CNY_Dave

Not as knowledgable as some, but did it have VDC badges anywhere? I do know not all H6s ( in the US of that vintage) have VDC. Dave

My '03 H6 with 60Kmiles is a trifle whiny. Just loud enough to hear with the windows down. Dave

I'll take a SWAG and suggest instrumenting the lock-up lead and see if/when its getting the signal. Dave

Well I'm glad its not just me hatin' the cruise control!! I've had my graspic DS2s up to about 115, they feel a little loosey-goosey on the turn-in and then settle pretty much OK. Dave

Well, at worst it would cause it to downshift only at the same point it would if the cruise was off, if it just tells the TCU the cruise is active. Dave

Unless the cruise control can be 'tuned' better (BTW, the car does not slow much at all before downshifting), then does anyone know if cutting that 'cruise control' signal lead would do what I'm hoping for? Dave

And add to that: - the torque control signals? - the dropping register signals? Dave

I see a coupla things there... 1) I wonder why the ABS runs a signal in- no traction control on this critter... 2) I assume "Transfer Duty Solenoid" is aka the "Duty C" solenoid? 3) If I were to cut the ^%%^^ cruise control signal, will it stop being MORE prone to downshifting on hills with the cruise on? 4) If I take that same cruise control signal and run it to a switch (with the right voltage, aka gnd or +5 or +12) can I use it as a 'sport shift' signal? I realize 3,4 may induce some heartburn as the subie literature says the trans is supposed to be less sensitive to loading with the cruise on, but on mine, I can assure, attest, and prove that ain't the case! With the cruise on, it downshifts up hills that don't require a downshift, and if I kill the cruise I can maintain speed with no downshift, so I'd really like to keep the TCU from knowing the cruise is on. Dave

They had about 30-31 in 'em last night, was about 42 degrees, 'at speed' on the interstate last night they seemed to be squishy, but then 'settle in' on the tighter curves. Dave

As an H6 owner, curious as to the repair and what mileage its occurring at- Dave

Tires make a difference? Hogwash!!!

Don't forget we're talking about my piggy LL bean with extra option weight and its a wagon, to boot! A little bit more weight and a slightly higher CG than some of what other folks here are driving. Not a big difference, but its there. Dave

Sorry, no, that is wrong. When the body rolls Left/Right, the CG moves Left/Right, the further the CG moves the more the weight will transfer. Simple physics. If body roll didn't affact weight transfer, SUVs wouldn't roll over during accident avoidance maneuvers. When the car turns right, and the body rolls left on the suspension, the CG moves left as well. All weight transfer is not because of body roll, but the amount of body roll affects the weight transfer. I'm, not talking about how to limit the roll; but, if you lessen body roll, you limit the weight transfer. Or are you talking just about front/rear transfer? Dave

It wasn't necc. the case today, but being able to do 'the flick' if need be can be a life saver. Did some practice on the way home and I have a much better feel for it. Pretty sure if there was less body roll there'd be less oversteer. And also, of course, less body roll would cause less weight transfer. Dave

And firmer compression damping will slow the roll rate, which will lessen the total amount of roll. Dave

The brake lines are skinny enough I don't think it'd really matter- even if there was something in the fluid that wanted to 'float', it'd be trapped. Kinda like a weather inversion layer. Dave

Just like us dirt bike guys say- "When in doubt, gas it!" Dave

"C" is ineed part of it- had my truck so long, I could tell you very well exactly what it could or could not do, and how fast, and how far out the assend would slide, etc. The sube I've had only since October. Need more practice in the subie! I've gotten lotsa snow practice, not much dry-pavement slaloming yet. Dave

You mean those nasty stockers? Suck in the rain, I'll tell you that much. Dave

I do have to confess I have not practiced with this car as much as I would like. Usually, I get to know exactly what the cars limits are fairly quickly but I've been slothing off. Dave

No VDC. And yeah, had I been a n00b, that would have been a spin into the ditch. Throttle was neutral, though (just enough to maintain speed, about 65mph). I know stiffer struts (firmer damping) would help a lot (that's why my ranger handled insanely well for a pickup, man could that thing carve an on-ramp), just wondering if this is subie-normal, or are my struts shot at 5 years/60Kmiles? Wonder if the 6cyl makes this better or worse? Dave

In general, handling isn't horrible. Quick lane-change today (think accident-avoidance maneuver) was a bit ugly. I mean, a lot worse than my old '92 ranger pickup. Dug in with a lot of roll on the primary turn, fishtailed pretty bad on the straighten-out portion, and she wagged a few times after that. Granted, I have Dunlop Graspic DS2s on there, not fabulous dry-road tires, but maybe the struts are gettin' weak? TP is up to spec, just had it aligned. I know its not a bloody porsche, but it did seem a bit worse than I'd expect. Dave

You insist nothing is moving, but the engine is rocking back-and-forth. Perhaps this is a vibration source? I did post a technical analysis of possible causes, and I didn't rip into you, so lets hear what you think of what I said? Dave

Dunno how cross-forum posts are tretaed here, but... http://subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11678 I for one am treating his Q as a serious question (out of politeness), and I'll enter into discourse with him as long as he's civilized (3, 2, 1...). What do you guys think of the axle-length theory? Dave

I've been asking myself, is there any way this could be the front/rear torque-split clutch? I can posit a reasonable theory that a downshift at high speed could alter the trans fluid pressure, which could cause a tightening/loosening of the AWD clutch, but since its on dry pavement I can't really spin that into something that'll cause a clink. Dave