Subaru Crew - Modifications

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  • bogusbobbogusbob Member Posts: 13
    Hi everyone,

    We installed the Larry Ganz cold air intake today. Very impressed with it and the ease of installation. Noticed a definite improvement in power to redline and quickness. Very happy with the upgrade. Will be adding an Amsoil air filter when it arrives in a week or so. We ordered the new wheels today. Fondmetal 9A's, 17x7, with a 48mm offset thru Discount Tires in Spokane. We will be putting snow tires on our stock rims for the winter and then adding tires to the new wheels next spring. We are really enjoying our new Subaru and looking forward to the autocross next weekend and the BMW driving school in 11/00. Here's a link to a picture of my wife in our RX7 at the school the Spokane club put on at Seattle International raceway last June. Hope to post a link to some pictures in the near future. I have learned some much and found many good links thru the different "crew" subjects. Thanks to all of you. Exhaust system is next after the air filteration kit and trunk light kit. Have emailed Darlene for prices on those.

    bye for now.......bogusbob (Ken)
    (and no, my middle name is not Dave)
  • bogusbobbogusbob Member Posts: 13
    I forget to put the link into the message....

    http://www8.50megs.com/narcszm/SIR/RX7_E36M3_9.jpg?50m=image

    bye again........
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    we are NOGO on the link to pictures.
  • bogusbobbogusbob Member Posts: 13
    I will check that out. Sorry about the confusion.

    bogusbob (Ken)
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    Try using www.photopoint.com for pictures. It's free, and there are no storage space restrictions.

    Drew/aling
    Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Ken,

    How much did you pay for the intake? I'm looking forward to pictures!

    Ken
  • hammersleyhammersley Member Posts: 684
    Hmm... sounds vaguely familiar... putting snow tires on existing wheels, and buying new wheels in the spring! Must be a Spokane thing... are you using studs? This is my first Subaru winter - been using studded tires since dirt was new, but not sure I need to, except for the ice at stop signs... which may in itself be sufficient justification!

    Where in the Spokane area are you?

    Cheers!
    Paul
  • hammersleyhammersley Member Posts: 684
    My newsgroup reader croaked a while back, but before it did, I recall seeing posts in alt.subaru about re-wiring the foglights so that they would operate independently of the headlights - that is, you could run foglights only, without the headlight circuit activated. I can't remember the details - any help out there?

    Thanks!
    Cheers!
    Paul
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    With AWD, I doubt that you'll need to run studs. Good snow/ice tires, such as the Bridgestone Blizzaks/Michelin Arctic Alpins more than surfice here in the North West.

    Drew/aling
    Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
  • hammersleyhammersley Member Posts: 684
    are you? I'm in Spokane... *real* winter sometimes, unlike the warm/wet on the west side of the Cascades... always seems to be a big ice build-up at intersections, when everybody else has locked 'em up trying to stop, and the ice is smoother than a baby's bum... are tires such as the Blizzak really that good on ice?

    Cheers!
    PaulnotanotherDave
  • bogusbobbogusbob Member Posts: 13
    Here is a link to the topic about Larry's air intake system on the iclub board under the main topic of "Private sales classifieds".

    http://impreza-rs.com/

    Read all three pages of responses. There are pictures too. Ours is a one piece unit. I'm still waiting for Amsoil to ship the filter. I am very pleased with this unit. Larry's prices are posted there and he is very good about customer service and satisfaction.

    We live about 50 miles north of Spokane and about 10 miles west of Newport. We had studs on the last set of snowtires, but are not getting any with the new set as our tire guy says we won't need them. We will be getting a set of four Blizzaks(??) made by Bridgestone, I believe. We had four studded snowtires on our 96 Legacy and it was next to impossible to get it stuck. Subarus are the best snow car I have ever driven. I feel safer in a Subaru than any other car I have ever owned.

    Here is a link to the Inland Empire BMW club site. There is a link under Items of interest marked photos from June that has the picture I was trying to link to earlier. There is also an article written by my wife about her first BMW driving school experience in the current issue of the Auspuffanlage entitled "Fear was my copilot".

    http://members.aa.net/~lardieri/bmw/Auspuffanlage.htm

    We will be posting pictures of our car and the intake mod in the near future (need to get a digital camera first). May do that instead of upgrading the exhaust system.

    bye for now......bogusbob (Ken)
  • hammersleyhammersley Member Posts: 684
    Cool! Another eastsider! From beautiful downtown Usk, to boot! Guess I'll try to let my tire guy talk me out of studs, and see how he does :)
    I'm still skeptical, but try to be open-minded!

