Subaru Crew - Meet The Members

yellowbikedon

Hey guys,

Thanks for sharing cost data re: tinting with me. I will probably let the local dealer have the work done as he knows my "standards"!

Your willingness to assist is the main reason the Subaru Crew is such an excellent source for owners (as well as lurkers).

Don

despe

Speaking of installing aftermarket stereo gear, has anyone here replaced the door speakers in a MY00 OB?? I've managed to install a new CD head unit without damaging anything (Bitman, look at Kenwood as well--not nearly as "flashy" as most CD decks out right now). Crutchfield instructions sure would've been nice!!! And now I would like to upgrade the factory speakers. I'm looking for any tips on taking door panels off and anyone else's experience with what sounds good/bad in the OB. I talked to a salesman at a local electronics store, and he cringed when I mentioned the Outback... seems they have a pretty shallow speaker mount depth--hard to find a good speaker that fits. Thanks in advance.

-just another Dave

originalbitman

So the Subaru CD player is a stand alone player that works with the cassette receiver like the 6 disk changer? Or is it a CD receiver that replaces the cassette receiver?

Bitman

originalbitman

Guess I answered my own question by going to the SOA site... it's a player not a CD receiver. Craig - why didn't you go for the changer instead of the player?

And thanks for the superb install instructions!


Bitman

c_hunter

The Subaru unit is a standalone single CD player that slides in below the cassette receiver (replaces the covered storage bin) and works in conjunction with the cassette receiver. Just like the 6 disc changer.

here's a picture of it:



Craig

c_hunter

A bit out of sync with my posts, but now we at least have a nice picture . . .

The Subaru 6 disc changer was expensive, even with Darlene's excellent discount (she even recommended I look into an aftermarket changer). I think she sells it for $450, retail is around $500.

A good aftermarket changer is about $200-300 (not in-dash though). The downside is that you have to use a RF modulator to connect it to your factory stereo through FM (via the antenna connector), since nobody seems to offer a Subaru receiver interface. It's usually transmitted at 88.5 or something around that part of the FM dial. A salesman will try to tell you that it sounds just as good as the real thing, but FM has a limited frequency range, and clips off the very low lows and very high highs from the CD's audio spectrum. Not to mention that you open yourself up to all sorts of potential interference problems. I would stay away from an FM based connection.

So, that either means getting the Subaru changer, or getting a new aftermarket receiver that is compatible with an aftermarket changer. For instance, Sony makes nice receivers and changers that work great together. But then you're spending a lot of money again, at least $400-500 for a good setup, if not more.

Based on budget and the urge for simplicity, I ended up getting the single CD player.

Craig

lergeson1

At Cruchfield, you can save $$ by buying a receiver/player and a 6, 10 or 12 disc changer as a package. Additionally, you will more than likely get better wattage, a detachable face plate and better sound from an aftermarket set-up. A Sony set-up can even be had for under $400. The downside is it won't have the Subaru look and it will definitely be more "flashy" and luminous.

locke2c

What? There are still plenty of pretty darned tame Blaupunkt receivers. Alpine doesn't really have any more... maybe the 7949 but it just looks like crap IMHO:


Look at the Blau RPD545:

Pretty conservative.

How about the Santa Monica CD30?

Very tame, except the blue backlight.

There's no way I'd pay $300 for the warmed-over OE Clarion deck, good prices from QSubaru or no.

-Colin

ateixeira

Craig - I agree, I've seen some pretty hideous new stereo faces. Not all are, but the worst ones are cheesy.

Detachable face is actually very "last season". The newest ones have faces that rotate and leave a flat plate that looks like nothing is there, though lights shine through when they're on.

-juice

aussieroo

Since Graham has put in his two bobs worth, here is my Subaru story.

I returned to Oz in 1995 after spending 17 years in Papua New Guinea & 4 years in Botswana. (That will have you Yanks diving for your atlases). Since '95 I have been working in Sydney (not by choice. It is the only place where I can crack a job which will pay for my consumption of beer and cigarettes and the mortgages at the same time) and have not had a car of my own.

Easter last year I went camping with some mates from a sporting club, something which I had not done in many years and caught the bug again. Camping is easy these days whereas it was a bit of a chore thirty years ago, fun but a chore.

So if I was to invest in camping gear etc etc I was going to have to camp more than a couple of times a year and as night follows day I was going to need a vehicle to convey me in my wanderings.

May this year I changed jobs and part of the package was a leased vehicle. Next question what to get. I needed something to get me around the city with alacrity to convey me long distances in comfort and to give me the ability to go bush if and when I wanted to. The large V8 4wd's where out. If I wanted to drive a tank I would join the army and I could'nt afford one.

