Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

stever

Been pretty thick today, mostly from the Philippines, but a few from Virginia.

ateixeira

http://hooniverse.com/2012/06/05/meanwhile-in-finland-scubaru/#more-95276

Legacy spends months under water.

Owner finally pulls it out. Change the fluids.

It *starts*.

BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Hysterical!

fibber2

Reminds me of those old Timex abuse ads - "Takes a licking & keeps on ticking."

stever

Never seen such a run of spam in one discussion here before. Quit encouraging them, lol.

colin_l

How about configuring the forum software so that new accounts can't post links? 10 posts required, or maybe more. Should slow them down significantly. I would hesitate to say it would stop it.

stever

Would help I'm sure, but then they'd just post a bunch of text junk. They keep flipping IPs too, so disabling the IP address isn't much of a fix either.

Meanwhile, if we miss one, please ignore it and feel free to send a host an email so we can go clean it up.

PF_Flyer

Yea, the extra eyes always help us out!

Maybe it's spam season like it's pollen season

ateixeira

Sampled an Impreza CVT and really liked it.

Comments here:

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef2c24d/25596#MSG25596

Overall the Impreza feels more modern and comfortable compared to the Mazda3s, though each had pros and cons.

lilbluewgn02

the date has been changed. wont be going up until mid July, most likely the 16th or 17th. Would still like to get together...Bob, how is the house sale going?

rsholland

We were out 46 hours; not fun in 95+ heat and humidity. Friday's surprise storm was one of the worst I've ever experienced. We had 80 mph winds, and many are saying it was worse than last fall's Hurricane Irene; it certainly was for us. Trees, branches and power lines down everywhere. My neighbor had a tree land on his house. He was was interviewed on Baltimore's Channel 11 news. They also showed our street corner, about 200 feet from our house, with the downed power line. We lost some huge branches, which I had to cut up with my chainsaw. Made 2 trips to the landfill on Saturday, and still a ton of yard waste to clean up. I'm flat out exhausted.

I think a tree from AJ's neighbor fell on his property. Much of the area is still without power.

Bob

rsholland

We've had some people come by, but no offers yet. We're heading into the slow season, so I suspect it could be a while.

Bob

colin_l

Wow! Glad you and Juice are ok. We were without power for about 72 hours back in May, but it was interesting timing as we were out of town for a planned trip and only had to deal with about 12 hours of it. Still, getting ready in the morning with no power wasn't feasible so we took all our stuff to the inlaws' house to shower etc before the trip.

Wait. Didn't one of you, or both, have a generator? Seems like a while back generators were discussed.

rsholland

Yes, I have a 6600 watt Yamaha generator, so we were able to limp through. However it's not hooked into the AC. Nor can we use the stove, microwave, dishwasher or washer/dryer.

It sends power to the refrigerator, well (so we have water), furnace, sump pump, wife's coffee maker, a few lights and outlets. Have to run an extension cord from one of the live outlets to the TV. So it's definitely better than not having any power, for sure; but not having AC made sleeping pretty tough, and it was hot during the day. All we could do was open windows for cross ventilation.

colin_l

Do you have enough current to spare to power a window-mount AC unit? That would be enough to help you sleep, and if no one else is in the house you can actually let it get pretty warm overnight on your house thermostat and save some energy.

rsholland

Don't know Colin. Since we're in the process of selling it, I doubt we'll go that route.

Bob

colin_l

Oh, right. Something to consider for the next place, maybe.

fibber2

Even with our whole house generator, we left out the central AC when we wired the subpanel. The big issue is the limited number of breakers available in the supplied integrated automatic transfer switch & subpanel. You get 12 breakers with a 16kw generator! I have close to 60 active breakers in my main box! And the AC unit would require 4 of those 12 (double pole for the compressor, double pole for the evaporator blower unit. So although the genset is rated for a 5 ton AC (ours is 4 ton), using 4 spots for something only occasionally essential just didn't make sense.