    Cheers!
    Paul
    Beautiful downtown Veradale
  • bogusbobbogusbob Member Posts: 13
    We live in the Diamond lake area which is about 15 miles south of Usk.
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    With studs installed, your tires actually have less contact with the road since you're sitting on little pieces of metal. So, while straight line acceleration will be quicker from the get-go, your handling is reduced, especially on dry roads.
    Unless you're running in truly terrible conditions (i.e. in Alaska perhaps), AWD + winter tires + studs is overkill, IMHO. Remember that AWD doubles your traction since you have double the amount of drive wheels.

    Drew/aling
    Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    check the "modifications" link on impreza-rs.com. The independent fog light thing should be there.
  • dalelynndalelynn Member Posts: 28
    My dealer just informed me that my new Forester S Premium was shipped without the trailer hitch option I had ordered but said it would be no problem because they could put a trailer hitch on at the dealership once the car arrives next week. Several coworkers tell me I should be concerned because some trailer hitch packages include heavier suspension and a transmission cooler also. What should I expect and what should I look for from the dealer? By the way, this is the second option I had ordered that was not fulfilled at the factory, the other being woodgrain trim. Does it sound like the dealer is jerking me around or is it fairly common for subaru to leave items out on an ordered vehicle?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Dale: your coworkers are mistaken. The hitch is just a bolt-on hitch with the wiring harness.

    The suspension remains stock, and there is no oil or tranny cooler, nor are there bigger brakes. That may be why it's only rated for Class I (2000 lbs towing, 200 lb tongue weight). On other vehicles (with Class II and III ratings) this may be the case.

    bogusbob: sounds like fun. I have to call you bogusbob because we have another Ken here. Imagine the problem with Daves!

    Paul: I know routing the fogs seperately is possible, 'cause I've seen one working. BugBomg did his RS that way, presumably with instructions found on iClub. He drives hard on the gravel roads in his area, so he wanted to have brights and fogs on simlutaneously. You should see his mud guards!

    Drew: that snow flake logo is a good idea, don't you think? They give the M+S rating to some tires that are pretty miserable in the snow. I doubt my NT460s will do well, but we'll see.

    -juice
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Dale: one more thought. In another topic, someone said the hitch was on back order, so this may be the case for all Soobie hitches.

    If you want, you could ask Darlene if she has them in stock and then install it yourself using my instructions.

    -juice
  • francophilefrancophile Member Posts: 667
    Drew, great links. Thanks! You may have saved me a lot of money; then again, maybe not ;-)

    I was going to buy winter wheels and tires, but after reading the C&D article on the downside of winter tires (squirmy when not on snow, low speed rating), and being honest about the kinds of roads I drive on most of the time during the winter (paved, salted, and filled with people going 75mph), I think maybe I'll wait and see how the car does as-is.

    On the other hand, I could get a set of all-season tires for winter and some really hot plus-one rubber on new alloys for the other 3 seasons. Hmm... more cost, but more fun?!?

    Cheers,
    WDB
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    WDB: I'm actually hoping for less than the stellar grip I had last winter with my new tires. We get little snow, but even the 10-12 inch storm last year was barely a challenge, and therefore not much fun.

    I hope the Nittos let me control the rear end with the throttle. Maybe in combination with the 18mm rear sway bar I have on order...

    :)

    -juice
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    the downside of winter tires (squirmy when not on snow, low speedrating)

    That is exactly why a set of Blizzaks will not grace my vehicles while I live in Kansas. We don't get frequent or heavy enough snow/ice to justify squirmy, fast-wearing Blizzaks. (and some other brands too.)

    Instead I'm going with a performance winter tire-- way more grip than an all-season, but not as "foamy" as a Blizzak. I've heard great things about the Pirelli Winter Ice and the Michelin Artic Alpin. (the Pilot Alpin too but it's too expensive.)

    -Colin
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I saw a set of those Pirellis on an Integra, and they certainly looked sporty. Ought to be a good compromise if you still want to drive hard in the winter.

    -juice
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    Most winter tires are Q speed rated. This means that they're good to 99 mph; a speed that I doubt most of us will drive in the winter.

