Subaru Crew - Modifications II

stevek

I will do the tune up around 25K, looking to put in platinum plugs and a good set of wires. I will have the shop change the coolant, they can flush it otu and recycle it better than I.
Also are there any aftermarket oil filters that are bigger. My 01 Legacy GT had an oil filter that is smaller than the one on my lawn mover .

ateixeira

The stock Purolator-made filter is about average sized. Aftermarket filters from FRAM are about the same size, but those from Pennzoil seem to be a little bigger.

But I haven't compared them side-by-side.

-juice

lucien2

Help me unravel rally tire sizes.

My Outback runs on 205/70/15 tires. I want to buy a set of used rally tires for use in autocross. There is a set of 17-65-15 available all the way out in Canada, which will be a fair piece of shipping. Up the road in PA, there is a set of " L81 (medium compound, reinforced), size 16/62-15." This sounds a bit small (ride height and gearing wise) for a Legacy Outback, but are easier to get.

Thoughts?

ateixeira

I'm stumped. No idea how those are measured.

I'm familiar with off-road tires sizes, but not those.

-juice

locke2c

Those are metric tire sizes. The first number is the tread width in centimeters. (not the tire's section width) The second number is diameter in centimeters. The third number is wheel diameter in inches.

A 17/62-15 is pretty close to a 195/65-15 if I recall correctly... which happens to be the size of winter tires I use.

This calculator, and others on the web, can do both. Not both at the same time tho. :-(

http://www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi

-Colin

ateixeira

Loosh - take a tape measure to yours tires. The 205 on the sidewall is section width, as Colin mentioned. I bet the tread width is about 190mm or so. The calculator won't tell you that.

The sidewall height you can figure with the calculator.

-juice

originalbitman

So I made my first prototype seatback pocket. I got another cargo net and cut a section out to form a pocket. Wove some shock cord around the perimeter and stetched the whole thing around the center panel on the back of one of my GT's seats. Looks like it will work with some tweaking. There is just enough freeplay around that panel to accommodate the edge of the net and the cord... it all stuffs in the crack out to site pulling the netting tight.

bit

texsubaru

That's fairly creative thinking! Perhaps you could try to license your custom design to Subaru ...

drew_

Here're a couple of pictures of how MB has done their map pockets for years (not any more though). Perhaps it could help you to improve on your design?:

I just recently added a map pocket/net in my front passenger footwell:
Click here.


Drew
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards

miksmi

If anyone can reverse engineer MB's map pocket and adapt it to Subaru, it's bit! bit, do you think you can skirt the MB licensing issues?

Drew, that looks handy. Was this an off-the-shelf net or did you fabricate it?

..Mike

ateixeira

Take photos, I want to see plans!

:-)

-juice

originalbitman

Thanks Drew. Mine are similar in that the netting looks the same but no plastic to attach them.

bit

crashton6

Are you going to run rally cross or auto cross? If it's rally cross then knobbies are what you need. I got a mailing from Tire Rack & in it they said they would be carrying Kumho rally tires.

http://tirerack.com Ask them for the 2001-1 edition of "Inside Track". There's a good artical on pro rally.

Chuck

lucien2

but I can't afford new tires. That is why I am looking for a used set from a pro rally or club rally team.

locke2c

Get on a rally list, you'll find plenty. You will wear them out quickly though...

-Colin

frisson

I'm thinking of having the windows tinted in my '01 forester S+. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions.

Thanks
frisson, a brief moment of excitement

ateixeira

Yes, several.

Check out the shop, ask to see an installation. Ask for references, to see if theirs has peeled. Make sure they tuck the tint in, under the door trim. Look for bubbles and such - should be clean.

The installation means everything. Also, if you get it done, do not open the windows for a week, so the glue has more than enough time to dry. If not it could peel.

People tend to prefer metallic film over dyed, but mine is dyed and has not faded in the two years + I've had it.

-juice

hutch7

Has anyone upgraded the standard cloth interior to leather? I think my '97 OB would look great with leather and would be a great upgrade. I've gotten a quote of $1250.00 for a Katzkin leather interior installed. Seems a bit high to me. Also they'll add some extra padding to the seats for $50.00. Any experience out there???

hondafriek

$1250.00 is about right, Katzkin interior in Canada is around $2000.00. I have seen their interiors and I would say that the leather is of much better quality than genuine Subaru.
Cheers Pat.

crashton6

I'll ask around here with the local rally guru's.
Maybe I can find you some.

Chuck

lucien2

looking for size 17-65-15, hopefully medium or hard compound

paisan

$1200 is about right. I'd say if it's quality stuff, $1200-$1500 should be about the price for the leather.

-mike

ateixeira

Dale got leather for $900 or so on her Forester. Looked pretty decent.

I'm not sure if it's worth putting that much money into a 4 year old vehicle, though.

