Subaru Crew: Suggestions for Subaru

lark6

Interesting link, Dennis.

Can anyone tell me what the function is of the small rectangular button to the upper right of the shift gate?

Ed

rangner

I believe its a cover that you can pry off to override the lock when you put it in park.

Eric

ateixeira

FWIW, CR had a little tidbit on lock switch, and they listed Subaru's design as one of the better ones.

-juice

bluesubie

Could it be the Sport mode? I believe the Aussie 4EAT's have an actual button.

-Dennis

bat1161

If Subaru comes out with a hybrid, considering all the improvements in technology, I would be interested. I agree with Juice - it has to be as a wagon/suv type with AWD(of course-it's a Subaru after all). I guess we'll have to see what happens over the next couple of years.

Mark

ateixeira

I was chatting with a friend about this, and he brought up a KILLER advantage - hybrids are allowed to drive in HOV lanes even with just one person aboard, at least locally.

Bring 'em on! :-)

-juice

rsholland

today, with most family-oriented vehicles being automatics, I really don't think it makes much difference what the power plant is; as long as it works, is reliable, offers good power, is comfortable, is affordable, and meets the owner's needs.

If you can get all that from a hybrid, and get great mileage and is easy on the environment to boot, what's not to like?

Bob

locke2c

they could just move the window controls inboard, like a BMW 3-series has 'em... on the console.

-c

njswamplands

vanity lights. i live in the country with no outside lighting and this car is really dark. i gotta read the manual to try and have those front lights just above the front windshield come on when opening the door. i mean this car is really dark. the odyssey is great in this area.

hypov

Only way to have them come on is by the push switch. Although you could make them come on when opening the door by doing a re-wire and tap to the domelight like a two way switch.

-Dave

ateixeira

Do you have a moonroof? On those models, the light is farther back, so it's more of a concern.

My aftermarket moonroof means my dome light was moved back as well. It's not a big deal, but I guess it would be nice to have a light up front.

-juice

njswamplands

and also adding onto the issue of lighting, i really appreciate those lights on the doors also. kinda helps seeing what kind of potholes one might be stepping out onto also. my mazda millenia has those and its great.

thats a shame there is no way to get those front lights on without pushing them on.

the odyssey has a nice huge button next to the radio for turning on all the inside lights. this works out great when all the doors are closed and the older in-laws are still having trouble buckling in.

hypov

I'm thinking of going bling bling with those undercarriage neon lights and wired [for practical use] to the domelight to come on when the door is open.

-Dave

ateixeira

Porsche charges $750 for footwell lighting on the 911.

Just thought I'd toss that out for no reason. )

-juice

hondafriek

Adding puddle lights to the doors is dead easy, all you need is a couple of small surface mounted clear lights wired through the door swich that is already there.

  If there is no door switch that is easy to add as well, the wiring is easy, the hot wire goes right to the light and the ground is broken through the switch.
 There is also a good chance if you pull the door panel the wiring is already there for puddle lights.
  Cheers Pat.

paisan

You live in the country? C'mon you live in NJ, the most densely populated state in the union!

As for vanity lights.... Gonna bring it up again...

The SVX has tons of em: Both doors, trunk, interior (2), under dash (footwells).

but the SVX was $30K+ in '97. So you get what you pay for.

-mike

njswamplands

lark6

...and there were even more of them last night during the windstorms.

Ed

merrycynic

How about discreetly surrounding the windows with signal/brake lights? When in forward gears the rear top corners could form arrows indicating forward left/right turns. In reverse gear the lower corners could form arrows to indicate reverse left/right turns. The opposite could be true for the windshield. When braking the whole window frame would light. This would allow the intentions of the driver to be known when parked between cars and bring the sight line of the indicators in line with the eyes of other drivers. This would also come in handy when traversing hills. This might keep insurance bills down, as the number of lights damaged in minor parking bumps should decrease. Not to mention that having in tact lighting is in it self safer. Flashing outside review mirrors might be a good thing too. How about extending the spoiler on the rear of the wagon a bit, and putting a light emitting mirror on the underside to negate the blind spot?

rangner

Eric

lark6

merrycynic: Your description reminds me of the semaphore style turn signals that appeared on European cars just before and after WWII. The early VW Beetle is the only one that comes to mind, though IIRC the Renault 4CV had them as well.

