Subaru Crew - Meet The Members

paisan

Well, the most I'll do is put the car into 3rd to prevent it from going into overdrive. If you shift it manually often just for accereation, you'll burn it up. Also on the 4EAT on the subies if you peg the gas to the floor, it will hold the shifts to redline before upshifting. (it's similar to the "power button" on other cars except it calculates based on how far you punch the pedal)

I'll put it in 1st to use engine braking on a hill or in snow. I'll also put it in 1 or 2 in snow as well so that I don't need to hit the brakes and can use the engine braking to slow down.

-mike

ateixeira

Drew: the only chirp I hear is the radar detector. Too bad

Ash: sweet design! Frames, graphics, video and all. It took a while to load up, but it's worth the wait.

Daniel: you must have had the Dana rear. Jeep dropped that supplier after many complaints.

Torque at 1200rpm (or less) is pretty low, though. I prefer manuals anyway.

Mary: you don't have to, but it pays off in the long run, 'cause it's much easier to wax it now vs. cleaning off baked-on brake dust later.

-juice

ateixeira

Larry: thanks for the tip.

I'll wait and do the hitch and the diffy protector together. On the Forester, you have to remove 3 exhaust brackets to install that. Impreza/Legacy owners have it easy - the exhaust does not interefere.

Igor: the baby doesn't have to understand - it's just so she can stare at the stars!

All this talk about autos makes me appreciate the control a manual lends you even more. Long live the manual tranny!

-juice

barresa11

You might think twice about having a manual tranny if it was your only car and you had to deal w/Seattle's hills(mountains in other parts of the USA) and notorious traffic (3rd worst rushhour in the nation). Seriously, this is what convinced me to go w/the auto. vs manual, even though I gave up a bit of real-world acceleration I had some sleepless (sorry, won't catch me saying "in Seattle) nights making this decision! I also preferred the AWD setup w/the auto vs. the manual.

Stephen

aling1

Thanks for the info. I suspected that it was a blow off valve, but I wasn't completely sure.

aling1

Until recently, I too have always placed my auto tranny into Neutral at stop lights. This was always what my father taught me (he still does it), but upon reading that the slight jolt - when you shift back in to drive - could slowly but prematurely wear out the transmission, I stopped doing it unless I'm at a long traffic light, at which point I also apply the parking brake.

I have to say though, that in all of the years that my father and I have done this though, we have never ruined a tranny. I guess the Japanese and German built ones are just more durable (?).

Drew

FrankMc

Motorweek originating in Juices neck of the woods ran a segment on auto paints a few years ago. They thought the biggest factor was metallic vs non-metallic paints. They said that metallic paint contained chips that reflected light, sometimes out into the air and sometimes into nearby paint. Flat colors would last longer than metallics (in general). If you got flat colors the lighter the better, if you got metallic, the darker the better.
According to Motorweek the best color would be flat white and the worst would be silver metallic.

kens

My understanding was that AT shifters were not designed to be constantly shifted between D and N. My rule of thumb was - leave it in D for normal stops (ie. signals), put it in N only when you'll be there for anything longer than that.

As for paint colors, I read somewhere that almost all auto paint today is metallic (or contains metallic compounds). Anyone else know the answer?

texsubaru

Geez, not giving you a front plate bracket seems just outright chintzy!!! I noticed you're in Wimberley, just down the road from me (south Austin), so I'm extremely curious about which dealership you bought from?

texsubaru

Well, it's an interesting argument, and all I can note is that I haven't experienced any fading on my old silver '91 Mazda 626. (On the silver paint, that is; now for something completely different, the wiper arms have gradually gone from black to gray, though, as they also did on my girlfriend's old Mazda 323).

armac13

for all of the "auto-shifting" responses. I was hesitant to pose the question, assuming that it was something everyone else had learned the first time behind the wheel. My right hand really wants to have a useful occupation after 36+ years of driving stick, but I guess it will just have to take early retirement. Neutral only for veeery long holdups.

Ross

mcj13

So it's the metallic chips embedded in the paint at various angles, I can buy that maybe, but still wonder how much difference it can make.

