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Subaru Impreza Outback Sport & TS

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    rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    I've driven both the WRX (2) and the OBS. They're all fun.

    The WRX does have a turbo lag, which means there is little power below 3000 rpm. Above 3500 rpm the car is an absolute hoot. Just make sure it's pointed in the right direction. The WRX does require the expensive premium gas, and the gas mileage will be slightly less than the OBS.

    The OBS has a more predictable powerband and is probably a little easier to live with. It's got a proven engine. It's quick, just not a rocket, like the WRX. If you're considering an automatic, I would definitely go the OBS route. Also, it's got some features that are optional on the WRX, like: roof rack cross bars, a cargo mat, and a step pad on the rear bumper (especially handy if you have a dog like I do). It also has an ambient temperature gauge which is not available on the WRX.

    Bob
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    leomortleomort Member Posts: 453
    did they modify the rear suspension any so as to get reduce the strut towers in the rear cargo area?

    Leo
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    Quick is good. I'll probably get the OBS because I can't really justify spending the extra money at this stage. Either way, manual trans is a must.

    I was reading the yahoo obs club and they mentioned rear strut tower braces. That is something I would look into. What do you think ramon?
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    get a rear strut tower brace and you won't believe how much it improves the body rigidity of a wagon! And being a wagon, the installation is a 5 minute job too!
    I like the silver OBS. Looks really nice. Even the 16" rims are slick. The autoshow's green OBS really turned me off! But when i saw the silver one...well it's good again. The silver OBS is really classy looking! Only thing I don't like about the new OBS is the gray couch like interior. I like dark colours. Yeah get a manual!
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    leomortleomort Member Posts: 453
    ramon,

    I though subaru has had problems with their clutches durability, is this true or only with certain models?

    Where do you get these rear strut tower braces?

    Leo
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    u can get rear strut tower from TRi tuning or Cobbtuning. They carry Cusco ones which are good stuff.
    clutch is pretty weak for our cars. But I bet the driver's habit might have to do with it too. Things like balancing the clutch and all does put strain on the tranny.
    My old 99 OBS's clutch was fine even though I had mods on it and drive it like there's no tomorrow.
    RS models seem to get this alot. But think about it tho, most of the members in the iclub are RS owners so you will see a higher demographic of complains from them rather than the handful of OBS or L/TS owners.
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    barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    Impreza's. SOA did not copy the rear suspension change of the 00' Legacy/OB.

    Stephen
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    I was refering to the GC8 Imprezas. 02 Imprezas are not my forte. Sorry. Besides, the 02 design has what? claimed 250% torsional rigidity over the older design right....so put it to good use! =)
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    leomortleomort Member Posts: 453
    Stephen was referring to my question regarding the 2002 OBS rear suspension design asking if was changed to reduce the rear strut towers in the cargo area.

    Leo
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    celeste2celeste2 Member Posts: 362
    OK, you say you never had clutch problems. I haven't yet but when I went for an oil change the guy said my clutch was alot higher and needs adjusting. I knew it was pretty high to begin with, so it probably is higher. Should I have it adjusted or leave it alone?

    There's a guy on the OBS club that had his clutch replaced and I think he bought the clutch himself and Subaru did the work because it was under warranty for the powertrain. When I go to the Impreza club meet the end of this month I'll ask around there, too... I want to have a plan of attack if my clutch does show signs of going. I hear the ACT clutch is really good.

    CONGRATULATIONS on such a fine showing at autoX. Bet you had a blast. You and your perfect world Porsche. U R funny!!
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    barresa62barresa62 Member Posts: 1,379
    I should have made it clear as to who's post I was referring to. Leo was right, I was referring to his. :-)

    Stephen
    (800 miles,200 more until magic 1000 on WRX)
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    I wouldn't worry about getting a clutch. Look this is coming from a guy who prolly has at least 180hp on his brand spanking new RS and is blasting around in autoXs. More hp to come too and I am not looking for a clutch replacement until mine dies! I do 3-4k launches at autoXs and occasionally let 'er rip on some unsuspecting roads (empty and clear!). So far so good. Don't worry too much. Enjoy the car. It is tougher than you think.
    Also I wouldn't get an ACT clutch as they are racing clutches. I would probably go for clutchmasters as they don't kill your calves! I hate on off clutchs and the ACT is definitely one!
    have fun.
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    celeste2celeste2 Member Posts: 362
    Maybe I won't worry so much now. Should I let my mechanic adjust the clutch since he says its alot higher than last time? And I notice it is very high compared to my Volvos I used to drive, but maybe this is a Subie thing? OK, sounds like the ACT is like one of those power clutches, I'll stay away!
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    by any chance are you subymama at yahoo? If so your OBS is shweet.

