Subaru Crew - Modifications II

lark6

The picture doesn't tell the full story, Dave. Tell us more...!

Ed

hypov

Ed-
I thought the story would be dull, so I left it off.

Anyway, I made it to Sunday's AutoX as it wound down [totally beat from the VA trip]. Figured I hang with TeamIAC for dinner, since I've not seen most of them in a while. One of "the other board" guy, fellow SQC'er, asked if I could help him out with some measurements for skid plates and I agreed. Thought nothing of it. I've got measuring tape he could use.

Cutting to the chase. After dinner, we got the car jacked and he proceeded to remove Pebble's plastic cover. Still not thinking anything unusual until he whipped out the skid plate and started mounting it.

Then came the magic work, "it's yours".

So for, no ill effects. Do notice a slight reduction of road noise. Like I'd mentioned, didn't plan for it. Skid plate for Pebbles wasn't even on my list to get.

Don't know how much it will cost when it goes into production, but I do know it'll be available through AZP

-Dave

ateixeira

Was it custom fabricated? Looks like a nice fit.

The price is right. I'll take 2! ;-)

-juice

lark6

Dave: If AZP can make 'em so I don't have to remove 'em to change my oil, I'll get in line.

Ed

ateixeira

Hmm, get a Fumoto with a trap door? Still, you need filter access.

-juice

lark6

That might work, juice.

Ed

hypov

Hmmm skidplate for the Forester. He had it made for his GC8, which I think should fit the Forester. I'll talk to the guy if some kind of trap door can be incorporated into it.

I think he's going to market it under the name "RallyAmour".

-Dave

hypov

Just had a thought about a trap door. That would open the door to rattling, and leaving a hole for access defeats the purpose of the plate.

-Dave

paisan

It's only 4 bolts to take it off. Besides it's LESS bolts than you need to take off the factory spash guard IIRC.

-mike

bat1161

The front plate from Primitive has 5 bolts (3 in front, 2 in rear) and there is an opening to drain the oil. The only thing is, you still have to take off the plate to change the filter.

Mark

ateixeira

mike's right, the OE cover has 4 bolts plus 2 fasteners to deal with.

-juice

hypov

On the WRX, I think there are 3 bolts [might have lost one] and a whol.....ole load of fasteners.

-Dave

storyteller

The 2002 OB I bought this spring is the first car I've had with remote keyless entry. The controller clunks and rattles against the steering shaft in an annoying way. I'd like to install a leather disk around the key bezel to silence it. Anybody ever try that? What would work to hold it, that sticky foam tape? Some kind of adhesize?

I 'spose I could dink around with the keys so the controller would hang too low to clunk so much.

Thanks!

Steve

ateixeira

Dunno, but that definitely qualifies you for membership to our OCD club. Yet another thing for me to obsess over! ;-)

-juice

hondafriek

that drives me nuts as well, but I have not tried to do anything about it maybe now I will.

  Cheers Pat.

ateixeira

Yeah, me too, Thanks a Lot! LOL

-juice

paisan

I'm excited the supplier of those shields just got back to me with pricing!
Quite reasonable.
-mike

jlemole

Stick an adhesive-backed felt disc (the kind you'd put under a table/chair leg) on the steering column. That should quiet things down a bit.

Jon

ateixeira

OK, it's not the Subie, but still. I was driving the Miata today in the rain, and on the way home the tail came loose. I was going up hill, on a left/right turn where you momentarily get weightless.

Man, I nearly lost it. Haven't been so freaked in a car since ... since taking a ride with paisan or Hutch! LOL

I actually backed off the throttle and countersteered, avoiding a barrier on my left and some lane dividers on the right, but it was enough of a scare to push me to get all season tires instead of the summer tires I thought would do. Not any more.

The tires are not up the wear bars yet, but they're shot. They look old and feed hard, so I think I'll throw in the towel and buy tires now.

OK, so good timing, CR has a review this month. The top rated tire is the Falken Ziex ZE 512, and the price is competitive, $200 for the set.

Now: reality check. CR also says Stroh's in the Best Beer in America. Thoughts?

What do I want? Acceptable wet grip. The current tires are horrible, they hyrdoplane and lose lateral grip too easily, wet and dry. I want good lateral grip because this is a fun car.

I care little about noise and snow traction. The lesson today was never, ever, bypass the Subie in any kind of inclement weather. But I want acceptable wet grip just in case I get caught by surprise.

The Continental Touring CH95 is actually cheaper than the Falkens, but rated mid pack. The Dunlop SP Sport A2 was in the upper half but costs more. Tire Rack has a bargain basement Kumho tire, but I've heard mixed reviews, though CR didn't test that tire.

Thoughts?

This will be my anniversary present from my wife.

-juice

hypov

juice-
what about the SP5000s? Or the ContiExtremeContacts?

-Dave

jfl

I'm starting to look for my next set of tires.

People on epinions thought the Falkens went downhill rapidly in terms of handling.

