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Subaru Forester (up to 2005)
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Comments
Road a "quick" 30 this morning. The beginning temperature was in the mid 70's at 7:30 and an hour or so later, hit the low 80's. Ah, one of the great pleasures of living in Florida.
And, by the way, believe it or not, I'm beginning to see more Subarus on the local streets. Many WRX's (in addition to Serge's) and Foresters. I've met another resident who also drives a white '01 LL Bean. This makes three of us here! Pretty soon, the marque will become "common."
Don
Don
Greg
-juice
Proud owner of 25% of florida Subies
Yes, we do have serious bugs Downeast: horseflies,deerflies,normal house flies, mozzies (B-52 sizes), no-see-ums, knats, hawks attacking your head, chiggers.......etc. BUT: all around only for a few months of "poor sledding" in a so-called summer.
Yes, snow and ice and slush on the roads at times for six months. Then one takes time to get somewhere with Madame Forester et al.
It is a sweet time now with the colors and beginning of rost and ice on the cove.
BTW--long underwear goes a long way to allowing one to enjoy outside year-round. You can always remove clothes in cold...we do.
Nice hearing the comments...no offense meant.
Mr. Chavin has spoken.
If you visit the "Subaru Crew" here in the Edmunds Town Hall, and the "Meet the Members" and "Subaru Cafe," you will see some of his most recent posts. In fact, here are a string of posts he and I had last night: grahampeters "Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II" Oct 25, 2002 8:53pm
Hope to hear more from you here!
And yes, we're all anxiously awaiting the turbo Forester hee in North America!
Bob
Printout I received at the end showed that they first checked exhaust system for leaks, checked fuel pressure, checked coolant temperature, then determined faulty OS. Not entirely clear whether that diagnosis was by process of elimination, or if they actually ran a test.
Didn't notice any performance problems while the CEL was lighted, nor any change after OS was replaced.
Overall, a minor inconvenience, but handled well by the dealer. Plus gave me a chance to look at the '03 Forester. Too bad the '03 side and seat back nets aren't easily adapted to earlier models.
112kw@5600 translates to 150 hp
223Nm@3600 translates to 164 ft-lbs. torque
0-100 kph at 9.9 seconds translates to 0-60 mph in 9.6 seconds
Thus, there is actually slightly less power than in the US version.
The old AU 2 liter turbo produced slighly more power, about equivalent to the US 2.5. But the AU 2.5 engine is apparently tuned to bring power and torque on at slightly lower rpms.
Welcome to a fellow Aussie. I'm in suburban Melbourne.
The Aussie Forester GT came witha 2.0l turbo, detuned from the WRX. IT was fast and desirable. With the introduction of the new series Forester, it has been temporarily deleted from the model line-up but will be reinstated next year as a 2.5l turbo. Should be fun!
Cheers
Graham
Bob
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Bob
Given the proportion of Foresters sold in Australia that were Turbos, I can't see any sane manufacturere missing the money. Subaru are definitely rational, and the attached comes from a post release test of the 2.5 naturally aspirated.
"Subaru Australia has renamed the range with the introduction of the new model. The base model is now the X, the Limited is replaced by the XS and a range-topping XS luxury pack is part of the launch line-up. What's missing is the turbocharged GT, which will be dubbed XT when it arrives in late 2003."
That seems to be the story from various sources, so its coming from somewhere consistent.
Cheers
Graham
Bob
Question: the keyless entry seems kind of flakey. I've replaced the battery in the xmiter but every so often I need to get within 3 feet of the car to activate. The environmental conditions are the same. Has anyone had problems with their key less entry? Bob L
I have had occasional problems with the old style unit made by Code Alarm. The Fob gets a lot of shaking while being carried around, and the battery sometimes does not make good contact with its holder. Giving the unit a tap or two against the palm of my hand seems to solve the problem for a while. A better solution is to open the battery compartment and clean the battery terminal and contacts with a clean pencil eraser. Be sure to wipe off the residue with a clean cloth. Then adjust the contacts to fit tightly.
Holding the unit up high helps to get the signal to the receiver unit under the dash.
I found out later the additional benefit of not having as much to wax and being 6' 3 or 4" its easier on the back washing and waxing.
Greg
Visited the dealer(Wilkins Subaru) today to look at the Foresters again. Brought Mrs. Spudman with me and we both agreed we like the two tone look better than the monotone of the XS premium. As a bonus it's less expensive too.
While I was looking at a Baja on the lot ,I lowered the tailgate to check it out more closely. Big mistake. I set off the alarm, a loud one too.
Luckily nobody else was around and it eventually stopped.
tidester, host
Secondly, I can't believe I am looking it up in my old materials books.
Thirdly, I can't believe I remembered where the book was!
While the book calls it "differential aeration", our professor called it "differential oxygenation".
From the text:
"The most important type of concentration cell corrosion is differentail aeration, which occurs when one part of a metal is exposed to different air concentration from the other parts... Thus a differential aeration of metal causes a flow of current, called the differential aeration current."
[...]
