[Aka]

[naz]

awesome congrats on becoming a wrx owner

[Aka]

naz,May 16 2008, 03:22 PM Wrote:awesome congrats on becoming a wrx owner
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Thanks! Mr Lone poster! haha oh well.

[naz]

if you posted about a 50hp ford diesel you would get more post. sorry that's how it goes around here

btw what options did you get. i like your car a lot. a good friend of mine has one loaded up with leather, hids, sunroof and an aftermarket pioneer double din touch screen navi. pretty cool car. and the additional soundproofing and softer suspension made it much easier to live with than my mechanically similar '02 WRX wagon

is it stock right now or did you mod already?

i miss my WRX now (kinda) :)

[darkpuppet]

I was trying to make heads or tails out of the post.. I see 'Aero' Maybe I don't know my subbies well enough?

[Canadian ST]

darkpuppet,May 16 2008, 09:15 PM Wrote:I was trying to make heads or tails out of the post.. I see 'Aero'  Maybe I don't know my subbies well enough?
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Saab Aero is the same car as the Sube WRX hatch. Like Naz said the Saab is more of a luxary version. I saw a plate the said saab wrx once, it was funny :ph34r:

[OAC_Sparky]

naz,May 16 2008, 07:14 PM Wrote:if you posted about a 50hp ford diesel you would get more post. sorry that's how it goes around here
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Were you expecting a parade? If you posted on a Subaru forum about your new Shelby you'd probably get the about 2 posts as well. It's a Focus forum. Nobody posts on the RangerPowerSports website about buying a Tacoma or a Dakota looking for a medal. Most people "get it".

Hope Aka enjoys his new car. Hey, whatever turns your crank.

[Aka]

OAC_Sparky,May 16 2008, 11:20 PM Wrote:

naz,May 16 2008, 07:14 PM Wrote:if you posted about a 50hp ford diesel you would get more post. sorry that's how it goes around here
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Were you expecting a parade? If you posted on a Subaru forum about your new Shelby you'd probably get the about 2 posts as well. It's a Focus forum. Nobody posts on the RangerPowerSports website about buying a Tacoma or a Dakota looking for a medal. Most people "get it".

Hope Aka enjoys his new car. Hey, whatever turns your crank.
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I was not expecting a parade, or much of anything really. I was just happy because I bought a new to me car and kind of expected a bunch of the usual fake "congrats" posts. Since I'm a member here and post from time to time, thought I'd post here as well. I posted in Off Topic because that's what it is, I think that shows I "understand". And I've seen others do it before me and figured 'hey, why not'
Thanks for your reply though....

It's funny the reaction of the Subaru guys though, they're all like "You sold the coolest Subaru ever, for a fake Saabaru!" because I sold my '99 2.5 RS for this instead of swapping the hell out of it.

I've already started accumulating mods, I've got a catless up pipe off an STI, and looking for deals on the rest. Hoping to go "Cobb-on-the-Saab" Stage 2. And I'm looking to put my better brakes off my old RS on to it, because I'd gotten them upgraded to 2006 WRX 4/2pots. They're red and say SUBARU on them lol. I'm starting to wonder if I can fit the big Brembo's under the stock 17" rims though instead.

There's no leather in mine, I actually didn't like the leather, I found it slippery and didn't want to fall out under the seatbelt or something. It didn't seem like the nicest leather in the world either, but I did only sit in one specimen with leather.

I don't like the stock stereo much, but the added soundproofing helps a lot towards it. It's a MUCH quieter car than my RS was, as I don't have to listen anywhere near as loud to enjoy my music. But it still requires more bass. Not that trunk vibrating kind, but more presence is needed. However my biggest complaint with the stock stereo is I can't plug my iPod into it. There's no AUX jacks, sucks so bad. I hate fiddling with CDs in the car.

[2001 ZTS]

European nameplate, japanese reliability, AWD, one of the fastest cars out there and you probably got it for a steal. Complete no brainer.

