Subaru Crew Cafe

hypov

Could be different for each manufacturer. The response for her are quite different. The G6 was annoyingly bouncing ON & OFF, the Hyundai, Sonata IIRC, not so much and stayed ON more often, and the Forester & Impreza stayed OFF almost all the time.

-Dave

paisan

Mine is sometimes ON, sometimes OFF for my wife. She uses it as her own personal scale.

-miike

grahampeters

G'day

Where do you get a wife that light?

Cheers

Graham

ladywclass

that's what *I* was wondering !

paisan

She is 4'11" and 99lbs soaking wet!

Lucky me

-mike

ateixeira

$10 bucks, mike, $15 shipped. It clips to the vents. Two clips on top, plus a support bracket at the bottom to prop it up.

It works for the lighter Nuvi models, mine's a 200W:

http://www.mountguys.com/product_p/gn047-200.htm

Pic of the one in my van:

leo2633

I saw an episode on "Mythbusters" where they tried all sorts of gimmicks to beat the traffic cameras, including several commercially available products. None of them worked. The only thing that actually did beat the camera every time was when they ran a race car of some sort (at about 180 MPH IIRC) through the camera zone. Interesting episode.

Len

lucien2

you hoo! you have mail..

Still in Baltimore, just not the same house.

ateixeira

Finally bought a car game - Cruisin (for Wii). It was $30 but Best Buy had this event and gave $10 off coupons, so I paid $20. I figure that's 1/3rd of the price of a single tank of gas, so I can easily get my money's worth.

The game is pretty simple, definitely not as sophisticated as some of the newer games. I played a bit last night to familiarize myself with it. You have to win races to earn money to unlock new cars. To unlock new tracks I think you have to run a series of races.

I have this simple wheel that you insert the Wii-mote in to, and it works OK. Not arcade quality and no feedback, though.

Also got Mario Galaxy for the kids. That was $50, but down to $40 with the coupon. My wife bought that since it was one per person. I'm happy because I think the lowest price I've seen for that, even on-line, was $43 or so, plus shipping.

Later on, same day, I saw Excite Truck at BJ's wholesale for $45, and nearly bought that, but my wife said "enough!" and so I had to pass. Wish I'd seen that first, because even though it costs more that's probably a much better game.

Next time.

lucien2

geez, I haven't played GT3 on our dust-collecting PS2 in ages. No time, I guess. I occasionally take a Spit or a IL-2 out for a spin on IL-2 Sturmovik on my laptop, but that's about it, and those are planes.

ateixeira

My kids were having all the fun, so I just haaaad to get a car game for the Wii.

rsholland

http://www.subaru.com/bluetooth/devices.jsp

rsholland

http://www.subaru.com/bluetooth/devices.jsp

ateixeira

Hmm, the only BlackBerry from T-Mobile they list is the Pearl.

Strange. The 8700g and 8800 should be on there, too.

The Curve model is Bluetooth Stereo, so I wonder if mine would work with that interface. I'd have to try it first.

Honestly, though, I don't see the benefit of playing my phone over the car's speaker, especially if you have to shout to a microphone far from your mouth.

A bluetooth headset makes a lot more sense to me.

I guess it would be cool if the GPS could dial the numbers listed, such as for a restaurant, to make reservations.

amsbear

Brazilian project which saw all of the incandescent-based traffic lights in a Sao Paolo suburb replaced with LUXEON LED-based lamps

http://www.gizmag.com/brazilian-traffic-lights-turn-green/9090/

Juice, any insight or local buzz about this?

Alan
98 OBW Ltd (146,000)

ateixeira

No, not really my region. I'm from Recife, a medium sized town in the Northeast, Sao Paulo is a lot farther south.

It's a huge city. Population is bigger than NYC, and 2nd only to Mexico City in the Americas.

I'm sure energy demand is enormous, so this makes total sense.

PS I'm flying there in July, so I'll check out the traffic lights, see if I notice a difference. LED bulbs do have a certain look to them.

hammerhead

Perhaps an explanation for all the late winter/early spring snow around here: I took the snow tires off March 6th, and it's almost been snowing ever since!

Steve - 500 inches total snowfall at Lookout!

Cheers!
Paul

ateixeira

Your fault!