    There are two different models of Blizzaks (I think there may be a couple more for this winter), the WS-15 and the MZ-02. The WS-15s were the original, and while they are excellent in the snow, the drawback is not so good dry road performance. The MZ-02 (which I had for my E320 4-matic) was much better on dry/wet roads since it was designed for those surfaces in mind. The drawback is slightly reduced performance in the snow.

    I bought the Michelin Arctic Alpins at the tailend of the last winter seasons (they were on offer), and I used them only a few times. From what I could tell though, they felt better on dry/wet roads and seemed to be just as good on snow/ice. The Automobile Protection Agency in Canada actually recommends against the Blizzaks because they wear out a lot faster than the Michelins if driven on a lot of dry roads; they recommend the Arctic Alpins instead.

    Drew/aling
    Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
  • fandcfandc Member Posts: 51
    If you are going for winter tires, put real ones on. Nokian Hakkepellita. Even on FWD, these will take you anywhere in just about any conditions. As in Minnesota winters (which we haven't had for a while, we sent them to Boston).

    http://www.nokiantyres.com/indexen.html
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Don't the Blizzaks wear down quickly at the beginning of the tread, then become all-season tires later? I mean, doesn't the tread differ on the outermost portion vs. when it's more worn?

    I thought I read that in an article.

    That would be good if you planned on buying one set of tires per year, at the beginning of the winter season. It sounds expensive, but it may be cheaper than owning two sets of rims.

    -juice
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    Problem with the Nokians are that other than the owners' experiences, there are no objective tests (that I know of anyway) that compare the tires to the top-rated ones on the market such as the Blizzaks or Arctic Alpins.

    Because of this, I'd stick with the aforementioned two winter tires.

    Drew/aling
    Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    How abut sipping your current OEM all seasons? I am thinking of it as I plan to buy a set of summer tires anyways. How would that compare to a winter tire?
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    I read that sipping doesn't do much good at all. It gives you some additional traction, but not a drastic amount; WRC rally car teams do this to their studded winter tires though. I don't think it's cheap either. Part of the problem is that the tire compound of the all-seasons doesn't change.
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    Check this out guys:
    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/icebox99_rd.htm

    Bridgestone MZ-02:
    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bs_blizz_mz01.jsp

    Bridgestones:
    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bridston.htm

    Drew/aling
    Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Looks like the tirerack's testing actually indicates the Winter Ice Assymetrico is superior to the Pilot Alpin in nearly every way. It's cheaper too.

    By the way, that was last year's test and Pirelli has several new performance winter tires.

    -Colin
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    In the first report, the Pirellis beat the Michelins in every category. The Blizzak does well in extreme conditions, but trades off performance.

    This is what I was talking about: "The first 55% of the Blizzak MZ-01 tread depth features the Link Multicell Compound while the remaining 45% features a standard winter tire compound".

    Looks like a microscopic sponge. I've seen some manufacturers add tiny strands of fiber that act like mini-studs, but I imagine there are plenty of trade-offs there, too.

    -juice
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    Some of the Yokohama Guardex winter tires (they have like 3-4 models) have plastic studs embedded in the tread.

    -Colin
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Hey how about them Hakkas?
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    FYI not sure if you guys missed a WRX thread. But there's one on the Sports car section where it is compared to the future Focus R, Civic R and Type R. hehehe.... FYI
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    I saw it when it was new, read the first 10 or so posts, and decided it wasn't worth my time. :-D

    -Colin
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    So what kind of Superwhite replacement bulbs go with winter tires?
  • wildrexwildrex Member Posts: 1
    Intro and reply from the other forum for those interested~!..

    My name is Tony Anastasi, I live in Melb Australia, and own a WRX my99 hatch.

    Nice to meet everyone, and yeah, go place a order for the New-Age REX, ok the head lights will take a bit of getting used to, but we never brought the old model for looks, did we?..

    later WildRex.

    --
    Geez, I hope you Americans get the REX~!..

    I'm a Aussie, and the turboed WRX is THE most
    popular car in Australia for mod'ing off their
    nuts.. [=-)

    After having a ride in a mates REX on the track,
    the vey next week I traded in my '97 911 and got
    the Subaru WRX, a bright red hatch for me ( im 29
    and love outdoors, snow, surfing etc so the hatch
    has room for all the gear and heaps of ice in teh
    rear ), and I LOVE IT.

