bratman2

Lots of Subarus are assembled in Indiana but using Japanese drive trains so I don't see how there could be a quality difference in the drive train. We have a 2003 Legacy w/5 speed and I guess lucky enough not to have any piston slap or clutch issues (only at 31k). Seems lots of folks on this board love to bash Fords these days. Worse car we have ever owned was a Subaru Loyale 92 model bought new and was a true piece of crap. Swore off Subarus until I bought my little Brat 7.5 years ago, still have my baby. Since then we have owned a 93 Legacy (daughter's car) which was an Indiana car and bullet proof and my wife's 2003 which has been 100% reliable. Of all the Fords we have owned, the 3 Mustangs I would give high ratings. The 85 Mustang we bought new and sold with 67k, total repairs $40, 89 Mustang bought w/ 61k and sold w/ 122k timing belt and water pump (cost can't remember), 98 Stang bought new total repairs big fat zero and sold w/87k. I won't even get into the Ford trucks cause I have owned several over the years from F100 to F250 and still have a 2000 F150. I will say they have all mirrored the Mustangs for reliabilty. I wish you luck with your Outback and hope you have no more trouble because I have been were you are back in 94 but we had gone 1k over warrenty.

I have got the JC Whitney set in my 87 Brat. Can't remember the price but I believe it was a alittle under $100. Fits fair and looks to be ok quality.

No it's more like wow that's right. My wife had a 98 mustang V6 5 speed that we replaced with a 5 speed 2003 Legacy. The difference in acceleration is by a large margin. But a still apples to oranges if you ask me. I have driven both of these cars wot and know that to out run a newer Mustang V6 you have dropped a turbo on a Subaru so lets keep it real. I do favor the all wheel handling of the Legacy, truely believe it held curves better than the V6 Mustang. Snow, that's a joke in a Mustang, the one we had was generally stuck were it was parked. Torque generally comes from cubic inches not flat fours and there is not a enough bolt ons out there to make up the difference unless you go turbo or S/C.

Out of curiosity I tried the Motorcraft FL400 filter off my F150 on my EA81 Brat. Perfect fit, has the anti drain valve and is about 1.5 inches longer. I don't know about an EA82. Also the Brat filters fit my 22 hp Kohler and 26 hp Briggs & Stratton, are considerable larger and under half the price. Being I have nearily a case of AC Brat filters I guess you can figure out whats on the tractors.

Cooper tire makes two 195/70/13s a Classic II blackwall and Cobra w/ white letters. They are only .5-inches taller but also alittle wider so your speedometer will probably only be 1 or 2% off. I owned a set of the Classics on my Brat years ago and were very satisfied with their performance. Also have had the Classics installed on my daughter's former 93 Legacy and wife's former Mustang they did great. They are not a cheap tire though. Just giving you another option to consider.

Have a bought new 2003 Legacy w/ 30k, nothing but maintaince.

I did reread it and you are correct, that's what I get for trying to read something after working a 12hr night shift. At the same time one could wonder what does very small microns of dirt due when induced inside a combustion chamber and exploded. For now I'll leave the K&Ns on my F150 and Brat and stick to factory panel filters for the Legacy.

Do any of you calculate how far off you odometer is to get a corrected mpg. Several years ago I had 195/70/13 tires .5 inches over stock, 29-32mpg. Then got 185/80/13 that were almost 1.5-inches over stock 27-29mpg and occasionally would bump 30mpg speedometer was 10% off, 50 gave me 55mph. Now run 195/75/14 and 47 gives me 55mph and mpg is roughily 25-27 but odometer is off by roughily 15%. So you could figure 26 mpg times 1.15=29.6mpg. No real change so to speak, but in the case of 27-29-inch tires a person probably would loose 1-2 mpg if corrected for odometer being off just due to their size. Of course with an auto I would say it would be a no go situation or not very fast anyways.

You need to read the whole test. All the paper filters and the amsoil filter were tested using coarse dust while the K&N was tested using fine dust, that is not objective testing. Further down they show the micron ratings and percents of coarse compared to fine dust and they are very significant differences. One would have to wonder why they dumped a finer dust in the K&N. I have two K&N filters installed in my vehicles now and a paper filter in wife's 2003 Legacy. I like K&N style filters and truely believe a paper filter probably does filter better if all things are equal, a bad seal will cause way more problems. Several years ago I had my wifes former Mustang serviced at a tire store and they installed a new air filter, next time I changed oil some 10k miles later(mobile1) I pulled the air filter out to tap the bugs and crap free. The air filter had been improperly installed so as not to seal, the inside of the housing on the throttlebody side was coated in dust along w/ the throttlebody itself. Sold the car 36k miles later w/ no engine failure and still ran great so go figure.

I am going to add my comment to keep it at the top. Definatliy interested myself, I have 14-inch steel Pugs from a 505 or maybe 504 turbo but they have the stupid little flat washer nuts and I have a bear of a time keeping the wheels centered and torqued. Have started torquing the lugnuts to 100lbs. up from 85 to keep wheels centered and this has worked for the couple of times I have drove it since, but I hate having to use so much torque on my studs. Some pretty 14-inch alloys would rock. Would love to hear more about this.

I also have the NGK Iriduim plugs installed, about 3k ago, no complaints and runs great. Can't really tell a difference over standard NGKs that have always worked great. Only installed the Iriduims because when I bought the Brat over 7 years ago the left back plug had been cross threaded and is a pain in the but to get threaded in correctily, I doubt I will leave them in 100k though, maybe 50k. Installed Bosch Plats several years ago and immediatily developed a miss that would not go away until I switched the Bosch plugs out w/200miles on them, also had this same problem w/ wife's former Mustang. Only time I have ever bought Bosch plugs and I will never buy another Bosch plug.

