Holly crap ! Turbo Forester matches Mitsu Evo

[pudicus]

Just got my August copy of Car & Honda where they tested the new '04 5MT Forester 2.5XT doing 0-60 in-grab a chair-5.3 seconds http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/shocked.gif http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. I mean, WTF ? It did fairly well on skidpad too at 0.75g, especially considering its garbage truck tires. The new turbo motor offers a nice serving of 235 lb-ft of torque that goes well with its 3289lb mass. But still, this is Mitsu balls-out Evo territory http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/ooo.gif.

[6speeder]

Torque and HP must be underated on that car. Between the weight and the 4WD that seems awfully fast for a car that size and power rating. It is the same engine on the STi WRX. Don't know if it's the same turbocharger.

[FanaticZ]

what was the quarter mile time, might be a tuners dream since insurance companys won't be rating it as a sportscar.

[M5power]

the 1/4 was at 13.8!! i'm sorry but i don't believe this for a single second!! according to C&D the rsx type s does 0-60 in 6.1 sec too... enough said

[6speeder]

the 1/4 was at 13.8!! i'm sorry but i don't believe this for a single second!! according to C&D the rsx type s does 0-60 in 6.1 sec too... enough said



So you think C&D has faulty test equipment?

[M5power]

So you think C&D has faulty test equipment?



no, but a car with 210hp that weighs in at nearly 3300lbs does not equal to a 0-60 time of 5.3! you claim that subaru might be underrating the hp figure, well unless they're underrating it by 90hp or so! this is not possible! i mean come on man, 210hp is 210hp no matter how you look at it, yes there are some cars that will perform better than other cars with the same hp ratings but this is just waaaaaaay off! so here's my question, if this car has 210hp and is this fast, you're telling me that if subaru some how pumped 300hp out of this engine that this car would be in the modena territory?

[6speeder]

So you think C&D has faulty test equipment?



no, but a car with 210hp that weighs in at nearly 3300lbs does not equal to a 0-60 time of 5.3! you claim that subaru might be underrating the hp figure, well unless they're underrating it by 90hp or so! this is not possible! i mean come on man, 210hp is 210hp no matter how you look at it, yes there are some cars that will perform better than other cars with the same hp ratings but this is just waaaaaaay off! so here's my question, if this car has 210hp and is this fast, you're telling me that if subaru some how pumped 300hp out of this engine that this car would be in the modena territory?



Why isn't it possible that the car is seriously underrated? I can't imagine what else it could be. You're looking at the weight and HP and reaching the same question mark I am. It's the same engine in the STi WRX which DOES in fact have 300 HP. Like I said before, I don't know if the turbocharger is the same. What other explanation is there? A 90 HP underating is outrageous but certainly possible. How else can you explain 0-60 and 1/4 mile times on a boxy car of that weight? Maybe Subaru gave C&D a 'rigged' car.

[Irie_eyes]

More bottom end torque since it's a hauler?

[jaje]

don't most mags use gtech devices which is not very accurate and can lead to .5 - 1 second variances

[FanaticZ]

think we should just wait for more reviews, same things were said about the turbo neon when the 1st times came out. if they are duplicated, thats great. for subaru to increase the power of an suv for c&d makes little sense, maybe on a performance car, not the forester. they proabably intended the suv to have nice low end pull for carrying things, not for c&d to drop the hammer at 5krpm to get performance numbers out of an suv.

[pudicus]

The Mitsu-manufactured turbo in the Forester produces 11.6 psi of boost whereas in the STi it offers 14.5 psi. Still, to produce such 0-60MPH times, its engine has to pump at least 280HP. I think JDM Forester with smaller engine either made or was prepped to make 276HP. Perhaps something got lost in the translation http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/crazy.gif.
When '95 Maxima came out, Car & Honda ran 0-60MPH test in SE model with 5MT in 6.6 sec http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/ooo.gif. Even Nissan engineers went-OMFG http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. I don't know, maybe these guys test their vehicles in the vacuum tube http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/rolleyes1.gif.

[NissT]

I think that '95-'99 Maxima were very fast. They must have been under 6 seconds 0-60. I've had a '98 5-speed SE and this car was FAST.

[DED]

No crap. I had to read it about ten times, and I still can't believe it. I'd hate to buy a Mach 1 and get beat by an SUV.

