Gas in the WRX?

Actually, your post supports Click and Clack's point, which is that over the long-term lower octane than what the engine is designed for will lead to damage.

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Extreme pressure inside the cylinders causes knock, which is the sound of the pistons literally rattling inside the cylinders. Too much too long can damage the engine. A little now and then won't.

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Maybe that chairman guy just isn't concerned about his engine lasting forever (and he's running (or his wife is) 89, not 87, so only two points lower than what's recommended).

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Originally Posted by Markhpnc

Hey Below Zero (or anyone else), how does the WRX perform in snow? Right now I drive a Civic DX hatch (most likely under 100hp :rolleyes: ) which is good on gas, but I can not get up a snow covered mountain road to save my life. I have always wanted to get a Civic Si, but recently I was thinking I should maybe be looking at AWD for snow purposes. I live in NC so I don't drive in the snow too often, but it does happen sometimes without notice when I go to mountains to ride and it limits my options of places I can go. Plus I may be moving out west or up north sometime, so it could be more of in issue. I don't want an SUV or wagon, so the WRX or STI seems like it has everything (AWD, crazy power, etc.) What kind of tires do you use on it?

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Originally Posted by funkendrenchman

Great, except in really deep snow where clearance becomes an issue. I use Continental Xtreme Contacts... get rid of the Potenzas first thing.

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So it sounded like a few of you had experience with WRXs and nobody else besides funkendrenchman has driven them in the snow?

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Originally Posted by Markhpnc

So it sounded like a few of you had experience with WRXs and nobody else besides funkendrenchman has driven them in the snow?

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his comments pretty much sum it up.

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Originally Posted by Markhpnc

So it sounded like a few of you had experience with WRXs and nobody else besides funkendrenchman has driven them in the snow?

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Or they decided that a thread about fuel octane is really not a place to discuss the WRXs ability to perform in the snow.

As far as knock sensors go, I would tend to agree with Tom and Ray, and the point in that article that continued use of sub-recommended octane fuel in a particular engine is not a good thing. Here and there for a few tanks of gas at a time, OK.

It all depends on how sophisticated the engine management of the particular engine is however. The WRX engine is pretty primative. Boost in, pressure up, power out. If you run lower octane, the fuel causes pinging, because the boost remains constant. Saabs (and some others) for example electronically retard the boost on the turbo when lower octane fuel is recognized. Theoretically, with the Trionic system on Saabs, you are able to run low grade fuel, get comparable fuel milage, only with a hit in performance. This hit in performance is pretty noticable, because your turbo is not boosting nearly to where it was with high-grade.

The best point here though is the economic consideration that article gives, where continuing to buy high-grage fuel only averages $171 more a year. (And that is on a vehicle that gets 14mpg average.) I filled up my 16gal tank for $50 the other day with high grade. Sure, breaking that $50 ceiling sure hurts, but buying the low grade still would have cost me $45. The only reason this whole issue is getting a lot of press right now is because the overall cost of gas is so high, giving high grade a psychological disadvantage. You are always going to pay $5 more a tank for high grade vs. low grade, whether prices are averaging at $0.99 or $3.99.

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Originally Posted by Markhpnc

Hey Below Zero (or anyone else), how does the WRX perform in snow? Right now I drive a Civic DX hatch (most likely under 100hp :rolleyes: ) which is good on gas, but I can not get up a snow covered mountain road to save my life. I have always wanted to get a Civic Si, but recently I was thinking I should maybe be looking at AWD for snow purposes. I live in NC so I don't drive in the snow too often, but it does happen sometimes without notice when I go to mountains to ride and it limits my options of places I can go. Plus I may be moving out west or up north sometime, so it could be more of in issue. I don't want an SUV or wagon, so the WRX or STI seems like it has everything (AWD, crazy power, etc.) What kind of tires do you use on it?

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Performs in the snow awesome - with the right tire. I run Michelin Artic Alpins on mine which is probably the best winter tire Michelin makes. I recommend running a winter tire instead of an all season in the winter. I like to feel totatlly confident when blazing up the mountain.

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Originally Posted by Below Zero

Performs in the snow awesome - with the right tire. I run Michelin Artic Alpins on mine which is probably the best winter tire Michelin makes. I recommend running a winter tire instead of an all season in the winter. I like to feel totatlly confident when blazing up the mountain.

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Do you have trouble with the snow tires wearing down fast in Denver's warmer climate? When I lived in the north east I was always told to change back to all seasons when the weather got warm or the winter tires would wear down fast due to the softer rubber they are made out of.

Don't worry, that's not a problem in Denver. The altitude keeps the rubber stronger.

If your snow tires are prematurely wearing in warm weather, it's probably because of a misaligned Johnson rod, not the air temperature.

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Originally Posted by Markhpnc

So it sounded like a few of you had experience with WRXs and nobody else besides funkendrenchman has driven them in the snow?

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I have driven my WRX wagon in the snow many times, and it does great. Snow depth above the clearance of the car's bottom does become an issue for the WRX. The Forrester has higher clearance, and comes in a Turbo model. The Forrester does very well in the snow - I drove mine (owned one before the WRX) in a friggin blizzard.

Wahtever you do, get a manual for best snow performance.

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Originally Posted by Lurch

Do you have trouble with the snow tires wearing down fast in Denver's warmer climate? When I lived in the north east I was always told to change back to all seasons when the weather got warm or the winter tires would wear down fast due to the softer rubber they are made out of.

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I do change back to all seasons in the spring/summer. The tires I have will probably last only three seasons (I have on on them now). Plus with the way I drive, they will wear down a lot faster.