    It hammers harder then the 911 ever did, if fact I
    drag them off the line all the time on the way to
    work now.. hehe.. i can take corners like a mad man
    and still keep the rear end swinging out, tires
    smokin, but i have full control.. whereas the 911,
    if i hit the corner to fast the bloody rear end
    likes to flick out and turn the car around.. not
    nice at all..

    The WRX makes bad drivers into rally drivers
    overnight~!.. anyhow.. enough bragging.. heres my
    mods..

    BPM twin dump, 3" high flow cat, and straight
    through muffler.. ( and bloody loud~! ).. larger
    BPM top mounted intercooler.. lowered 2" ( looks
    mad, and allows me to take the corners at a much
    higher speed ) and some work to the fuel system..
    DMA's cold air duct and flat panel K&N. special
    oils in the drive train, ( reduced the losses to
    5.54 kw's, normal rex's can loose upto 10-15kw's,
    so use the most expensive oils you can get hold of,
    they work, i have dyno charts! )..

    quarter mile in under 13seconds without trying
    hard.. next comes the fun bits, bigger turbo,
    possumlink ECU, bigger injectors and custom fuel
    rail... i want low 12's and then i'll be quite
    happy with that, but as it is, i can smoke'm up in
    first and second gear.. so just a little more power
    and .. yeah baby, party time!

    upgraded mags, ice and body kit to boot, all
    costing much less then quarter the 911 and heaps
    more fun to drive, ie: your not scared to wipe it
    out, and you DO drive it like you stole it. and
    track days are unreal fun... even with the mods i
    have, i overtake STi's.. can't wait till the next
    round of mods, hehe..

    check out
    http://bpmsports.com ( my tuner )
    http://dmamotorsport.com.au ( my other tuner )
    http://wrx.com.au ( my local REX club ! )

    cheers dudes, and GO BUY A REX TODAY!!.. [=-)



    #131 of 134: (ateixeira) Mon 02 Oct '00 (07:18 AM)

    Rex - that's SWEET! I'm so jealous! Oh, man,
    it's a wagon, too, you're killing me!

    So, you upgraded from a 911, eh? ;)

    Here in the US we're praying for the turbos, and
    next year it looks like we'll finally get it.

    Please, please join us in the Subaru Crew -
    Modifications topic under Owners Clubs. This topic
    is quiet, but that one has heavy activity. Trust
    me!

    Hey - got any photos? Please share!

    -juice



    #132 of 134: (ramon) Mon 02 Oct '00 (08:42 AM)

    You traded in your 911 for a wagon?! wow.... it
    mus've been REALLY good!
    I am thinking of getting the new WRX eventhough
    the funny headlights gets to me. But the reviews
    said that it is in everyway better than the
    previous gen WRX. Anyhow i just want to know with
    your amount of mods and your driving style, how
    reliable is your Scooby?



    #134 of 134: WILDREX here again (wildrex) Mon 02 Oct '00 (10:45 PM)

    re: Please, please join us in the Subaru Crew -
    Modifications topic under Owners Clubs. This
    topic
    is quiet, but that one has heavy activity. Trust
    me!

    WILDREX > sure thing, whats the address/url
    please?

    >Hey - got any photos? Please share!

    WILDREX> yup, making a new website right now, with
    a huge BBS style board on it, the
    egroups.com/groups/wrx has about 700 mad rex lovers
    on it from around the world, and all trying to out
    mod each other, which makes for very interesting
    club days.. you get like 60-70 cars show up, and
    about 5-6 stock ones.. ( and they dont stay stock
    for long, everyone gets the mod bug within days of
    riding in a fully worked monster! ) , but we have
    hit the limits on that bbs, so i'm making a new one
    for everyone to enjoy. ( i run a webhosting
    business, so yeah why not uh? )


    Ramon>>Anyhow i just want to know with
    your amount of mods and your driving style, how
    reliable is your Scooby?

    haven't had any problems yet ( 30,000k's ), but
    the poor old clutch is just about to go bye-byes..
    the WRX has a history of pissweak clutches, and as
    soon as you start mod'ing the beggers, the clutch
    is pretty much on the upgrade list a few months
    later.. not a problem. next one i have in mind is a
    street/semi-race-spec clutch, that'll do the job
    nicely.. next to go bang is the gear box.. heaps of
    my mates have done theirs in and are now using
    semi-race box's with dogs in them.. makes parking
    lots of fun to watch, as theirs no clutch action..
    just slip it in and thats it, no slipping.. first
    and second gears mostly are done that way.. loads
    of bullet-proof fun.. sams box's are said to be
    unbreakable, but i know a few blokes who have, so
    you can imagine the punshment they must be giving
    it.!!!..

