jamal

oops double post

Yeah, I haven't ever really had a good dealer experience. I found a really great independant Subaru shop back home, though. I just wanted to add that the coolant shouldn't be to the top of the reservoir, it should be at the "full" line.

Well, say you're driving with one side of the car on ice and one side on pavement. If you floor it, both the tires on ice will start to spin. Since pretty much no power is going to the wheels on dry pavement, and the wheels on ice aren't getting any traction, the traction from the wheels on pavement will probably keep you going straight. The traction control in the Benz does help, but the Subaru will still be better. The case of spinning two wheels is pretty extreme, and in most cases there will probably be pretty even traction from left to right, and enough so that you don't just spin two wheels, so power is going to all four. The AWD-SH system I mentioned is different from what they have in the CRV.

MT (except STi) has a full time 50-50 split. Some Subarus (91-92 Turbo Legacy, 98-01 RS, and WRX I know (think) for sure) have a rear LSD. Without the LSD, it's possible to just spin one front and one back tire. On cars with a rear LSD and an open front diff, you can spin both back tires and one front tire. AFIK, the STi is the only car with limited slip in the front. Yes, ATs have a 90-10 split until the fronts start to slip or if the gear selector is in 1 or 2 (in my 93 Legacy, anyway), in which case it goes to 50-50. I think some cars have a viscous coupling, where speed differences cause the fluid to shear, heat up, thicken, and send power the back wheels, kind of like a torque convertor, and some have a locking clutch-type center diff where a sensor detects a speed difference and engages the diff. I don't know how VDC works, but I assume it just brakes a wheel when it starts to slip, so the power will go to the side that has traction. The new Honda AWD-SH system looks pretty impressive. it uses clutch pack in the rear diff to transfer additional power to a wheel instead of braking the other. Check out this sweet video. You can't really say that an AWD car handles like a RWD car on a slippery surface. You can sit there and plow the front wheels on-throttle, and other times you can kick the back end out and do awesome donuts. Just depends on weight transfer. I don't know if some of this is wrong, so don't quote me on it. I should probably just not post when I'm not sure I know what I'm talking about.

You could just put the selector in 2 or 3, and then into D when you want it to shift to 4th.

How would you be able to have it in the US? Wouldn't it just be impounded at customs? I remember something about Bill Gates trying to import a Porsche and they wouldn't let them.

Pretty much all subaru wheels are interchangeable, except for the SVX and 05 STi. I don't know if the Outback has bigger brakes or anything, though, so you might need another set of 16" wheels.

wait... no. The whole point of getting the CAI is to get rid of the big black box that "restricts airflow." The MAF should still fit in there between the filter and the tube, then the tube goes to the throttle body.

Right. That's not what they're talking about though. The 92 legacy was also offered in FWD, and the poster was wondering when Subaru stopped making FWD cars.

Someone else posted this on another forum: ...from the Driven section of the June 04 issue of Automobile magazine: Critics greeted the news that Saab would sell a version of the Subaru Impreza wagon as a sure sign of General Motors' cluelessness (the corporation owns all of Saab and 20% of Subaru). After all, why should anyone buy a Subaru from a Saab store? The answer is that the 9-2X is the best Impreza wagon ever built. There are two 9-2X models: the Linear, with Subaru's normally aspirated, 165 hp 2.5L boxer four; and the Aero, with Subaru's turbocharged, 227hp, 2.0L WRX engine. The 9-2X gets its visual personality from a three-port Saab grille and a reshaped hatch. European taste for color and materials works some magic in the interior. Acoustic insulation around the cockpit keeps the engine from sounding like a bunch of screws shaking inside a tin can. But the 9-2X is more than just a bit of Swedish botox for the Impreza's overstyled skin. There's also a more light-footed ride from aluminum suspension arms and recalibrated dampers. Most important, Saab has taken the annoying sloppiness out of the Impreza's steering response with a quicker steering ratio, more rigidly mounted steering hardware, and stiffer chassis bushings. As a result, the all-wheel-drive 9-2X crisply takes a predictable set during cornering, even with its relatively tame 205/55VR-16 Bridgestone Potenza RE92A tires, while the optional 215/45ZR-17 Bridgestones deliver steering response that's even a bit too aggressive. Although the $27,645 9-2X Aero has a list price that's about $3000 more expensive than the WRX wagon version, Saab offers such a long list of improvements, upgrades, and additional equipment (plus a better warranty and two years of free maintenance) that we figure the 9-2X actually represents a pretty good deal. GM-style badge engineering is usually a bad idea, but Saab has made it work.

I heard that the twin turbo will only fit in RHD cars. Otherwise I'm buying one when I have money in a year or so.

Unless it's a 2.5RS, the car has the 2.2

DOES THIS AFFECT ALL THE YEARS THE LISTED CARS WERE MADE?

I always thought the only big difference was that the TS was the Wagon.

Turbo Legacy. 94 was the last year they were made, unless you want a 2005.

It's not turbo, and it is all wheel drive. They stopped making the turbo legacy after 1994. That car was not a legacy L- the trim was actually "turbo." It did have a scoop and spoiler, but was the 1st gen body style. Sounds like a pretty good deal, though. Not much you can do in terms of getting more power, but suspension upgrades wouldn't be a bad idea.

212, i believe. 210 lb-ft of torque. I don't understand why they even bothered making a new 6, with the variety of turbo-charged engines now available in the US. So the outback is the only Subaru with the H6. I was kind of surprised that they put the 2.5t in the baja. The new legacy will also have that engine... mmmm. 2005 Legacy GT. In a year or two I'll be able to buy a new car. It's going to come down to that and the STi. Edit: I see.

indeed. It's a 2.2, right? I also thought that it was non-interference. Did the same place do all of the work? Sounds to me like it's their fault. $2000? You could probably just buy a new engine and have it installed for that much. I just had to spend $600 after my water pump went out, causing me to have to get that and the timing belt replaced while on a ski trip (turned out that sound I was hearing wasn't noisy lifters). It was awesome. At least the car's running great now.

yes.

I don't know what the door pockets look like on your car, but a soft 48-cd case fits quite nicely into the ones in my legacy. Also, yes, damn those cup holders. At least I can change the song or station if I only have one cup in the passenger holder. You could buy one of those window ones and attach it to the side of the trasmission hump next to the shifter or something. Can't help on the rack, though. I have a thule. it's nice.

There's an empty fuse slot on the passenger side of the engine bay marked "FWD" Just put in one of the spare fuses from the fuse box.

Yes, drive slow and all of that, but one thing you should be aware of is snap (/liftoff?) oversteer, that can occur if you take your foot off the gas in a slide. Sometimes, if you start to slide while turning, giving it more gas can straighten the car. It's probably best that you experiment in an empty parking lot. Driving slow and trying to keep yourself out of such situations is of course best, but you should definitely find out how your car behaves when it does happen.

Why would it torque steer? Torque steer is caused by unequal length drive shafts on FWD cars with transversly mounted engines. The STi drivetrain will also transfer more power to the rear wheels under acceleration, which will definitely NOT cause torque steer.

Thanks. That was about what I figured. Derailing the thread even more; My experiences with the manual button (in my 93 Legacy L awd) sort of conflict with the description on your website. When I have the manual mode activated, and have it in 1, 2, or 3, the car will start in that gear, and will not shift to the next gear until redline. If I'm cruising in 3rd, or start in third, it will not downshift to 2nd unless I turn off manual mode.

Speaking of "power mode," what does it do, anyway? It turns on for hard acceleration, but I haven't noticed a difference.