The only possible solution was to run a breaker pair (2 spots) out of the gen panel (already considered a subpanel, to a sub-subpanel. A practice frowned upon by inspectors.

stever

Saw a Brat Baja tonight being used as intended. Red Old Town canoe on top, mountain bike and a cooler in the back. It was silver and had no obvious cladding, and instead of a tailgate, there was some kind of round bar setup back there. Nice looking rig.

volkov

I really liked the baja concept. Unfortunately the 2 rear seats made it a non-starter for me.

ladywclass

Yep, a new desktop. The old one was at least 7 years old, and while I have the netbook, etc. there are still some things that I prefer to do on the desktop. I'm pretty impressed right out of the box, but then it's bound to be faster and better than the old one! A Dell - with the i5 processor (quad core), 1TB hard drive, 8 GB memory. Yeah, I'm really not as geeky as a lot of people ... lol

I'm sure you can tell the difference by my post ... :P

fibber2

There is a place in the world for both. My work issued laptop is great because it's always with me. In the office I use a docking station and twin monitors. I do a lot of presentation graphics, and the extra real estate allows me to have several windows open and viewable at once for pulling in data from various sources without toggling. A real eye and time saver.

At home, our Dell i7 is the house server and entertainment PC. Using a multi-output graphics card and a lot of cabling, we sent streaming content (from the HDD, external drives or online sources like Hulu, etc.) to the home theater. Little wireless keyboard in the family room talks to the PC located 25 ft away.

rsholland

Just got a new set of 225/45x17 Continental Extreme Contact DRS high-performance all-season tires for my WRX. This is the second set.

Why new tires? Well I've had a rash of flats this past year, each one being repaired with a plug (NOT recommended by Subaru!), with 2 tires having 2 plugs, the max allowed for any tire. The last one had actually 2!! small leaks within a 1/2" of one another, hence 2 plugs, near the outside edge of the tire—not good. I was told to start looking for new tires, even though I had much tread left...

So with ~ 33K on the old tires, and the car being AWD, I bite the bullet and got 4 new tires. Got a price from TireRack.com, and my local Mr.Tire matched their price. However, since Mr. Tire does not sell Continental tires, they had to get them from another supplier. That being the case I had to pay $20/tire for mounting. If I had bought a tire that they carry, mounting would have been free. Not happy about that, but even so I still came out ahead.

Initial thoughts on the new tires: Much quieter than the old ones, and they seem to ride better too. I'm actually quite surprised at how noisy performance tires get, once they get some miles on them.

Bob

ladywclass

yeah ... i noticed how you threw in that brag about having the i7 .... go ahead .. one up me on the processor ... LOL

colin_l

I rarely get as much as 33k miles on any set of tires, so I'd say you did alright on that last set. I have the same tires on my Evo and A4 and I like them. They're as good as any performance all-season I've used, but still a far cry from a dedicated summer tire.

rsholland

I can't see a dedicated summer tire—which came with the car (Dunlop SP Sport 01, I think)—as standard on a WRX. STI, yes. WRX, no; as an option on the WRX, for sure, but not standard.

Bob

KCRam

Keep this address handy...
https://windowsupgradeoffer.com/en-US/
You are entitled to a copy of Windows 8 Professional for just $14.99 since you bought a new Windows 7 computer between June 2 2012 and January 31 2013.

Best thing is, you can load the copy of Win 8 Pro on any qualifying computer (legally licensed Win XP, Win Vista, or Win 7) that meets Win 8 hardware standards.

kcram - Pickups/Wagons/Vans+Minivans Host

fibber2

Kind of a funny story, but I didn't intentionally go out to buy the i7 desktop. The i5 specs are quite good, and I was satisfied at the time (Apr 2011) that the i5 could do everything we needed. But there were shortages surrounding a recall and repop related to the gen 1 processors. I ordered an i5 Dell thru BestBuy, and they shipped a gen-2 i7 to the store for pickup. It was a crazy evening, and I didn't even realize that I had been upgraded until after installation and boot!

ladywclass

thanks for the link ... I actually had already seen this online yesterday so I will probably take advantage of it ... ALL of the machines I've been using here have XP on them so it's been awhile since we've 'upgraded' lol

ladywclass

good for you!

I almost ended up with the i3 ...