So I got onto the internet and looked for not off but "soft" roaders as we call them here. I forget which make and model I started with but there was a button on the page which gave me a list of about 9 comparative vehicles, one of which was the Forester and like a good piece of object oriented computer code, after the appropriate research it naturally bubbled to the top of the heap. It was a bit more than what I wanted to spend but what the hell I had not had a car of my own in ten years and Subaru have a really good reputation here.

I ordered the 2000 Limited model as it met my option requirements and added the sunroof, side airbags, tinted windows, alarm and CD player (single). I had seen one but never driven it and never spoke to a salesman. Why would I need to do that I had never spoken to a dissatisfied Subie owner so they must be all right. I can now understand why so many of you subie nuts use MACs as well.

I placed my order mid May and was told the vehicle would be here in August, that was a helluva wait but that was ok if you want the best it's worth waiting for. The vehicle arrived in mid july and brother was the wait worth while.

From the time I first saw it on the internet I felt there was something special about this vehicle and I was wrong. There is something EXTRA special about this vehicle. I don't know what it is but I am hooked.

I have had it three weeks and have done 2500 kilometers (about 1600 miles for the uninitiated).

First camping trip not off road will be from 30th Sep to Oct 3rd.

I will keep you posted on how the Silver Bullet handles it.

Cheers

Gus

originalbitman

The Rockford-Fosgate units look pretty nice too. Just went and checked them out. Oddly, Crutchfield insists only the 8350 will fit my Legacy yet Fosgate says they are all the same dimensions.

Bit

originalbitman

How do you insert and image into a post?


Bit

locke2c

do this, but change the [] into <</A>>

[img src=http://www.host.com/image.jpg]

Then you'll be groovin'
www.host.com/image.jpg

If you want to look at the source for someone else's post, hover your mouse over it and right-click, then pick properties. Or go to the browser and view source... or...

-Colin

barresa11

I know what you mean. I never test drove my OB Ltd either. I don't know why I didn't, I always say test drive and test drive again! I knew that I wanted this car and it would have to drive really poorly for me not to consider it. Since no one thought (at least the folks who posted on this site)it drove poorly, I was hooked. I concentrated on finding the car I wanted at a dealer in the Western half of WA State and then finding the right deal. I haven't regretted it one bit. Oh sure, I daydream a bit about the H6 version but that may be my 4-5 year down-the-road purchase. Meanwhile I'm having too much fun. BTW, your comment about us Yanks diving for our atlas' had me rolling. I live in Seattle and am constantly dumbfounded how many "Yanks" in this area aren't even vaguely familiar with British Columbia, Canada 141 miles to our north!
Enjoy your ride!

Stephen

originalbitman

Here's the Fosgate:


Bit

locke2c

If anyone else wants the Subaru OE cd player, there's someone selling the tape deck, cd and the factory 'subwoofer' on the iclub.

http://www.impreza-rs.com/NonCGI/Forum18/HTML/000439.html

He says "cheap" but doesn't list price. I'd shoot for $50 shipped for the cd player alone, if he'll sell it. $100-150 shipped for everything.

-Colin

locke2c

That's pretty conservative looking alright, Bitman.

-Colin

lergeson1

Add this nice 8-disc changer and you will have quite the system:

texsubaru

Ya know I was originally considering replacing the stereo/cassette that came with my '98 Forester (a Clarion C116, I think), but I've gotten quite fond of its funky-but-functional ergonomics. The AM/FM buttons are grouped together in 2 sets of three each, with each set being scooped out in a curve (so button 1, for example flares out to the left, button two is scooped out, and button 3 flares out to the right). It's by the far the easiest stereo I've ever had to accurately switch pre-set radio channels without flicking your eyes off the road. It has numerous other failings (only 6 FM pre-sets, for example), but is such an extremely nice ergonomic design that it leaves me wondering why it isn't widely imitated.

thors_hammer

As of 8pm Firestone is recalling the AT/ATX/Wilderness tires in seven southern states. Check out this link if you are interested:
http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2000/08/08/companies/firestone_recall/
Good luck!

-Bryan

abhidharma

And, fwiw, the Bridgestone company stocks are getting hammered recently.

locke2c

Gee, that's probably in anticipation of major product returns, damage claims, reputation loss and liability suits.