    also the brakes are normally upgraded to my99/sti
    spec ( four pots ) with upgraded spec pads.. I'm
    using kevlar rally spec pads, and they are
    BALL-TEARERS! ).. ie: stop like a brick wall.. not
    as good as the 911's mind you, but the new 911's
    complete brake set costs like $30,000 in
    Australia.. thats about the same price as a year
    old rex!.. so there you go.. ( some mad bastards
    have upgraded to 911 brakes, never been in one yet
    though, so i cannot comment on the mod yet,but from
    what they say, yeah.. good stopping stuff )

    cheers
    WildRex.
  • alingaling Member Posts: 598
    Wow, that was a long post (not that I'm complaining). I especially enjoyed the colourful terms (ex. blokes ). Haven't heard many of them in a while :-)

    Enjoy the ride, mate!
    Drew/aling
    Townhall Community Leader/Vans Conference
  • dzartmandzartman Member Posts: 112
    Rex, nice ride. Rip it up out there! Wish i was there!

    BogusBob, when i was in 7th grade I was part of a group that rode our bicycles on a tour of that part of Washington. Up over Sherman Pass and such. We had a saying:

    We have met the enemy, and it is Usk.

    --dave Z
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    we're all green with envy!
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Loosh: try the Hellas Ken and I have. It's so cheap you can't go wrong ($27 a pair). Unless you can afford to dump $60 per bulb, that is.

    Rex: welcome home, buddy. This is the place! :)

    Can you elaborate on the oils you referred to? You mean in the engine, gearbox, or all of the above?

    Out of curiosity, how is the intake routed? Do you have photos of the engine bay (get that first)?

    Smoking tires in 2nd gear and still looking for more power, eh? You're home, indeed.

    -juice
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    That was more a, uh, commentary on the direction the winter tire discussion was taking....
  • miksmimiksmi Member Posts: 1,246
    Greetings Tony! You are fortunate to have access to real automobiles. A moment of silence for us unfortunate Yanks and Canucks. Please come back frequently and taunt us. We love to live vicariously.

    ..Mike

    ..Mike

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Loosh: what do I know? We drink Sutter Home!

    Mike: not so loud, Sandy may be offended! ;)

    -juice
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    I will drive my wimpy Impreza hatch to work. I can't imagine that you would trade in your 911 for a Subaru. I guess it is that good eh?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Upgrade from a Porsche to a Subaru, why not? ;)

    Guess the Rex is has livable space and the AWD let you explore the limits more safely.

    -juice
  • amishraamishra Member Posts: 367
    So I sat here looking at my 2000 OB outside thinking, boy I dislike my dealer. (See previous messages - re: 2 failed fuel injectors)

    And both the rear and front liscence plates have their name on them. Nothing like free advertising. I'd remove them, but then the plates could scratch the paint. Then I thought, hey why don't I reverse the plate holders. So that's my mod :)

    I reversed the plastic plate holders, so now I still get protection without advertising for anyone. My OB feels better already :)

    ash
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Boy, you hit one of my hot buttons with this topic!

    Most car dealers try to put a dealer decals and/or badges on the rear on the rear of the car, as well as a license plate frame - with their name on it. This is nothing but FREE advertising for the car dealers. What... do they think we're rolling billboards for these folks?

    I have requested (demanded!) on several occasions that they remove these free ads, or I will buy my vehicle elsewhere.

    Besides being free advertising/graffiti -- they look ugly!

    Bob
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    yup. nothing a little boiling water and a plastic spatula can't remedy.
  • dzartmandzartman Member Posts: 112
    Attention all Southern California Subaru drivers. Anyone want to run a "mini-rally" in the hills north of LA? I know some great ridgeline roads with sweet up and downhills, plus nice corners as well which I've run in my Outback. There's a great place to park and chat while Soobies run the "course." yes, this is strictly for fun, non-sanctioned, etc etc. I'm bored with running my Soob through the hills solo and figured it would be fun to meet up with some folks and run our vehicles as they were designed for. Just an idea, but it'd be a hoot. Anyone interested drop me a line at dzman7@aol.com. Comments welcome.

    dave z


    http://www.wave.net/diveguy/Dave
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