Subaru Crew - Modifications

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Comments

  • originalbitmanoriginalbitman Member Posts: 920
    Dave -

    I will be interested in hearing how the intake air mod goes on your 00 OB as I was considering the same on my 00 GT. Take a look at the underside of your hood where it overlaps the front of the scoop. There is a plastic flap on the hood that appears to nearly block the scoop opening when the hood is closed. Could this be to keep rain from entering when at speed? If so it seems it would also block most of the air.


    Bit
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Chuck (and everyone else) there are a few (maybe 3) varieties of Valvoline brakefluid, and yes I've seen the DOT5 silicone stuff. The kind I am using is DOT4 synthetic glycol based.

    -Colin
  • dzartmandzartman Member Posts: 112
    I saw that flap when i bought the OB and removed it. Not sure about rain, but more bugs get into the filter box!

    No real noise gain or power either with snorkus removed. Haven't yet simply run some tubing from the filter box to the hole in the sidewall.

    Dave
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    I think Craig's resonance frequency explanation describes why my set up doesn't have the humming you mention. The 6" intake hose I have running from the airbox to just inside the fender area must be preventing that resonance.

    Try it -- a flexible intake hose at a local Pep Boys will cost like $7.

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Craig: nope, the hum is there even without the tube leading into the fender. I may get creative with that tubing, though.

    Ken: what diameter tubing did you use?

    Zoom: can't say much about the mirror, but Subaru is supposed to come out with a moonroof deflector soon, and it should install easily with two bolts, like the other models'.

    Stick with OE bras for a good, supportive fit (images of lingerie popping in my head...focus!).

    I'd order both from Darlene. E-mail her to get price quotes.

    We should call that flap a "bug blocker". :)

    -juice
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    I believe I used a 3" diameter flexible intake hose. Don't remember the brand, but I think they're pretty ubiquitous. The hose was about 1ft. long so I cut it in half and pulled it through the opening in the bottom of the airbox into the fender space.

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    How did you secure it to the fender? Or does it just hang? If so, is there rattling?

    There is a bolt just in front of the air box, did you use that?

    -juice
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    Basically, it just kind of curves out of the airbox into the fender well. The hose is made of this soft nylon-like material supported by a wire coil inside so it doesn't move around very much. Also, the 6" length I cut is short enough that it doesn't droop.

    I also didn't need to secure it in any way to the fender or airbox. I initially thought I might have to, but the hose is fairly snug in the opening between the airbox and fender. Also, the hose has metal clamps on both ends that are slightly larger than the hole leading into the air box. If you "thread" the intake tubing (cut off end first) from the airbox into the fender, the clamp prevents it from going in any further.

    I've checked the hose several times now (after boucing off the rev limiter several times :-) )and it seems secure.

    I'll try and take photos this weekend and update my website.

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Bingo - that's got to be it. Periodic vortex shedding (I love that phrase) - my antennae has a similar coil around the outside, that could be silencing the hum.

    Now I'm curious as to what that tubing looks like. Is it black plastic, basically?

    -juice
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    Yep, it's a black nylon-like material. Softer and more flexible than plastic. They have a wire that coils through it to give it shape.

    You can find these things in any auto store. If you want, I can send you the other half that I didn't use.

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The shipping will cost more than what I'd pay, but thanks for offering. Hang on to that other half for a future Crew member w/snorkectomitis near you!

    -juice
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    True, true. Let me see if I can snap some digital photos tonight. It's easier to explain using pics.

    Ken
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Tell you what, to give you more incentive to take those photos, if I can find the same part, I'll cut it in half and give the other half to Lucien, so you'll be helping out two of us! :)

    -juice
  • armac13armac13 Member Posts: 1,129
    You might want to try a bit of masking tape on the mirror - cover the junction between the mirror housing and the body mounting. If that eliminates the problem, go back to the dealer for mods. If it doesn't, go back for mods and complain loudly. I hate such noises!

    Ross
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    The more I research this Impreza wagon idea, the more confused I get....