[OAC_Sparky]

Aka,May 17 2008, 08:29 AM Wrote:I was not expecting a parade, or much of anything really. [right][snapback]264545[/snapback][/right]

Aka, the "parade" reference wasn't directed to your purchase particularly, it was to Naz's post about "that's how things are around here".

As I said, I hope you like your purchase.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me what you buy. I work for Ford, it doesn't mean that I don't like the cars of other manufacturers. It's not like I get mad when people buy other makes, I only get irritated when people knock Ford for the sake of it. I figure that if Ford gives me a good discount on top of $170k+ a year compensation, it's not going to hurt me much to support the company I work for. My Fords have been good to me, YMMV.

[Aka]

Ah my bad. I thought you were banding together or something. I apologize then, and thank you.

My Dads Ford has been good to him, as has the 2 dealerships he's gone too for service. However I think he's looking to buy a VW Rabbit as his next car. There aren't many Fords we like these days. He WOULD like a Roush Mustang though haha. I would too.

And as a side note, the Saturn Astra, nice little car, I think it looks good, the build inside is nice, but god is it slow. I think the PT Cruiser I drove (Subaru's loaner car via Enterprise .. ew) was slightly quicker than the Astra. I mention this because when I bought my car I had to wait for a while and they gave me an Astra to drive around in. Oh, and NO REAR VISABILITY in the Astra.

Anyway.... can I make $170k a year at Ford?

[OAC_Sparky]

Aka,May 17 2008, 10:13 AM Wrote:Anyway.... can I make $170k a year at Ford?
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Lol, sure, if you are willing to:

• Serve a 4.5 year electrical apprenticeship, 2 year industrial machinist program, hold PLC and HMI certificates, and be willing to still be attending college after working for a company for 20 years to keep your skills current.<>
• Be able to beat out the other 1000+ similarly qualified electricians Ford has in its applicant pool.<>
• Work in excess of 60 hours a week every week, 7 days a week; 8 hours M-F, 10 hours S-S.<>
• Work all your stat holidays. I was on vacation last week and March Break, apart from that I've worked every day except one since (and including) Christmas night,<>
• Work steady midnights to avoid traffic and collect an extra 10% shift premium (which adds $17G a year to your salary).<>
  [st]
  {And note: before anyone makes a Union crack, the hourly rate that I make is not out of line with any other electrical contractor with my qualifications or experience; Ford pays me for &quot;time served&quot; keeping in mind that for every minute the line is down it loses $10G in profit. If I save them 20 minutes of downtime in a year, my salary is paid for the whole year. I regularly save them that in a week.}

[Aka]

Hmm.. I'm 23... can I buy 20 years of experience? I can say I started training when I was 3 years old!

[OAC_Sparky]

Aka,May 17 2008, 10:59 AM Wrote:Hmm.. I'm 23... can I buy 20 years of experience? I can say I started training when I was 3 years old!
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Potty training doesn't count. :lol:

[Canadian ST]

OAC_Sparky,May 17 2008, 10:38 AM Wrote:

Aka,May 17 2008, 10:13 AM Wrote:Anyway.... can I make $170k a year at Ford?
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Lol, sure, if you are willing to:

<>
• Serve a 4.5 year electrical apprenticeship, 2 year industrial machinist program, hold PLC and HMI certificates, and be willing to still be attending college after working for a company for 20 years to keep your skills current.
  <>
• Be able to beat out the other 1000+ similarly qualified electricians Ford has in its applicant pool.
  <>
• Work in excess of 60 hours a week every week, 7 days a week; 8 hours M-F, 10 hours S-S.
  <>
• Work all your stat holidays. I was on vacation last week and March Break, apart from that I've worked every day except one since (and including) Christmas night,
  <>
• Work steady midnights to avoid traffic and collect an extra 10% shift premium (which adds $17G a year to your salary).
  <>
  [st]
  {And note: before anyone makes a Union crack, the hourly rate that I make is not out of line with any other electrical contractor with my qualifications or experience; Ford pays me for &quot;time served&quot; keeping in mind that for every minute the line is down it loses $10G in profit. If I save them 20 minutes of downtime in a year, my salary is paid for the whole year. I regularly save them that in a week.}
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To summ it up..

