Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

subaru_team

Oh if only we knew for sure - how much are we gonna get!!!

I'll be out tooling around, but, as Dennis pointed out - safety first. I just love parking lots with no cars and to tire marks on the white stuff. It's also a great way to put the car through it's paces!

Be safe and warm all! I'm sure we'll have lot's of fun and good stories to share!

paisan

Last winter I pulled a rodeo out of the median on the NYS Thruway with my XT6! Boy was that guy embarassed. My tiny little subie just tugged him right out of snow/ice that he was stuck in! Too bad, no pics.

-mike

armac13

Gee, I'm envious. All we are going to get is maybe a few rain showers. I want some real snow! Enjoy a safe and happy (& snowy, where applicable) New Year.

Ross

barresa11

I second Ross in Vancouver BC. We are only going to get some rain (color me surprised) in Seattle too. I guess I should revise my title formula to Snow + Subaru - Stephen = envy. Hope you all enjoy the snow (safely, of course) and get some pictures!

Stephen

p0926

Okay, I over simplified my last post. Generally speaking, the smaller the engine, the faster it has to rev to acheive the same speed of a larger displacement engine. The final drive ratio is the variable but most vehicles of the same class have similiar ratios.

-Frank P.

P.S. Only a chance of a dusting here. Even worse, I spent Christmas in 2 feet of snow in up-state NY but was Subaru-less. Arrgghhh!!!!

lucien2

on the way! This will be the 2nd big one for the OB, and it is smaller than the first, so no worries.

francophile

...are not related in any way! It's gearing, NOT engine displacement, that determine a vehicle's speed at a given RPM. I can give you a wonderful example - my last two cars. My Peugeot was a 2.2 liter engine and turned 2500 RPM at 65 MPH. My current car is a Subaru Legacy, 2.5 liters, 3000+ RPM at 65 MPH. It's true that larger displacement motors such as 4 or 5 liter V8s do not have to turn as high RPM as a 2 liter motor to keep a car going 60MPH, but that is because of horspower and torque - NOT displacement. Imagine a 300HP 2 liter turbo Impreza .

Here's a thumbnail on gearing.

The transmission is there so that the engine can be kept within the lower and upper boundaries of its RPM range over a wide variety of speeds. The transmission has an input and an output, and the gears in between vary the ratio of speed between one and the other. 1st gear makes the output spin slower for a given input, for example the input might turn 4 times for every turn of the output - a 4:1 ratio. 2nd makes the output spin a bit faster, say 3.2:1, and so on. The car will go faster at a particular RPM if it is in a higher gear, and vice versa.

It used to be that the final ratio on a gearbox was straight through, 1:1. In other words the input and output shafts turn at the same speed, and the gears in between do nothing. However most modern cars have an "overdrive" gear, which refers to a ratio where the input spins SLOWER than the output, or a ratio of less than 1:1. (Most of them still have a 1:1 ratio in there too.) This tends to allow a car to attain better gas mileage, however it is at the cost of lower mechanical efficiency and added wear on the transmission. The reason that 6 speeds are better than 5 speeds are better than 4 speeds is that more gears allow the driver to keep the engine in its most efficient power range.

The output of the transmission goes to another set of gears known as the final drive or differential. There is only one set of gears in there so these are fixed ratios (in cars) and they go the other way as far as ratio is concerned. The input always spins faster than the output; however the closer the numbers are together the higher the speed the car will be going for a given engine RPM. For example: assuming otherwise identical cars, a car with a 3.70:1 differential will be going faster at 3000 RPM than a car with a 4.11:1 differential. Which gear the transmission is in doesn't matter because the differential affects them all the same way; whether in 1st or 5th, the first car will be going faster at 3000 RPM than the second, assuming they are in the same gear.

People who want better acceleration put a "shorter" (higher number ratio) rear differential in, and they get more acceleration across the entire range of gears - at the cost of a lower top speed. A "taller" differential (numbers closer together) will make a car feel more relaxed while cruising down the highway, because the RPMs will be lower.

Tire diameter comes into play too, just to make it all really confusing. Smaller diameter tires act just like a "shorter" final drive, giving better acceleration across all the gears at the expense of higher RPMs at cruising speeds. A great example of this is the smaller diameter tires on my Legacy GT as compared to an Outback. The two cars' gear ratios are identical otherwise, therefore my GT will have a bit better acceleration and will be turning a bit higher RPMs at cruising speed, compared to an Outback.

Happy New Year,
-wdb

subearu

Looks like we got about 5 inches here in Kenosha. The only thing that sucks is I have to shovel.