Bob gave me an old set of snow tires and in 2 whole years I think it snowed one single time.

hammerhead

My fault, and I take full credit!

It has been an epic snow year for skiing... there's gonna be a lot of wasted snow left on the hill when they close it up for the season I'll have somewhere between 25 & 30 ski days under my belt by this weekend. Hasn't been much 'spring skiing' (aka blue skies & corn snow) - hasn't bothered to quit powder dumping! :surprise:

Cheers!
Paul

ateixeira

And we got nothing this year.

I think we got 1-2 inches one single time, that's it.

Pathetic!

ladywclass

we had some snow today .. (nothing sticking yet) .. and that is NOT an April Fool's joke ....

but it was actually snowing on me when I left school this afternoon

jeffmc

We had snow mixed with rain for pretty much 4 straight days ending yesterday. Took a couple photos of my son walking in the falling snow under blooming plum trees. No accumulation whatsoever, though. However, one of my co-workers, who lives about 1/2 hour away in the foothills, has about a foot of new snow at her home. I'm sure the Cascades got clobbered.

Today's sunny & about 50.

p0926

Sunny and the low 80s here :P

subearu

Our area of SE WI had record snowfall this winter, something like 100+" of snow. City ran out of salt, roads are horrible (pot holes, etc) from the extended cold snaps we had this winter. In fact, it became a hot topic that the mayoral candidates picked up on during their races this year.

The last of the snow from Good Friday is just about melted on our lawn, though parking lots still have mountains of snow (ok, icebergs of dirty snow) leftover.

-Brian

rsholland

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/4599

p0926

Brian- Didn't I see where Madison set some sort of record for most consecutive number of days with snow on the ground?

My next door neighbor is a snowbird from Detroit and he's not sorry he missed their winter.

-Frank

subearu

I know Madison broke their snowfall record about 1 month earlier than we did.

-Brian

toboggan

So you're the cause of those piddily snow falls we're getting ( Most of the snow has been to our south - we're still down about a foot). By the time the storm gets over the rockies, there is not much left for us in Duluth. But at least I haven't had to get the 4-wheeler out and plow the snow off the driveway the last few times. It has been warm enough (40º with sunshine) to melt the 2-3" off the asphalt driveway by the evening. The ski area is only open during the day - spring hours).

But I'm keeping the Blizzaks on the OBW until the end of the month. Sometimes a Canadian cold front will drop down and clash with a warm front and create snow.

ateixeira

That rumored Celica seems more and more likely.

qdexter

I have a new 2008 Tribeca with 4000 miles. I feel a vibration in the seats when driving at 50mph and even more so at 75-80mph. I have brought this up to my dealer and they balanced my tires twice but I still feel it. I just went for a drive with the SoA rep this morning and he tells me that what I am feeling is normal road feel. He says that all AWD vehicles have this vibration, but also it is the because of the big wheels on my car I may feel it even more. Is he feeding me a bag of lies or is a vibration an inherant thing on Subarus? This is my first Subaru BTW, but other then the vibration I love it!!!!

hammerhead

Anybody offhand know the size of the torx head needed to remove the drain & fill plugs? Getting a very subtle thud-thud going through full-lock slow speed turns, and 1st gear is a bit stubborn first thing in the morning. Maybe the fluids (front AND rear) need a refresh.

Any opinions on dino vs. synthetic in the tranny & diffs? (the 99 GT, 160k miles) 75W90, right?

Thanks, and
Cheers!
Paul

ateixeira

With the low profile tires (55 series, I believe) a bit more road noise coming in through the tires is normal.

You may want to play with the tire pressures a little, just make sure you don't go under the minimum recommended pressure, which is stamped on the B-pillar. Also make sure the tires are wearing evenly, and maybe now's the time to rotate them for the first time (though 5k miles will be easier to remember as an interval).

xwesx

The rear differential should not have torx plugs. You can put a 1/2" drive directly on it (or with an extension directly on it - no socket) and bust it loose. Open the top one first though, because sometimes they can be VERY stubborn and if you get the bottom one out but cannot open the top, you are stuck with an empty differential!

The front differential, at least on newer models, uses a T70 torx, but I used a T60 torx on mine and it worked fine with the amount of pressure needed to pop it loose and tighten it up (30 ft. lb. if I recall correctly).

ateixeira

My 98 Forester's rear diff was also a 1/2" drive. I had to buy a new wrench for it!