"Frequently metals corrode under a scale deposit; wire scree usually corrodes at points of contact between wires. metals exposed to aqueous media corrode under blocks of wood or pieces of glass that screen the portion of metal from oxygen access. The presence of crevices as formed by an improper gasket fit gives rise to oxygen concentration cells, resulting in the corrosion of a metal at areas nonaccessible to air. Similar attacks have been observed at such surface irregularities as caivities and pits, to which the oxygen can not penetrate. The differential aeration type of corrosion is a localized attack on some restricted areas and results in characterisit pitting. Ths attack becomes more intensified with time because the corroded products accumulate around a small anodic area, making screening more effective."
QED In other words, make sure your surfaces are smooth, and there is no stagnant or standing water on a surface. In the case of cladding, the metal is galvanized and the cladding is non-metallic. It is highly unlikely any corrosion would occur. Besides, that's why there is the rust proof warranty!
Now, of course, you might have been engaging in a horrid pun. I certainly hope that does not herald the beginning of the PUNic Wars.
My understanding of the two terms is that oxidation refers to a chemical reaction (rusting, burning, etc.) while oxygenation refers to enriching oxygen content such as occurs when aerating water, i.e. dissolving oxygen in water.
As to the Punic Wars (2nd), would Hannibal have been successful if he had Subaru Foresters at his disposal?
(Notice how the host so skillfully segues back on topic! ;-)
tidester, host
(I am afraid now I have to duck)
- D
http://cartalk.cars.com/Survey/Results/Demographics/Makes/subaru.html
Any observations?
First of all, the XS and XS premium (as well as the old S) all have painted lower cladding. Whether or not they are monochromatic, they are all painted plastic.
You need to wax them because waxing them protects the paint finish; it doesn't matter if it's metal or plastic underneath, you still need to wax painted surfaces. (I think Greg got confused about waxing the lower cladding because jimbob17 was talking about his X, which has unpainted lower cladding.)
Compare this to the X (and the old L), with unpainted plastic cladding. I had a '99 L and now have a '03 XS Prem, and from the standpoint of easy care, the unpainted cladding is WAY easier to take care of - just wipe it with your favorite protectant (Armor All, Vinylex, etc.) And you don't have to worry about scratching it with the shopping cart when loading your groceries. However, many feel that the painted cladding looks more upscale, which I agree with.
That said, I would NEVER base my decision on which model to buy by worrying which type is more prone to rusting! Cars in the 80's rusted. New cars rarely rust.
Get the one that has the features and looks that you like. Period. There's pros and cons to each choice.
Elliot
Only that last tid bit surprises me. They missed the fact that most of us are named Dave, Mike, or have a "K" in our name. Shockingly, nothing about us using Macintosh computers, or owning 2 pets! ;-)
Definitely wax the cladding, if only to protect the finish. In fact, the lower portion takes the worst abuse, so it's what I would wax first.
Most of the steel is galvanized, in fact all but the roof IIRC. Rust should not be an issue unless you have body damage and leave it exposed.
Another difference - you'd have to order 2 bottles of touch-up paint. But a $4 who cares.
-juice
Re cladding and susceptibility to rust, don't forget that the plastic cladding is just that and that there are still metal body panels behind it. Still, I agree that today's autos are better manufactured to prevent rust and that the cladding will prevent dings and scratches which lead to exterior surface rust.
-Frank P.
:-)
Ross
-juice
-Frank P.
Ross
he he he
-juice
That anything attracting magnets will turn to rust.
eps- I hope your right about new cars not rusting. Not to be adversarial but my first Chevelle had to be retired because the floor rusted out. The Monterey had to be retired because the trunk rusted out. The Subaru GL 87 had to be retired because the wheel wells and frame rusted out. The only one not retired due to rust was the Monza, believe it or not, and that nearly made 20 years.
Frankly if not for rust I'd still have the Chevelle and Monterey.
Unless it's damamged, of course. If you get a crease in metal it'll rust. Even dings and chips should be cleaned with naval jelly and then touched-up ASAP.
-juice
Greg
Steve, Host
OK, it's late, I'd better go home. :-)
-juice
The proper time to look is after you've finished breakfast in bed and before showering. Timing is everything.
tidester, host
Also (last question, really)how should dealer installed options compare in cost to factory installed? I would be having the sound upgrades installed by the dealer.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Regarding cost, some dealers will install them and charge you the invoice price (the best you can hope for), many will want full retail (MSRP) for them and some will charge an installation fee in addition to the MSRP. The good news is that you're in the drivers seat until you sign on the bottom line so the price is fully negotiable. I'd fight hard for the invoice price and there's no way I'd pay above MSRP since installing factory speakers is something even the most mechanically challenged should be able to handle. Good Luck and let us know what happens.
-Frank P.
I have the premium sound speakers, replaced the base ones myself. The base speakers are cheap dual-cones, the premium's front speakers are true two-ways. They sound better at any volume, and also handle more watts. Go for it.
I'd expect the dealer to charge a fee for installation, maybe an hour or labor or so ($60-80). Replacing just the speakers themselves is EASY, I'm talking a 7 year old with a phillips screw driver could do it in 15 minutes.
-juice