Ed

merrycynic

Didn't Citroen have a car that's turn signals were at the rear corners of the hardtop. I think they also had headlights that turned with the wheels. Seems like a good idea to illuminate the actual direction one is heading towards.

merrycynic

Here's a crazy idea. How about having all fluid orifices lined up under the hood on an illuminated bank along the drivers side wheel. Each orifice would have an over sized cap of a different color embossed with the exact type of fluid, the correct amount and circumstances for refill. Lets get really crazy and talk the Feds into requiring fluid manufacturers to have all fluid vessels to have different shaped spouts and the receptacles for these fluids would only accept the correct spout.

paisan

Subaru was one of the first to label all the orfices with yellow and emboss them. I know on my SVX the brake fluid is embossed with the proper item etc.

-mike

merrycynic

Maybe I'm not the only one on crack?

paisan

4.5quarts of Redline High Temp ATF fluid in the SVX today Yum yum.

-mike

lark6

merrycynic: Forgot about Citroen. Maybe French automakers don't deserve all the flak they get...?

Subaru's labeling and color-coding of all the underhood fluid orifices and check locations is one of the smartest, if not the smartest, I've seen on a modern car.

Ed

ateixeira

Dunno if we should be asking for Subaru to copy obscure French makes that most americans laugh about.

-juice

merrycynic

Even obscure French auto makers have good ideas sometimes. Lets see how much Americans laugh when the Buggatti name resurfaces, with a 1000 HP all wheel drive vehicle.

ateixeira

Thanks to the German company (VW) that bought them for peanuts because the French company failed to survive by itself.

Am I wrong?

-juice

merrycynic

Juice, of course you are right. The same could be said about Rolls Royce, Bentley, Morris, Chrysler, and if you extrapolate the idea, Jaguar and Saab.
The one thing that might make Americans laugh about the Buggatti is the $1,000,000 to $1,200,000 estimates.

ateixeira

When prices get into the 6 figure range, I pretty much lose interest completely.

It's all about ego, not product, at those prices.

-juice

lark6

As I sat in US 1 traffic this morning and watched my odometer hit 60K miles, I looked around the cabin of my '00 Forester S and noticed a good bit of wear on the edges of the front seats, door armrest and carpets. Some wear is acceptable and to be expected, but other wear (such as carpet lifting from around the dead pedal and the rubber dead pedal detaching from the carpet itself) is a bit surprising and disappointing in a car that retailed new for just over $25K.

I hope the interior materials in the new Forester, as well as the rest of the newer models, hold up better over time.

Ed

paisan

SVX at 96K is in very good shape

-mike

lark6

I have no doubt that the SVX has higher quality interior materials than just about any Subie built to date.

paisan: I remember that when the SVX came out, I was living in VA in an apartment with a gearhead roommate. We went and checked out a new SVX and, besides the windows, the first thing to catch our eyes was the fabric on the seats and dash. Nice stuff.

Ed

rangner

I was just reading about the chevy malibu maxx. Even with a 3.5 liter V-6, the highway fuel economy is 30 mpg.

Given that neither yota nor honda can match that figure, I'd say they're using DOD technology, or Displacement On Demand. In other words, at low engine loads, the engine may only run on 2 or 4 cylinders.

What do you all think of this technology? If it has no adverse effects, then why not incorporate it into Subies via the GM connection? (Along with direct injection from Isuzu) There's no telling what fuel economy you could get with Double AVCS, direct injection, and DOD to boot. 40 mpg hwy?

Eric

paisan

Hey Lark, next time we meet up I gotta let you take her for a spin. Maybe before the banbino comes?

-mike

lark6

ateixeira

Eric: nope, no DOD for GM, not yet. The 3.5l is actually a basic iron block pushrod engine. It makes just 200hp, but torque is good at 220 lb-ft. I'm not sure how they managed such good EPA number, but I'm guessing it was gearing.

DOD is planned for a future engine that will make its way into the Maxx in a year or two. It will also be a higher cost multivalve engine.

It will be *very* hard to sell this technology given its failure in the past. Better to let someone else prove it first, and see how much demand there is for it.

-juice

merrycynic

Maybe I'm I neurotic, but, I'd be concerned about uneven engine wear. It would take quite an on board self diagnosing computer to make appropriate compensations. Even then then there is only so much that could be done. Carrying around sometimes used/unused running gear makes me wonder. A least a turbo takes advantage of other wise wasted power.

ateixeira

My concern would be lubrication to the deactivated cylinder.

