Subaru Crew Cafe

twrx

Recently in my science class I was asked what kind of a car I drove by black girl. When I told her, she had absolutely no idea what a WRX was but wanted to know what kind of wheels it had. When I told her 16" alloy she told me I needed some spreewells on the car (I'm unsure of the spelling). That seems to be the name for the chrome wheels with the spinners in the center. Lincoln Navs and Caddy Escalades seem to be the thing. Ever look at the web sites for either Lincoln or Cadillac? These two vehicles are the most expensive they make. They also seem to be the most popular among minorities locally. Wonder if there is a connection?

BTW: my favorite rip-off me-too accessory is not the stupid 20" chrome wheels but the full set of chrome brush guards for the Nav or Expd. (You never know when the tail light could be broken out by tree limbs and such on the trail.)
TWRX

paisan

Those 20" spreewells will do you no good with those brush guards on the trail...

-mike

ateixeira

Those bling-bling wheels should be illegal, because other motorists might think you're moving when you aren't.

But just think about all the unnecessary unsprung weight - duh!

Stephen: looks good. I realize how cloudy my Miata's windows are after seeing that.

Bob: you saw *both* Bajas?! ;-)

-juice

subearu

I did have to do a doubletake as I saw something moving to my right at that intersection. I was stopped probably 3 cars back from a red light and the blingy Nav was just stopping for a red light on the crossroad. I kind of did a 'What the...?' as I had never seen those 'spreewheels' before.

-Brian

p0926

I've seen a couple of vehicles in Atlanta with those bling bling wheels in the past couple months. The first time I had the same reaction as Brian (they do provide an interesting visual effect). I'm afraid to ask what a set of those cost. Oh well, yet another must-have item to buy for the "more money than brains" crowd.

-Frank P.

hypov

IIRC, someone had told me, you could buy two sets of BBS forged 17"s for their price.

-Dave

rsholland

Could be, but New Hampshire is a 'Subie Heaven," they're everywhere—especially in and around Portsmouth.

This was the first time I had a chance to see and ride in my sister/brother-in-law's (relatively) new 00 Outback. It's very comfortable, especially in the rear seat area.

Bob

kenoka

Yeah, I heard some absurd figure like $800 PER WHEEL for those silly things.

ateixeira

I paid $643 bottom line for a set of 4 16"s delivered. With tires.

-juice

p0926

In case you haven't seen them on the road yet and were wondering what we were talking about: Spreewells

Note: 4th and 5th images simulate spinning

-Frank P.

rsholland

are to wheels, what stretch limos are to elegant factory coach-built limos.

Speaking of stretch limos, I saw a Hummer H2 ultra-stretch the other day. I almost vomited...

Bob

barresa62

Now imagine that H2 w/Spreewells....yeah...vomiting in big chunks...no doubt!!! LOL!!

Stephen

Karen_S

There was a Hummmer limo in the local Memorial Day parade. Uhhh...yeah, what you said.

rsholland

a white Ford F-350 ultra-stretch limo/pickup 4x4 duelly out around here too. It's got around 6 – 8 doors on each side, in addition to the 8' pickup bed! Must be marketed toward the high school prom groups.

Bob

ateixeira

Bring me a bucket! A big one!

And yeah, they said stretch SUVs are the most popular with high school kids this year, and the prices are astronomical. They get 12-14 kids and split the cost to afford it.

The limo company has to pay for those Bling Bling wheels some how!

-juice

hypov

Aren't they all just skin plopped on a bus chassis?

-Dave

dcm61

Nope, they cut, insert section, weld back together. Of course they extend the driveshaft, wiring harness, fuel & brake lines, etc.

DaveM

jlemole

And now for something completely different:

At a stop light in N.J. a couple of weeks ago, I'm next to a new Land Rover Discovery, all black, tinted windows, chrome wheels, chrome brush guards, all the usually bling bling, obviously not going anywhere off road. But what really struck me was the snorkel running up the driver side windshield frame. I know we get some pretty big potholes over here, but if you hit one that deep a snorkel is going to be the least of your problems. Curiously, though, I didn't see an elevated exhaust pipe. I'm no auto expert, but doesn't the air that goes in also have to eventually come out?????

Jon

lark6

A snorkel AND chrome? That seems oxymoronic.

At the NY Auto Show juice, Bob and I walked through the Land Rover display and underneath a Discovery they had elevated to show off the undercarriage. The Disco was mud-spattered except for that undercarriage, which made us wonder how it got that way - spray-on mud, perhaps?

Ed

rsholland

My daughter, for her Senior Prom, she and her friends all rented a stretch Suburban limo. It was about 6 or 7 couples who went together.

