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Everything posted by blitz
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I'm almost at 40k miles on my RE-950's and I'm still saying good things about them. As stated; great all-around summer tire, wet or dry, but also as stated ...not brilliant in snow. I do use a separate winter tire. I'd kinda like to try out those Goodyear F-1's after I finish-off the 950's. **** ***A**!
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Well, let's take a look: (per '02 Impreza manual) "Engine oil viscosity affects fuel economy. Oils of lower viscosity provide better fuel economy. HOWEVER, IN HOT WEATHER, OIL OF HIGHER VISCOSITY IS REQUIRED TO PROPERLY LUBRICATE THE ENGINE" My manual has a little temperature graph indicating that 5W-30 is OK up to 100*F. The chart also has a second arrow indicating that above 0*F 10W-30 & 10W-40 are applicable. Then it reads: "If the vehicle is used in desert areas, in areas with very high temperatures, or used for heavy-duty applications such as towing a trailer, use of oil with the following grade and viscosities is recommended: SAE 30, 40, 10W-50, 20W-40, 20W-50" It wasn't that long ago when all owners manuals correlated viscosity with vehicle useage and ambient temperature, but the trend is toward manuals with a dumbed-down one-size-fits-all viscosity recommendation. It's to Subaru's credit that they still put the information in the manual for people that are willing to read it.
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One trick I've seen done (never tried it) to minimize the problem is to splice a fuel filter into each PCV line. You'll need three: one between each valve cover and the air box, and one more between the PCV valve and the air box. Those small, see-through glass-bodied ones (for hot-rod roadsters) that use a fine nylon mesh would be good. This'll keep the crankcase oil-mist and blowby gasses from backing up into into the airbox and then getting sucked past the throttle-blade every time you go full throttle. **** ******!
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10W-40 fell out of favor 25 years ago and still suffers from a hangover to this day ...most of it undeserved. 1. The group I (sovent-refined) base-stocks suffered from wax crystalization thickening at cold temperatures. This no longer a problem with group II and higher basestocks that comprise the bulk of current formulations. 2. The breakdown of inferior VII polymers caused sludge formation ...once again no longer a problem owing to new generation VII adds (and less VII adds, because of the higher starting VI of modern basestocks). The only thing that plagues most current run-of-the-mill 10W-40's is the weak add-packs. The curret lack of demand for this grade deters most producers from formulating expensive (robust) add-packs for it. It's not fair to make a blanket statement about 10W-40. There are premium synthetic 10W-40 products on the shelf that kick rump roast. **** ******!
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The most likely stuff: Various interior and dash rattles, rattling exhaust heat-shields, torque-bind (4EAT), clutch judder (5-manual), external head-gasket leak on drivers side, air pockets in cooling system, oil leaks from the front cam seals and crank seal, chipped and cracked windshield, defective radiator cap. Hopefully no more than one at a time. **** ******!
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I think some tires are definitely geared for low rolling resistance, while others are geared toward better driving. When I swapped the OEM RE-92 for RE-950, my mileage went down a bit, but the cornering G's went up a lot. As far as the loosening up thing, it does seem like some of my fuel economy returned now that I got about 40k miles on 'em. **** ******!
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No assumptions are good assumptions. Pull the wheel and take a quick look for yourself with a flashlight at how much pad material is left. Seriously, how else could you possibly know? To me, checking the front linings periodically to keep a mental note of their progress is about the same as checking the oil and tire pressure periodically.