-juice

rangner

yeah there are alot of issues to work out with DOD. But I just can't help wondering how GM does it and how the japanese fall behind.

Take the 2004 Impala, it has a 3.4L V6 and it gets 32mpg highway with only 12 valves and not variable valve timing??!! How is this possible, and if it is just gearing with a four speed auto then Toyota and Honda should be able to beat them hands down.

FWIW, those mileage numbers are not soft. My dad has a 2000 Impala with a 200 hp 3.8L V6 and he'll routinely get 29 mpg hwy.

Go figure..

Eric

ateixeira

Well, wait a sec, GM "does it", or "might do it"? Maybe even GM "goes bankrupt due to screwing up the same idea twice". I'll believe DOD when I see it, seriously.

Seriously, the Vue's CVT was delayed several times. Any new techology has its glitches.

Look at how many times Ford has delayed their hybrid.

Subaru is tiny compared to them and can't afford to take huge risks in cost or reputation. Hybrid technology is proving itself on the road, for several years now. DOD is still vapor ware.

-juice

hondafriek

Bob among others has asked more than once to have all the window switchs illuminated, my friend in Ireland has just traded his 1991 Nissan Sunny (that is a Nissan model line over there)

Anyway to get to my point, this 1991 model had express up and down windows on all 4 doors, all switchs illuminated and retained accessory power. Now here we are 14 years later asking Subaru to add these features to upcoming new models.

The Sunny by the way is not a luxury car it is more a bread and butter model, what's wrong with this picture?

  Cheers Pat.

ateixeira

In fairness, that was before an industry-wide streak of cost-cutting. I doubt the new Sentra has that. I'm not sure the new Maxima does.

Heck, the G35 sedan doesn't have express up/down on all 4 windows, and it's their luxury sedan.

-juice

rangner

Don't mean to beat a dead horse but..I think my previous message was a little garbled.

I'm not so concerned about DOD as I am how GM gets class leading hwy mileage, when their engines are primitive in comparison to the Japanese (i.e. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissan, etc.)

These GM engines have 2 valves per cylinder, iron block, no variable valve timing. Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and now Subaru all have 4 valves per cylinder, Aluminum block, and variable valve timing.

Maybe I'm missing something, but methinks a more sophisticated engine should be more efficient and thus get better mileage.

As you said, If the solution is gearing, then why not look into it for Subaru also? Shouldn't be that difficult should it?

Eric

locke2c

GM has some gifted engineers. They will go to 4 valve when they need to, but in the meantime they are proving plenty capable of working magic using only 2 valves.

The port design and flow characteristics of their cylinder heads must be outstanding. Although, how much can a 4 valve head really cost these days? This isn't 1973 when nothing besides european exotics and the infamous Cosworth Vega had them... everything has 4v/cyl. Curious that they would put the R&D time into 2v rather than do the same with 4. Hmm.

-Colin

ateixeira

Well, the Accord V6 is faster by about a full second, yet it has less torque. More HP, but torque is what moves you.

So my conclusion was Honda geared theirs shorter overall, for the quicker acceleration. But it cost them a few MPGs compared to the Malibu V6.

Anyhow, whatever other improvements GM made worked, the engine is both torquey and fuel efficient. Not that refined, but that's subjective.

The new Subies get +7mpg in the UK mileage loop, I hope that translates into better mileage for us, too. I'm sure it will.

AVCS should be implemented now, then maybe Direct Injection. Isuzu and Mitsubishi has that technology, I'm sure Subaru can do it too.

CAFE pressures will force them too, and I think there is demand for more efficient AWD vehicles, too. The boomers will come out of the heavy SUVs and want something more fun and efficient.

-juice

rangner

yeah...I just can't wait for the new Legacy/OB.
I guess I'll just join the club!

Eric

rangner

I got to looking at different car manufacturers and the number of valve that they typically use per cylinder and I got varied results.

GM--2
Most Japanese and BMW--4
Mercedes Benz--3
Audi--5

Interestingly enough, there seems to be a correlation between torque, horsepower, and number of valves per cylinder.

Maybe this is too simplistic, but GM has loads of low end torque, but is left breathless at higher rpm. And Audi's engines were criticized by Edmunds for lackig low end torque, but would probably perform wonderfully at higher rpm. Benz seems to be a good balance at 3 and tends to balance low and high end performance.

In other words, the greater the amount of valves per cylinder, the more high end the performance will be. And the less the lower end it will be.

Interesting to think about anyway...

Eric