Hey... at least they're not drinking and driving.

When I was a senior in high school, one of my buddies had a 1954 Chrysler New Yorker factory limo—with a hemi! He had a large family, and it used to be the family car. It was painted lavatory green, and was called the "green latrine." That's what we went to he prom in.

Bob

p0926

rsholland

I even had a friend who had a bone-stock Model A Ford! That was a real hoot to ride in.

He also had a Fiat 600 Multipa, which was like a mini-mini VW microbus.

Bob

paisan

No need to extend the exhaust pipes, the pressure from the engine will push the exhaust out. The thing about snorkels is that they are only marginally effective on gas engines since once the electronics are soaked you are dead in the water. On diesels which is what "normal" non-americans drive outside the US, you can actually run them underwater, the only thing you need is air intake above water the diesels run off heat rather than spark.

-mike

hammersley

I used to ride to school in a friend's model A or T... in the rumble seat, if that clarifies it at all... kinda fun for a 15 mile urban/suburban trip. Quite the hoot, indeed!

Cheers!
Paul

grahampeters

G'day

Dad got his driver's license on his eighteenth birthday (in December 1936) and managed to spin his employer's model A through 360 degrees on tram tracks in Melbourne the same day. Bizarrely, he had a company car from the day he started driving.

Trams are ubiquitous in Melbourne and skidding on tram-racks was one of the rights of passage for all young drivers before ABS becoming almost universal. It is highly educational on the uncertanties of traction when it happens to you. Dad was quite insistent on me learning skid control on wet clay tracks before I got my license.

Cheers

Graham

grahampeters

G'day

Snorkels are extremely effective for diesel engines which are far more common outside the USA for serious off road vehicles. The general concept is that you have fording depth up to about six feet for a short crossing. Provided the engine is running the exhasut pressure is enough to clear the exhaust. If it stops however, it is expensive.

Most serious 4WDs here are fitted with snorkles but the prime concern is not electrical but gear boxes and differentials. These are very susceptible to dirty water damage. The intelligent off-roaders run breather tubes from each through a fuel filter to an air reservoir high in the engine bay on the firewall. This allows the vehicle to be immersed for a surprisingly long period without damage.

Even in an ignition engine, the immersion period is much longer than you would expect- typically about 30 seconds. The technique for fording river crossings up to low windscreen height is to enter at reasonable revs (2000rpm) in second gear, slipping the clutch. A bow wave is generated and provided you keep steady progress, allows you to cross most streams. One key aspect is to turn the air con off as the fan ingests water spray across the ignition. The radiator fan rarely operates so that is rarely a problem. Historically, Australians would slip the fan belt off but now you merely pull the fuses.

Once you crawl out the other side of the stream it is worth checking that everything is working okay (particualry brakes) and drain holes in doors etc. have cleared.

Rereading the above reminds me of taking Judy on our honeymoon. In Outback Central Australia, on our 31st river crossing, my Corolla started to float downstream and I was reaching for the winch behind the front seat before things got seriously out of hand. Fortunately the car found firm ground again before I had to switch off (30 seconds) and we climbed the opposite bank. For the balance of the honeymoon, Judy waded across each river first. When we lived in England, the Poms assured us that I was mindlessly cruel to inflict that on my English wife. Judy was (and happilly still is) unconcerned.

Cheers

Graham

rsholland

Graham, your poor wife is a keeper, for sure!

I can't image my wife floating down some river, in a car—on our honeymoon... Instead, we spent our honeymoon in Antiqua, dodging the crazy locals in their cars, while learning to drive a RHD car.

Bob

fibber2

As always, a great story!

Steve

kens

Graham -- interesting reading! Breather tubes for gear boxes. Who would have ever known?

Ken

kens

Okay, Crew members with a green thumb, I need your advice.

Our house has a planter in the front yard that's about 5'x10'. It currently has some ground cover plant growing on it (I'm not sure what it is)over what probably used to be grass -- not repulsive, but not very attractive either. The previous owner probably just got tired of taking care of it.

Anyway, my wife wants to convert this into a simple flower bed (nothing fancy) so I'm trying to determine the best way of going about it.
-What's the best way to get rid of the current cover plant -- RoundUp vs. newspaper mulch?
-Should I cut away the existing plant and old sod layer or try and till it into the ground?
-Is it worth adding in compost and other nutrients?

We would like to not have to wait a whole season to plant. Is this possible?

Ken

paisan

I need to extend mine in the trooper since I do a lot of mudding.

