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For the MT it's 3.9 in the Trans/Front Diffy and 0.9 in the rear.
-mike
Motorsports and Modifications Host
I'm on the fence about selling my subaru outback and getting a car w/ front wheel drive that gets better gas mileage and just put snow tires in winter. I already put snows on the subie. We do get a good amount of snow in winter here. I had an impreza lived in vermont never put snows on it and it did superbly uphills. The outback is not that much heavier by about 200 lbs and 9 inches longer. Would FWD w/ snows and traction control be good too? Does an impreza handle differently? Thank you
Mine's a Sienna, with TRAC, and the light snow we've had a few times since I've had it have given it trouble climing my driveway. I'm not looking forward to more than 2". I'll probably have to plow the driveway first, or maybe back up the driveway so the weight shifts to the drive wheels.
We still have a Legacy and it basically laughed off the 2" or so that gave the Sienna a hard time.
Snow tires help a lot, no doubt. I had some on the Forester for a while.
Still, when going up a steep hill, weight shifts to the back, so a FWD without any weight on the front wheels still might struggle.
For me, personally, I'd drive our Legacy with all-season tires over our Sienna with snow tires. I might get more wheelspin but I find it easy to control.
The Sienna's TRAC actually hinders the ascent - it brakes you and you lose momentum climbing.
Aside from the far more rewarding driving characteristics of the car, I like Subaru because, as a one-car family, I know I can depend on it to get me anywhere at any time.
One thing about this car is that is sat for a considerable amount of time (6 months)w/o being driven due to my travel and the fact I have 3 other vehicles. Any idea if this would have an impact on this situation?
-mike
Motorsports and Modifications Host
I could be wrong here but I don't think there's anything mentioned in the warranty that says it must be driven at least "X" times per month to keep the warranty intact. I don't see how telling them the car sat a few months would affect a decision on whether or not to honor the warranty. A car could even sit on a Subaru dealer's lot that long (thinking of slow movers like Baja, & early Tribecas). 6 months is even within the 7.5-month maximum timeframe allowed between oil changes.
It's probably nothing you need to announce, but I also think it's not something you'd want to deliberately hide. Thoughts, Mike? :confuse:
Thanks for sharing your findings.
I think I am experiencing exactly the same problems. Mine is also 2006 Outback Wagon 2.5i, automatic.
1) Strange noises from left (and sometimes even right) lower A-pillar area.
2) Wind gusting noises from left lower A-pillar at 70mph+.
I tried to stop noise of 1) by gently pusing the plastic cover of A-pillar.
And it sometimes worked. When you're hearing noises of 1), please try keep pusing lower A-pillar, and let me know what happens, if you can.
For 2), I don't know how it is happennig.
Cheers,
Yushin
As for slow movers sitting on lots, new cars have break-in oil and special coatings that come off/wear-in in once they start being used. I think they are setup from the factory knowing they will be sitting for a while before delivery.
Definitely though I would suggest at least starting it up once a month and drive it around the block to keep things lubricated.
-mike
If it were mine I would warm it up completely before shutting it off. Crankcase condensate...probably acidic...should be boiled off by getting the engine to full operating temperature for a while. Though fuel injected engines don't get as much raw gas starting as older carbureted engines, crank case oil dilution at start-up is still a possibility.
** I post this again since it went to wrong thread previously.
Thanks for sharing your findings.
I think I am experiencing exactly the same problems. Mine is also 2006 Outback Wagon 2.5i, automatic.
1) Strange noises from left (and sometimes even right) lower A-pillar area.
2) Wind gusting noises from left lower A-pillar at 70mph+.
I tried to stop noise of 1) by gently pusing the plastic cover of A-pillar.
And it sometimes worked. When you're hearing noises of 1), please try keep pusing lower A-pillar, and let me know what happens, if you can.
For 2), I don't know how it is happennig.
Cheers,
Yushin
I think it depends on how much steep it is.
I saw my 06 outback (2.5i) alywas rolling on hills at San Francisco and Seattle downtown. And it rolls so scary to my wife's fearness.
As you might know, there're may all-way stop signs on top of the hill roads in San Fran...and all the cars are rolling back a foot..^^.
But I am sure it is normal for subaru auto transmissions since it never roll on usual hills.
