Impreza RS/L

[nbw]

I read allot about the WRX and WRX sti but I rarely EVER read or hear anything about the Impreza RS and L on this forum or anywhere. So I am curious as to why this is... how good are they as a "platform" for a project car? I admit they dont have much hp stock but like anyother car that can be fixed. The way I see it, I can get either an RS or L and with a good amount of money and work I can end up with a 2door WRX/STI badboy.
So, why dont we hear about these cars much? Are they a waste of time if your looking to build a supercar(so to speak) or are they one of those underrated car gem's? How do they compare with the AWD DSM's in handling? Chasi regitity? curb weight? Drivetrain strenth? And how does the impreza's drivetrain differ from the gsx?
Any comments or even random opinions about these cars?

*note, I post this here so that I may get a collective and "unbiased" set of opinions as to how they compare with other cheap sports cars.

[Zwrangler]

well I for one have never heard of a impreza RS or L but looking at their photos on the net i can see they're just normal impreza's. where do you live by the way??? anyway, to get an impreza RS or L into a wrx or an STI standard will cost you a hell of a lot more than getting a WRX in the first place, which is probably why no one bothers with modding the RS and L. I mean to get an RS or L into an Sti... lets look at it step by step, you'll strip the guts and chop the car in half, and put it back together as a two door, get an STI interior, get an STI engine and gearbox, get STI suspension, get STI brembo brakes, get STI exhaust, get STI axles and all the drivetrain stuff, oh and ofcourse fit it in and put it all together and paint it......... well before you know it you've spent as much as the price of 3 STI's and all you have in the end is an STI knock off that no one will buy coz its not a genuine STI.

sorry not trying to be harsh or anything, just trying to be objective and unbiased here.

[nbw]

well, I wouldnt be trying to create an STI clone.. but get sti performance.. w/ the RS I would just rebuild+turbocharge/supercharge the engine.
And allot of people do mod those cars.. yet I have yet to even see an RS IRL yet... so.. *shrugs..
Chop the car in half? RS/L came in both sadan and coup.
http://www.whitetyphoon.com/impreza/impreza.jpg

Oh and I'm located at D/FW Texas.

[Zwrangler]

oh it comes in a coupe version as well?? sorry, didn't know that coz like i said i'd nevr seen it. but daaaaym that looks sweet. well if i didn't have the money for an STI but really wanted an impreza i would definitely turbocharge it like you said and get an exhaust, intake, rims, suspension and the bodykit for a sweet looking package all up.

hmmm, well as for not too many people talking about the RS and L i'd say its probably coz they just don't know what it is and haven't seen it before. I know the RS and L aren't sold in Australia for one and Australia alone has something crazy like 15,000 wrx's sold every year, don't quote me on that though coz i'm not sure on the exact number but lets just say wrx's are everywhere in Australia.

[Zwrangler]

hmmm, looking at subaru's australian site i see they actually do sell the RS. but its pretty uncommon though, most impreza's are RX, GX and a few RV models. No coupe version though.

[kfoote]

I had a 99 2.5RS 2 door coupe before I got the STi. They're good, solid cars, the 99's are about 200-300 lbs lighter than the STi, and are much easier to drive than the STi. It's got enough power for a daily driver commuter car, and is very good in the snow. As far as the L goes, the RS gives a huge boost in power for not much money at this point.

What you don't get with the 2.5 is the limited slip rear diff of the WRX, and make sure you get the 5-speed, because the 5-speed trans has a 50/50 tourque split F/R, and the auto trans is 90% front/10% rear.

[LjasonL]

They own anything in their price range in all around street performance

www.rs25.com

[nbw]

thanks for the link

So how does an Impreza's drive train differ/compare from an AWD DSM's? Impreza's are RWD based right?

Also how do the RS and L(L=Legacy right?) differ other then engine? Chasis/tranny/drivetrain the same? The L's 1.8 is a boxer type as well? Reason I ask is I highly doubt i will be able to afford a 98 and up car atm.. and iirc there where no pre-98 RS's.

[LjasonL]

The entire drivetrain from the RS to the L is pretty much the same. You could swap in a 2.5 pretty easily if that's what you wanted. Some day I'm gonna buy an L wagon and do a 2.5 swap to use for a daily driver.

[nbw]

really? thats really good to hear. So what is the difference between RS and L Other then the engine. I have YET read about a difference between the two from searching at rs25.com and nasioc.com is there a weight differnce?

*im starting to wonder if I should have gone ahead and just posted this thread at the impreza forum..

[LjasonL]

I'm pretty sure the L is lighter since it has fewer options. I KNOW the FWD L's are lighter, but... they're FWD

The L has a lower end interior than the RS

The older model Imprezas had slightly different headlights, but with a hood, grill and lights from an RS (or any otherl newer model) you could change it all. I think it was 97-98 that it changed to a more angular style