My last two cars were put to rest at age 17. They both had flat paints, one "desert tan" and the other "avocado green". By age 13 or 14, I affectionately called the first "bleached beach" and the other "guacamole".

Got more of the pinstripes off my 3 year old white car yesterday and while it's barely noticeable I can see some signs of fading on the rear fender or maybe it just needs wax.

Mary

FrankMc

And I don't know if the auto manufacturers use the same quality paint or if they say "We have been having paint problems on the silver metallic, let's go to the better grade paint". The paints can be very variable. Years ago I owned a Datsun 1200. We had an accident when the car was 2 months old which required re-painting the rear. (We all know original factory paint is better than the evil after market paint). 2 years later if you ran your finger across the original paint it would come out blue! The rear looked like new! (Worst paint I have ever seen on a car)

centavo

- Pat88, some photos anywhere? I just want to be sure when I ask Darlene at Qsubaru for the right brushguard.
- Amishra: Please, I've been myself a Chevrolet victim ('98 Blazer), and the difference between Subaru and them is enormous.
- About that trailer hitch, I've heard that the 2001 Forester has a bigger distance between the wheels. Do you think the mounting points are the same, or the hitch is different?
- For the automatic questions, I do have a Forester with a Power button, and is the best way of engaging a lower gear, and giving some more power. It has a light on the panel. Tell this to Patti, the lady of SOA.
- I have a question about the AT myself. Torek in his homepage says that the AT in 1st and 2nd gear splits the power 50:50, and in 3rd and 4th the split is 90:10, front to rear. May you confirm it?

paisan

I'm pretty sure the 90/10 is universal (no matter what gear) but have never been able to get a definitive answer from SOA.

-mike

ateixeira

Stephen - we have you beat, we're the 2nd worst traffic in the country! I can appreciate the more sophisticated AWD, though.

KenS: there are still a few non-metallic paints, as well as the new "pearl" paint finishes (some whites), and even the chameleon paints on some Fords. They're progessively harder to apply and touch-up, though.

Mary: you're paint names cracked me up. Keep it coming!

Centavo: the rear track is wider, but I doubt that affects the mounting points for the hitch. I'll check the instructions when they arrive, to see if the same thing also fits newer Foresters.

I believe our friend torek is right about the auto's AWD system.

-juice

gtdriver

Seems like most others agree with me; the jolt of N to D is more damaging than the continuous torque running through the trans. It's a hydraulic type internal system, I suppose, sort of like the fluid clutches on motorcycles, and it's designed to easily handle torque from the motor at idle. An offset to your (silly) point about being in neutral because it's safer is that if you are in gear, you can move out of harm's way quicker. I avoided being rear ended once by quickly moving onto the shoulder while stuck in traffic when I noticed a car coming from behind too quickly (he skidded to a stop ending up with his front bumper next to me at mid-car).

As far as the auto trans., I'm pretty sure it's 90/10 in all gears and adjusts up to 50/50 depending on wheel slippage . This, of course, is more likely to occur in 1st and possibly second gear. I can't imagine a situation where this might occur in 3rd or 4th, unless you do some ice or snow racing.

ateixeira

I wonder, at what rpm does it idle in Neutral? What about standing still while in Drive?

My guess is it revs higher in Neutral (probably 1200rpm to 900rpm or so), and that accounts for the "jolt" described above.

-juice

locke2c

Any automatic should always idle higher in neutral unless the throttle body is opened further --or for a modern EFI motor, the computer decides to squirt some more fuel.

The torque converter is spinning freely in neutral.

-Colin

barresa11

The automatic will engage in a 50/50 power mode in 1st and 2nd gears. In 3rd and OD it is 90/10 until traction slippage is detected. Throw in the ltd slip and it offers even better power distribution. This is what sold me the purchase of my 00'OB Ltd w/auto.

Stephen

PS: Juice, we still have you beat on the hills (not sure that this is a good thing though) ;-)

ateixeira

Actually, the bigger tires allow me to hold a gear a bit longer (slightly, but still).

That means I can hold 2nd or 3rd longer on turns and hills, for power exiting a turn or torque to pull me up.

In other words, I can shift less.

