80 replies to this topic

[SacKen]

As tragic as this is, we must remember that this is nothing new and will probably never stop happening. Small, fast, rally inspired cars are just the current version of young men and their fascination with speed and racing. This is no different than hot-rod/muscle car drag races of previous generations.

If there was a 24-hour news cycle in the 1800's. I'm sure there would have been reports of teens upgrading their horse with faster, lighter shoes with more grip and some aftermarket company selling high energy food that is "guaranteed to increase the efficiency of your horse power."

This isn't about bad parents allowing their son to have a fast car (although he was 18, so this is a moot point anyway), or bad kids getting into trouble. This is about normal young men doing what normal young men do. Most live through this phase, some don't. Some never grow out of it. Not much you can do about it but teach your kids about the dangers and hope it has some effect on their decision making.

[nlove4ever]

How does a "teen" afford a $20k WRX?

That is a street legal rally car and is especially dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced driver.

Not that it's the cars fault, but I'm of the opinion that all teenagers will crash, it's only a matter of "how badly"? Go YouTube "rally crash" and see what those cars are capable of.

I know that one of the teens that was (EJ Shaw) killed has a WRX. He was able to afford this car because he was in an accident previously and received a large settlement. If I was his Mom I would not have let him purchase this car but if he was 18 at the time, I guess there wasnt much she could do.

My son and several of his friends were always worried about him dying in an accident because he would race his car.

[Bill Z]

Any cops or lawyers on here, please answer my questions.

Presuming it is determined that the driver was driving at an excessively high rate of speed and is found guilty of vehicular manslaughter.

Per the channel 13 report, this was one of 3 cars driving together. Are the drivers and/or passengers of the other 2 cars guilty of a crime? Are they accessories to vehicular manslaughter?

[03Evan]

Although this is a true tragedy, it is important to not jump to conclusions until more information is released. Police are speculating that speed may have been a factor, but that is just speculation so far. I have been on Salmon Falls road once in my life and for a good reason. I was on my motorcycle, not speeding, just riding and I had no less than three oncoming cars come into my lane due to their excessive speed, not mine. It is always possible that the accident is the result of a maneuver made to avoid an accident... we don't know.


As far as a kid with a WRX, these cars are not really all that powerful (the rally versions are heavily modified to produce upwards of 500 HP as compared to the stock 227HP a WRX comes with), your average modern family sedan is just as fast.

[03Evan]

Presuming it is determined that the driver was driving at an excessively high rate of speed and is found guilty of vehicular manslaughter.

Per the channel 13 report, this was one of 3 cars driving together. Are the drivers and/or passengers of the other 2 cars guilty of a crime? Are they accessories to vehicular manslaughter?

From what I understand, if it is an actual street race, then it is definitely a possibility, but that might be hard to prove and get a conviction for.

[nlove4ever]

Although this is a true tragedy, it is important to not jump to conclusions until more information is released. Police are speculating that speed may have been a factor, but that is just speculation so far. I have been on Salmon Falls road once in my life and for a good reason. I was on my motorcycle, not speeding, just riding and I had no less than three oncoming cars come into my lane due to their excessive speed, not mine. It is always possible that the accident is the result of a maneuver made to avoid an accident... we don't know.


As far as a kid with a WRX, these cars are not really all that powerful (the rally versions are heavily modified to produce upwards of 500 HP as compared to the stock 227HP a WRX comes with), your average modern family sedan is just as fast.

You are correct however he poured a bunch of money in to it and made it really fast.

[mylo]

As far as a kid with a WRX, these cars are not really all that powerful (the rally versions are heavily modified to produce upwards of 500 HP as compared to the stock 227HP a WRX comes with), your average modern family sedan is just as fast.

It's no rocket, but I certainly wouldn't buy my kid one. More power to him if he bought it himself (albeit a dangerous waste of $20k when you're 18y/o).

From: RoadandTrack speed test, 12/06
0-60 = 5.1
0-100 = 13.1
1/4 mile = 13.6 sec @ 99.6 mph
80-0 = 216 ft

That's just a stock WRX, dunno if he had STi or what mods.

