jamal

I've always like them. And there is a 5-speed conversion kit available, along with some other stuff. http://www.smallcar.com/svx/5spdkit.htm

swap the air units out for standard strut and spring suspension how, you ask? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/search.php? http://bbs.legacycentral.org/search.php

Nice car, I've always like them. I wonder how it'd look with some 05 STi wheels. Has anyone done it? Hmm. I thought they were 5x114. but scoobymods says 5x4.5. huh?

I'm not really familiar with the process, but I'm pretty sure you can just take the old parts out, and throw in new struts, springs, and tops. You'll need the strut tops, upper spring perches, rubber isolator dealies, and struts and springs. Then you can just take out or disconnect the compressor or whatever. If the air suspension still works, you could probably sell the parts in the marketplace here or at legacycentral. A good aftermarket suspension for a Legacy seems to be something like KYB GR2 struts (check tirerack or the shock warehouse) and some Whiteline control springs (pdm racing has them). They're matched well and have wagon-specific applications, and aren't a huge drop or increase in stiffness over stock. If you want to get really fancy, you could pick up some Group N strut tops, too (I recommend oakos if they have them in stock). Perches and stuff you could probably get at 1stsubaruparts, or used off someone who doesn't need them. You could also get some AGX struts, which are adjustable and can handle a stiffer spring. Here's the suspension compendium at legacycentral. As you might notice, BFs have pretty stiff rear springs. If you go with a sedan spring, it will sag in the rear and ride/handle poorly.

I think I read somewhere the rating for my thule rack was 165lb. and 150-175lb is a good estimate. It could be more like 190lb, though, and I'd say that's too much. No one has a pickup or something you can borrow?

Do they just smell hot, or can you notice fade? Using the brakes hard can definitely heat them up to the point where they smell. I've had my brakes hot to the point where they smelled a little burnt, but were still working fine. I've also had them fade noticably. If you're already engine braking and you notice the braking ability is reduced, you should probably get a set of better pads. I used the wonder that is the classified forum on nasioc to pick up wrx front and "h6" rear brakes on the cheap. It's a bit of overkill though. Here's a picture of some really hot brakes:

I got my 16" WRX wheels from the classifieds on nasioc. Try to find something local, because shipping a set of wheels gets a little pricey. My wheels and tires were $200 picked up, in like new condition. I think I'm about to just buy another set because it's cheaper than buying new tires and I can live with RE92s. Pretty much the only Subaru wheels that won't fit your car are SVX and 05-06 STi wheels. Anything else has the correct offset and bolt pattern. Rota makes aftermarket wheels that aren't too expensive that fit Subarus. subydude.com sells them. Picture:

Woah, I'd read up a bit more on suspension setups and how they affect handling. And yes, better tires with a shorter sidewall will make a drastic difference in the car's handling. I went from 14" steelies to 16" WRX wheels and the difference was huge. Oversteer is when the rear of the car starts to slide first. By throwing on a big rear swaybar, you sort of stiffen up the rear suspension and effectively reduce the rear grip. By reducing the rear grip, you make the front wheels less likely to begin sliding first (understeer). So, say you coast through a sharp corner without a rear swaybar. Chances are, when the car starts to slide, the fronts will plow forward. Throw on a huge rear swaybar, and the rear might start to slide first. People have the tendancy to put huge rear bars on front- and all-wheel drive cars, because basically, they will never oversteer under power. The only time power oversteer occurs is in a RWD car. Or when it's slippery with AWD, sometimes. Currently, I have an 18mm front and 18mm rear swaybar on my Legacy, and a little less negative camber than I'd like in the rear. The nice thing is that I can really get on it exiting a corner without getting a lot of understeer. The bad thing is that if I coast into a corner, or brake late into a corner, the rear is much more willing to step out. This causes another problem for many drivers. Instinct tends to be to slow down when the car starts to slide. If I brake into a corner and the rear comes out, the only way to recover is to get on the gas, something that tends to be a little counter-intuitive. Lifting, or hitting the brakes, will usually spin the car. A few weeks ago I was on a drive and came into a sharp corner a little fast because I could see that I had tons of space and there were no other cars around. The back stepped out, and I took my time correcting to have a little fun. I actually had to go to full opposite lock (quickly) and stomp the throttle to stop the car from spinning. p.s. don't mess around on public roads. Here is a good GRM article on swaybars.

