3 weeks, 3200 miles

[jbowman]

So as I've posted on here before, I traded in my WRX on July 1, to get a 2006 black LGT. Then.. me and my fiance couldn't fly to Canada because her picture id was stolen, however we found out we could cross the border by car with her birth certificate. While there, we could get her a new picture id at the reservation up there, because she's native american. So... off we went in the new LGT.

 

We drove from Northern VA, all the way up I-95 and crossed into New Brunswick at Woodstock. I forget the name of the town on the US side. Houbtern or something? Then we drove across Canada from there on Trans-Canada 2, to 104, to 102 down to Halifax NS, where we were staying. We stopped twice on the trip up. Once for about 5 hours of sleep in Massachusetts somewhere, then again in Turro NS because I was too tired to continue on to Halifax, even though it was only another hour.

 

On the way back, we drove to Yarmouth NS, and caught the ferry to Portland ME, then drove back. This time we only slept on the Ferry (6 hour ferry ride).

 

Overall, we both agreed that the LGT was a much better car for the trip. The extra room was a huge help. My fiance sometimes got claustrophobic in the WRX, because it was so small. It was never a problem in the LGT. Not to mention, the car is just much more comfortable. It cruised much better at highway speeds than my stage 1 WRX.

 

Due to the car not being broken in, and the fact I was out of town every where we went, 99% of the driving was done out of boost. 65-70mph on the highway most the way up, and around that area. (100 - 110 kmph).

 

Some things I noted about the car were.

 

- Once or twice I got on it. The clutch is much different in the LGT. Easier. But there was a noticeable clunk from the rear diff on hard 1-2 and 2-3 shifts. Probably just an indication I need to learn to drive the clutch better. Especially since 99% of driving I did with the car, the clutch was babied.

 

- The increased torque from the 2.5l was noticeable. We ran the AC 90% of the time, and I never had that noticeable lag I'd get in the WRX when I ran the AC in it.

 

- In 5th gear I can't see the rear defrost button. Especially annoying when you're really tired from driving for 8 hours straight. I'm hoping a short throw shifter when I put it in will help this.

 

- On the return trip, the computer "learning" was noticeable. I did lose acceleration in 4th and 5th gear. I expected this. I plan on getting an AP after I do some suspension work, and the reflash should take care of that.

 

- For normal driving the suspension is great. Now for daily driving in areas I know, I tend to take curves in roads fast, and it was before we left I made the decision to upgrade the suspension. For the trip, there was nothing that made me wish the car handled better, it was great.

 

- The suspension also held its own on slow drives on gravel roads and on dirt road that was cratered enough to make me think I was driving on the moon. We felt the bumps for sure, but they didn't physically hurt our bums like they would have in the WRX.

 

- The RE92's held up fine in extreme downpours at about 45mph. We hit some bad storms in NJ on the return trip. Never hydroplaned, but then, I also slowed down. But I'd of done that in any car, those storms were intense. However, in similar storms in my old IROC with 255 tires, I'd of pulled over and waited it out.

 

- The windshield is a bug magnet. I got more bugs on the LGT front end and windshield than in any other I've ever driven. My "new" car looks like a bug graveyard right now

 

- The further north you go, the less return waves you get from WRX and other Legacys

 

- I didn't see one other LGT the entire time I was in Canada. Only a couple Outbacks and Imprezas. The mid-atlantic seems to be a hotspot for us scooby folks?

 

- I averaged 26.4 mpg for the entire trip which was 2678.4 miles. This was the trip there and back, and the around town/country driving we did while there. The gas mileage was noticeably better on the return trip, as I figured the ECU was completely adjust to that type of driving.

 

My final conclusion is that I made the absolute best choice in getting the car. And my only concerns now are that while I did get a little over 500 miles on the car before the trip, I'm hoping the extended driving before the first oil change didn't cause any seals to not set correctly. I guess only the future will tell on that.

[chenc544]

- Once or twice I got on it. The clutch is much different in the LGT. Easier. But there was a noticeable clunk from the rear diff on hard 1-2 and 2-3 shifts. Probably just an indication I need to learn to drive the clutch better. Especially since 99% of driving I did with the car, the clutch was babied.

 

Never driven the WRX but I'm actually not a big fan of the LGT clutch. Not enough feedback to let me know where the engagement point is. I kindda wish it's a little bit stiffer, but it's much better than the MazdaSpeed6 that I drove before decided on the LGT.

 

- The increased torque from the 2.5l was noticeable. We ran the AC 90% of the time, and I never had that noticeable lag I'd get in the WRX when I ran the AC in it.

 

The AC in the LGT actually shuts off the compressor when you get on the throttle. It definitely helps with the lag. All turbo 4-bangers need this feature, otherwise the turbo lag + AC lag would just be too much.

 

- In 5th gear I can't see the rear defrost button. Especially annoying when you're really tired from driving for 8 hours straight. I'm hoping a short throw shifter when I put it in will help this.

 

No problem with any buttons with my Karboy STS and Momo knob.

 

- For normal driving the suspension is great. Now for daily driving in areas I know, I tend to take curves in roads fast, and it was before we left I made the decision to upgrade the suspension. For the trip, there was nothing that made me wish the car handled better, it was great.

 

I didn't like the soft suspension at first, especially the body roll, but you just kindda get use to it. I would like to get front and rear anti-roll bars but I don't think coil-over is nesseccary for me.

 

- The windshield is a bug magnet. I got more bugs on the LGT front end and windshield than in any other I've ever driven. My "new" car looks like a bug graveyard right now

 

I so hear you.

[itzed]

snip....

- On the return trip, the computer "learning" was noticeable. I did lose acceleration in 4th and 5th gear. I expected this. I plan on getting an AP after I do some suspension work, and the reflash should take care of that.

snip....

The gas mileage was noticeably better on the return trip, as I figured the ECU was completely adjust to that type of driving.

 

Can you and others elaborate on this? Is it the same for the 2.5i (non GT)? Is there information out there somewhere about the amount of miles this takes and does it "re-learn" all the time? I've been very easy on my new '06 and I've got only 800 miles on it. But I did notice the other day that accerlation in 4'th gear on the beltway in order to pass a truck dropping rocks wasn't what it seemed it was just 500 miles ago. Is my ECU learning I'm a "lightfoot" and reducing performance already? Can I re-teach it once the car is broken in?

 

Ed

[jbowman]

Most modern cars have learning ECUs. Stopping, brakeing, shifting, etc etc, causes cars to do different things. As you drive, the car kind of learns your habits as it goes. It will start making those adjustments on it's own in order to conserve fuel, or make power available, when you're taking actions that usually lead to other actions.

 

In your case, I don't know that 800 miles is enough. That's not a lot. You may have just been in a different area of your hp/tq curve than you were before when you've punched it in 4th. NA don't get turbo lag, but you can still bog down if try to punch it when your rpms are too low.