-Colin

abhidharma

Gee, that's probably right.

iscotts

I know practically nothing about tires, but I liked the "features" of the OB Wilderness: quiet, all-weather. What will Firestone be giving in return for the recall? Do they have another passenger car tire in my size with those attributes? I'd rather get money to buy ANOTHER brand at this point but that's unlikely to happen...

subearu

...more than likely. From that CNN article and what is on the subaru site (under News), the OB has the passenger tire version of the Wilderness. Those under the recall (at this time) are the light truck versions.
But, that's just my interpretation of this. I guess will have to wait to see for sure.
And, as mentioned before by Juice and others on the forum, keep your tires (especially those Firestones) inflated to the proper psi as stated on your door jamb or owners manual, just to be safe.

paisan

My Trooper's Radio and 6 disk in dash cd are pretty awsome OEM units. I of course haven't had a good stereo before so anything would sound good to me. But it seems to work flawlessly even while off-roading. I believe these units are similar to the SOA ones. I always like a good stock system compared to aftermarket. They just seem to fit and blend better.

-mike

paisan

I have Firstone GTAs on my XT6, they are very good tires. I've had 3 sets of Bridgestone Duellers on my Rodeo and Trooper, all excellent tires. When I finally get Juice's forester rims, I'll likely get some Kuhmo V700s for auto-xing the XT6.

-mike

ateixeira

Paisan: when are you making it down to DC, BTW?

You guys are teasing me with these stereo pics. I also like the stock head unit, maybe because I'm used to it. I can choose stations without looking, since my hands-free cell phone kit blocks the view.

I want better speakers, though.

Someone in another topic checked, and the Wilderness tires on the Explorer carry a different tread than those on the Outback. I also believe the Explorer's are S-rated, while the OB's are H-rated, and the speed rating has a lot to do with heat resistance, FWIW.

The details should be issued at 11am today, per the article, and right here in my home town. We'll see how the saga pans out.

-juice

lark6

Juice,

Enjoyed your report on Edmund's Live. The Forester you and Hutch drove is a clone of mine - a 2000 S, black w/AT. Good to read all the comparos; the only one of those I drove was the Xterra - CR-V and RAV4 never entered the equation. The only other vehicles that competed for my attention were the Legacy GT and the Audi A4 Avant 1.8T.

My office is across the parking lot from Philadelphia Park, a horse racing track. The big parking lot is used by many auto manufacturers to host driving events. Jeep 101 was here last week, but I did not partake. Tempted to take my Forester out there and give that course a go, though. The most recent one I did go to was BMW's, last fall. I drove a 740iL and 540i sport wagon w/their version of Tiptronic. The 540i hauled in more ways than one (!!!) - and for $54 large I'd expect it to. I will not go into the details except to say that BMW let me take them offsite and my driving record is still clean. With the 540i wagon in the stable I don't understand why anyone in their right mind would want that X5 monstrosity besides first-on-the- block poseuring.

Bitman - sorry I haven't written - work and home getting busy. Nice webpage. Will chat Stude with you offline very soon.

paisan

Almost made it down this weekend. I've been going to my house upstate NY almost every weekend. I'll make it down eventually, if you want e-mail me your address and I'll send you a check. Then I'll just pick em up whenever.

-mike

ateixeira

I definitely have to do more of these test drive events. Nothing like it.

Paisan: I was just poking fun. Take your time, there's no rush. What about the SCOA's Gimmick Rally in Gettysburg, PA? See the Events topic for details.

-juice

c_hunter

This forum is starting to look like the beginner's guide to HTML stereo catalogs (I like it). Those Blaupunkt units look nice, as does the Fosgate. The only thing that would turn me off a little is the detachable face -- I always hated fumbling with them, but leaving the face in sort of defeats the purpose. The newer radios with the secret hide-a-face are a good idea.

I happened to look at the some of the new Sonys on Crutchfield's web site, and they look like they were styled by circus clowns. What was Sony thinking?

Craig

c_hunter

oh yeah, almost forgot -- I was at the local dealer this morning to drop of my 2000 OB for servicing, and they had a 2001 OB wagon on the lot. Two things I noticed: the new seatback pockets are actually bungie-reinforced "nets", which is really cool. There ought to be an aftermarket way to add something like this to any car seat, wouldn't you think? And the new odometer/tripometer displays the odometer and dual mode tripometer at the same time (A or B trip). It worked with the ignition off too, and I seem to remember the unit in my 00 Outback only working with the ignition on.

Craig

rsholland

While I was unable to go to this Edmund's event, a couple of years ago I did make to a Jeep 101 event, and a similar affair put on by GM. Both were a lot of fun, and well worth the time spent. GM, if I recall correctly, even had free food!

Bob

locke2c

Craig, I mostly agree on the Sony stuff. However there are some Alpine, Kenwood and Panasonic models that make Sony look plain and conservative. (yes, even with those red buttons and accents.)