Sounds like you need the strut top, and not the actual strut. This thing is probably ripped apart if the strut tube is pushed through the speaker cover. I assume you have a wagon? Maybe take off the speaker cover and take a look. This is what a strut top looks like: This is how the strut assembly goes together (obviously the spring is missing): This is what you probably need, the top and spring perch: And no, you can't drive like that. You're basically driving without a strut. You'll need a jack, some jackstands, a few wrenches, and a spring compressor to change this stuff. Your strut and spring *might* still be useable. If you were to take the whole assembly out of another car, it would just bolt right in, and you wouldn't need a spring compressor, either.

The power curve starts dropping off before redline, so simply raising the rev-limiter isn't going to get you anything other than increased wear (and maybe some broken engine parts). I suppose with a set of cams it might be worth bumping up a few hundred rpm. I haven't ever hit a speed limiter on my 93. If it exists, it's somewhere above 115 mph.

I think maybe I'm going to put my covers back on and buy some acrylic stone shields. I just checked and one light will run me $75.

In any case, I believe the turbo and non-turbo housings are different.

I've heard of that happening, and I think what the person ended up doing was putting some shaving cream or something on the bar, seeing where it intefered, and pounding that part of the hood in a bit. You could also sell it and try a different bar, I suppose.

Sucks about the lights. At rallylights.com, you can buy individual pieces. Maybe it's repairable?

so, what's this, the fourth time you've posted this thread? "HAY GUYS MY AWD DOESN'T WORK WHATS WRONG?" probably isn't going to get you the answers you're looking for. I think last time I asked you if the FWD light was on, and you said it was, and I said read the manual. Has something changed since then or should we all just give you pages upon pages of guesses of what the problem could be? I'll also suggest going to a dealer or independant Subaru mechanic, because sometimes a bunch of people on the Internet can't solve your problems. Or, you know, you can take the advice that's already been given to you, and tell us what you've found out.

http://autocolorlibrary.com/cgi-bin/search/searchpic.pl?1997-subaru-pg01.jpg My car is Phoenician Blue Poly

only on 05 and maybe 04 STi. No HIDs in the US for the bugeye, anyway.

I have 04 STi struts and springs on my 93 Legacy, and a lot of other stuff is compatible. 93-01 Impreza suspension is pretty much identical to that of 90-94 Legacies. The problem with using WRX springs on a Legacy wagon is the weight distribution. The wagons require much stiffer springs in the rear, and I wouldn't put WRX springs on stock Legacy struts, either (assuming they'll fit in the lower spring perch properly. Even if you used WRX wagon springs it would still ride too low in the back and wouldn't handle well at all. A better option would be to just use 92-94 Legacy wagon struts and springs. Take the stock springs and put them on some new KYB GR2s or something. Check out the suspension information compendium at Legacycentral for more info.

I've heard taking out the snorkus can be more trouble than it's worth, but a swaybar for any 93-01 Impreza, probably some Legacies, and maybe some later Imprezas will fit. Whiteline makes stuff that will fit your car that can be bought online at PDM racing or kastle's korner, among other places. My 93 Legacy has struts and springs from an 04 STi, 99 Impreza rear lateral links, WRX swaybar mounts, a 94 turbo Legacy rear swaybar, and polyurethane steering rack bushings made for a WRX. Also WRX wheels and tires and I have brakes in my room. I haven't really bothered with any engine mods though. If I want to go faster and keep this car I'll put in a WRX driveline.

This is a pretty good guide to aiming lights: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html The site has other good lighting info, as well. I still haven't done it according to the guide, though; I just half-assed it on the wall in my lot. I think they could be aimed a little higher, even though they put out quite a bit more light farther down the road than the high beams.

I would think you can get one at a dealership with the vin. I got a replacement key a few times, and I think that's what I did. So that was like, the nicest car on the lot. j/k

Uh, top to bottom: Top mount, spring perch, rubber isolator, spring, lower isolator, spring perch attached to strut. So you mean the upper spring perches? I guess when I hear top hat I think of the top mount. In any case, does this help? This stuff is from a 93 Legacy, but it still works about the same. The strut should lean out a bit. Oh, are you talking about the front? It's still the same, with the hole for the strut body towards the inside.

The single bolt faces out. I think "4WD OUT" might even be stamped into the top.

Remove the FWD fuse. Like I said, it explains it in the owner's manual. If you don't have one, Legacy777 has online scans.

Is "FWD" lit up in the cluster? If so, read the owner's manual. Otherwise you might have center diff or duty solenoid c problems. Of course, we could probably come up with a little more information if we were told more about the car, like if it's a 5-speed or auto. How does the awd not work? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/search.php?searchid=150443 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/search.php?searchid=150444