Vince's Stuff: BMW into the barn, STi out

Friday, October 18, 2024

BMW into the barn, STi out

Time to swap cars

Last weekend, I swapped the BMW for the Subaru. The BMW performed flawlessly this year, after I changed all the coil packs at once. I sent in some used oil for analysis and I will have to have the rod bearings replaced sooner than later (the car has 278 000 km, so I'm not complaining). I pulled the Subaru out of the barn and all seems fine. As I drove it for the first time in months, I was reminded how much more noise-vibration-and-harshness it has compared to the M3. Also, like the M3, even with the driver's seat at its lowest setting, I feel like I'm sitting too high up. I'd also forgotten about the annoying stumble at part throttle just under 3000 rpm. Other than that, the car is great. It has lots of mid-range torque, and when you punch it above 3500 rpm, it goes. Around town at lower speeds, and in traffic, it's less pleasant than the M3... I sat in a 45 minute traffic jam on the way home from Deschaillons so there was lots of stopping and starting. It helps to select the "Intelligent" (econo) drive mode, which dulls throttle response and makes the stop-and-go part less jerky.

BMW back into the barn

I finally found some inexpensive used wheels to use as "summer" wheels. They are the optional Sport Tech wheels from a 2016 WRX. I don't love the way they look, but I don't dislike them either. They are the exact same width and offset as the STi wheels I have. I will take the car out for a couple of laps at ICAR tomorrow at Perry Performance's friends and family day. It should be fun, and I won't be destroying my winter tires in the process. Hopefully somebody will lend me a track car for a few laps... I miss driving on track, even though I'm less fond of ICAR than I was before.