Of all the turbo AWD cars I have spent time with, this one is actually the most poorly behaved in the snow. That doesn’t prevent it from being fun, but I have been forced to realize and learn new things. The most obvious problem is that the stock engine really is quite laggy and unresponsive below 4000rpm… probably not a problem on the track, but I generally don’t victimize the public that way. It does mean though, that if I want a split second of power to push the car to a wider line, it’s probably not there. Same with the hand brake, it’s a pretty useless thing. Actually my brakes in general are quite useless (probably a matter of set up and pads than actual design), so again if I think I can half ass my weight transfer and generate some angle just by pulling a lever I’m probably going to look silly.
Finally… I noticed last year on the lake that I really struggled with AWD and understeer in really tight tight maneuvers. At the time I wanted to chalk it up to the fat ass Celica, but the WRX is even worse. In the Celica I found that I had to be very very cautious and stingy with throttle application: too much and the front wheels would loose traction and never get it back. The WRX requires an even more careful touch though. I’m curious what the viscous center of the Celica was rated at, certainly it went into humping mode a lot quicker.
I will say though, that the rear viscous LSD of the WRX feels a lot nicer than the torsen that was fit in the Celica. Likely the torsen would be a better bet with lots of traction and minimal yaw generated, but I found it hard to drive with torque constantly moving side to side looking for traction. The viscous is predictable and consistent in comparison, even if it doesn’t offer the same kick. I strongly question the validity of a torsen center LSD as a result, if torque moving side to side is troublesome, imagine front to back!? Definitely a clutch type LSD is the way to go for the rear end, but for the center maybe viscous really is a good option…
I guess I’ll just buy an STI after all?
Quote: “I strongly question the validity of a torsen center LSD as a result, if torque moving side to side is troublesome, imagine front to back!? Definitely a clutch type LSD is the way to go for the rear end, but for the center maybe viscous really is a good option…”
Yes, I too wonder about that. The fastest Group B cars after all had an assymetrical split centre differential with a viscous coupling for limited slip action.
But, have you heard of the Torsen T3? Sounds like a very intriguing design.
http://www.torsen.com/products/T-3.htm
It’s probably ideal for asphalt or other high grip surfaces… but off road, where there is the potential for wild torque swings, then maybe I’d prefer some real lock up. Current WRC cars are using a very simple set up that intrigues me, but will almost certainly never be practically available. As you know there is no center differential… to prevent binding/wind up both ends of the car are equipped with a clutchpack that allows the axle to freewheel faster than the other end. So, for example, in a tight corner where the front axle travels faster than the rear, the clutch pack slips, the front axle freewheels and more torque, maybe even 100%, is transferred to the rear end.
Doesn’t sound very easy to drive either, and certainly is archaic compared to banned electronic torque vectoring and active differentials.
2WD is so much easier.
WRX has seemed to me very sensitive to winter tire choice, in common with all Subarus.
I certainly don’t have fantastic tires. When I bought Winterforce for the Celica I was just looking for something cheap that would take a thrashing on gravel as well. I’ve was lazy and just threw those on for the winter.