New owner in Ohio

[puckaveli]

I just bought a red 2013 GTS AWD with 2000 miles. I just sold my 2008 STi and got the Kiz to be my daily driver. I also have my 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS which i've had for 13 years. I've been doing auto-x and rally-x in my Impreza for a long time and also making custom mods and doing swaps for Imprezas so I'm anxious to start toying with the Kiz. I do have a few questions that I didn't see in brief searches on the forum.

Is the oem CVT oil synthetic? I've seen a few articles about how sloppy it is and wondered if synthetic oil would help with that.

Has anyone tried rolling on Subaru wheels? I can get 5x114.3 STi wheels for cheap; the offset is +55 so they might work. Plus if they do fit it increases options for more aftermarket wheels.

Here's a pic of my Subaru.

[~tc~]

Never once heard the CVT described as "sloppy".

At 5000 miles, the lag and performance improve considerably

[murcod]

Hi, I think your chances of the wheels fitting are pretty good. The only problem might be the centre bore?

I've got a set of wheels off a Mazda 6 that I've been meaning to try. From memory when I checked the Kizashi centre bore was smaller than the 6, so a simple adapter is all I need (plus some tuner style lug nuts.)

TC the CVT comments might be refering to the slow off the line response? I've read about that everywhere.

[KuroNekko]

Welcome.

I imagine you are a member of NASIOC with a modded Imp. I used to go there often too when I owned my Impreza.

Just a little curious: Why did you keep the RS instead of the STi? Was the RS like the hobby car and the STi was the daily driver? The Kizashi will be very slow compared to the STi, but much more comfortable and quieter. I imagine the STi can be rough as a daily driver, but still better than a Lan Evo from what I hear.

The CVT is a JATCO CVT, which is the same supplier as Nissan. Overall, CVTs are just known to be sluggish off the line and not as fun to drive. The benefit is better fuel economy and the elimination of shift shock.

I can't recommend a CVT fluid because I row my own gears in a 6 speed.
Post some pictures of the Kizashi some time.

[Moto]

There have been no real oil wars on this site yet. Nothing like what I have seen for the subarus. My dd is a saabaru.

[puckaveli]

I just know the with the right mixture the Subaru trannys run like butter. The "war" was which mixture/brand of oil and it really depended on the condition of your tranny. My 5th gear synchros would grind at times so I ran redline 3q shockproof and one mt-90, if it had full synthetic they would grind a lot more.

The issues I saw people having was when they were manual shifting the cvt and it would run lag in 3rd and 4th gears. It might have just been user error.

I kept the RS over the STi for a few reasons. The STi was my dd and I commute 50 miles a day, i was getting killed at the pump. The Sti was a lot faster than the RS but I road race sportbikes so my sensation of speed is ruined by that; any car under 700hp feels slow compared to a 200hp sportbike, so I really didn't need the extra power. I actually like the handling of the RS a lot better too, the chassis is pretty unflappable. And i've been driving/racing it for 13 years so I can drive at 100% in my sleep. I've been on Nasioc for 12 years and was a moderator back in the day.

Since I race auto-x and the bikes I really don't drive fast on public roads since you really can't drive 100%. I don't need the Kiz to be fast. I will probably do light suspension and power mods to it.

Here's a pic of the Kiz at the dealership. I am picking it up some night this week.

[Northernstar]

Not sure if the factory CVT is synthetic or not but I will be using Eneos fully synthetic when I change the CVT fluid. Oh and welcome~~

[KuroNekko]

Totally makes sense about the STi given your commute and that you're a biker too. Many of my friends ride motorcycles and I often hear the same thing. A few ride Harleys (very slow among bikes) but they still tear ass compared to most cars.

Your Kizashi looks good. How are you planning to mod it?

[puckaveli]

I will probaly just do minor mods. The first thing i'm doing is installing my Hella Supertones, i've had a set of red ones sitting around for a while. For power I'll just make a diy intake and cat-back. I'll have to drive it a little while before I decide what suspension mods are in order, but most cars are designed to understeer to so i'll probably get the Whiteline rear sway bar for starters. I'll debadge it, hids, headlight leds, clear marker lights, just subtle stuff for cosmetic mods. I make carbon fiber bits on the side so I might make a few custom parts like engine covers and interior pieces.

[Northernstar]

Let us know what you can make, we might be able to put together a group buy or something lol