-juice

kens

Stephen is right. The A/T AWD splits power 50/50 in 1st, 2nd and reverse. The A/T is probably a better choice for those who want to do "at the limit" off-roading on their Subies. You don't have to worry about slipping a clutch and, I believe, the system doesn't get as much of the back-and-forth oscillation of power with the M/T. Having said that, the M/T AWD is probably better for those who want to do "at the limit" cornering with their Subies. You'll have near neutral handling at all speeds.

One word of caution to those who shift their A/T into neutral during long stops -- make sure you're in Drive and not Reverse when traffic starts moving again. It's easy to confuse the two. I've seen one guy in a freeway traffic jam stop, put it into neutral and when traffic began moving, reverse into the car behind him.

barresa11

Kens is right on. The automatic is very easy to shift into the wrong gear, especially from OD to 3rd...so be careful out there. :-)

Stephen

paisan

One reason I was going to get a stick when I was contemplating the GT wagon was the 50/50 split gives you better cornering... I'd actually prefer the VDC 35/65 split even more. On my trooper in AWD it's about 15/85 split whenever it's engaged, which really helps it corner nicely (as nice as a 10ft high truck can corner)

-mike

pat88

Centavo...I don't have a picture of the brushguard but I do have the listing that was on the bill from the dealer (I ordered it when I ordered the Forester. I didn't know about Darlene or QSubarua then...)

The number is: E7710FC200MF--Brush Guard Gray

This should help Darlene know which brushguard you want.

~~~Pat



~~~Pat

barresa11

Good point,except that my 00'OB w/auto senses the difference in traction IMHO with a pretty much seemless transfer of power as needed (plus the addition of a ltd slip). The real world differences in on-pavement handling prowness between the manual OB and auto OB is pretty much a wash. The advantage of the off-road ability is potentially more noticeable w/the automatic. Given this I will contradict myself somewhat by adding that the amount of time most people would utilize this advantage maybe not that much. I felt the trade-off in power was not as great of a sacrifice w/the auto version vs. my having to deal with teeth-grinding traffic during Seattle rushhour on I-5 (ok, who am I kidding; traffic almost all the time on I-5)with a manual tranny! I still own my 88'Acura Integra w/a 5-spd and don't miss it in traffic one iota!

Stephen

ateixeira

I believe the brushguads are all one color, right? So the part number provided should work for any Forester owner.

Hmm, what about a manually adjustbale switch for the AWD power split, a la WRC?

How do I deal with traffic? I switched to an earlier schedule to beat the rush. That way I can post more, oops, I mean, work harder.

-juice

qsubaru

You can get the brush guards in Black or Gray
FYI

Black part number is E7710FC001VF
Gray part number is E7710FC001MF

pat88

The brushguards are not all the same color. We ordered one for our 2001 Forester thinking it would be black. When we went to pick it up, we found out that it was 2-colors, not the all black one pictured in the brochures.

It is black in the center of the top and the center of the bottom. The rest of the brushguard is titanium (gray). It looks great on our S model Sedona red monotone with the special rims and I think it would look great on centavo's red and titanium pearl Forester.