Our OB has had no problems in the snow. In fact, you can have some fun too if you get the rear differential to lock - woohooo! Still getting use to the little bit of understeer at times.

Time to shovel, again. If only I could get my snowblower working again. Arghhh!

-brian/subearu

paisan

Thanks for the gearing writeup. I think my '74 Old 98 w/ 455 cruised at 75mph around 1000-1500 rpms As an example, my Trooper does 2700 rpms @ 77mph, and my XT6 w/H6 turns about 2900rpm@77mph, the XT6 is 2.7l 145hp the Trooper is 3.5l and 215hp (of course both of those aren't near peak @ those rpms though)

-mike
Isuzu Forum Spokesman
Edmunds Isuzu Forum
IA Trooper Homepage

thecat

You guessed it and you heard it here first. In my previous post, I questioned the forecast for snow quantity. The weatherman got it wrong. At 11pm last night, the forecast was for 6-8 inches .. got NADA ! Got the tractor set up and ready to plow the driveway (700 ft) and .. zip!
Loosh, I know you're disappointed. Looks like the storm is from Phily north. Maybe next time ???

- hutch

thecat

Paisan - thanks for the "wheel loan" offer. Apparently, snow/winter tires won't be necessary yet. However, if there is anybody out there that is looking to unload some stock Forester L wheels .. speak up !

- hutch

skipd

Not that anyone remembers me, or even cares...... but I'm glad to say that after about 6 months I'm visiting this message board once again. I've been pretty busy with a new job and grad school, but I missed all of the fun and great info. on this board.

Since I've been away for a while, I feel the need to reintroduce myself. My name is Skip and I own a 2001 Forester L in Blue Ridge Pearl. There is a photo of my Forester on Juice's webpage. It's the Blue Forester with the canoe topped on it.

Anyway....How about that snow! I live in SE PA about 1/2 hour north of Philly and boy is it snowing. I went out this morning at about 8 am and took the Forester for it's first real spin in the snow. There was approx 6 inches or so on the ground and boy was I having fun. The Forester felt very sure footed on the road. I went to an empty parking lot....did some doughnuts and some fish tailing around to get a feel for how the Forester reacts in the snow. I also took it up a hill and gave it a little gas so the AWD would kick in. It's pretty obvious when the AWD kicks in. You can feel it, and there is a little bang. I am assuming the bang is normal for AWD when it first kicks in. When it kicks in you can look in the rearview mirror and see all of the snow getting kicked up....woohooo!

On the wheel topic.... I really like the aluminum wheels that come with the 2001 Forester S (not the premium package, but the regular S) They are a really nice looking set of wheels and I'm thinking of buying a set or similar wheels for fair weather months. The steel wheels that come on my L aren't bad looking, but leave a little to be desired. However those Bridgestones felt like they were grabbing fairly well in the snow.....that is when I wasn't going in to slides on purpose

Well I've had my Forester for 7 or so months now and have no real complaints. Plenty of power, nice ride and fairly quiet for what it is, easy to top my canoe on it. Oh, one little complaint. There is a slight rattle/buss coming from the seat belt housing on the pillar on the Driver side. It's right next to my ear, so it's a little annoying. I was thinking of taking the plastic housing off to see what's going on in there. Has anyone else experienced this. Does anyone know how to get that plastic housing off?

I am also thinking of getting some accessories for my Forester. Anyone got any opinions on what to get? I was thinking I might start with a brushgaurd. Does anyone have those fender flares? Are they hard to install? Will they match the dark grey color of the bumbers on the L?

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Well, It's nice to be back...talk to you all later.

Skip

lucien2

NOT ONE BLOODY FLAKE!! EXCEPT THE FORECASTERS, THAT IS!!

Well I can't blame them. They caught so much flak last winter for underestimating that big bomber in January. A little over-zealous CYA this time. *sigh*

armac13

over the lack of snow. It must be my fault since I was suffering from "snow envy" and thinking evil thoughts. Better luck next time guys. :-)

Ross

subaru_team

Sorry for the gloating! They downgraded the storm this morning to be between 5 and 7 inches but it's still coming down. We're up to about 8". I put the OB Sedan through it's paces with my daughter (wheeeehooooo!!). Of course, we did it in safe areas. I really love the car, but I have to admit my bias. I've only driven Subes for the past 18 years, but this one is really fun (and I'm not advertising). There was a bank of about three feet of plowed snow up to a side road with a steep incline. No problem. One thing that is nice about where we are staying (maybe home by February), is that we are next to a river. It is beautiful to cruise around. Now I'm home and have a serious pot of chili brewing. Hope all of you that are getting flakes are enjoying. To everyone else, your time will come!!

subaru_team

HI! Nice to read your comments. Why don't you have the dealer check out the buzz noise. It shouldn't cost you anything and if you mess something up while you're checking it out, you might end up with a bigger problem. Just a thought.

