By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
How many quarts do I need to replace
the oil in all of the manual transmission
elements? I know there is a separate front
and rear differential, but what about the
gear box?
Thanks
SKIREX
Ken
After much debate, and with the help of all of you guys out there, I decided to make the change to Mobil 1 at the 6,000 mile oil change. I went with 10W-30.
After a few short drives, boy, I am glad I did. The sound the turbo makes when it kicks in is even better then before. I guess it is true that the turbo spinning just "loves" synthetic oil. It seemed to have even more authority than before.
Another noteworthy point is how fast the oil pours from the container. In New York (Long Island), the weather is a bit cooler than last week, around 50F, and it flowed in less than 1/2 the time of regular dino oil.
Wish me luck over the next ten years or so... and that no seal leaks develop. With the performance of the Mobil 1 in my WRX, I do think it is worth taking the remote of a future leak! Heck, I'd rather replace a gasket or two down the road than rebuild then engine anyway.
He does however recommend synthetic motor oil for the engine as it will make your engine last a lot longer, but says you are just as well off with the regular OEM gear oil when it comes to long life for the tranny.
Mike
P.S. Personally, I would like to continue using the synthetic because I believe it does reduce gear friction and gives you faster shifts, but don't want to use it at the cost of continued gear grinding. Any more suggestions or thoughts on this would be very helpful. The "cocktail" additive sounds intriguing.
Does anyone know a good conditioner for the rubber molding that seals around the windows? I can already foresee this stuff drying and falling apart without maintenance.
Thanks,
aric
Last night at an i-club meet there were two guys with the same model year RS. One had been running the same Amsoil that I have with no problems and another was getting grinding with it.
This is from the STi mailing list archives, posted by the Subaru Tuner RalliSpec:
"The only difference between Mobil1 synthetic gear lube and Mobil SHC (also synthetic) is the lack of friction modifiers in Mobil SHC (preferred for Subaru tranny).
Mobil SHC from what I understand is an industrial product and thus packaged for industry and not easily obtainable. We carry this fluid but get in 5-gal containers direct from the distributor... "
Posted here:
http://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=165380&referrerid=767
aric - Treat the rubber seals by spraying silicone on a rag and wiping the seals. Don't spray the seals directly because the aerosol propellants could dry out the seals.
-Dennis
and picked the Supersprint Race exhaust which adds another 10 hp. Pretty good reading--next month they'll do a brake upgrade.
More on synthetic tranny oil: according to the service dept. at John Elway Subaru here in Denver, Subaru does not recommend any type of synthetic gear lubricant whatsoever--just the regular OEM. Looks like we'll be switching back to the regular in our Forester, although might try the Quaker State synthetic in the WRX because no problems have been reported on that one. Will report back in a few months on the results if we go that route.
The car had just seen a few hundred fast and hard driven miles. First it dyno'd at 177 hp (at the wheels) and with an ECU reset, the car lost 10 h.p. The ECU definitely adjusted to the hard driving they were doing.
-Dennis
i'm paying $23,450 before taxes. can't wait to drive it. i told my salesman to be gentle with it while he drove it up from the other dealership.
i don't think it came with the auto dimming rearview mirror and compass or the extended armrest. are these things i can have installed or are they factory installed?
If it is possible, then I would suggest that you drive the car back yourself, rather than letting the salesman do it.
Later...AH
The one time our CEL came on was after buying a tank of gas from one of the lesser known brands. The light eventually went away after about a tank and a half of our usual Amoco 91 oct. Another tip: buy your gas from a newer service station with spanking clean tanks, instead of an older station that might have old, corroded tanks--this can help prevent getting contaminated gas.
1) The car had 250 miles on it when I got it becasue to get the exact car I wanted they had to dealer trade with a dearler 220 miles away.
2) I have had the car above 4000 rpm probably about 5 times (max 5500) and for just a few seconds. I did "race" it once off a stoplight (before I read the owner's manual and this site).
Now I know a few of you are going to want to cause me bodily harm for this, but what I am looking for are some HONEST answers about the gravity of these mistakes. What should I be looking for that may tell me I've damaged the car (or is it more of a long-term damage that will present subtely). And is there anything I can do now (at 400 miles) to reverse the errors of my youth? I do plan to wait out the last 600 miles of my break in, thats a start I suppose.
2.Don't beat your self up. A few seconds at 5000 rpms probably didnt do a thing. You may hear some conservative speculations that you did some irrepairable damage but I highly doubt it.
Is the oil dark beacause of excess work/friction? I doubt it. Its all about heat and friction over time. Break in periods are ideals some follow them perfectly I went over 4k once too. Some guys wait until 1500 or 2000. opinions vary..enjoy and learn not everyone is not an expert!
It hailed.
I come out, the hood is basically destroyed, the roof has about 30 dents in it, and I have one dent on the trunklid.
I was parked next to a freakin Cavilar with NO damage on it.
The other side was a Hyundai, ALSO with no damage on it.
I couldn't see damage on any other car in the lot, yet mine looked like someone went to town on it with a hammer. WHY does something like this happen on a $25k car when $12k cars come though with zero damage.
I love my car, a lot, but this one incident has me serisouly considering ditching it. Sure the crash tests are good, but if it can't survive one small hail storm without MAJOR damage, I'm a little skeptical of it's long term reliability.
In short, Subaru let me down today, let me down so much that I may never buy another.
Not sure what hail tolerance has to do with reliability.
It seems like this car gets damaged if someone looks at it sternly. Hell, I have stone chips on the BACK of my car. Mechanically and structurely, it's built like a tank, but it doesn't seem to be able to maintain it's appearance worth a damn. I've worked hard to keep this car in good shape in the 5 months that i've owned it, but it seems to be an uphill battle that I can't win.