[thearabian]

its simple, what's the 1/4 mile time? does it correspond to the 0-60 time?

it could just be a typo... 5.3 ... 7.3 ... 210 ... 310 ...

[Nissan_Admirer]

In the August issue of Motor Trend, they estimated a 0-60mph time of 8.5 seconds. So either this is one tricked up prototype or there was a typo.

[FanaticZ]

yes the 1/4 mile goes with the 0-60, 13.8 at 98/9

[nosuchsol]

You can't look at horsepower and weight and know that it "can't" do 5.3 to 60mph. Gearing and the torque curve is just as important. Just look at how the 225hp 330i is able to match speeds with the 260hp G35s.. gearing is most of that. Give the 330i 260hp or gear the G35s different and you'll see a great increase. The G35s6mt is a couple tenths faster than the auto g35 they used in that test.

Second example, the 350Z.. 13.9-14.2 in the quarter but weighs ~3400lbs(including gas, driver variables) and puts down whp in the 230s. Perhaps Subaru is posting close to wheel hp like Dodge is doing with their psycho neon SRT-4. Oh, and for my gearing.. the 350Z vert runs 14.3 in the quarter. They changed out the gearing for the vert to make up for the extra lbs.

Anyhow, I still have a tough time believing those numbers. Wouldn't that make the WRX much faster than it is? MotorTrend sounds more right.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

You can't look at horsepower and weight and know that it "can't" do 5.3 to 60mph. Gearing and the torque curve is just as important. Just look at how the 225hp 330i is able to match speeds with the 260hp G35s.. gearing is most of that. Give the 330i 260hp or gear the G35s different and you'll see a great increase. The G35s6mt is a couple tenths faster than the auto g35 they used in that test.

Second example, the 350Z.. 13.9-14.2 in the quarter but weighs ~3400lbs(including gas, driver variables) and puts down whp in the 230s. Perhaps Subaru is posting close to wheel hp like Dodge is doing with their psycho neon SRT-4. Oh, and for my gearing.. the 350Z vert runs 14.3 in the quarter. They changed out the gearing for the vert to make up for the extra lbs.

Anyhow, I still have a tough time believing those numbers. Wouldn't that make the WRX much faster than it is? MotorTrend sounds more right.



dont forget awd helps out a bit too.

[M_TYPE_X]

My parents are very interested in the turbo Forester (as they are in anything Subaru).
But wait when they hear who makes the turbocharger for the car! http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Oh well, a few years from now we'll be seeing GM pushrod engines in "Subarus" and non-AWD rebadged Malibus as "Subarus" ... so, whatever. http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/tongue.gif http://forums.freshalloy.com/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[**DONOTDELETE**]

don't most mags use gtech devices which is not very accurate and can lead to .5 - 1 second variances



Nope - Datron optical equipment, the most accurate you can get.

Remember, it is not unheard-of for MFRs to slip mags a "ringer" that has been specially tuned. And with a turbo motor, such a "ringer" is easy to do, and quite difficult to detect.

I'd wait to see what other mags get.

[pudicus]

don't most mags use gtech devices which is not very accurate and can lead to .5 - 1 second variances



Nope - Datron optical equipment, the most accurate you can get.

Remember, it is not unheard-of for MFRs to slip mags a "ringer" that has been specially tuned. And with a turbo motor, such a "ringer" is easy to do, and quite difficult to detect.

I'd wait to see what other mags get.


That very well may have been the case. When the R34 GT-R 1st reached the UK shores one of their auto rags ran it against a Turbo Supra; both vehicles being stock. And so after the Supra got obliterated, the tester declared that he'd auction off his testicles if the Skyline's motor was indeed pumping a mere 280HP. 'Cause judging by the sheer perfomance numbers there was no chance in hell its HP could be that modest.

[6speeder]

The Forester probably has the WRX STi tuning under the hood and is purposely underrated. If it goes to production like that, it will be one of the best performance bargains out there.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Also consider that with most turbo motors, peak power is just part of the story. The other part is the fat midrange power curve, so it is making good power at all RPM.

[nosuchsol]

To add the 2.5XT has 235lbs-ft of torque at a relatively low number. Sometime those mags at the hairdressers can be worthwhile.