Glad to hear that you're enjoying your Forester.

Patti

nypdau

.. watching my neighbor spinning the wheels on his canary yellow XTERRA, trying to get out of a parking spot. Enter me: Blue Soobie eased down the hill turned around in the middle of the block, mounted the 17" snow berm and powered into a spot which was vacated (as evidenced by the numerous footprints) by a vehicle that needed much pushing to get out. I am delighted with the traction and performance of my Forester (today was the first true test)! Also producing grins were the windhshield wiper heating elements and the heated mirrors and seats. I left for work at 5AM and since we were grounded, I snuck the soob into the hangar; after 15 minutes, the warm hangar and the Zainos left a ring of melting snow around my ride. 40M worth of helicopters and I was more excited about the trusty Subaru. Thank you FHI!

James

nypdau

I too was hearing a maddening little rattle from that area. Take a look at the small plastic access panels in your rear doors. They pop in and out easily by prying at the corners. I stretched a rubber a band around the four corner posts which secure the panel to the door, and then popped the panel back in with the rubber band acting as a "gasket". The noise is gone:)

intrigue2

haven't posted in this topic before,but we just got hit with 12" of snow on long island,when i finished clearing the driveway,i took the gt limited sedan,a 2000 model, out for a drive to waldbaums.I've never enjoyed owning or driving a car as much as the gt,nothing stops it,it goes thru snow like a hot knife thru butter. i hit 19,500 miles this week, and except for normal maintenance,oil changes etc.,no problems,another first. I plan to trade my 1998 intrigue in on a gt limited with the h6 and vdc whenever it becomes availabel,2002 i hope.any one haev any info on more power for the gt and the availability of vdc. also, opinions on the bridgestone R92's, worth replaceing in kind or is their a better tire available.

dsackman

Patty,

After driving the DC previously and now the BB Sedan in slippery conditions. Any thoughts on what the BB Sedan might do with DC?

Very little snow so far on the West Coast (Sierras). Enough though to be thankful to Subaru for GREAT! cars.

Daniel

crashton6

Mark : I run 32psi in my summer Bridgestones & winter Blizzaks. This seems to work for me.
Hutch :Instead of looking all over the place for wheels try www.tirerack.com. You can buy yourself winter tires mounted on steel wheels. I got Blizzak WS50 last year & they're the best snow tires I've ever used.

Chuck

subearu

Just got back from my workplace. They hadn't plowed most of the employee lot - and there were no other cars on it. I'm pretty sure my OB had a big grin on as I headed into the snow. Oh what fun! Sliding sideways, spraying snow from all 4 wheels. Woohoo! Understeer? Maybe on the plowed and packed down stuff, but not here in the fresh stuff.

Basically, while I was having fun, I was also learning more and more how it drives in the snow. And practice makes perfect, right? Hey, I shoveled all day - I deserve to have a little fun! (local newspaper says we had about 40 inches fall this month!)

All apologies to those without snow. Or those still shoveling out.

-brian/subearu

lucien2

this prolly belongs in events, but....

I really think a coordinated effort would be cool on this one, since we are already talking about meeting at the Indiana plant:

www.impreza-rs.com/NONCGI/FORUM1/HTML/016700.html

@!%$*?! *grrrrrr* Ok, just copy the gallfanged URL and paste it into your address line, okay? This thing won't recognize it as a link.

drew_

You need to add an "http://" before it recognises your URL as a link. Well Engaged behaved the same way.

http://www.impreza-rs.com/NONCGI/FORUM1/HTML/016700.html


Drew
Host of Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards

paisan

Well I won't talk about how my Trooper slogged through 3' snow plow drifts here but...

I did help my uncle with his '97 OB get out this morning to go to work for NYPD, and he basically just drove it right out of the spot, some minor shoveling around it did help. I think he may have taken it on patrol today... Wouldn't be the first time.

My parent's upstate NY got 12" and their '97 legacy L wored just fine (even with 14" rims and practically donut tires)

-mike

paisan

Don't forget the Isuzus are also interested in this. I'm sure we could round up at least 20-25 Isuzu people for this. Between Edmunds, Outdoorwire, Vmag, Planet Isuzoo.

-mike
Isuzu Forum Spokesman
Edmunds Isuzu Forum
IA Trooper Homepage

lucien2

Oops. Thanks, Drew.