The ContiExtremeContacts sound really good but don't have a hazard warranty. (I've actually used hazard warranties twice!)

One of the regular "Crew" members had a very bad experience with Dunlop Sport A2...

The Kumho 716 sounds interesting and are cheap enough to replace if I don't care for them, but the four handprint-sized patches of rubber are all we have controlling the car. Do I really want to trust inexpensive tires?

OTOH, I'm not ready to spend the outrageous bucks for the Michelin Pilot A/S.

Jim

paisan

I have 2 customers who had bad dry experiences with the Conti-extremes.

SP5000s, excellent tires IMHO.

Sport A2s, used them several times, generally come in the sizes that the SP5000 doesn't. Great tire IMHO.

-mike

lakepop

They get my vote......very pleased with mine....zero issues!

subearu

Just put some Uniroyal Tiger Paw touring tires on my Outback. Like Juice (except no tail-wagging incident), my OEM Firestones were showing their age and getting hard and noisy. They weren't to their wear-bars yet, but were getting close. With winter coming, I decided to be safe (or perhaps I was feeling guilty for testing that XT MT earlier that day).

A good set of summer tires should handle wet traction, no? What size do you have on there now? Want to +1 'em?

-Brian

bluesubie

Yes, good summer tires should have good wet grip.
On Colin's (and a lot of nabisco) recommendation, I put these on my Rex.

Just go to Tire Rack and compare the numbers against any UHP tire. The wet grip is excellent (AA rated and patterned after their Indy rain tire) and they have a high treadwear rating.

-Dennis

locke2c

I love the SZ50 EP, awesome tire. But I think Juice was saying that he is getting all-seasons and *not* summer tires.

In that case I recommend the Dunlop SP5000.

-c

bluesubie

only because his current tires have lousy wet grip. :-)

"...Acceptable wet grip. The current tires are horrible, they hyrdoplane and lose lateral grip too easily, wet and dry. I want good lateral grip because this is a fun car.

I care little about noise and snow traction. The lesson today was never, ever, bypass the Subie in any kind of inclement weather. But I want acceptable wet grip just in case I get caught by surprise..."

-Dennis

lucien2

since I decided to use my stock rims for auto-x, I had to put all-seasons on the RS rims. My SP's are almost a year old now, and they have perfomed very well in all conditions. Even the big snow was no problem once I got dug out. We put them in the OB too when we +1ed it. They are as new at this point. On my car they are wearing fast, but I am VERY hard on them. Keep in mind I am a salesman by day, and Baltimore roads absolutely positively suck eggs. On top of that there is my driving style, heh. Every clear ramp is a chance to refine a line, explore an apex, practice my heel-toe, and experiment with tire pressures. And -1.6 degrees of camber in back also.

ateixeira

Dave: I don't think SP5000s come in 60 series, do they? We're talking tiny, 185/60R14, here.

Plus One? Nah. Ride would be too hard; the CD already skips all the time and I can't run more than 28psi in the tires as is.

That really limits my choices, there aren't any great performance tires in that size.

Colin: you think those AVS-Intermediates would be OK on a wet day? If they're still sold, that is.

This is the turn where you turn off Canal Rd to get on Clara Barton Pkwy. It's a double-hairpin, left, then right, uphill and off camber. Pretty fun turn.

But...I wasn't even going fast, in the dry I'm going at least 10mph faster.

-juice

locke2c

AVS intermediates are old and fairly hard sitting in a warehouse... they are functional when brand new but will quickly age. I wore through a set on the rear of my M3 in about 10,000 miles and they were only "acceptable" in the rain about the first 1,500 miles. they were terrifying after that.

I still have AVS-i on the front now, and Yokohama ES100s on the back. the ES100 is a whole lot more tire in any condition. they're kinda noisy though.

-Colin

ateixeira

I don't think the ES100s come in my size, either.

Those cheap Kumho actually had 7 thumbs-up reviews on Epinions. Still not sure I'd spring for those, though.

I may just get the Falkens. Even if grip is only at its best for 12k miles, that's 2 years or so with my Miata, since it's not my primary car. By then who knows, I might have sold it.

-juice

lark6

juice: SP Sport 5000s not available in 185/60-14 but SP Sport A2s are. My old A2 Jetta wore the same size and I ran the Sport 5000/Sport A2's predecessor, the D60A2. I went through 2 sets of those after wearing out a set of Bridgestone RE71s.

Speaking of Bridgestone, the RE950 is also available in that size.

I don't know anything about those Falken tires.

Ed

dcdouglas

OK,
I don't have much to complain about with my new Forester XT w/PP, but I did see a couple of things that Subaru should try to address. Since I don't track this board, pardon me if I bring up old topics.

