RaceComp Engineering Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Well we picked up our LEG B-Spec today. Very nice car. 100% bone stock and this is coming to us after we sold the 05 Leg GT LTD sedan with Pinks. Initial impressions. Bridgestone 050a's are better than the standard tires on the Leg Gt, but not that much improved in their 18inch format. The first thing that JUMPS out at you is the BRAKE pedal !! WOW. huge improvement. I mean the pedal feels better than my STi with lines etc. This difference when trying to anchor into a corner is significant. So give SOA some credit for that one. Pedal height is much higher. You can heel and toe like Tsuchiya now, effortlessly. The Bilsteins lend this car a BMW feel even with the crappy stock springs. I have Pinks going in very soon ( cough Keefe) and COBB Access Port, as well as Prodrive mufflers and Endless Vita's. The sound of the door closing is more solid. Dont know why, but it is. Fit seems to be the same , but the overall handling is improved. Mid corner HARD braking there is a more progressive feel before the tail comes around, and I was able to make a smoother transition from correction to gas, even when acting like a novice caught out and surprised, with NO gas after the tail is OUT THERE !! When trail braking, the drive by wire jerk seems to be not so bad. The 18inch wheels ( a first for Subaru) on a US production car), actually are nicer than the pics let on. They used the flitter bright silver BMW style paint on the multi spoke wheels and when pictured with either the Swifts or PINKS, I think they could last longer than a couple of weeks before they get swapped out for BBS RE's. The decision to offer the 18s and the bright flitter was a good one. The one thing I could do without is the chrome moulding down the side of the car above the lower rocker panel. Man, it has a Audi Allroad feel to it that stick with me. The interior is a very different color. Nice, but kinda like a Cole Hahn color. They definately were targeting the older dude crowd. You know the type. Obsessed with driving shoes, and heeling and toeing. ( lol, talking about me) . Small things like the B-spec plate with the Chassis # in the middle console give it a flair that reminds you of the real deal STI limited series cars of Japan. Yet this Indiana production model shares far more in common with the Leg GT than it does with anything in Japan. Thats not a bad thing, as you come away from this car with a overall good feeling. If I had to keep it stock, could I?.......yeeeeaaaahhhhh,..welllll..nnnnoooooo......maybe. I took the car over some very nasty bumps that worked each corner of the suspension. I would say with a Access Port yes, I could leave it stock. LOL. IT needs that extra 30hp to make it stand out from the standard car when you get on the loud pedal. The Bilsteins suspension is a major change to the person in touch with their inner valved self, but to some, it might be the titanium color and the seat color. ITs the Pebble Beach package if you ask me, but Subaru doesnt sponsor that event. lol. Overall, its a good package, lets hope some of it trickles down the lineup. Pics to follow. ( cough Still Will) Myles Williams www.GTWORX.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlabs Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Very nice and informative writeup... thanks! It seems to be a slightly better step forward than I had initially thought. Not quite there yet, but an improvement nonetheless. BTW what limited #/500 did you get? -=- Livin life at 140 BPM -=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew.anderson Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Thanks for the great review. Spec B needs 6MT. though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scans007 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Def rock'n I think that's the frist "real person" review I've seen anywhere =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagcars26 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Glad it finally came in Myles,,Just one question fr ya. Who got to drive it to work today??!! You or Liz??? :lol: Rudy;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vet Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 what's up with the improved brakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highwaydrifter Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 no wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Thanks for the great review. Spec B needs 6MT. though. not really. it would help highway mpg somewhat...it would be like an overdrive. depending on how a 6MT was laid out....gears 1-3 it could lengthen your 0-60 due to an extra shift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew.anderson Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 not really. it would help highway mpg somewhat...it would be like an overdrive. depending on how a 6MT was laid out....gears 1-3 it could lengthen your 0-60 due to an extra shift. So do you believe the STI version of the Impreza does not need a 6MT either? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceComp Engineering Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 Very nice and informative writeup... thanks! It seems to be a slightly better step forward than I had initially thought. Not quite there yet, but an improvement nonetheless. BTW what limited #/500 did you get? Thanks. We got 251 out of 500. Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 nice, mid pack! btw, I think there might be a difference in the brake lines and the master cylinder since you told me the brakes are touchy than the GT... still looking up info as we speak. