Performance:
The flat four-cylinder really holds its own throughout all of the rpm range. I was very surprised with the amount of torque you could feel even in the low rpm range for a four-cylinder. Once the revs passed about 3200rpms you could feel the turbo start to kick in.

The WRX seemed to have substantial body roll compared to most sporty cars. The suspension seemed loose and you could really feel the lean when taking sharp(er) corners on pavement, but when the car was offroad it seemed that the looser suspension made times of oversteer forgiving. Mind you loose or not it is a very balanced car on and offroad.

The AWD was really the forte of the car. You could launch at just about any rpm without slipping the tires (much). I believe this made the car very predictable in times of oversteer. You could basically put the pedal to the floor and aim the wheels where you wanted them to go without having to worry about inducing more oversteer (maybe a little understeer).

Build Quality:
Mind you my car had over 105,000 miles and even so there was not much noticeable wear on any of the plastic pieces. The only faded paint on the car was the hood, which I imagine was because it was replaced because of the accident.

The engine never had any problems for the 15,000+ miles I put on it before trading it in and I pushed it fairly hard daily. Then again I’m not a fan of redlining cars, slamming gears or dropping the clutch, so I could be exaggerating slightly.

The only problem that I had with this car was that the car never liked going into first gear while rolling, which from what I heard is due to having somewhat weak gears in the stock transmission so to anyone looking to drive your WRX hard refrain from slamming gears.

Appearance:
It’s a Subaru world class rally car, enough said. I love it, others hate it due to the “buyeye” lights. To each his/her own.

Cost of Ownership:
Spent a total of $600 in parts for regular maintenance (spark plugs, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, brakes, etc…) for the 15,000+ miles I put on. Luckily a friend of mine installed everything for only a few hundred dollars. Surprisingly Subaru parts are not nearly as expensive as you’d expect… then again I was not replacing the engine, transmission or a turbo.

Fun Factor:
This particular WRX had an intake and exhaust. When the turbo spooled the aftermarket AEM intake definitely amplified the sound from inside and the exhaust note on this car is unlike most four cylinders, it sounds beefy at any rpm. Not to mention the looks you get when you shift gears and the blow off valve releases pressure while passing those honda kids still waiting for vtec to kick in.

Overall this car is a fun car on and offroad and performs very well on all terrains rain or shine, but if I were to buy another WRX it will be an STI. I had the chance of test driving a 2004 STI recently and the difference is day and night. The suspension is much more solid, the extra 80hp+ makes the car feel like a rocket, you can adjust the torque distribution and the 6 speed transmission is more or less bulletproof from what I’ve been told.

Pros: comfort, awd traction, offroad ability, offroad handling
Cons:loose suspension, weak transmission ]]> http://www.nickparks.org/reviews/2002-subaru-wrx-review/feed/ 0 http://www.nickparks.org/reviews/oklahoma-city-weekday-nightlife/ http://www.nickparks.org/reviews/oklahoma-city-weekday-nightlife/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:05:12 +0000 nickparks http://www.nickparks.org/?p=199 Moving from Florida to Oklahoma is quite a culture shock. I figured moving to downtown Oklahoma City would be a good idea, considering it is downtown and downtown usually means people and lots of them. I was mistaken. As far as I know there is absolutely no night life in the downtown OKC area on any day other than Saturday. It seems that most of the people that are out at bars and clubs in this area are from Edmond or Norman, so I’m going to assume there is no regular local crowd in this area.

The only place that has been at least subpar is McNellies, which is a local 3 story bar/restaurant that gets pretty busy on Wednesday nights for their $3 burger special.

Anyone have any ideas where to go on weeknights in downtown Oklahoma City?

Including 2 USB Ports, which becomes a pain in the ass when you use a mouse and an external hard drive and want to upload pictures from a camera or use an external webcam. I use my laptop more like a desktop as it rarely ever leaves this room, so I went out and bought a USB hub to connect my other USB toys to.

Including a 54g 802.11b/g wireless connection that runs flawlessly with the drivers provided for Windows XP (Compaq Presario V5303NR Drivers for XP). However, getting this wireless card to work well with other operating systems becomes quite a task. It took me quite some time to get it working with Windows 2000, which is what I am running right now. I believe I had to download a broadcom driver in order for Windows 2000 to recognize it. Anyway, out of the box the wireless network works very well.

