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Comments
(why are convertible's chick cars?)
Hey, I think Boston's been warmer than Seattle this winter! Have you guys had any snow? Some kids here have an extra week or two of school at the end of the year we've had so many snow days!
tom
But they're prediciting 3-5" of snow on Friday - we shall see.
It started here on Saturday night and we had quite a bit then .. (about 8-10" here and some areas around us with a foot or more) ... then more on Sunday and Monday ... and then another big hit Monday night and Tuesday morning .. when I left to go to work yesterday morning, it was near whiteout conditions ... the drive that usually takes me 20 minutes took at least 45 ... our dog loves the snow, but it's a bit hard for her to get around when it's as deep as her legs are long!
but no complaints about the way my Outback gets me around town ...
Yikes, though, I came in with the Miata and we might get an inch of snow. I'll have to leave work early, or even take the Subway home and have the wife pick me up!
-juice
Though I may end up looking like this one:
-juice
http://www.carspace.com/guides/Performance-Brake-Upgrades
-mike
Bob
What do you think about cryo treated rotors? Any real difference?
tom
Put it this way, the Mountain Rotors that we sell for the WRX as an example run $100 a pair for plain rotors, to get em cryoed you are looking at probably $140. I rather put some fresh ones on when they are worn out rather than spend the time and effort to cryo em only to get 30% longer life out of them.
For most folks with WRXs the Mountains coupled with the Hawk HPs or HP+ pads are going to work fine for all but the highest run groups of HPDE. They'll cover you for spirited driving, auto-x, daily, and even level 1 HPDEs. On the Legacy last summer I used to crack the Mountains after 5-6 days on track running the 4-pot calipers and Hawk HP+ pads. For this year we moved to the DBA4000s with slotted rotors and Hawk Blue pads.
-mike
Len
Ah, snow time! Well this is the time of year where I always mention how nice my pool is looking (and feeling - long swim this evening has eased my back a lot). Unfortunately, keeping the pool topped up is proving a drama with this part of Australia having been in drought for ten years. We are now under severe restrictions that limit the chance to top up the pool. We have a smallish rainwater tank that helps a lot but there is no real prospect of additional rain at present and the pool seems to go down rapidly as we see a string of hot days. Sunday and Monday are forecast for 38C or 100F.
This is coming into the worst part of the year for bushfires in Victoria, my home state but we have already had a complex of bushfires burning for more than two months with no sign of them being extinguished. They have burnt 1.2 million hectares (3.0 million acres). To put that in context, it's almost the size of Connecticut.
I guess I should bring this back to something car related. The smoke pall that has hung over much of the state, including the capital, Melbourne, for the past two months has presented a major hazard, roads being closed from time to time. Even here in the city, visibility has fallen below 500metres at times and in the bush, this is more severe. It makes you appreciate safer colours for cars, particularly white which stands out much better against the smoky haze. My wife refuses me permission to revert to the yellow green colour of my first car, Mitsubishi Galant wagon, I think a GB model. I loved the colour but Judy, who was just a friend (no romance) in those far off days, claims it reminded her of baby poo.
Of course safe colours are never as fashionable as dark, (okay, after we passed the 1970's) but just what colour would you prefer?
Cheers
Graham
In keeping the car theme, if I come visit, I plan to rent a Subaru.
Jim, in Lubbock, Texas
We've been asking for a depository like this for a while, so let's give a nice thanks to our hosts! :shades:
I added a video how-to on U-hook style windshield wipers. Very easy once you've seen it done. I put it on my CarSpace:
http://www.carspace.com/ateixeira
Looks like car_man beat me to it on the guides, but if it's a different style I'll post it up there anyway.
-juice
PS Edit: mine can be seen as supplmental instructions to his, because he doesn't cover specific types of wipers, plus there was no video. I put a link to mine on his guide, plus I will create my own for specific applications.
I was driving the van at the time, but she even offered to replace the inserts for me if I drove back in the OB, but I finally managed to get them done on my own.
Last spring I went with PowerSlot Cryo rotors (slotted & frozen), with Hawk HPS pad for the fronts on my '02 OBW. If you followed the saga, my '02 was built with leftover '01 parts, so I have the smaller, beveled edge pads. Prior to changing to this setup, I had the pads replaced and the original rotors cut under warranty, plus multiple other problems with 'cold welding', materials transfer (warp), and the like. On any long downhill run, they would fade and pulse until the front end shook. I'm in a hilly area and am a 'spirited driver', but never experienced so many issue on an OEM setup prior to this. And I guess I am not alone. Look back at the problems encountered by '00 -'01 OBW owners on these boards. I would attribute it to mainly being an issue of undersized brakes on a heavy car.
The cryo / hawk investment was high ($400). The rotors are unusual in that in addition to the slots, the surface is grooved (looks like a 78 RPM record), and they are plated (cadmium?). At almost a year (but only 6k miles), the grooves are still there, they look like new (entirely rust free), with zero pad imprint or transfer. They need to be warmed up a bit each morning before they 'bite', and overall pedal effort seems higher. But they stop straight and true. No pulsing, no nonsense. Figured I'd throw you a data point that falls a bit outside of your model!
Steve
Yeah those Leg/Outbacks are ones that fall outside the curve. There is definitely a place for the cryoed rotors, although I'm not 100% sure that you would not have had the same results without the cryoed ones using a quality aftermarket rotor. I had a similar problem on my Armada as the first year build of full-size SUVs by Japanese manufacturers has proven to result in brake issues. Luckily Nissan upgraded the brakes to larger rotors and different pads and it seems to have fixed it for now. Now that they won't replace them when the time comes I will have to see what options there are for my truck when the rotors finally go on it.
Thanks for the input.