The number that I posted was for the two color brushguard.

~~~Pat

ateixeira

I stand corrected.

-juice

harryk

Hi Folks,
I am brand new to this board but have been reading it for awhile to help me with "the new car decision". I went from a new Toyota pickup (to replace the 11 year old one that I was driving - great vehicle!) to maybe a Honda or a new Ford but thanks to your enthusiasm, I settled on a new 2000 Outback Ltd. With so many happy people, it must be a great machine.

I have all of 500 miles on it but have a couple of questions. The first being, is there any way to turn off the daytime running lights if I want to? The manual says that putting on the emergency brake puts the lights out. It does but it certainly puts the brake on.

My next question is regarding xenon replacement bulbs for the standard headlamps. A site I looked at that sells Hella Optilux bulbs, states that if you have US DOT pattern headlamps, the xenon doesn't do much of anything for your increased vision.

Any feedback on these questions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Harry

ateixeira

Believe me, you didn't "settle"! Congrats!

DRLs are a safety feature, so it may not be legal to disable them. I haven't heard of any successful attempts to do this.

Check out the Mods topic for a whole bunch of lighting advice. There are several upgrade options ranging from $20 to $150 for the pair.

-juice

foresterdave

Hey Tex, I bought from North Park Subaru in San Antonio. I went through Autobytell on the internet. Got a great deal. I'm a big believer in any vehicle costing more than 20K should come with license plate brackets. I even contacted SOA, and told them here in TX we use front plates. They said they don't provide'em. It does look better without it though.

kens

Harry,

I have the Hella Premium Xenon bulbs in my Forester and they are slightly brighter than the stock bulbs. When I installed them, I put in one and compared the light against the stock bulb against a wall and the light looked more intense and whiter. I do notice what seems like better lighting at night.

The reason why DOT headlights won't benefit as much from E-code headlights is that the beam pattern is not as refined. E-code headlights usually have sharper cutoffs so it places the light where it's more effective. However, irrespective of if you have e-code lights or not, the premium bulbs do have a higher output (due to the mixture of xenon gas) so you will percieve a difference even with DOT headlamps.

Whatever you do, stay away from the expensive heavily tinted bulbs that claim HID-like light. The light output on those things are dangerously low. The Hella Premiums are in a non-tinted quartz housing and cost around $12 each.

texsubaru

I meant to check out North Park Subaru when I was shopping, but never quite made it down there. I ended up heading the other way, to Waco, after finding a really good deal on a used Forester, still under warranty, at Waco Auto Imports via their Web site.
I was mainly asking because the place where I've started going for routine service/maintenance is Gillman Subaru here in South Austin, and I just didn't like to think they'd be chintzy enough to refuse a customer a front plate bracket. I haven't dealt with their service dept. much yet (the Forester is running quite solidly), but so far my experience with Gillman has been pretty good.

lucien2

Hell, my '99 OB didn't even come with a REAR plate bracket THe dealer did offer one, but I like a car clear of any dealer advertising, so I declined. Have yet to get around to buying one, though.

Hey, what happened to Hutch? You still out there. lurking???

Also, did we lose Patti?

paisan

You can't really over-ride the DRL as far as I know. As for replacements. I have purchased both the PIAA Super Whites and the Hella Optilux Xenons.

The Hella Optilux 80/100w Xenon bulbs produce more low beam light whereas the PIAAs provide more highbeam light.

The PIAAs are about $70 whereas the Hellas are $27.50 I'd go with the Hellas if I were you.

http://catalog.com/susq/index.htm

Is a great place to deal with, he is one of the nicest retailers on the net.

I replaced the sealed beam headlamps with E4 fixtures and bulbs on my '88 XT6 and they made a world of difference.

In my Trooper I now have the PIAAs for summer driving, and the Hella Optilux for winter. And 100w H3 Hellas in the fogs.

Soon I'll have the Hella 4000 9" round 130w pencil beams on the nudge bar (which is what the bar on the forester really is, not a brush guard) of the trooper.

-mike

grahampeters

Okay, I have no great urge to fit light bulbs to burn the tarmac in front of me. The standard ones are bright enough for the speed I do but why do you see the colours of the spectrum as a car fitted with xenon bulbs comes towards you and bumps a little on its suspension? It can be quite disconcerting when you see a flash of blue and think you are about to hit a speed trap.

Cheers

Graham

amishra

nice Forester!

Wow, that red really is sharp!

ash

paisan

Then you shouldn't have to worry about a trap...

Also in NYS our police use red lights

-mike

gtdriver

Kens, in your message #498, you say the AT splits at 50/50. Do you mean UP TO 50/50 from the base of 90/10, or did you mean to say that the manual splits at 50/50?