    I see 0-60 times for the 2.2l of something like 10 secs. That is not going to cut it. Rallispec says intake and exhaust will improve this. SPD says no, nothing but forced induction or cams will. So am I screwed on acceleration on this car if I go the Impreza route? Or should I take the money of the car+mods and get a 318Ti Hatch? It has 138 hp, less than the Impreza, yet makes 60 in 7.8.

    why oh why isn't there a 2.5 wagon :(
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    Oh I would in a heartbeat...Problem is, I play upright bass in a band, so I need something able to carry the instrument and some PA gear. THAT is what is causing the conundrum...I can't afford a dedicated track car.
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Loosh, the Focus ZX3 is no straightline demon either and I hate FWD. (Btw Craig, the Prelude SH is pretty neat for a FWD car but it's 3042lb.)

    I agree with Rallispec, intake and exhaust will help. Ask Ramon how much; he has an OBS too. Cams would help even more, but no one has figured out of the Cobb Tuning EJ25 SOHC cams are compatible with the EJ22 SOHC. The heads themselves look the same from the manuals I've got, but that's a long ways from fitting and testing the cams.

    -Colin
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    Colin: thanks for the correction!

    Lucien: scratch the Prelude if you need to carry any stuff -- the trunk opening is like a mail slot!

    Craig
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    How much difference have your mods made in acceleration? Heck, what mods did you do? I don't need the car to be a bahnstormer, but I would like to get the 0-60 down to 8, mid 7's.
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Yup. Did some runs a few months back and with my current mods I was pulling b/t 7.8-8.2sec in the few runs.
    Don't trust edmund's stupid 0-60 as they rate an RS doing 8.2 or something.
    Anyhow with my intake (similar to colins), exhaust (similar to colins), pulley (colin copied me!) I am able to hit that 8 ticks. You just let 'er go at 4000rpm-4500rpm. Easy. I wil do another one in the next few weeks with this err....Gcube device that's used in autoX circles. hehehe... stock form I did 9s. Autos are slower too. Shh.... don't tell the autos or they'll kill me.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    What about a used 240SX hatch? Reliable, cheap, fun to drive, and it'll fit that instrument!

    Wait for SEMA. The Focus (and PT Cruiser) are supposed to gets LOTS of attention. See what they have to offer.

    No more FWD for me, though.

    For Soobs, keep in mind most models need 3rd gear to hit 60, and that 2nd shift costs 0.4s or so. So the numbers don't look at good as they feel, nor do they necessarily mean a slower car on the track.

    OK, Loosh, first one of us to hit Track Auto or Pep Boys picks up that tubing. We'll split the cost.

    -juice
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    So did you get a chance to try the intake hose mod above?

    Ken
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    cool.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I will - maybe this weekend, unless Lucien beats me to it.

    -juice
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    in my car! Oh no..... I guess I better up the octane. It was never like this before. When I go WOT to 5000rpm it's cracker time which means only one thing - invasion. Ooops. Detonation. Can I still drive the car but slowly? I still have about 1/2 tank of 89 octanes in it...
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Ramon, part throttle should be no problem.

    -Colin
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    What mods caused the detonation problems?

    -juice
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Thing is that with my engine mod, the car's been fine with 89! Heck I ran autoX bouncing off the rev limiter and it never complained. I think it could be bad gas. Since my last fill which was friday, I had hesitations. So I reset my ecu yesterdee night and took off Burnsie style this morning to help the ecu to learn my driving characteristics. Well the engine hates it. Hesitations gone but when I go WOT all the way to 5000, it starts to detonate.
    So after work I decided to drive slowly (part throttle) to my Sunoco station and fill it with 94 octane gas. It's running fine now. Even with 5000rpm WOT.
    Now what am I to do long term? I don't want to keep using 94 or even 92 octane. I dunno. I much prefer 89. But Colin sometimes I like to let 'er rip and go nuts. Those would be the times when I fear it might detonate or worse blow up a piston or 2... or all of it. =( I think I might use 91 octane and see what happens.
    I don't want to get an AFC...cus I don't even modify my engine as much as Colin with cams! So no need to go all out yet. How?
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    refresh my memory...what mods have you done at this point?
  • bdevbdev Member Posts: 13
    The hard plastic arm rest between the two front seats seems to have developed a crack on the top. No one in the family wants to fess up, heck I may have done this myself putting long pieces of lumber for my weekend warrior projects, I dunno.