About the comment about "subaru master technicians" and such fellows offering advice contrary to what was suggested by Subaru design engineers (present in the owner's manual), I would disregard such "advice" and follow the written advice provided by the folks who designed the car. "Master technicians" or any such similar fellows can take a hike.
Just my 2c.
Later...AH
I agree wholeheartedly with you that one should follow the manufacturers instructions but there are undoubtedly times they side on the very conservative because there are people out there who aren't sensible. Like the law, sometimes you have to protect the public (or your corporate liabilty) from the lowest common denominator! But for sure, having it go over 4K for a few seconds is not going to do anything. Trying to do 0-60 in 6 and redlining all the time in the first few hundred miles is obviously another matter!
This reminds me of when I picked up the wifes BMW in Munich when we were living in Europe in the 80s. How the heck does one get from Germany back to England on the autobahn and not go over 3500 revs. Just keeping up with the trucks at 5th gear put us over! Well, the car lasted close to 10 years with no engine problems (the ECU was another matter - replaced yearly for almost 5 years!) but I was a little paranoid for a while! Yes, obey the "manual" put don't go crazy worrying about it as long as you haven't been driving like someone in the WRC!
http://home.attbi.com/~amremai/hail1.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~amremai/hail2.jpg
I also find it odd that the damage was 100% only on the roof, hood, and trunk. I mean the fenders are flaired so they have horizontal surfaces and there was no damage on them.
There are also the strips of roof outside of the black plastic tracks, they were also undamaged.
Ironically, the lone dent on the trunk was UNDER the spoiler.
And I repeat, no other car in the lot appeared to be damaged.
A few comments:
The one I drove had a short throw shifter (which was great, BTW) and a boost gauge on the steering column. The factory sticker listed these as seperate options (not parts of a package). Edmunds shows the shifter as part of a package.
I asked the salesman if you can factory order a WRX without the rear wing, and he said they all come with the spoiler, even factory orders. Personally, I think the WRX is perfect without any options...except the shifter, which was great!
Congrats to you owners, I'm very jealous. It's a modern day Datsun 510, and I would love to own one!
As such, the break in is set VERY conservatively. It has to be. Human nature being what it is, the majority of people will not heed the advice, out of laziness or "aw, it won't hurt this once".
It has a built-in degree of lattitude to ensure that people can slack off and still maintain reliable engine life.
In short, just be mellow, and don't worry too much about it. Follow the instructions as best you can from now on. You should be fine.
Looks like a good excuse to get that carbon fiber hood :-)
Tim
The short throw shifter is not part of the package - it is about a $300+ option. Most people seem to like the normal shifter just fine. Also, the sedan comes standard w/out the wing. I believe the wing is port installed.
Stephen
Probably just the salesman's way of trying to convince to buy one off the lot.
I believe Kia and Hyundai use thicker sheet metal, but that's why their cars tend to be heavy. C&D has an interesting tidbit about the Sedona, and why it's 700 lbs heavier than some bigger vans.
The explanation is simple, though, it's Murphy's Law at work. All hail falls on the nicest car on the lot. ;-)
-juice
-mike
C&D showed how lots of underbody parts are beefy and they use steel in many places where competitors use aluminum.
What bothers me about it is the 5mph impacts IIHS did made the air bags go off! Dial down the sensitivity guys!
Hmm, how to get back on topic...can you imagine smacking a WRX turbo on that engine? :-)
-juice
-mike
-juice
- abs brakes: lot of people seem to be having problems when hitting bumps, and the issue does not seem to be resolved yet..
- clutch: lot of people seem to be having problems with their clutches making a lot of nasty grinding noises when downshifting to high rpms.. not very inspiring to hear this to an accord owner who loves to downshift into vtec range and hear nothing but that engine rev (I did downshift the tester a couple of times, and didn't really notice anything except that cool turbo whine though)
I think the brakes thing really unnerves me more than the clutch issues... any thoughts?
thanks,
hys
abs: some people have experienced problems although it is in very very rare occassions and hard to duplicate, most feel it is not an issue really.
On a side note make sure to take everything you read on I-club with a big grain of salt. I've been on there since the beginning (member # 197) and there are a lot of kids on there that don't give the whole story when they post up.
-mike
I've noticed it on two occasions when braking over very lumpy surfaces like really bad pavement or railroad tracks--it's like the ABS comes on, but you're still floating over the road surface without really stopping. Happens only briefly tho and the brakes do take hold after a couple seconds. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate it a 3 for seriousness because no harm actually comes of it (so far, anyway, knock-on-wood). For normal everday driving, there's never a problem stopping.
As far as the clutch is concerned, I agree, it's all in whether you baby or abuse the transmission in your driving habits. If you shy away from clutch-frying stop-light duels and enjoy the Rex as the superb open road car it was intended to be, you shouldn't have any problems.
Stephen
anyway, so my question is, anyone got fancy shocks out there and has that solved the problem if they had it with stock shocks. I think I've experienced it twice but was unable to replicate it though I tried several times - got a funny look from the cop hiding at the corner by the railtracks I was trying this at!
get my 17 in wheels and S03s later in the week!
-mike
General advice is to change on the more frequent schedule if you have fun with the car. You will. You can't help it. At least I can't.
5000 is probably a good compromise for most purposes. Easier to remember which might the the most important thing.
You can use synthetic and go with the 7500/6mos schedule. Advice here is to change over sooner rather than later and stay switched. Opinions vary on the real benefit of this. I haven't decided.
Tim
Anyways, just met with my insurance adjuster. They are going to replace the hood (which makes me very very happy) and alotted quite a bit of time for the repair of the roof and trunk.
My offical count yesterday after I washed the car.
27 - hood
18 - roof
3 - trunk
-juice