to have to reconsider the CVT or skip this iteration altogether.


Quote:
Originally Posted by aeoporta View Post
2013 here, I love the stick a lot better than the cvt and drove both. The cvt I must say was not as terrible power wise as I would have thought however after suffering with a bmw cvt in an 05 mini cooper I swore to never buy an auto or anything with a cvt. I love the impreza stick so much I am on order for another 2013. In terms of the feel its a lot nicer than the 2010 civic we had, I find it much for responsive to my shifts and when I feel like driving for fuel economy it can be reserved. 3rd gear also engages a lot nicer, had to change mtl fluid in civic to avoid honda 3rd gear pop out. All and all the impreza is so simple, and no nonsense that I wanted one for myself the moment I got the first one for my g/f.
I was in the same boat initially - I thought the CVT was going to be awful but I was pleasantly surprised. I've never driven that iteration of civic but I have driven a 2009 or 2010 (can't remember which) Honda Fit with a manual and I thought it felt great. I'm not sure how much in common the fit and civic transmissions have though so who knows.

Contrary to what nels thinks I'm glad you and others are happy with your cars. Just b/c I didn't like it doesn't mean someone else can't.
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Old 10-09-2012, 10:55 AM   #72
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All this talk about shifting has me rethinking the perrin short shift adapter (with new bushings):

http://www.perrinperformance.com/spe...hifter-adapter

and also the rear shift rod bushing (if I am gonna take it apart, why not replace both while I am there).

Has anyone here replaced this part?

http://www.perrinperformance.com/spe...hifter-bushing

Relatively cheap mods, about $100 for both, but then I will probably want a $60 Sickspeed shift knob to top it off...
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Old 10-09-2012, 11:17 AM   #73
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zeep - do you think those short shifters really speed things up or are you looking for some other improvement?
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Old 10-09-2012, 11:31 AM   #74
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It reduces the throw, but the bushings will certainly tighten it up.

I'm not really complaining with how it is now, but these would be cheap and somewhat easy mods to do in my garage, and it is tempting to see what it would be like after.

I really don't shift all that aggressively, and don't plan on it even if I tighten up the shifter.

However I will say that it shifts a lot more smoothly with Amsoil in the differential, I used to have occasional difficulty putting it into reverse, now that happens less often, and does not require gymnastics to correct.

Honestly, I won't do a thing until after we calculate our taxes in the spring, I am in the second year of my new business (opened May 2011) and things are booming, which is good, especially in this economy, but that is an issue because I haven't been required to pay estimated taxes, so I am sitting on the cash waiting to see what I am gonna have to lay out in the spring...
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Old 10-09-2012, 11:50 AM   #75
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There's something I agree with you 100% on Zeeper-
That switch to Amsoil made shifting smoother and reverse easier to engage. Although it still takes a bit of coaxing from time to time.
I was one of, if not the first, to switch mine to Amsoil Severe Gear. And man, did "uncle snotty" curse me up and down. I believe his words were "I hope you blow the transmission out the bottom- might teach you a thing or two" and that I was a "kid".
Glad to hear others are noticing the difference the Amsoil makes.
Zeeper- did you do the rear diff too?
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