I had gone online to 'shop' and try to figure out what would be best. Just about the time I thought I'd made the decision, the machine I'd been looking at was no longer on the website! It was a 640 model and it had apparently been replaced with the 660 model. So I ended up on 7/4 in a chat with an agent to have some questions answered. We chatted for quite a while because I had a lot of questions. Several times in the chat there were references to the 660 (and I have a printout of that chat). I was sent a quote with the specs I asked for. During the chat I asked about how much to upgrade the processor to i5 and was told $100. I didn't really think I needed it for what I do here, but thought I'd go as 'high' as I could afford since I do keep computers for quite a few years. I ended up placing the order for the i3 because I was trying to keep it close to $500 and was at $509. While we were chatting online I was also comparing the pricing to what I saw online for the 660 model. About 10 minutes after this order was completed, I reviewed everything again and realized that computer model was a 620! I had been busy looking at specs and since we'd only talked about 660 I never thought to look at the model number!
It would have been 'fine' except I went back online to look at pricing for the 620 and found that I could get it with the rest of what I wanted AND the i5 processor for $548. That seemed fair to me so back online and with a chat agent. Of course this guy could SEE the order but couldn't cancel it since he didn't place it. He also could see that the agent didn't really go through the proper sequence of upgrading in order to get me the best price! He gave me the customer service number to call and told me they were open 24/7. Well, they are ... even on 7/4 except we also had a $10 discount for a 'group' eligibility and THAT kind of purchase isn't handled in the same office. Given another number to call at 7 Central the next day. So I'm up and calling as soon as they are open because I want the order canceled ASAP so I can reorder. But guess what ... that office isn't open until *8* central so I wait another hour. Even after I called I was transferred twice before I ended up in the 'right' office.
This person seemed very helpful and canceled the order, gave me the verification number for the cancellation and worked to reverse the charge on the credit card for the order. She then sent an email with all her information in case I needed more assistance with it. A few days later, she even called to check to be sure I would call if I needed more help.
Once the order was canceled, I went online and ordered the computer with the i5.
Then I sort of held my breath until it was delivered and could check that the proper order was actually filled! One of the 1st things I did was go in and look to see what the processor was in the computer info. Looks like it came through ok.
Guess that's what I get for trying to order something on July 4th - but from all the names of people I dealt with, I don't think they were celebrating any holidays!

ateixeira

We had no power for 3 days, but we were in the process of packing to go to Brazil! Imagine packing in the dark, in a hot and humid room. Even worse, it didn't come back until after we left. We were at the airport when it came back on.

No generator yet but I'm thinking of getting a portable one so I can run a fridge and a window A/C unit we have, and maybe a couple of light bulbs.

As Bob mentioned I had the middle 1/3rd of a tree in my yard, though at least it didn't hit the house. Had a tree guy remove most of it but now I have a leaning tree that I want to remove, and it's big, and will cost a bunch.

The freezer, wow, let's just say I should have tossed everything before I left. I had to chisel all the ice out of it, since it re-froze. What a mess.

Thankfully I left for Brazil, a modern country with nice amenities like power and clean running water (WSSC had water restrictions).

Karen_S

I think Crew members may be interested in this new discussion. One in particular.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.f25f054

Please stop by when you can!

ateixeira

I'm flattered. Just posted.

Anyone I've met and forgotten to mention please forgive me! I'm terrible with names.

tsy

Hi All! I hope you have been having a great summer!

I've been trying to catch up on posts! Colin, congrats on the new ride!

Been quite busy for me. My oldest son graduated high school and will be attending UW this fall- one down, one to go! Lot's of family stuff- took my folks on an Alaska cruise and of course work is always, well, work.

But, at least I've had some time for fun. I just picked up my new baby!



It's a limited MT. There's like a 6-12 month wait list for one of these here in Seattle. The guy who ordered this cancelled on the day he was supposed to pick it up. I just happened to be nearby!

I know it's not AWD but it handles so well and there's so much feedback- it's like a Miata only faster and more rigid but equally fun to drive!

I've only got a few miles on it now and the break in period is 1000 miles so it will be a while before I can really ring out the engine. It probably won't be until next year that I get a chance to take it to a track and see what it can do!

rsholland

Hey Ty, welcome back—and a reluctant congrats on the BRZ.