I like Clarion. Functional, modern, not too busy. Then again what looks okay in the dash of an Impreza RS might not be okay in a nicer Forester S or OB Limited.

-Colin

ateixeira

Craig - that is new. My '98 Forester's odo goes blank when it's off.

Edmunds Live had coffee and some pastries. Hey, I though I was supposed to get a free T-shirt? Oh well. I missed all the chat rooms and the other events because I was having so much fun flinging cars around the track.

-juice

PS Speaker shopping is confusing. I'll have to try a demo room at Circuit City to choose the model that fits my listening style best (uh, Theme from Sesame Street) and then price shop

lucien2

After gawking at the spaceage looking stuff, I settled on a Blaupunkt from Crutchfield, the Nevada model. It is a perfect fit, blends nicely with the dash, and the little "blau" button glows a pale blue at night. Instructions from Crutchfield were easy to follow. Soldered the custom wiring harness to the unit, then popped it all right in. MUCH better quality, without mucking around with amps and such. Replaced all 4 speakers. Lots of stuff fits the front (Iw went Blau again); the back was a little challenging. A lot of speakers listed on their site say that modification is needed to fit. In reality, it was just a plastic cup that was in the way. It took a couple passes with a paring knife to open the wiring hole enough to accomodate the new (JBL) wiring mounts. BTW, this was on a '99 OB.

All in all I was quite happy with the experience, although I did have to run to the store for a Torx head set to get the speakers out. What pieces of crap- paper jobs that seemingly came from the Clarionette 12 phonograph my folks got from Radio Shack for my 7th birthday.

FWIW, Hutch has seen the installation, so ask him if it looked o.k.

ateixeira

Hmm, I hope the glowing "blau" button doesn't attract thieves. Is it subtle?

-juice

rsholland

The off-road course pictures that Juice posted on the Edmund's Live appear mild compared to the Jeep 101 course.

At Jeep 101 they a very narrow log bridge, boulders, side-of-the hill driving, a very steep hill (about 2 stories high) and equally steep going down (1st gear low range [and absolutely NO brakes] only) affair. It scared the hell out of my wife when she had to do that hill! It also had the usual moderate off-road trail areas.

It was neat. I was able to drive it with a Grand Cherokee, and a Cherokee. The lines were too long for the Wrangler.

It was also very convenient. It was held in Clarkesville, MD, which is only about 7 miles from where I live.

Bob

ateixeira

I'm sure it is. Jeep has to push the envelope to strut it's stuff.

I've been to a Jeep Jamboree, and was pretty impressed. Most are heavily modified, though, and a stock Grand Cherokee Orville Edition got soaked inside in a water crossing.

Several got stuck in water or mud and were pulled out with tow straps.

I guess my point is, are you really going to drive it in this manner?

-juice

bat1161

Does anyone know if replacing the factory radio with another voids the warranty in any way? Is this important only for leases, or does it apply to financing as well?
Mark

aling

Not to nitpick, but I think you mean "Orvis" edition :-)

locke2c

Mark, you can freely replace the radio (and many other components) without fear of voiding any warranty.

-Colin

lucien2

Oops, Cap Lock....

The litle light is only on when the headlights are on, so it ain't no risk. Plus it has a detachable face.

ateixeira

Mark: a new radio will only void the warranty for parts that are affected by the change, like speakers.

Drew: thanks for the money saving tip. And I stand corrected about the Orvis name! Guess I not only can't afford one, I can't even SPELL it!

Q about the speakers, are the rears the same size as the fronts? That is, are both 6.5"?

-juice

paisan

It may also void your warranty they can attribute it to causing something else to fail (electrical system, over heated dash compartment, or if you yank out wires/hoses by accident) It doesn't automatically void it but just about anything you do *could* void it, if it's traceable back to the radio.

-mike

paisan

Hey what happened to Mike Smith and the SOA rep. I know she had a house fire, but um that was a few weeks ago. Thought she'd be back on the job by now Also anyone heard from Mike Smith lately?

-mike

lucien2

Ya know, I was just wondering about Mike today. I was talking with a customer about a certain bistro here in Baltimore, which reminded me of the eats we shared there (after a little GT@, of course)

Yo Mikey, Wasssup??

originalbitman

Thanks for the info on the Blaupunkt Nevada and your 99 OB. The Nevada looks nice but Crutchfield says it won't fit (or doesn't recommend) my 00 Legacy wagon. Bummer.

Bitman

jerrys2

Has Subaru taken a position or made any statements regarding the Wilderness?

Jerry