-juice

seamus3

we made it back from texas, now i have a cat back. we stopped again in arizona, and i checked out some mod shops. i found one that does rally cross mods, they had some sooby stuff. i asked if they had cat backs expecting them to say no. the guy only had one, it had been returned by someone with an legacy GT. we bolted it on to make sure it fit, it did, put on a new stromung exhaust, paid my money and i was on my way. it's great. i got more power from it, not a ton but i have a stronger pull. not to mention the sound. when we were in san fran i actually had some people turn and look, what a great feeling

ateixeira

Wow, that was quick.

Did you get any pix? How much was the whole thing installed?

-juice

locke2c

I definitely agree that the boxer 4 makes a lovely sound and all of SOA's stock mufflers are too quiet. ;-)

-Colin

hammersley

I've been lurking on the subject for awhile, hoping for an explanantion, but must now expose my ignorance: what the heck is a "cat back"? I gather it's an exhaust mod, but somebody help me out woth the specifics? Thanks!

Cheers!
Paul

ateixeira

Cat is short for catalytic converter. A cat-back is an exhaust kit that includes everything behind the cat, i.e. exhaust pipe, muffler, tail pipe, and exhaust tip.

You may find this one funny:



-juice

locke2c

It's any exhaust from the catalytic converter-- or the last one, since all modern cars probably have at least 2-- back to the tailpipe.

A muffler alone wouldn't be a catback exhaust because the stock midpipe is used. (This is the exhaust pipe between the catalyst and muffler.) On many cars there is a silencer or resonator somewhere in the midpipe, or the exhaust tubing may be smaller than ideal.

Note that larger exhaust can lower velocity in 2 ways-- pressure loss and temperature loss. Hotter gasses travel faster. Anyway, the whole "backpressure" thing is wrong-headed but maintaining velocity is important, and that's why you shouldn't use too large of exhaust.

-Colin

ateixeira

I remember GM put dual exhausts on Fieros and saw no power increase.

-juice

subearu

Pontiac/GM even puts dual exhausts on SunFires. However, I believe they're just dual-ing out of the muffler. I could be wrong though.

-Brian

ramon

likes putting dual mufflers. dumb muscle car mentality. Especially on those silly 4 banger sunfires. It's till silly on the V6s.

ramon

anyone know what that black box right opposite our mufflers?

crashton6

I think that's part of the vapor recover package. Looks like the charcoal canister. Just a guess though.

Chuck

locke2c

A correct guess...

-Colin

seamus3

it was really quick. i thought we would have to spend an extra day in arizona so the guy would have time to fit the pipe on there, but it didn't. i waited around for a good while until he told me it would probably take the better part of the day and maybe a little into the evening. the total cost was just under $600, i thought it was a little high, but i checked out cobb's website and it seems about right. it is a bolt on pipe with the single tip stromung. the pipe is 2.25 in. (i don't know how many cm. for you canucks). i have been told any more than that could result in the decrease you previously mentioned.

i have no access to a digital camera, if i can fight through the crowd i'll scan in some pics at school.

lucien2

Yeesh. Finally.

http://www.geocities.com/limeylight/handling.htm

paisan

about a month ago? Stick in legacy GT stuff and it'll mount up just fine

-mike

lakepop

Check out www.foresterperformance.fanspace.com

Lots of Forester performance mods without a lot of diversionary conversation.

Just some info for ya'll to know about.

lucien2

Yea you did, but we Outback folks were waiting for actual comfirmation. like that photo of the 2 struts side by side!

locke2c

So now you should go whole hog and do the DMS Gold thing, like Kevin on the iClub has done with his GT wagon. ;-)

-Colin

paisan

Well I would probably have said the same thing had the coin been flipped. I still am wondering about the strut conversion I did on my XT6 and that was done about a month ago!

-mike

ramon

a vapor recover packate? What does it do?

francophile

It keeps your car from smelling like a gas station ;-)

Seriously! A major source of air pollution is gasoline evaporating before it ever even gets burned. They close the fuel tank and its ventilation system so that vapors cannot escape. The canister is a vapor recovery device.

Cheers,
-wdb

kens

juice,

Nice photo! Now all you need to do is put a "Type R" sticker on Sandy and you'll earn the respect of mini-SUV ricers.

Ken

ateixeira

Loosh: glad he was willing to document it all.

Lakepop: wonder if he got that dual cup-holder retrofit idea from me. :-)

-juice

lucien2

Shyaa! DMS Gold or......3 weeks in Europe! Hmmm.... Maybe when I actually start to earn money one of these days.

ramon

so won't the canister be full of gasolene over time then? Should we clean it?

francophile

As it is running the engine draws air through the canister, keeping it "dry" or at least keeping if from filling up with gas. So there :-P

FWIW those things have been on cars for 25 years or so. IIRC the first federally mandated pollution control device in the US was positive crankcase ventilation (PCV), back in 1966 I think. Positive fuel system ventilation followed later.

Cheers,
-wdb

bigfrank3

One of the reasons they don't want you to overfill the tank when refueling is so that gas doesn't fill up the vent line and canister, saturating it and making it useless. I know folks who have had to replace it simply from 1 overfill. The system deals with vapors ok, just not fluids.

Regards,
Frank