Dedication.

[Aka]

OAC_Sparky,May 17 2008, 11:14 AM Wrote:

Aka,May 17 2008, 10:59 AM Wrote:Hmm.. I'm 23... can I buy 20 years of experience? I can say I started training when I was 3 years old!
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Potty training doesn't count. :lol:
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But I'm really good! I don't miss! My hand eye coordination is top notch! :rolleyes:

[naz]

Quote:#&nbsp; Work in excess of 60 hours a week every week, 7 days a week; 8 hours M-F, 10 hours S-S.
# Work all your stat holidays. I was on vacation last week and March Break, apart from that I've worked every day except one since (and including) Christmas night,

i mean this in the most genuine way possible... that's awesome. big thumbs up to you and i am glad you are nicely compensated

i work those hours at a desk job and i find it mentally and physically tiring. your job almost certainly has a much more physician side, which makes it even more demanding. plus i bet you have kids.

that's awesome. thumbs up

back on topic..

AKA i highly recommend that you get an aftermarket tune into your car ASAP (perhaps at the same time you install the catless uppipe?) your WRX has a delay between closed loop and open loop that could cause big time detonation even if the car is stock. (search nasioc.com for more info). this was done in '04+ on the WRX purely for emissions reasons

for suspension i recommend you switch to a 20mm sway bar from a '02-'03 wrx sedan and leave the rest stock.

you may want to consider changing to Sti Group N engine, tranny and pitch stop mounts also. they make the response to throttle inputs much faster.

lastly, you should be very very careful with your shifting, especially 1st to 2nd shift and after you modify. the transmission is rated for 300tq and if you have turboback exhaust, uppipe and a chip you should be at around 280tq.. that's cutting it close, and you can easily shockload the gears past their designed limits if you shift roughly. also, no matter how nicely you shift, its possible your car will just eat 3rd gear under hard acceleration

not trying to scare you, just trying to give you some of the safety/reliability info i picked up while i owned by WRX. personally, i kept the engine stock on my car to avoid the potential issues i outlined above

best of luck! i'm sure you will enjoy the car a lot. keep up on your maintenance, and shift cleanly and in return the car will run hard for a long long time

[Aka]

Thanks Naz.

I was planning on &quot;Cobb-on-the-Saab&quot;ing the car. I doubt I'll ever be able to afford an aftermarket tune other than something like a Cobb. So if it explodes stock, it best do it within the next 20,000 km or 1 year.

If the Cobb thing will fix this issue than great, but if it doesn't, I'll have to live with it unless tuning ends up being a lot less expensive than I thought.

As for 1 and 2 shift, I never launch, ever. I don't care for it. I generally don't accelerate till 2nd, so I'll watch it into 3rd. That was definitely one of my worries with upgrading. Would be nice to get a 6-speed but that's expensive. Maybe when I win a lottery heh.

[Aka]

Is this what you mean?
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=671294

[naz]

yup that's exactly what i mean. i bet if you had an EGT gauge in the car it would be crazy high for a little bit before the ECU goes into open loop

you don't drive the car hard now, but trust me you will be itching to boost in every gear soon enough.. and the first time a stock civic smokes you from a stop light because you were launching from idle.. you will seriously start to consider a clutch slip launch just remember that the rpms in 2nd are 1/2 of the rpms in first. if you ever hear a clunk when shifting fast that's the rear diff banging against the subframe and that's your cue to drive smoother

also, if (when) you decide you want to launch the car, practice at around 3000 rpm first. the trick is to let the clutch engage in a slow, smooth, controlled manner. you'll know you have it right when you are able to launch on boost with the least clutch slip possible

anyway yea good luck have fun...