From: http://www.fastwrx.c...erformance.html

The Subaru WRX has tremendous performance out of the box. The latest version (this is 2006 model year) has 230 horsepower. And the STI model has 300 hp! The STI can do 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, and runs a 13.3-second quarter mile, according to Road & Track magazine. Not bad, but...can it be improved? Of course! When we say WRX performance, we don't mean STOCK performance.

With simple bolt-on parts (bolt-on meaning you don't have to take apart the actual block or heads), we can increase the horsepower of the WRX (either standard or STI) to over 400. This will make the car faster than nearly anything on the road. Of course, remember that the car is a complete system. Upgrade the engine alone, and your suspension and brakes will begin to feel woefully inadequate. Upgrade engine and suspension, but neglect brakes, and you can imagine where you might end up.

Even engine modifications have to work together. Bolt on a giant turbo, and your stock fuel injectors and fuel pump won't be able to keep up. Fix that, and the intercooler that was great for the stock turbo won't be able to handle the increased heat load. And so it goes.

We suggest to our customers that they do modifications incrementally. It may sound appealing to just plunk down a pile of money for a whole bushel of mods all in one shot, but you may not like the car you've created. Doing modifications in steps allows you to get a feel for how it will be to live with the car in its modified state, and allows you to reverse a mod if it doesn't suit your needs.

For more specific modification info, see our Going Faster, Turning Better, and Stopping Shorter sections. Follow the links below, too, for some background and general hints on modifying your Subaru.

For specific parts to look at first, take a look at the Exhaust, Suspension, and Intake sections. Almost all our customers do some kind of exhaust modifications, and lowering springs are one of our most popular products. Higher-flowing intakes are another affordable and effective modification, and a favorite with our customers.

[folsom500]

As horrible this one crash was - as SACKEN said- it is really not unusual and is a yearly occurrence dating back to when cars were first handed to school aged kids. I remember my sister crying coming home from high school in the early 60s after a friend of hers and others died in his car he was racing. I remember during my HS days in the late 60s and early 70s that several guys ended up in trees or other. I remember being a passenger twice with what seemed like a driver on a death mission- plummeting down a winding road that I thought at the time I would never see the end of ... And I remember my own follies of road racing my motorcycle on Summit Road and Hwy 9 and others in the bay area when I was in my early 20s. Youth is often about feeling invincible... and occasionally that next Jump, next ride or next race is the last... At that age many want to feel the adrenaline and some will learn how to get it while others will exceed their own ( or the roads ) abilities... and loose the prize

I am sorry this happened, but the good side of it - it is usually a major wake up call to others of similar age that are thinking about such things...

I just hope there was no alcohol involved=- then it moves this into another realm ...

[Bill Z]

Although this is a true tragedy, it is important to not jump to conclusions until more information is released. Police are speculating that speed may have been a factor, but that is just speculation so far. I have been on Salmon Falls road once in my life and for a good reason. I was on my motorcycle, not speeding, just riding and I had no less than three oncoming cars come into my lane due to their excessive speed, not mine. It is always possible that the accident is the result of a maneuver made to avoid an accident... we don't know.


As far as a kid with a WRX, these cars are not really all that powerful (the rally versions are heavily modified to produce upwards of 500 HP as compared to the stock 227HP a WRX comes with), your average modern family sedan is just as fast.

You haven't been in a WRX obviously, that car is a lot lighter than your average modern family sedan, so it is quite a bit sportier than a family sedan. There really are multiple components to performance, speed is one of them, but acceleration is another (which is the ability to get to a given speed).Cornering ability is also another aspect, on a twisty curvy road like salmon falls, that WRX will blow the doors off your average family sedan.

[Bill Z]

As horrible this one crash was - as SACKEN said- it is really not unusual and is a yearly occurrence dating back to when cars were first handed to school aged kids. I remember my sister crying coming home from high school in the early 60s after a friend of hers and others died in his car he was racing. I remember during my HS days in the late 60s and early 70s that several guys ended up in trees or other. I remember being a passenger twice with what seemed like a driver on a death mission- plummeting down a winding road that I thought at the time I would never see the end of ... And I remember my own follies of road racing my motorcycle on Summit Road and Hwy 9 and others in the bay area when I was in my early 20s. Youth is often about feeling invincible... and occasionally that next Jump, next ride or next race is the last... At that age many want to feel the adrenaline and some will learn how to get it while others will exceed their own ( or the roads ) abilities... and loose the prize

I am sorry this happened, but the good side of it - it is usually a major wake up call to others of similar age that are thinking about such things...