FYI, a license plate "bracket" is used to attach the front plate to the car. License plate "frames" are the dealer inscribed things that frame the plate and promote the dealership (until I get the car home and throw them in the trash). These frames do not attach the plates to the car. No bracket is needed on the rear; two nuts are built into the recessed area where the plate is installed.

thecat

Hey, what happened to Hutch? You still out there.
lurking???

Thanks for asking ... I'm alive and well. Haven't forgotten about the "Sub'z on the Farm" this fall. Juice (on email) asked yesterday.

I think Pattie is out cruising around in an H-6 and has abandoned us. :0

Is anybody planning on going to "Edmunds Live" in D.C. .. any chance of getting together and going in force? I want to drive (play with) the competition.

- hutch

p0926

Coincidentally, Click & Clack on NPR's Car Talk had a call on this subject last weekend. They identified 3 ways to disable the DRLs:

a. Some models actually have a switch to manually disable the DRLs (check the owners manual).

b. Some models use separate bulbs for the DRLs so they can be simply removed.

c. Some models you have to take to a mechanic to disable the DRLs by bypassing/disabling the solenoid in the ignition.

I suspect that OB falls into the last category. It certainly isn't illegal to disable the DRLs since there's no US law that requires them. However, the dealer probably won't do it for you out of potential liability concerns.

Frank P.

jres

I haven't looked, but there has to be a switch attached to the handbrake unit which activates the DRL's when the brake is released and it should be pretty easy to either remove or open that switch. The only catch would be if the same switch also disables the regular headlights.

Is everyone getting the insurance discount for having a car equipped with DRL's? Our company (Snoopy) gives us a $10 or $12 discount every 6 mos. because the car is equipped with them.

locke2c

Usually the handbrake has but one position sensor, and its presence is enough to defeat ABS for certain. Small-time rally drivers go 1 click up on the handbrake and this kills ABS without dragging the brakes. Whether or not this kills DRLs too I have no idea, but if you mean to kill DRLs and not ABS... well that would be an unpleasant surprise.

-Colin
PS for graham, I got a good chuckle about the bright lights burning the tarmac-- I call my misadjusted "fog lights" flamethrowers. I don't burn the tarmac with other drivers on the road though, that would be bad form.

aling1

The bluish tint, or a bright purplish tint for BMW's cars, is a side effect of using an electrical arc as the light source in HID Xenon headlamps. While this colour is excellent to drive behind as it is a lot whiter and brighter, it is more likely to cause some glare to oncoming drivers.

The reason why BMW's HID Xenon headlamps are particularly annoying is because overstimulation of retinal purple in the human eye by this very colour range messes up one's night vision for a fair amoutn of time even after relatively brief exposure. One would think that BMW would be able to design a less glaring HID setup since they were the first ones in the market to offer the lights, and hence have had the most experience.

Unlike US and Canadian regulators, European regulators recognize the danger presented by excessive headlamp glare, and so European cars with HID lamps MUST have dynamic auto headlamp leveling systems and headlamp washers.

Drew

jres

Thanks for the catch, accidentally disabling the ABS would not be a good idea.

Any idea of what the rational behind disabling the ABS with the hand brake is? Other than allowing "bootlegger turns" that is.

locke2c

The reason ABS is disabled with the handbrake is that the system can't compensate. Have you ever rode ABS to a complete stop and then kept your foot on the pedal? I have, and the buzzing becomes very intense and then quits-- the system finally figures after 1-3 seconds that it can't "unlock" the wheels because they are no longer moving.

The handbrake locking the rear wheels or even slowing them down would confuse the ABS, so they just turn it off.

-Colin

aling1

I guess this behaviour would (probably) be specific to Subaru's ABS only.

FWIW, I've tried using the footbrake and activating the ABS simultaneously on my AWD Chrysler minivan. The ABS doesn't shut down, but the idiot light blinks on after a few tries. I take it this doesn't happen in your car? The ABS quits immediately after the wheels stop on my vehicles. No intense buzzing of the sort.

Drew

paisan

If you hit the hand brake switch, to de-activate your DRLs then you will get the red "brake" light on your dash.

Not having ABS could be a nice thing...(i'm not a fan of Airbags or ABS)

I got the DRL discount on my Trooper (even though it doesn't have DRLs, my insurance co messed up I think)

The torque split on the A/T from what I've been told is 90/10 and can go to 50/50 if need be. On my XT6 it's 95/5 -> 5/95, There is conflicting stories about it locking in @ 50/50 on the new A/Ts in "1" and "2" if you manually put the car in those positions.

The M/T is 50/50 to start and can vary I think 10-20% in each direction.

-mike