Qman has been on this forum since inception and so many people can question his honesty and estimations. Ram engines is building 140hp EA81s with 100% reliabilty for the airplane crowd on demand. I raced 6 cylinders in the 70's and up through the 80's and beat more V8s than i lost to in the 1/4 mile with modified sixes. I don't doubt it for a minute, even if he was a horse or three off. He has probably forgotten as much as some know about old Subs. Horsepower is pretty easy you just have to have bucks to get it, air and fuel in the right combinations. More hp needs more air and fuel in the right combinations. Speed will come with the right gears and weight ratios. Simple like basic math on older engines.

Been running Mobile1 10w30 in my Brat for the last 6.5years of over 7 that I have owned it, doesn't leak a drop with 193k miles on it also Redline in the transmission. Had a 142 k when I made the switch. Switched a 93 Legacy at 115k to Mobile1 10w30 and it now has 182k without any leaks. The Legacy and Brat both use about 8ozs. every 5k. Syntec is hydrocracked oil not POA like the better synthetic oils unless you have German Castrol Syntec.

I must be one of the lucky few as I have had my Accel yellow coil for near 4 years now mounted horizontal with out any issues on my 87 Brat. Also the Accel's put out 42k compared to 30k stock coils, you need good wires and plugs to go with it but worth $90 I donot know about that. Is your exchange different than US dollars? I have keep the spare and thinking about throwing under the passenger seat w/ my spare clutch cable.

The thing is will she remember to keep an eye on the temp gauge if caught in traffic. You are taking alot of chances here, I would go electric as that is what all newer models are. My 87 Brat had twin electric fans from the factory and when changing the oil one day I bumped the one on the left w/ the oil filter wrench causing the fan blade to catch on it and not spin. One day noticed the left fan not working and pulled both off and installed a Hayden 14-inch S blade fan that cools the Brat just as good. Only after I had gone through all this trouble did I realize the problem w/ the second fan, bent shroud out hooked it up w/ alligator clips and it run, oh well the Hayden was a spare that I had. I would probably get a Flexalite wet probe controller and one 14-inch S blade fan if I was you. Three of the mounting points on the fan went into factory holes, the fourth I just used a heavy duty tywrap. I have one more 14-inch Hayden and a Flexalite controller I would sell and still have the pair of factory fans that came off of my 87 if you are interested. You can email me at fgt72360@yahoo.com.

I have had my Weber ( actually a Holly Weber) for close to 4 years on my 87 Brat and it was a great improvement. Some tuning issues popped up the first year or so but nothing a screw driver and time couldn't cure. I have 2-inch exhaust from the Y back with el cheapo turbo muffler and didn't loose any lowend torque. Gas mileage runs high 20's and sometimes will break 30 when recalculated for the 195/14s on her. No Hitachi for me.

Clutch cable, I have had two break in over 7 years. Luckily the second time I had one under the seat.

Switched the Brat to Mobile 1 at 143k now has 191k with a change every year, that's 8k per change and add about 8 ozs. at 4k. Also have Redline in the transmission, it took care of a minor gear scrapping issue that I couldn't resolve. Legacy 93, switched to Mobile 1 at 115k currentily has 175k and change it every 10k adding about 8-12ozs at 5 k, no problems with either Sub and no leaks.

If the struts are adjusted all the way down you may just be looking at the proper angle of the front end. You say that it quickily ate the mold hairs off the front tires outside edge, was this before you had the front end aligned? My Brat has been like that for over seven years with no ill effects on the tires when aligned properly. Also this is highily unlikely but have the strut upper mounts been off lately, if so or you 100 % sure they are mounted with the arrow pointing to the front for four wheel drive models? P.S. I don't know of any smaller struts myself and would believe your problem would be solved by other means.

I bought 2001 Impreza RS seats (like new taken out of a car being converted for rallying) and installed in my 87 Brat. They are the same as WRX seats but no side airbag. I think you will love them as they are very comfortable. My wife has a 2003 Legacy and I think my seats are more comfortable.

Have K&N panel filter installed in my daughter's 93 Legacy. Installed at 116k, cleaned it at 150k and got cel light about 2k later, MAF error. Cleaned it w/ 50/50 alcohol and water gentily w/ a Qtip, reset computor. Have 172k on it now with no trouble, oil should not ruin a MAF. I believe this to have been my fault, to much oil.

Don't bash Fords, my 2000 SC 4.2l F150 just laid waste to a 99 Dodge w/ 318. It was a precious moment for me as this person called it a piece of crap. Well alright it is highily modified. My Brat w/ Weber, 2-inch catless catback exhaust and several other minor mods might be able to bust under 20 secs but I honestily haven't tried. Might see what it does on the way to work tonight. Would you believe the Dodge guy is now wanting apiece of my brat also. What a chump.

Benebob, Cooper makes a 195/70/13 in their Classic line. Owned a set a few years back, they are .5-inch taller and wider than stock 185s. Last a right long time also. Alittle pricey though for a 13-inch tire.

I use Meguiars Gold Classic, goes on easy and comes off easy. A good coat of this and some times I use just a bucket of water and sponge to clean vehicle the next time. Use Blue Coral car soap and no more than it takes to clean vehicle. Two coats of wax on front leading edges help in high speed impact bug removal.

Iriduim plugs have less resistance to current compared to platinum plugs. And usually will equal a good copper plug but last alot longer. Tried Bosch plats in my 87 Brat and wife's former Mustang and both vehicles started missing. Never will try them again. Have NGK iriduims in my truck and like them though no noticable gain in performance, I tend to replace parts prematurely.