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceComp Engineering Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 what's up with the improved brakes? The brake pedal was the most obvious thing. I realized it immediately. I am installing Endless Vita's this weekend and Super Blue fluid. I did some very hard braking and the "feel" was much improved. So for example, if adding braided lines takes the "feel" factor from a 4 to a 6, this difference "I" felt was more like a 9....to the point where adding lines and fluid and pads would be 4 pot like in feeling. Thats my opinion. Myles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceComp Engineering Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 Glad it finally came in Myles,,Just one question fr ya. Who got to drive it to work today??!! You or Liz??? :lol: Rudy;) LOL, I took her to work in it, but its getting tinted today. We decided on that ultra lite tint that you have to look for to even see if its there, as the interior is very nice. So she has it at work. I drove the 97 OBs sport project car back to the office. lol. Myles www.GTWORX.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melayout Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 *lazy subscribe* I keed I keeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vet Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 if they did anything significant to the brakes and didn't put that info out anywhere that seems odd. anyone experience any brake feel differences between 05 & 06 LGT's? can anyone check brake part #s between 05 & 06? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driggity Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 not really. it would help highway mpg somewhat...it would be like an overdrive. depending on how a 6MT was laid out....gears 1-3 it could lengthen your 0-60 due to an extra shift. The 6th gear is probably the smallest advantage that the 6MT has over the 5MT. Its the other things that make it more desireable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Great write up. 2 positive reviews so far on the Spec B driving and styling impressions. Now, if the forum members could only get over the added cost, it seems like Subaru really created a winner here. The brakes and stock (spec B) suspension and great looking 18's would sell me into this, if I wanted a sedan that is. No wagon version takes it off my list. I'll just have to keep going in my long-term quest to turn 'The Whale' into a Spec-B equivalent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 ^ Like I said before to brother PGT, the reason why I'd pay the premium for the Aussi-"Tuned by STi" variant (assuming, of course, that I lived over there!) was because I'd get the upgraded vehicle I wanted...along *with* retaining the factory warranty. Certainly, I could do the work myself and get just-as-good, if not better, results, and for less money to-boot, but my warranty goes (has gone) out-the-door. For the price of the USDM SpecB, personally, for me, it's still hard-to-swallow, even given its suspension (and apparently, now, braking, too) improvements, unique styling, and limited-production status. But I think that it's also fair to say that, again for me, personally, just a slight boost in power and perhaps slightly fancier dress would be all that it took to have pushed me over the edge towards its purchase, too. What I truly like about all of this is that, hopefully with the positive reception of this vehicle in the US market, that this will give the head-honchos at SoA enough of a push to have them bring to us an even more upgraded STi/STI/Spec"X" Legacy in the near future. <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 So do you believe the STI version of the Impreza does not need a 6MT either? you don't need 6 gears period. it's a nice to have, especially i you enjoy shifting, but i don't think it would make a big difference. you'd have to test equal cars with just two different trans. 5MT vs. 6MT. to find out for sure. if they droped a 6MT in the B-Spec...the sticker would probably jump to 36K instead of 34K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 The wheels are 18x7 with 215/45-18 tires, correct? If only they had gone with 18x7.5's with 225/40-18's... although I guess that's part of the reason you're swapping out the wheels? Nevertheless, nice review. The suspension & brakes sound like they're much improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STiLL WILL Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 LOL Myles...making me register just to post your freakin' pics!!!!!!!! j/k... Well, wait no longer, here are the Spec B pics for all of you... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/stillwill/Myles%20pics/Spec%20B/DSCN1420.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/stillwill/Myles%20pics/Spec%20B/DSCN1421.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/stillwill/Myles%20pics/Spec%20B/DSCN1422.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/stillwill/Myles%20pics/Spec%20B/DSCN1423.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/stillwill/Myles%20pics/Spec%20B/DSCN1424.jpg Enjoy! -Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melayout Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Hot damn. Kill me now. I keed I keeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew.anderson Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Nice car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bemani Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 You think Subaru will sell the dead pedal individually? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlabs Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 You think Subaru will sell the dead pedal individually? You can get the Autospeed WRX dead pedal, which should look exactly like that, for $45. http://www.mastrowrx.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=66 -=- Livin life at 140 BPM -=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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