NEway, I did float the idea of SIA as a destination over there, but I am NOT someone with an pull at all on the i-Club boards. Hell, I drive the dreaded Outback!

peterson10

Well, I spent yesterday afternoon slogging along the NY State Thruway in all that snow. Sorry to part company with most of you here but it was NOT fun. The snow was not the problem, but rather the idiots all around me! I saw too many cars off the road to count, and very nearly bought the farm when a semi fished its trailer out into my lane. Maybe if my wife and daughter weren't with me it would have been less stressful, but I wouldn't drive in that sort of mess again unless I had no choice.

Overall, my OB (2000, MT) performed admirably, but it was pretty obvious that that the tires (Firestone Wilderness) were not up to the task. Climbing a rather steep hill in Amsterdam I slid all over the place and had a devil of a time making the climb. My 92 Legacy would have pounded up that hill like a ski-doo, but the Firestone's on my OB just refused to bite in. To be fair, I DID make it up the hill; passing innumerable other cars who could only spin their wheels and curse. QUESTION: I know this has been discussed before, but are there any strong recommendations for better all-season tires. I only have about 8000 miles on these Firestone, but I would gladly trade them in for something better.

Happy New Year, New Century, New Millennium, etc. to all
YetAnotherDave

peterson10

Wanna hear how stupid I was yesterday? Despite being a fanatic about "triple clicking" my gas cap, yesterday I gassed up and forgot to put the gas cap on at all! DUH! I heard it clattering against the side of the car as I pulled onto out of the station and knew immediately what I had done. I pulled over to the side, shut the engine off, and put the cap on properly. Fortunately (oddly), the "check engine" light never came on. Now, I could make excuses (quirky pump, wife asking me goofy questions, blinding snow), but I was just plain stupid. On the bright side, it won't be hard for me to come up with a resolution for the New Year.

YetAnotherDave

bg18947

I think the RE-92s are terrible in the snow (at least the snow in the NYC area last year). I have a set of winter Blizzak MZ-01 from TireRack because the RE92 spun in 4" of ice-crusted snow last year. When the RE92s wear out, I'll probably get a set of BFG Comp/TA VR4 or HR4 for non-winter tires. I've heard others also mention their disappointment with the RE-92s in the snow/ice.

paisan

Hey do you live up there? I have a place up at caroga lake. Cool to see some way upstate NYers on here! I know that hill well in Amsterdam, I think my dad took it yesterday in his '97 Legacy w/o a problem! I usually take route 5 to Johnstown and up that way.

-mike

blane

peterson10:
bg18947:

I had to drive to the drugstore in yesterday's storm 20 miles north of NYC. It had only piled up about eight inches by that time. There was only one set of tire tracks on my block. My '96 Legacy GT is on its second set of Bridgestone RE-92's and they were absolutely fine on the entire six mile round trip up and down several hills, both plowed and unplowed.

If anyone is looking for the best performance in loose snow (not ice or dry roads) your only choice should be a tire designed for mud & snow (M&S). To do it correctly, it will also cost you a set of four winter rims. All-season tires are a compromise, but the RE-92's have worked well for me.

Since you mentioned your difficulties with the "idiots" on the Thruway, can we assume that most of them were driving oversized SUV's in a macho manner?

paisan

There are plenty of idiots other than SUV drivers. Yes there are a lot of idiot SUV drivers, but there are a lot of idiots in general, especially on the Thruway. I regularly 2-3x a month make a round trip from upstate ny -> NYC on the T-way and have encountered numerous idiots. I can only imagine in a bad snow storm. That is where I towed out a 4x4 with my XT6 last winter.

-mike

blane

paison:

Tippy Trooper drivers may be sensitive to my earlier question. But, let's face it. Haven't we all noticed that the most aggressive, most overconfident drivers on the road, by and large, are driving the largest vehicles?

paisan

Nope, sports car drivers actually. And people from New Jersey!

haaaa

Someone has to defend the SUV drivers in here

-mike

rsholland

from a bit of holiday R-'n-R, down at St. Pete Beach, just south of Tampa, FL. A few observations:

1) Subarus are virtually non-existant down there. Hardly saw any.

2) I have never seen so many 2WD Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees in my life. 1 out of every 2 Cherokees seemed to be 2WD, and... 4 out of every 5 Grand Cherokees I saw was 2WD. It was hard finding a 4WD Grand Cherokee!.

Bob

bluesubie

I've heard several people complain about the Firestones. I've also heard that the Michelin's on the older OB's are about the best all seasons you can buy. No all-season can compete with a true snow/ice tire though. Maybe I'll give my wife's 99 OB a spin in the snow tomorrow (OEM Michelins). We got about 16-18 inches and have been taking my OB Sport the past couple of days. My spinning problem comes from a heavy foot. :-) Starting out in second will help.
Dennis

grahampeters

I always found the biggest idiots in snow were the drivers of BMWs particularly 3 series. One of the joys about being back in Australia is the very rare snow falls in the major population areas (although we get plenty in less populous spots. However the idiocy of BMW drivers remains.

