blitz

It's a safe bet to say that every car made since 1970, has been issued in a separate version for Cali. You might be able to get the facts for the specific model in question from SOA. Also Chilton's manuals will generally make reference to Cali vs 49-state versions in the "Emisions Control" section. Chilton's or Motor's are usually available at the public library.

Thanks all. Now that's it's been made apparent that the RSI is a performance snow, I know that it's not the tire I want. I already have a vehicle shod with performance snows, which are fantastic tires, ...really I understand, but they do have limitations, especially after a few seasons of use. What I need to know is, which of the three remaining currently-available Nokians are SNOW/SNOWS. Not trying to be a ball buster here :-p , but c'mon now, in all fairness it was one of two questions I asked at the head of the thread. This year I'll have 30 years of winter driving experience under my belt, so I understand the various personalities of tires in the snow. This'll be my first time trying Nokians and the website descriptions are utterly useless. In other words, I know what kind of tire I want, I just don't know which of the Nokians IS THAT tire. Duh...

Ed, I gotta go studless, studs are illegal here. Are you hip to these Green Diamonds?: http://greendiamondtire.com/concept.html Kinda interesting, but they're re-treads which scares me a little. I'd be afraid to go over 50 mph (90 kph).

I wanna set this car up so I can go looking for snow banks to plow through. I don't care if they squirm a little on dry pavment. Maybe it's just the photo on the site I'm not sure, but they look so much milder than the Q's. Basically they seem like a completely different tire from the Q (non-studdable, etc.) Someone posted a picture of the RSI a couple weeks back, was that you? It looked a lot ballsier in the posted photo than the website photo. The only problem is that snows with a pavement-friendly demeanor seem to lose their snow effectiveness at a faster rate than big-blocky snows do (as a result of wear).

Yeah, the Hakka 2 looks like the ticket, it has the deepest tread. The RSI looks like might give up a little deep snow bite for some road stability, but I already have that base covered with Dunlop Wintersport S2 on my other Sube. This manual-tranny car has to be shoed-up for the real hairy snow duty. Thanks all.

Thanks Northguy. The Nokian site shows four winter models: Hakka 2 Hakka Q Nordman 1 RSI But doesn't list any Hakka 1 or 10. http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tiresub.cfm?cid=1&sid=1 I'm thinking that they're no longer available?

I picked up my '00 OBS last Monday and I've been buzzing around town in it. Great car. Definitely a sleeker and lither vehicle than the second gen Impreza, and the 2.2 is a nice growly motor. I'm back in love with the boxer. Anyway the Bridgestone RE-930i no-season tires on it really suck, so the next thing on my list is a set of real Nokian winter tires. Two questions for those that use 'em: 1. Which Nokian is THE total winter tire? 2. Which Nokian is 90% a winter tire with some dry pavement manners? The written descriptions on the Nokian site say absolutely nothing.

Here's a quote from their site that caught my eye: (emphasis added by me.) "We guarantee that if you REPAIR THE PROBLEM THAT CAUSE THE HEAD GASKET TO FAIL IN THE FIRST PLACE and then faithfully follow the Thermagasket Application Instructions, you will repaire (sic) your vehicle's head gasket problem and have it back on the road for a fraction the cost of a conventional repair." Say what? Whole lotta double-talkin' goin on. My gut says steer clear.

The average voltage taken from the rear sensor is logged at the conclusion of each driving "event" (engine start, to key off) and is used to influence fuel trim. Therefore the exact problem could be anything that influences the rear sensor's average logged value to such an extent that it drives the trim parameter out of range. e.g. defective rear sensor, defective connection to the rear sensor, or an exhaust leak located after the first sensor but located before the second. I can't think of any more, but I'm sure there are more.

The solenoid in question is a part of the rear transfer clutch located in the transaxle, not the rear diff. Your best bet would be to purchase a factory manual for your car. If you plan on keeping the vehicle for any length of time, the manual will more than pay for itself. I wish I had more specific info for you about the solenoid, but I don't. Do a USMB search. Almost everything you'll need to know about it is in the archives for your use. Maybe someone else can chime in.

Jon, here's the thing; there's nothing wrong with enjoying the sportiness of your car, but do it prudently. There's no "one-size-fits-all" prudence, you gotta create your own special version that fits you. Test the emergency handling characteristics of your car at lower speeds, then progress gingerly to medium speeds, but do it where no one else will be in danger. Also do it out of sight of law enforcement, because even though familiarizing yourself with your car's inertias will make you a safer driver, the LEO will be forced to chalk it up as reckless behaviour. From the weight transfer/yaw you get at low and medium speed manuevers, you can deduce pretty well how the vehicle's gonna respond in a high-speed sweeper. (essentially the same, only more exaggerated on the tail out motion). Also, don't drive beyond your visibility. Example: Don't drive through a blind turn at a speed faster than what you will be able to maintain safe control of the vehicle should an obstacle suddenly appear in the roadway. Even if specific speed numbers aren't posted, the law still implies the safe limit as being a speed at which control can be maintained. Bottom line: don't pass the buck. With freedom, comes responsibility.