    Anyway, I'd like to replace it with an enhanced version if possible. The original was too low and too hard for my tastes. Does anyone have a recommended replacement. Ideally it would have a slide out or flip down cup holder and match the charcoal gray interior.

    Thanks,
    Bruno (96 Legacy OB)
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    ramon: if you experiment with different octane gas, just try a half tank at a time until it settles down. That way, if 89 pings you can fill up with 94 to stop it.

    Bruno: e-mail Darlene if you want an OE replacement. Alternately, she sells arm rests for all other Soob models, so if you see one that might fit give that a shot.

    The Forester has an armrest extension, same gray, but no cup holder.

    -juice
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    well It's running fine and dandy now. I will go down to 91 or 92 on my next fill. I think it cuold be bad gas as it never happened before as my mods has been in for a long time now.

    lucien : what kind of mods you looking at? Engine mods? Handling mods?
    Engine mod
    - UR pulley
    - K&N filterpanel with snorkus removal
    - 2.25" Borla custom catback

    Handling
    - 18mm no roll bar
    - KYB AGX
    - Eibach Pro kit
    - autoX alignment

    Other
    - MY00RS wheels
    - 15" stock canadian alloys
    - GGR shortshifter
    - side valance
    - Redline fluids on tranny and diff.
    - Mobil 1 synth for engine oil.
    - Scooby Doo riding shotgun =) That adds 15hp!!!

    I dunno. I'm sure I've missed out a few. Some DIY stuff here and there.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    You've essentially got a 2.2RS wagon, there. Nice list.

    What do you think of the Redline fluids? Did you drain the stock fluids and then use one of those pumps to refill?

    I've seen the diffy drain plug and fill hole on the back side. That looks easy enough.

    On the tranny, are there are two drain plugs? Was it easy to find/do? You wouldn't happen to have any photos?

    -juice
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    While at the local dealer this morning, I was browsing through one of those brochures Subaru put together containing reprints of about a dozen magazine articles on the 2000 Legacy/Outback. Lo and behold, one of the Road & Track articles (from March 99) says "there's more torque available in low to midrange engine speeds, thanks to a revised air intake design and the SOHC configuration". The author then speaks of a revised cold-air intake with "two resonators and a larger torque chamber (up from 5.2 to 6.5 liters)".

    Now, I know what a resonator is -- it's just a chamber or tube that vibrates with sound waves and either attentuates or amplifies them, like a guitar cavity -- but what's a torque chamber?

    Craig
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Craig the torque champer is what normal ppl call it the intake plenum. If you open up a say Phase II engine bay (not sure about older ones..) you will see this huge black box just north of the throttle body. What happens is that it serves as a reservoir of air. It helps inthrottle response because the engine wil not have to draw air all the way from the first air box located behind the headlights. Hence you feel more torque.

    Juice : the redline fluids are nice. I just added more to the tranny cus it drank up quite a bit over the months. What sux tho is that you need a long pipe to fill the tranny box. No photos.
    IIRC, the drain hole for the tranny is a PITA! It is located right above the header (passsenger side) and it drips some to the header plates. Sux! So I guess if you sorta have a way to re route the drainage say with a cone pipe to direct it away from the header that would be nice. Now I am not sure how your Forester header is like. It could be better angled. It's been almost a year since the switch to Redline. All I can say is that in witner times the shifting is still as slick and nice as it was in the summer. I won't be changing it for another year.
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Ramon,

    The Phase I also has an intake plenum also located right before the throttle body. It is indeed smaller than the Phase II plenum.

    Ken
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Craig, you've already gotten some excellent replies from Alwin and Ken. To further understand why the torque chamber is needed, pop the hood and look at the real intake plenum. (Between the throttle body and the intake runners, for those that are unfamiliar.) Very, very small volume helps high RPM power, and then a secondary airbox (the torque chamber) helps low end by acting as an additional plenum.

    The first place I saw of this type of intake manifold design was on the 1992 Corvette's LT1. I don't know how long Subaru has used it.

    So anyway, I am very suspicious of any aftermarket intakes that replace the torque box with a silcone elbow and a cone air filter, then claim there is no loss of low-end torque.