    Caroline
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    leomortleomort Member Posts: 453
    what do you owners of your Impreza OBS like about them? would you recommend buying one?

    Leo
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Yes I recommend buying an OBS. They are very cute little wagons. I love it. Get a 5spd. AWD rocks!
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    Do you think there is any reason to wait more than a couple of months to buy an '02 OBS? I haven't heard of any problems but then they're not as well documented as WRXes. I'm not anticipating any financial incentives either.
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    I dont'see why the wait. The drivetrain, engine are all the same as the 2.5RS. Only the chassis and maybe the suspension has changed. Now the WRX is a new story. For me, I'd wait for the next coupla year's iteration when Subaru will offer more stuff and iron out any bugs in the first year models.
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    celeste2celeste2 Member Posts: 362
    Brekke-yes I am the Subymamma of the famed Yahoo tribe. I guess you saw the photo of my car there. With two different sets of wheels! The Enkei's didn't fit and I had to swap them out for the Team Dynamics which are cool, but I just looooved those Enkei's and it still hurts to look at those photos. Have had the car just about a year now, almost 13,000 miles on it, and been waxed five times. Really love the car and the way it handles. Check out i-club.com too, there's tons of info there, mostly on the Rally Sport, which is alot like the OBS, but some specifically on the OBS.

    Ramon-you kill me with your flags. When are you going to design a Subie flag? Did you see my question above about getting my clutch adjusted? I don't think it'll hurt, unless it's a Subie thing for the clutch to ride high.
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    hey celeste, I hope to be driving an OBS soon as well.

    ramon - what is the K+N filter and what are the pros and cons, and would you recommend for the OBS?
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    YUP!!! the K&N filter is thi cotton/gauze oiled filter. The material is much better than the crappy paper filter that comes with our cars. You get some hp increase. and the K&N filter is reuseable too.

    celeste : guess what that flag is! clue.... It's Easter! Time to be holy ;-)
    I think u're the only person who refers the RS as Rally Sport. It's so funny. =)
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    leomortleomort Member Posts: 453
    gas mileage for the 2002 OBS.

    Does anyone know what the gas mileage is suppose to be with the new 2.5l engine? Looking at an automatic. Thanks.

    Leo
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    vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    Better airflow
    Worse filtering
    More induction roar

    Power/gas increase? Not necessarily.
    If you want to keep a car for a long time you better spend some time researching pros and cons and how it would affect the engine's long term reliability.
    Also, in my opinion, the foam filters ( K&N alternative) flow as good as K&N's and filter better.
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    are good when new. But they will degrade....and once they degrade, their filtering ability can not only be useless but chunks of it will come off! Now imagine bits and pieces of foam getting sucked into your engine....
    K&N for me.
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    vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    Filter chunks coming off?

    Sorry, never heard of.

    http://www.itgairfilters.com/profilter.asp
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    celeste2celeste2 Member Posts: 362
    Ramon: UR so funny. I called it the Rally Sport then because I wasn't sure if the person would know what the RS is. That's what it does stand for, or is it Really Sharp? That is the Vatican flag (what gave it away is that it's square, for one thing). What will you try next? Give us an animated gif. So, do you think I should have my clutch adjusted down on the next oil change? I don't really see that it would hurt anything unless you know a high clutch to be a Subie thing.

    Brekke: you getting a new OBS? 2002? What color? The first thing I got for mine is a K & N filter, and from what I know about foam and on the other hand, cotton, is that foam is synthetic and foam in lots of different forms I've seen breaks down. Cotton is a natural fiber and I can imagine it getting dirty (and there are instructions for cleaning the filter in the box), but not falling apart. There's always different opinions, but we got my filter at a snazzy import shop, the guy who owns it is from UK and knows alot about finicky cars alot more expensive than mine, and he raves about them. There is also a sticker you put on the filter so some idiot doesn't take out your K & N and throw it away when you go in for checks.