I'll be picking the car up on Monday, then I'll have a better chance to assess the situation. If it's just an adjustment issue that would be excellent. I'm buying this car off A Subaru dealer's lot, it was a trade-in on a new Subie purchase. I believe that means that the car wasn't a lemon and gave good enough service to the previous owner to warrant his loyalty in return business. The salesman produced some portion of a service record that showed that the car in fact had a new clutch installed and the pressure plate turned about 8,000 miles ago. I wasn't having any of it and offered three grand less than what it was tagged at. He bit.

Thanks Bill. I don't know for a fact, but I was under the assumtion that the '00 uses a hydraulic system instead of a cable. I didn't check for pedal free play at the top tho. My last car was a manual tranny with 196k miles on the original clutch, the engagement point was still 2/3 from the top when I sold it. The only manually-shifted vehicle I've ever owned that needed a new clutch from severe use was a 72' Kawasaki H-2. It was fun wasting that clutch.

Suddenly lifting in mid-turn while pushing the limit of adhesion is a recipe for disaster in almost any vehicle, but even more so in a "GT chassied" FWD or viscous-coupled 50/50 AWD vehicle. Experienced performance drivers recognize lift-throttle oversteer as a universal and well known handling characteristic. You the driver are responsible for keeping control of your vehicle at all times. Your choice to drive your car at it's limit without being fully aware of it's emergency handling characteristics was your's alone. You were careless. You were foolish. You wrecked. I conclude that the only defective component in the vehicle system was the nut behind the wheel. Sorry to be so harsh, but you asked. BTW, what was the legal posted speed limit on the turn in question?

My Dodge (Mitsubishi) Colt used to fire with a just the slightest, momentary blip of the key ...hot or cold. It's fart-fig-newton (fahrfehgnugen?) for the driver, but apparently hell on the motor. I wish I could remember more clearly, but I believe it was a G.M. paper within the last year or so that was speaking in regards to up-rated motor oil low-temp flow requirements specifically for the purpose of addressing the long-term wear patterns (damage) caused to F.I. engines as a result of their eagerness to fire instantly at arctic temps.

The solution to this problem is almost too easy: Have him open the hood and show you the turbo. No?

While most fuel injected cars start right up with a click of the key, Subaru's have that distinctive 1.5 sec. crank-before-fire characteristic. I've always assumed that this was another one of Subaru's strategies toward achieving long engine life by way of giving 5-6 priming revolutions before light-off.

Damn, the only one to come to my aid about an Impreza question is a Legacy lover. Maybe I'm buying the wrong car. Basically what I did was while entering a freeway on-ramp, full throttle in top gear at the torque-peak, I bopped the clutch to let the revs come up about 1k and see if the lining had enough grab to haul 'em back down, but it didn't, the revs started to run away. That was my first time driving a 2.2. It definitely has the bulk of torque concentrated down lower around 2-4000k RPM, whereas my 2.5 phase II has a power-surge up around 4-5500k RPM. Thanks Matt.

I checked out a used 2000 OBS this morning, 79,000 miles. The car is solid, but the engagement point on the clutch is near the top, and it slips just a wee bit in the higher gears. This is just a classic symptom of a clutch in need of replacement right? I can fix it if that's all it is, I'll just knock off the appropriate amount off the price of the car. I just need confirmation that this isn't some other malady that affects Impreza's. Help, expert advice anyone?

A question for anyone with a Turbo Forester with the auto trans: How does this combo work in practical terms? Not 0-60 times or 1/4 mile times, but rather the actual availability of power, relative to turbo spool-up during normal city driving. In a nutshell, is power readily on-tap, or are there times where there is a noticable lag?

Having said that, I'd consider limited slip a highly welcome addition if my vehicle useage included a lot of "ranch" or backwoods type driving. e.g. gravel, mud, grass, hills, un-even terrain, or pulling a boat trailer up a seaweed-slicked ramp.

The solution would be to merely apply a little brake along with throttle and away you go... I've always preffered open diffs in combination with good tires for slippery driving for reasons of better directional control. Limited slips tend to promote a lot of lateral movement whenever traction gets sparse.

Har! Har! I 'spose the second part of the question is: define "better". The group IV & V (PAO & POE) types excel at both long oil change interval and low-temp flow properties, that fact can't be denied. I do think however that the performance gap between synth & conventional has narrowed appreciably in the last 20 years. Having lurked on BITOG for some time, I've noticed a tendency for the new semi-synth oils (various blends of group II, II+, III) to show some of the lowest wear rates for some unexplained reason. Also thankfully, the price on the semi-synths are dropping, now that more OEM's are specing them as required fill (Ford, Honda, etc.) As far as the power aspect goes I will add this: a friend of mine who works at Maclaren in Livonia, Michigan, assembling and dynoing lease engines for racing use, told me that they've been filling exclusively with Mobil 1 0W-40.

Define "synthetic". Now THERE'S humor!

On my '02, only the 1 (low) postion locks-in the 50/50 split, but I think that certain earlier years allowed both the 1 & 2 positions to do it, but I can't confirm it.