1) Include a light on the friggin' vanity mirror!
2) The huge sunroof precludes there is nowhere to put a center-of-the-vehicle dome light. When I enter and exit my vehicle at night, no light comes on at all when the doors are open! Why did Subaru not move the inner vehicle light to the front of the roof where it has the map lights? Other cars with sunroofs have this option. What's the problem?
--dcdouglas

jimmyp1

oversight. Seems like there should be a dome light more toward the front windshield, near the moonroof controls.

Jim

hypov

<< Dave: I don't think SP5000s come in 60 series, do they? We're talking tiny, 185/60R14, here. >>
then that Miata I saw in my nabe wasn't wearing stock shoes. ;-)

-Dave

ateixeira

Or it's a later model. 15's became standard, and even 16"s are optional now. Ride must be punishing, unless they use a bigger diameter tire now.

-juice

kens

juice,

How about a plus-zero: 195/55R16? I think the SP5000 come in that size.

If you can, go with the SP5000s. I have them on my Forester. My wife has the Sport A2s on her Jetta. The SP5000s are a better performing tire.

Ken

paisan

Eibach + AGX is probably the best answer for a street car. I wouldn't do coilovers if you plan to drive it on the street.

Depending what tracks you are doing the eibach and AGX should be fine. If you do enough track days that the eibach/agx setup isn't enough, then you are gonna want something you can wad up w/o worrying about it.

-mike

ateixeira

You mean 14 (not 16"), but yeah, I'm going to consider that.

Just to irk me, Discount Tire Direct raised the price on the Falkens. I called and they would not honor the price I still had showing on my screen at home! Out of principal alone I'm boycotting them, and I would have been a repeat buyer!

OK, good direct comparison, and the recommendation seems universal. Lemme see if they sell that size.

-juice

locke2c

how much did the price go up?

-c

ateixeira

$8, but it's not the money, it's the principal of it. They would not honor the price I still had on my screen, even though I was a repeat customer.

I'm considering getting a better, more expensive tire anyway.

Remember our Legacy purchase, how the rebate increased the weekend before we bought it? That was a sign, the planets all aligned.

This was my sign to pass on that tire.

-juice

PS Supersticious? Me? Knock on wood...

ateixeira

195/55R15 only has the SP8000s, not the 5000s. They are pricey and I wonder about traction in foul weather, they're not even rated for snow.

OK, another option, the local Sears has these on sale: Goodyear Eagle GT-HR.

Are those the infamous "Scatorbacks" that are awful in the wet?

They'll prolly cost slightly more than the Falken. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and go with those...

-a frustrated juice

ateixeira

Hmm, this is interesting, Costco includes mounting, balancing, lifetime tire rotation, and the valve stem in their price. Even though I rotate myself, a road hazard warranty is included.

So it's actually a better deal than ordering from Tire Rack.

What about BFGoodrich Touring T/A H tires? Come to think of it, my wife had those on her 626. They were decent, nothing to write home about. Better in bad weather than the Bridgestones they replaced.

Those come out to about what the Falkens would cost, but with the road hazard warranty.

Another option is the Michelin Pilot XGT H4 tire. It's pricey but they have a $60 instant rebate. Are they worth the extra cost? I might go for these...that little contact patch is all that connects me to the road.

I'm going to check out some reviews on both these tires...

-juice

lark6

Um, I like my Michelins, and so far I've been able to justify the additional cost with the dramatic improvement in handling under all conditions.

But the inevitable happened - I cut one this week. Now I have to get the new one shaved to match, or buy a full set of four and waste three very expensive tires with plenty of life left in them.

Long-term Subie maintenance costs creeping up... :-(

Ed

ateixeira

That would be true with any AWD, though.

If we want to get technical, all four tires should be properly balanced for optimal performance on any car.

Besides, your experience is actually a vote in favor of me going to Costco - for the free road hazard warranty.

Leaning towards the Michelins, now. Reviews' only negatives were cost (not an issue, especially with the rebate) and longevity (again, not very high on my list of priorities).

Any experience with the Pilots? Do you get a better tire when you pay more for Michelins?

-juice

lark6

You talkin' to me? ;-)

My Michelins are Pilot Sport A/S. Not familiar with the Pilot XGT H4.

Ed

locke2c

$8 each, or $2 each? hehe

I don't get hung up on principle. how can you expect superior service when you're shopping only for the lowest price?

-Colin

ateixeira

Just fairness, not necessarily superior service. They're obviously capitalizing on the publicity and milking the profits out of customers right after that article came out.

The Michelins will end up costing more, but I guess I'll get that superior service I've been wanting all along! ;-)

Tell you what, though, I saw the Falken Azenis, and those look schweeeee-eet. They're a Miata.net favorite for autocross, but they are a summer tire. OK in wet, though. Very tempting...

-juice

lucien2

have teh r0x0rs

oops wrong board.

But seriously, I run them for auto-x and they're great for that. I dunno about using them for the street since they're fairly loud, but they sure are sticky. 5th place in STS out of 26 cars 2 weeks ago, the top finishing Soob in class.

bluesubie