Why "reluctant"? 'Cause I just hate that car... No AWD = not a Subie in my book. Sorry, but that's the way I feel. Now if you had gotten the Scion version, no complaints on my end. Anyway, have fun with it.

Also, congrats to your son! I'm sure you and he he must be very proud.

Bob

xwesx

Nice, Tom, and congratulations to your son!

tsy

Thank guys! It was a difficult choice of where to send him (and where he wanted to go). But we're proud of him and happy he's staying close to home!

Bob, I hear you about the BRZ. And I felt a little odd buying a non AWD Subaru, but it is an amazing car, it really is. It's the Miata coupe Mazda should have made.

And since Subaru seems to be going mainstream with their cars (successfully I might add) I'm glad that they built a car that is purely for fun and hopefully a sign of what is to come. IF they really build the new WRX and STI on this platform, they are going to be amazing cars! Not just econoboxes with big motors, but purposefully built performance cars.

IF it will make you feel better Bob, I'll take the Subaru badges off and replace them with a Toyota one.

tom

tsy

Juice, nice interview! I didn't know how long you've been around!

tom

rsholland

Well, even more frustrating for me is the fact that the BRZ is the more desirable of the two, in that the feature content is better.

I have no doubt that it's a great car. Everyone has been saying that. I just hope you're right about all the "goodness" rubbing off on the next-gen WRX.

Bob

colin_l

congrats, tsy! great car. I would take it to a track that lacks a high-speed finishing straight, you'll be happier.

tsy

Thanks Colin

I'm thinking it would be really fun on a Kart track. There's one next to a road course here and I think they allow cars to drive it. I saw one of the Subaru Rally teams practicing on it last year when I was on the road course.

Did you sell your Evo to get the A4?

tom

colin_l

That would be pretty neat, on a big kart track. The ones near me are definitely too small for use by cars.

I'm selling my Evo, but haven't sold it yet. It got pummelled by hail about two months ago and I finally got all of that repaired last week.

tsy

Wow, I would guess that's a really expensive repair- to the point of totalling the car?

colin_l

The car is worth around $12,000 right now. There are no similar cars with my mileage (107k) or less anywhere near that price on Autotrader, Cars.com, etc.

The damage was $5,300 per the insurance company's second estimate. Their first estimate was ~$3,400 but the adjuster missed a major dent on the hood which creased it and knocked off paint. So, when you add in a new factory hood, painting it, and blending the fenders... it's a big number.

I bought a carbon fiber hood and had an individual do the PDR in his free time, and got it done for a lot less. But it took some time.

tsy

That's not as bad as I would have thought. I don't think I've seen an Evo for sale for less than $17k- they're quite popular here!

tom

hondafriek

We had a major hail storm here in Ottawa about 3 weeks ago. There are several dealers selling hail damaged cars at big discounts, Colin, one of the dealers is a Porsche, Audi dealership they had a number of cars damaged.

Cheers Pat.

ladywclass

Now that kids are all 'moved out', my project was taking over an upstairs bedroom for an office. Took up the old carpet, padding, tack strips, staples, patched walls (5 teenage boys have lived in that upstairs over the last 20 years), painted the ceiling (2 coats), walls (around the &$^%&*$^# chair rail), closet (2 coats), trim (2 coats), window (2 coats), and door (2 coats). Leveled a couple of spots in the subfloor and put sealer/primer over a couple of spots of mildewed subfloor (overflowed bathtub in adjoining bath), and installed new flooring (vinyl wood-look planks). And yes, I did every single lick of work all by myself - including hauling all the trash out and making sure it went out for pickup. I have trouble posting pics in here, but there is one on facebook.

And yes, I'm too old to do this sort of thing!

hammerhead

Saw the picture - looks great!

tsy

I'm sure it was worth the effort!

tsy

More pics of my BRZ. Mine's the Satin White Pearl one with the chrome trim.

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/brz/brz2013photos1.html

I really like the galaxy blue one but I couldn't really be picky with colors!

Tom

xwesx

Agreed that galaxy blue looks very sharp. The white looks quite nice, though, with the stock rims.

I'm a little jealous of Joe - gettin' cozy with all those BRZs! :shades:

That would be a fun car to have, but I'm just too practical to ever seriously consider buying one.