    Here's a funny story: we get the K & N and my son puts it in. We get in & drive to the mall. LOUD noise on acceleration, like a performance muffler or something. He says, "Man, mom, that sounds SO cool!" Me: "No, that is so LOUD, I don't think you put that in right." Sure enough. one side wasn't snapped fully in place. Sound went away. Was he disappointed.
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    now you have. head over to www.i-club.com and search the bbs in regards to foam vs. cotton/gauze and you will find that foam does decompose causing major damage to the engine. Great example are the Weapon R foam cone filters. Yuck!!!!

    celeste: go for the clutch pedal adjustment. since it's free anyways. Free is always good. Well somewhat.
    Simple way to detect clutch slipping : clutch pedal in --> shift to 5th gear --> let og of clutch as you gas it.
    If car stall you have a fine clutch. If it stays idle or even move....clutch is slipping.

    R
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    celeste: I won't buy for a couple of months, but I'll probably get a white OBS.

    vadp: I agree I have to do some research on the K&N.

    -Caroline
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    vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    I wouldn't even think of using Weapon R in my car.
    The foam filters to consider are the above-mentioned ITG, also Pipercross and Amsoil.
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    well I poked around at I-club at it seems to be split K&N vs. Amsoil. Some people think the Amsoil filters better.

    Then on other random boards people have said they haven't noticed a difference between paper and K&N.

    So I am still not sure if it is worth it to replace the stock filter.
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    http://www.knfilters.com/


    enjoy.

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    vadpvadp Member Posts: 1,025
    http://www.smartune.com/Product/Pipercross/pipercross.htm
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Problem is all those graphs show a perfectly clean, new filter.

    They are a pain to clean. I had one in my previous car, but I won't bother again. It's much, much easier just to pop in a new paper filter. You have to wash the others, let them dry, have nothing to drive for a day, then re-oil and put them back in.

    -juice
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    i'm a K&N bloke. No foam for me. If you like foam or sponge for for it. =)

    ah juice mon, i like tinkering with the car, so cleaning the filter is fine by me. Gives me an excuse to open up hood. =)
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    ramon you had a 18mm rear sway bar on your OBS, didn't you? How did that affect handling, and does that affect body roll at all?

    with my current car, in the twisties, if I take the turns a little quick my tires stay on track but the body of my car wobbles. Tres annoying. And I don't consider myself an aggressive driver.
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    was very well suited to my old OBS. I love it. Really eliminated the body roll caused by the wimpy stock 13mm bar. then later I put on KYB AGX/Eibach shocks and springs....well the result a devastatingly agile OBS which ate RS and civics for lunch in the autoXs.
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    celeste, have you done any mods besides wheels and K&N?

    I am definitely looking into the rear strut tower brace + sway bar. Maybe later suspension and brake stuff. But I don't autox.

    D'oh! maybe I should drive the car first...
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    drew_drew_ Member Posts: 3,382
    Just a reminder that the Subaru Thursdays chat is on at 6-7pm Pacific/9-10 pm Eastern. Hope to see you there!
    http://www.edmunds.com/chat/subaruchat.html


    Drew
    Host
    Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I put the same 18mm rear sway on my Forester, and it made a noticeable difference. It's a cheap mod, too. The SPT one is about $82 at wholesale with bushings. Only a little more at retail and delivered.

    -juice
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    leomortleomort Member Posts: 453
    Do you put it on yourself? If so how difficult is it?

    Leo
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    celeste2celeste2 Member Posts: 362
    No, right now I only have wheels and K&N filter. I'll probably go for the sway bar next but I'm not sure after that because we have a bathroom that needs updating from the 50's this summer and a kid that needs wisdom teeth out. Was going to put underdrive pulley on but some members in hot regions complained it pulled off of their A/C too much and I was not willing to sacrifice my cold air down here in the blistering summer. The rear strut tower thing will probably be after the sway bar.
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    celeste2celeste2 Member Posts: 362
    Well do I get a prize for guessing the Vatican?