-mike

hammersley

Ken: If you use Round-Up, you can't plant anything for about 3 weeks after - the residual will kill whatever else you plant. I'd try to dig up as much as I could ("off the top"), then till the rest in, adding some good growing soil & compost as you go, in order to top off what you lost digging up the old stuff.

No green thumb here by a long shot, but I've got plenty of "honey-do" experience when Grace wants to plant stuff!

Cheers!
Paul

grahampeters

G'day

A lazy alternative is No-Dig Gardening. Essentially you lay down a generous layer of newspaper (easier if it is a bit wet as it does not blow awayfollowed by pea straw, a bit of fertilizer (manure is fine) and then some lucerne hay and a little bit of soil to hold it all down. You can plant immediately.

Try searching on the net under No dig gardening. Some beds I planted twnty years ago are still doing fine.

Cheers

Graham

ateixeira

Ken: till that bad boy! Use elbow grease, or rent a gas tiller.

If the soil is clay-ish, mix in 2 parts sand and 1 part peat moss. The sand will keep the clay from sticking/solidifying. The peat moss retains water nicely.

If the soil is already good, just add the peat moss. You can also mix in compost.

Then plant your landscaping, and cover the whole thing with a layer of mulch.

Just did this myself. My formerly 12'x4' garden is now 16'x6'. Had the worst clay soil you could imagine, but now the veggies are growing quickly with all the rain we've had.

Skip the RoundUp. Actually, if you need to kill weeds use vinegar straight up, don't dilute it. It's cheaper and more organic.

-juice

kens

I knew there were some green thumbs out there!

I've done research on RoundUp and it seems like you can plant pretty much anything you don't plan on eating after three days. In fact, Monsanto claims you can plant flowers 24 hours later. The active ingredient in RoundUp breaks down in soil rather quickly.

A co-worker has a gas powered tiller that he's going to lend me next week. I think I'll do a little bit of everything everyone mentioned. I'll spray RoundUp this weekend and visit nurseries with my wife and plan what exactly she wants planted. Next weekend, I'll cut off whatever I can, till and plant. I'll probably use a some newspaper mulch topped off with more attractive bark just to be on the safe side.

Ken

barresa62

barresa62 "Jeep Owners: Photo Gallery" May 31, 2003 12:54pm

Took these pics a couple of days ago. I'm ready for summer. Just looked at the extended 5day forecast and we're supposed to be high of 82 & 83 by midweek...yippee!!

Stephen

barresa62

Especially for you green thumbs out there, :-)

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290122733

Stephen

ladywclass

just a little bit 'shiny' when it looks like a mirror for the plants?
nice ....

subearu

Your Jeep seems to be missing some dirt Stephen...way too clean for a Jeep! Now go get some mud on it!

What kind of wax are you using btw? The black sure has a nice deep reflection in it.

-Brian

barresa62

I know...way too clean. I haven't had any time to go off-road w/it. The only major dirt I could get on it now is if I'd back it next to the porch where the wood & sheetrock is being cut for the bathroom remodel. :-)

Brian: I'm using Meguiers Gold.

Stephen

rsholland

I noticed you removed the plastic endcaps to the front and rear bumpers. How come?

Bob

barresa62

I think the endcaps look major dorky on the Wrangler, especially from the rear...of course, just MHO. :-)

rsholland

I was driving over in northern Virginia yesterday, when I noticed right in front of me was a Honda Integra. That's right, a Honda Integra, not a Acura Integra. It had all the Honda and different Integra (from Acura) badging and was LHD, and was driven by a young looking Asian guy.

I was wondering, in Canada, was the Integra sold as a Honda or Acura? I know in markets where the Acuru name is not used, those models are sold as Hondas. I know Canada sells both Acuras and Hondas.

Bob

rsholland

to go up against the Forester, etc.

http://motioncars.com/autobuzz/articles31/volvo_xc50.html

I love the looks!

Bob

subearu

Honda had the Integra up there in Canada, eh! I have an email to a friend of mine who knows more about Honda's, hopefully he'll be able to provide more info.

-Brian

kenoka

That would be weird considering that Canada had the Acura 1.8EL (gussied up Civic).

rsholland

I was surfing looking for LHD Honda Integras (no luck so far) and discovered this sharp looking Accord wagon now being sold in Germany. Think Acura TSX wagon, if Acura ever decides to offer it here in the USA.

http://www.honda.de/car/15113_20416.htm

Bob

kens

Bob,

Are you serious about the XC50's looks? :-O

Ken

locke2c

barf. that volvo looks like their take on X5 meets montero... and of course, the (ugly) volvo grill to top it all off.

-Colin

hypov

The designs are attractive... each section by itself in most part. Put together, it's ugly.
Guess they found all the best design but the wrong match.

-Dave