    -Colin
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Yup. ISR's intake however uses the plenum so to retain the low end grunt while trying to increase high end pull.
    However on some Imprezas, the plenum has an air filter in it. What you can do (which I did) is to replace the air filter in the plenum with a Subaru plenum gasket. I picked mine up fopr 50CDN loonies. That minimized some obstruction. However becareful when you do the replacement as you can easily mis align the plenum box thus causing air leak which is bad. Your car will rev roughly and go bonkers upon acceleration. Speaking of experience. =)
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    So, I guess the parts attached to the snorkus must be the resonators, and they must be designed to attenuate the "hum" that people are noticing when they de-snorkus their engine. If they're designed right, the resonators shouldn't interfere with the airflow in the intake, but I imagine there's still benefit to removing some of the associated plumbing. For those trying to squelch the hum, it may be possible to add a simple resonator tube to your custom intake without getting as complex as the snorkus.

    Craig
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    ramon: Yeah, it's crowded under there. I took a peek when we looked at the shifter linkage, but I wasn't specifically looking at the trans.

    How can you tell which engines have that 2nd filter? Was that just the 2.2l models?

    -juice
  • miksmimiksmi Member Posts: 1,246
    To add to what Ramon said, see Miata Air Flow Meter Replacement; search for "resonance chamber". Along the road to enlightenment, I found some related resources and information.

    John Barach's Dictionary of Automotive Terms

    air management valves

    ..Mike

    ..Mike

  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    I'm surprised Alwin had that filter in his torque chamber, because I previously thought only some 99 2.5L Foresters or Imprezas had it.

    I gutted mine instead of using the gasket. I had to silicone it back into place though, since the gutted filter is very flimsy. In short, buying the gasket from Darlene is probably smart. ;)

    -Colin
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Man, I'm envious, those guys are amazingly well organized. My web site looks so beginnerish.

    I know that's not a word, Mike, you don't have to look it up! :)

    Look at these fluid change instructions:

    http://miata.net/garage/trans/index.htm

    Amazing. Great detail, photos, the works.

    ramon: looking at those, was the Soob similar?

    -juice
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Looking at the Miata's last few pictures.... I didn't know you can even put oil within the gear shift! Wow!
    Juice : I'm afraid to tell you that due to our 2 to 1 header Y headers, I don't think it look the same as the Miata's at all. Their's is so easy looking. You defintely need a looooonnng nose cone to fill your car tranny up. =(

    Miata clubs are very organised. What can you do as there's like 500,000 of them to date since it's introduction back in 89? That's prolly more than the entire fleet of Subaru from 89 onwards!

    Colin : Apparently some Imprezas have them. I found out later that some other 99s don't! Well it's ok. It doesn't void the warranty as the gasket was designed to take up that spot anyways. In fact since I screw up with the alignment of the eplenum box, my Scoob mechanic came to my rescue. He didn't charge me. What a nice guy. I'm gonna miss my dealership here in London, Ont. once I move back to Toronto. I think if I were to buy a new Subaru again, I'd drive all the way back to London. Just to give them my bidness. Their service so far is top notch. Even when I messed up my TPS. hehehehe.... that's another story for another day.
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    Here is my 18K plan:

    1 '01 Impreza Wagon, purchased as close as possible to the release of the New Age model

    1 Rallispec cold air intake

    1 Rallispec 2.25 catback

    4 RS wheels and some kind of tire, or tasteful aftermarket wheel 16"

    4 H&R/KYB spring strut combo, or like.

    1 big brake kit up front. Move stocks discs to rear.

    1 20mm sway bar in back.

    Things like upgraded seats, CD player, yadda yadda as budget permits.

    What do you think??
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Well, Subaru sells about 50k Forester per year, in three years that's about 150k on the road. Good point.

    You guys think the '98 Foresters have that 2nd filter? Any thoughts?

    Loosh: sounds like a plan. You'll really shock people, 'cause your ride will be very stealthy. You also won't get the speeding tickets you would in a WRX.

    -juice
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    juice,

    I don't think the Phase I has the 2nd filter. I've never come across someone mentioning it.

    Ken
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    ...just don't put the WRX-style rear wings on and you'll stay stealthy. Did you check to see if Beans still has the blue wagon?

    Ed
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Assuming I understand your question; there won't be a blue LL Bean Out offered this year.

    Bob
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Oh boy, that just makes his choice harder...

    -juice
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