    Hey, that's a cool test for the clutch. I swear, you need to open up a car shop but you must be making more money doing what you are now. When we had Volvos we made friends with the mechanic who usually worked on our car. Over 30 years we saw him get his own shop, have to get a much bigger shop, get swamped with customers, then sold it and retired at 50 a very well-off man. Now he hangs around friends' used car shops wearing tropical shirts and tinkering on everyone's cars. We like to ask him when he's getting a REAL job!
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    err... a trip to Florida. No wait, u're already in Florida. So that's your price celeste! =)
    I'm a klutz when comes time to work on cars. yes I did some of my own mods but boy it was UGLY! Took me almost an hr to put on my 18mm sway bar! Yup, that's how slow I am. Cus I didn't bother jacking up my RS and no planning was done and to top it off, I had a big lunch. 8-) It was purtty tight. But hey did it in the end. Hope I didn't poke any holes on the gas tank. But my Ganzflow intake was easy. This weekend - GGR short shifter.
    Oh, looks like I might be selling off my Eibach springs. I am thinking of getting a set of Ground Controls coilovers.... eek!
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Right here, photos 18-24 in this album:

    http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1400062&a=12183852&f=0

    -juice
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    ya, I hope those installs aren't difficult i.e. can my BF manage it. I thought I read on the website that the brace in the wagon sits behind the rear seats and doesn't require any special tools. I assume that means it's visible/takes up some storage space.

    But just can't abide that wobble in the twisties, and not with a new car.
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    ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Four bolts for the rear sway bar. Piece of cake, even without your BF.

    -juice
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    it is very easy if done right. but someimes those guys from the factory might overtighten the bolt and unless you have an air gun....u're $hit outta luck.
    I think the bolts are 14mm and 12mm.
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    brekkebrekke Member Posts: 304
    I thought I might need a lift to put in the sway bar. juice, what is that yellow thingy you have as part of the tools required?
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    ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    don't jack the car up. In the case of the Forester, it is so high up, doing the install is a breeze compared to a lower riding 2.5RS. Even the OBS' raised suspension would greatly help the mobility once u're under the car.
    Do not jack up the car when u install the sway bar. You need to have the wheels on the ground so that the force is exerted equally on both sides when u install the sway bar.
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    celeste2celeste2 Member Posts: 362
    Went for an I-club meet in Tampa Saturday, all 4 of us, as a family. As soon as we get there and look over the new WRX's, I see a new black 2002 OBS arriving on the lot, automatic. I asked the salesman could take it out, I've had problems a few years with a nerve root in my left foot and driving with a clutch is really starting to kill me, and at SOME point I'll have to, regretfully, get an automatic. I wanted to see how much pickup it had with the bigger engine.

    Not quite as fast off the line, but when you floor it, really nice. My kid next to me has this huge grin on his face after he's lamenting that "It's not a manual!". We get back and I say thank you that was nice we'll have to look into that some day.

    My husband sees me get out of this car. "How was it--that's an automatic??!!" I say yeah, you know my foot's been hurting alot, but I'll tuff it out I just have to wear the right shoes when I drive (but it still kills me then). He says the salesman, "Let's talk a deal".

    Well, bought the car for $2000 more than I paid for the 2000 OBS ($20,579), and now I am a convert. They have so refined and added things to this car, I will post a little list on a seperate post for the interest of those wondering. The critics are right when they say how MUCH more refined this is. Fit and finish, much better as well as allover.

    Miss driving manual. Miss my power bulge (try not to think about it). Miss my old uphostery color, will have to let this stuff grow on me. Miss my silver sweetie. Never thought I'd have a black car but it was there and since we knew it came in THAT day asked for a better deal because of that. The black has blue flakes and looks deep midnight blue at night and when light hits it just right, pretty sexy.

    Do not miss plastic runner on the roof, that my glove box didn't fit right and felt flimsy, not having a light in the back, do not miss waxing around the scoop, vents, and roof runners. Do not miss the tape deck, have CD player now. Do not miss old seats, these are more comfortable even tho I liked the old seats too. Do not miss not having fog lights. Do not miss having one cupholder in front.

    Miss my black tint and will tint this week. Then I'll put photos on OBS club. Comes with really decent wheels and Potenza tires--smooth and SO QUIET!!

    PS.: Older son bought a car that day, too, 2000 Legacy GT, and our family made that I-club meet a smash with Mastro Subaru in Tampa!
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