Cheers

Graham

hammersley

Well, the "skeptical about any snow tire without studs" guy (me) is slowly but surely becoming a believer... a fair amount of snow & ice so far, and the Toyo Observes are performing better than I expected them to! Gonna keep the studs on the bride's FWD van, but otherwise, we're stud-free (except for me, of course - but that's a post for another forum.)(grin)
Now, all I have to do is pick out a new set of wheels for the Michelins this spring....

Happy new milennium, y'all... cheers!
Paul

drew_

To all Subaru owners and fans! Wishing everyone a prosperous and happy 2001!


Drew
Host of Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards

cptplt

Nearly every tire made in over the last decade or more is M & S rated and most are "all season" as well. AFAIK, the all season appelation has no set standards but the M & S does though its woefully outdated. The vast majority of "performance" tires on cars on the road today (except for real performance racing tires like you'd put on a Corvette or Porsche) are essentially "M & S, all seasons" with higher speed ratings.
If you want a winter tire (what used to be called snow tires) there is a totally new rating as the M & S is meaningless today as it applies to 99.99% of car tires made. The new winter tires which have passed the new standard should have what looks like a snowdrop logo on the side of the tire.

cptplt

Heres a link which explains it all better and more accurately!! The place is a great store too.

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/severe.html

drew_

To those of you who have Speedvision, there is currently a World Rally Championship marathon airing. It started at 9am PST, and will go on for 7 hours. My VCR has already been recording on the T-160 tape since the beginning :-)

Happy 2001!

Drew
Host of Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards

texsubaru

Girlfriend and I took the Forester into downtown Austin last night for New Years Eve celebrations on Sixth Street because there were rumblings of a potential ice storm last night. Fortunately, the freezing rain predictions fizzled (a very good thing since icy roads+drunk partiers+Central Texas inability to clear roads=potential disaster), so we didn't have to learn how well the Subie could ice skate ...

armac13

I'm still a bit depressed about our lack of snow in Vancouver so to console myself I had to play a round of golf. Partially sunny, 11c. 13 over par - for me pretty good. Guess we all have to suffer in our own way. :-) Enjoy.

Ross

francophile

JustAnotherDave, hi from YetAnotherDave . Your story about all those other people on the road reminded me of one of the big reasons I continue to seek out and own cars that are fun to drive; they let me take those roads that are less traveled and hence populated by fewer wahoos. Try it, you'll like it. It will take you a bit longer to get places most of the time, but you'll travel more safely and arrive in a far better mood.

M&S ratings are very nearly meaningless these days. My RE92s have that rating, and they just plain suck in snow. My poor GT was understeering all day yesterday - except when I was doing those 360s in that parking lot ;-) I was able to go whereever I wanted, but we only had about 4" of snow here. I'm leaning heavily towards true winter tires.

Happy New Milliennium,
-wdb

subaru_team

Hi Daniel - I can only think that the VDC will help even more when it comes out in the OB Sedan. However, I had no trouble at all in the snow with mine. I'll share all of your comments on the tire performance.

There have been recent articles on tires that where interesting. We did hear from customers that want more aggressive snow type tires, but considering that the car is marketed for ALL areas of the country, the OEM tires have to kind of suit the mass of people. The Wilderness has a good ride and is suitable for rain and some snow.

subaru_team

FYI - the check engine light will go on once you get to around 1/2 a tank of fuel. That is when it will go through it's cycle of checking for an emissions leak. If it had gone one, once you secured the fuel cap, added some fuel and hit that 1/2 tank mark, it would have gone off. Also, just for any future concerns, you can cycle your ignition key (I think about 12 times) and it will go through a check and turn it off if the cap has been tightened.

Hey, can I call you Ya Dave?

paisan

Hey Patti,
Is there a way you can find out definitively from the engineers what the tourque spilt, and range is for the various setups on subarus? I'd be interested in the XT6 4EAT, 97 Legacy 4EAT, 00 OB 4EAT, 00 5MT. I've heard the XT6 had 95/5 Torque split up to 5/95, the Legacy and OB 90/10 to 50/50, and the MT 50/50. Also I've heard if you put the automatic transmissions into the "1" or "2" position it is locked in at 50/50. I just was curious if you could find a definitive answer because then we would know for sure!

Thanks in advance.

-mike

pat88