The VGA Display Out is fun to play with on 42″ HDTV’s, but I’ve still found Windows to be quite a hassle when configuring the 42″ to be the main screen. This could be that the graphics card doesn’t like the idea since it is a laptop based internal graphics card.

The internal speakers, internal network card, touch-pad, keyboard, DVD Reader/CD Writer all get the job done, nothing extravagant, but you get what you pay for, right?

More Compaq Presario V5303NR Specifications…

Quality:
I’ve ran this thing to the ground many of times, where the processing speed is peaked and the RAM is at maximum usage with no major problems. The computer has crashed a few times from viruses, but you have to expect that with any Windows PC that you use with the internet. Takes about 45 minutes to format and re-install Windows XP, which is the best fix for any virus problems in my opinion. Other than the random crashes, everything works on this computer as it did when I bought it (Monitor is still just as crisp, speakers sound just as well, all inputs/outputs still work, CD drive still burns quickly, keyboard is still in-tact, etc…). Just remember kids, ALWAYS back-up your stuff.

Performance:
I can run Adobe Photoshop CS with my small amount of RAM and still run it quite well. This computer plays Counter-Strike: Source flawlessly at around 60FPS at the lowest resolution and I can keep a consistent connection of 40-50ms with my current internet connection with wireless. I’d say this computer does a great job considering the price!

Value:
It came with a good processor, enough ram for basic use and built in wireless internet connection all for under $400. I’d say this computer was valued perfectly.

Pros: bang-for-buck, screen size, decent AMD processor, XP compatible drivers
Cons: random crashes, lack of usb inputs, low amount of memory

Although this book is under 100 pages and only 7 chapters long, it covers the fundamentals of how important and beneficial it is to stay positive. Every chapter begins with an opening poem/excerpt that more or less summarizes the chapter. According to James that by understanding the poem you have grasped the essence of the chapter.

I would highly recommend buying this book as it is one of those books that you can go back to when you’re feeling down to lift your spirits when you’re on the go. You can also find a full copy of the original non-revised or updated copy that has been published online (As A Man Thinketh by James Allen).

The only difficulty with the phone I had when buying it was figuring out how to play MP3’s as ringtones. I found that you actually had to buy a MicroSD chip and install a program called MiniTunes. Took a bit of research, but was fairly easy to do once the program was installed and MP3’s were transfered to the MicroSD.

I’m not quite sure if I’d recommend buying a Centro unless you get a very good deal for it as the water damage problem is common and makes it impossible to retrieve lost numbers and information on the phone, which is very frustrating when you use your phone as a portable calendar and an event planner.

Oh and a warning to those of you who are thinking about a warranty for your phone: They replace your phone with a refurbished one. Every replacement Centro that my family and I have received have had buttons that stick out akwardly. It’s like they take them apart to “refurbish” them and the buttons never fit correctly again.

Pros: qwerty keyboard, loud speaker, touch screen, speaker quality
Cons: easily water damaged

Build Quality:
Haven’t had any major problems with the car other than having to replace the AC and the Clutch around 60,000 miles. The timing belt snapped around 65,000 miles. The interior plastic pieces are peeling and showing major wear, even though it has all been cleaned regularly (maybe it’s the cleaner I’ve used in the past). As long as you take care of the Tib, it’ll take care of you.

Appearance:
The clearcoat on the spoiler, gas cap and rims has been weathered badly. I had a friend spray paint the rims and gas cap, which covered up the nasty peeling that the paint was doing. However, I don’t want a gunmetal spoiler and I’ve considered removing it, but then I’ll have to relocate the center brake light.

Cost of Ownership:
Everything so far has been covered by the 75,000 mile warranty aside from the clutch. I would recommend you go to a local repair shop for a clutch repair, as it cost me over $2,000 through the dealership since it was not under warranty and they claim it’s a special “dual plated” clutch or something along the lines.

Fun Factor:
The car handles very well and can pass effectively without downshifting or bouncing off the rev-limiter since it has low-range torque unlike other cars in it’s class. Not only is it fun to drive, the back seats fold down for plenty of storage space.

Pros: acceleration, handling, storage
Cons: dealership maintenance, back seat room