-mike
I think what it ultimately comes down to is how well sorted out the OEM setup is to begin with. If the mfgr has done the job right, customer upgrades for regular street us will be of little value. If the original equipment is underwhelming, and the driver/conditions demand more, than going up a grade is well worth the investment.
You may be 100% correct that I went up a notch too far in one jump. I might have been perfectly happy with what you suggested, and spent less. The problem with brakes, tires, and the like is the serious lack of reliable information available to even knowledgeable consumers. In the end, we wing it and hope for the best.
Thanks for the write-up.
Steve
-mike
Yeah, one of my nurses just came back from there and New Zealand and told me about the drought. It's amazing it doesn't rain there. For me in Seattle, though, I am amazed if it doesn't rain at least once a week!
Hey, with this long draught, it must be starting to look like a Mad Maxx movie!
Sorry about your swimming pool. If it gets bad, just email me and I'll ship some water from here- we've got too much!
I like white or silver. Both are brighter colors and should be pretty visible.
Good luck!
tom
http://www.carspace.com/ateixeira
http://www.carspace.com/guides/U-Hook-Style-Winshield-Wiper-Blade-Change
I'll do more whenever I install something new.
Maybe I'll do one for the Fumoto oil drain valve, see if I can change my oil in a certain amount of time.
-juice
Serge
I'd say you'd probably need to rent an SUV to get an AWD vehicle in upstate NY. Otherwise it's just a crapshoot.
-mike
On a side note if you aren't straying too far from the highways a FWD car would be fine, they plow the roads religiously in that area.
-mike
No rental Subies on the east coast that I know of.
-juice
Edit: I just checked Hertz for the Syracuse Airport, and they do indeed have Outbacks. They were sold out of Outbacks for the next couple days, so maybe you should reserve early.
Craig
Then again I rarely rent cars in this area, and I have a 3rd car so even when family visits we're fine.
-juice
Don't know if you saw my post last week, but I flew into SFO and drove down to Sunnyvale. I waved to you guys as I went by! Short trip with late nights, so no time to get together this time.
On the subject, yes Hertz had OBW's at both SFO and NY when I got home. Unfortunately, they usually require prior reservations and do cost a little extra (& my company will not cover). What is compelling you to Ithica this time of the year?
Steve
Yeah but not like it does north of Syracuse! I drove that stretch once in true "whiteout conditions". Since I couldn't see a thing out the windshield, the only way I managed to stay on the road was by looking out the driver's window and trying to maintain a constant distance from the guardrail (this towards the end of a 14-hr road trip). I surely would have rear-ended someone had anyone been foolish enough to be out there on the hwy with me :shades:
-Frank
My daughter just got acceptance letter from Cornell U (for grad school) and they're inviting her to come to visit on Mar 2-3. Being an overly protective Mom, I'd like to tag along (not something she's very happy about)
We were thinking to fly to Syracuse, rent a car and drive to Cornell, but now I'm having second thoughts about driving at night (all flights west-east come in late) on the snowy roads... maybe I'll just let her go by herself and fly to Ithaca and take a cab there.
I guess I'm just soooo NOT ready for my baby to leave the house!
Martin
Just see by your profile that you are in Phoenix. We'll be in Scottsdale in a couple of weeks. I'll pack some snow for you.
Bob
Congratulations. As a Cornell alumnus, I can tell you that driving in snow is going to be a regular experience for your daughter!! Which school is she going to?
I do believe there are flights from the NYC area to Ithaca airport. I recall taking a flight from LaGuardia a looong time ago. Ithaca airport is much closer than Syracuse. Another option would be trying to fly into Binghamton as well.
Hertz and Avis both carry Outbacks depending on their location. It's best to call the office at the airport directly as national reservations won't be able to tell you specifically what model you'll get.
Ithaca is dreadful in the winter, but the summers and fall are absolutely gorgeous. If your daughter decides to go, I'd highly recommend a trip there in the fall when school begins. The fall foliage and crisp weather is forever etched into my memories.
Ken
Know it well! Long Island kid going to Clarkson up in Potsdam. Either Rt 17 to I-81 thru Watertown to Rt 11, or directly thru the Adirondack Park. Neither way was any picnic given the cars we drove in the '70's. I think Pulaski was the snow capital of the world!
Steve
Like others have mentioned, Hertz rents Outbacks. I used to get them in Boston, if I was lucky.
Jim
Frank is not kidding. I just heard the weather report this morning and a small town just north of there got SIXTY TWO inches of snow so far this week.
That's 62". Yes, 5 feet, 2 inches.
-juice
They definitely grip a whole lot better than the all seasons. I gunned it in the middle of a turn, and where the old tires would have broke loose, the snows just made me speed up. :surprise:
Have to adjust my driving habits. They may actually be less fun, but a lot safer.
I think they're Blizzaks, Bob gave 'em to me. Someone gave 'em to Bob before that. I'd like to give credit to whoever did that, but I forget who it was!
-juice
Bob
-juice
If she chooses Cornell, she'll be in Math dept, working on her PhD in Math, specifically in Probability Theory.
To be honest, I'm not too happy with her choice as it's hard to land a job for a "pure" mathematician. I wish she continued on with engineering or went to more applied field like statistics.
But then who knows, maybe with her knowledge of Probability Theory she'll come up with 6 numbers I can play in the next round of California Lotto, with 100% probability of winning? That would make her degree oh soooo worthwhile!
Bob (who can barely add and subtract)
-juice
Congrats, and best of luck to her.
Steve
In my experience in engineering and math (degrees in the former and taught the latter) most folks with Math PhDs wind up teaching -- so it's a good way to go if she wants to teach or stay in academics to do research. There are some great math jobs "on the outside" but they are highly sought after and hard to find.
So what are her other degrees in?
Craig
-mike