I just hope there was no alcohol involved=- then it moves this into another realm ...

well said, my HS yearbook had an "in memorium" page for the same reason as this news.

[03Evan]

You haven't been in a WRX obviously, that car is a lot lighter than your average modern family sedan, so it is quite a bit sportier than a family sedan. There really are multiple components to performance, speed is one of them, but acceleration is another (which is the ability to get to a given speed).Cornering ability is also another aspect, on a twisty curvy road like salmon falls, that WRX will blow the doors off your average family sedan.

I am well aware of the speed and power of a WRX. I have driven many makes and models of all sorts of cars, trucks and SUVs. Sure, a WRX is fast, but so is a Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 300c, etc. The Base WRX does a 14.4. A 2002 Nissan Maxima is a 14.6. All I was doing was putting into perspective the power a WRX has and saying let's not all jump to conclusions or blame parents too quickly.

[Bill Z]

I am well aware of the speed and power of a WRX. I have driven many makes and models of all sorts of cars, trucks and SUVs. Sure, a WRX is fast, but so is a Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 300c, etc. The Base WRX does a 14.4. A 2002 Nissan Maxima is a 14.6. All I was doing was putting into perspective the power a WRX has and saying let's not all jump to conclusions or blame parents too quickly.

Then you should know 1/4 mile times aren't the only factor. Especially on a twisty hilly road. BTW, I'm not blaming parents or jumping to conclusions.

[folsom500]

I am well aware of the speed and power of a WRX. I have driven many makes and models of all sorts of cars, trucks and SUVs. Sure, a WRX is fast, but so is a Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 300c, etc. The Base WRX does a 14.4. A 2002 Nissan Maxima is a 14.6. All I was doing was putting into perspective the power a WRX has and saying let's not all jump to conclusions or blame parents too quickly.

I have not seen where anyone has blamed a parent. The owner of the car was not even driving it - according to the news reports-
With respect to your comparisons the other cars are clearly not in the same 'SPORT " league as the Subaru... All are larger, heavier and soft suspensions... I would never attempt a hard and fast corner in my Chry 300 as I would have in my Chry Lebanon...
The Driver thought he was tough s--- driving his friends WRX with two cars of other friends behind ( so it seems) - He did not know the car well enough and he lost the game and unfortunately took three others to their Death

I would hope that he has learned a life long lesson ....

[Darthvader]

I am well aware of the speed and power of a WRX. I have driven many makes and models of all sorts of cars, trucks and SUVs. Sure, a WRX is fast, but so is a Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 300c, etc. The Base WRX does a 14.4. A 2002 Nissan Maxima is a 14.6. All I was doing was putting into perspective the power a WRX has and saying let's not all jump to conclusions or blame parents too quickly.

When you drive a car like a WRX that is used as a professional Rally car how do you think most of the drivers of that car are going to drive it? In a straight line?

[Stitch]

I am well aware of the speed and power of a WRX. I have driven many makes and models of all sorts of cars, trucks and SUVs. Sure, a WRX is fast, but so is a Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 300c, etc. The Base WRX does a 14.4. A 2002 Nissan Maxima is a 14.6. All I was doing was putting into perspective the power a WRX has and saying let's not all jump to conclusions or blame parents too quickly.

Granted a normal WRX isnt a Ken Block 540 hp race car but a stock 2009 265 hp WRX 5-door hatchback does 0-60 in 4.8 secs and a 13.5 quarter.

To paraphrase - "it's not your fathers old 'Subaru wagon 1800 GL' of yesteryear". WRX is way more power than most inexperienced (i.e. <4 yrs) need as most sedans are in the sub 200 hp area. I am not against power by no means, just gotta understand that it can get you into alot of trouble very quickly.