-yushin
So I took it to the dealer last week, they spent one hour checking everything (as they claimed) and said this is normal, they said the noise came from a reverse lock switch, which prevents false changing from N to R.
I am not totally believe this sine the noise is a single one, should it happen every time when hit the 7mph speed if it's a feature? Does anyone know this feature?
Thanks.
If you want to test it out, put it into D, then while idling forward shove it into R. It'll do it. Drive forward until it "clicks" and it won't go past N.
It's a good feature to have. I suppose some Subarus "click" louder than others.
If you want it to not roll, put it into 2nd while you're waiting. It will hold its position on most hills. Then put it back into D when you start moving.
So true.
If you don't want the car to roll backwards on a steep grade, why not simply put your foot on the brake?!
Besides, you'd never have the same identical problem such as this on the left and right sides....
One nice thing about a CR-V.. Rear windows go all the way down..
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Mine go down all the way.
That's just mean.
Dual panel sunroof, 6 speed... AND.... a height adjustable passenger seat (something Subaru should look into)!
very nice car. :shades:
It should be noted my wife has a loaded Lexus RX400h. Her car is one year newer and has more rattles (fit/finish...?) then my car and I think the interior of my car looks on par or superior. Sure, her's is a hybrid and quieter inside (and will continue to be as long as Subaru doesn't use door frames surrounding their windows... and based on the new Imprezas, it appears they are changing this). But if I lay off the gas pedal and keep the turbo at bay, I can get 22 or 23 MPG. She has a nav screen which wasn't offered as an option on the 05's. Where'd all the money go?
Other than that, for a car that costs nearly $20K less, Subaru's performance/value proposition is still tops in our world. I look forward to the larger, even more refined legacy's in 2010. It still seems odd to me that Subaru has been so late to the hybrid/green model game... but the diesels and extra-life battery hybrids coming soon should keep them competitive. I just hope they continue to be priced affordably... and the service department needs to really step up their game.
Actually, the trend toward framed windows started in 2005 with the '06 B9 Tribeca, then the Impreza last year, and this year the Forester. Legacy & Outback are the only ones left w/out.
Also, Subaru scrapped their hybrid program shortly after Toyota gained a small stake in them. Subaru developed a superior system, but with their smaller economy of scale couldn't get the costs down enough to make it viable at the time. They then decided to focus on diesel. If they go the hybrid route in the future, they may try to utilize Toyota's technology there, simply because it costs much less. Personally, I could see them skipping hybrid altogether. With the rave reviews their diesel's gotten, and their recent statement that they wanted to be the leading electric vehicle manufacturer, I think those two technologies could anchor their "green" effort. Their new diesel gets better highway MPG than a Prius, and an electric vehicle would be better around town than Prius. If I recall correctly, Subaru says their upcoming round of electrics will go 120 miles or so on a charge, and can be charged nearly 100% in 15 minutes. That'd be perfect for the vast majority of the driving people do... perfect city car, and would be a good primary car in a 2-car household. I could easily see a Subaru electric in my household for everyday use, with a diesel Forester, Outback or Tribeca for trips.
Though I gotta say, I saw diesel for $4.25 in my area. Ouch.
-mike
We could save a lot on fuel distribution alone. If people could plug in at home, it'd be like having a home gas station. Imagine how many fewer stops you'd make for gas (or to recharge in this case) if your tank was already filled up every time you left home. We'd have fewer gas stations and fewer trucks on the road hauling fuel (which would in itself save additional gas, reduce emissions and slightly reduce wear and tear on roadways). On the flip side, in the near term there'd likely be more train use bringing coal to powerplants. I've gotta think it's more efficient (and easier to control pollution) having a greater percentage of energy generated in fewer locations than it is having millions of combustion engines (in various states of upkeep) generating their own power.
I think we need to get the power storage problem settled before we can really move forward and unfortunately there just isn't a real good way to store electricity. Even in the power grid there is no "storage" capacity for power and power companies have been working on this for the better part of 100 years. The more demand for electric power will increase the cost of generation, transmission and distribution as well. They trade electric now, the same (in the same market actually) as Oil, Gas, etc.
Interestingly we have moved most of our cars/trucks to hybrids here at the company. I think our group's next car will be an Escape Hybrid.
-mike
-mike
Motorsports and Modifications Host