Front diff/trans was a plain hex bolt, though. Can't remember what size.

p0926

I've never heard that AWD vehicles are prone to vibration and I personally have not had that problem (3 AWD vehicles). How much vibration are we talking about?

Try to find a stretch of road that's been freshly paved and see how it feels. If there's still a vibration then it's probably the tires (which BTW aren't warranted by Subaru).

-Frank

p0926

Passed a Smart car on the hwy last weekend. Man those are short cars! I swear it wasn't much longer than your average 2-dr sedan door :P I'd be interested in knowing how they fare in crash testing since there's hardly any room for a crumple zone.

-Frank

xwesx

Ah, I forgot that Paul's vehicles are late 90's. The front differential was, I think, the same as the oil drain - 17mm. The rear differential was the 1/2" drive. My '96 had it; my '08 had it.

They changed the front differential to Torx due to the regularity of garages "changing the engine oil" only to have a the differential lock up and the engine choke on oil a few miles down the road. :sick:

hondafriek

Our area had the second worst winter on record 168 inches this year. or 428 Centimeters Whichever you choose, it was too bloody much, We still have 4 foot snowbanks on the side of the road, now we are concerned with flooding.

Cheers Pat.

p0926

Hey Pat, there's something like 250,000 Canadians who are either part year residents or visit Arizona annually. Maybe you should join them

-Frank

ateixeira

In that case I will be the first to say the swap was a good idea!

I remember a horror story about Jiffy Lube draining the gear oil, then overfilling the engine oil too! Damaged both! :surprise:

Frank: the Smart car has a pretty solid safety cell. There was a wild video of a high speed crash test against a barrier at an angle and the passenger door still worked.

volkov

They actually have a very good crash structure and did well in Euro testing. Great video from 5th Gear crashing one into a barrier at 80mph iirc and the door still worked afterward. Search it, it's impressive. The real problem is one of physics as it applies to mass. If you hit me head on in your Smart and me in my Yukon XL, I'll likely only slow down whilst you would be knocked backward, multiplying the crash force. Even the head of iihs crash testing has confirmed that in crashes, the bigger the better.

p0926

Yes I remember seeing that video now. Still... you seeing one of those cars going down the hwy amongest all the full-size pickups and large SUVs and can't help but think that it's very vulnerable.

-Frank

bat1161

This is the first year I have snows for the OB, and we had 1 snow fall which left nothing on the ground! The only time they came in hanvdy was back in Feb. during the 48hrs of Tri-State drive.

With the way the weather has been it's time to switch back to the all-seasons. Taking a lesson from the OCD club I want to clean and wax the rims before swapping them out.

Mark

toboggan

Also have a 2008 Tribeca with 5,000+ miles. I would check the tire pressures. I currently have 32# in my tires. Even then it seems I can feel pebbles in the road. But have not had a vibration problems.

MNSteve

ateixeira

How timely, Frank...

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/4608

Good, but not great.

I bet someone with your concerns will see that and pass.

p0926

I think they would make an awesome in-town commuter vehicle but on the hwy... I guess if you're insurance policy is up to date

It's funny, I'm strongly against the size race where buyers keep wanting bigger and bigger vehicles so they'll "feel safe" but the Smart just looks TOO small. However, with gas prices the way that they are, I suspect the scales will start tipping back in favor of economy over girth

-Frank

rsholland

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21789696&postcount=1

A knocking noise could be a wear problem, which has shown up in other markets...

Bob

paisan

All the lights here in the NY/NJ Area are LEDs, have been for several years. Unfortunately they don't save as much $ as one thinks because they have to install heaters in the housings so that they don't ice up in the winter and to keep the relays dry year round.

-mike

paisan

In a '99 Subaru you won't need a Torx at all. As Wes said rear is just a square socket and the front should be a 21mm IIRC.

-mike

paisan

The Torx T70 is apparently only for the Subarus. I went into an auto parts store and asked for a Torx T70 and they had to order it. Never mentioned what it was for or anything. They got it and sold it to me. I open up the package and right on the package it says "Torx T70, Subaru Transmission/differential drain plug" Which leads me to think it is not used on much of anything else. It did cost $25 though.

-mike