Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

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Comments

  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    hey Pat, if those headgaskets ever go I promise you I'll take that eastern Canada vacation I'd always planned on and help you change 'em. And by helping, I mean it's fine if I do it and you supply tools and beer. ;)

    ~Colin
    has been to Vancouver and Calgary, but never Ottawa
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,399
    (chanting) 21 CFR 11, 21 CFR 11...

    Please stop. You're making my head hurt!!!

    Jim
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    I'll be frank: I think the whole issue of 21 CFR 11 is making mountains out of molehills. It's in an organization's best interest to protect and maintain traceability of electronic records, regardless of whether or not there's a regulation addressing it. The agency was overzealous in interpretation and enforcement of that regulation, and industry (lobbyists?) slapped their hands so now the pendulum swings way far in the other direction.

    Now if you'll excuse me, it's Saturday morning and I have other things to think about besides work. ;-)

    Ed
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    Colin, I will make a note of that, but I gotta tell you that in Canada, Subaru does not seem to be concerned about customer loyalty.

     To tell you the truth if there is no warranty extension I don't even see the point of adding anything to the cooling system, if the headgaskets go now they should be covered under the existing warranty.

      Cheers Pat.
  • volkovvolkov Member Posts: 1,306
    We are constantly getting ignored up here, not just Subaru. There was an extended warranty coverage for Civic head gaskets in the early nineties in the US. Not so for Canada - I had to pay to get mine done when the car was 7 years old. There have been US recalls and bulletins that the dealers have completely denied when I asked about the same models which we owned in Canada. In one case, we got a recall notice a year later. That's GM and VW I'm referring to there.

    Nicholas
  • kate5000kate5000 Member Posts: 1,271
    Ken,
    You got WHAT?! _ABOVE_ kbb value?!! WOW!!! was it above trade-in or (gasp) above private party sale?
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Well, I've put 500 miles on my car, so I figured it was broken in enough to start to teach my wife now. She does great on a street in my neighborhood with a very gently downhill slope (thanks for the advice all!). The problem is eventually she needs to drive back up the street, and going uphill is a real battle. She gets nervous and keeps stalling the car. Oh well, Rome wasn't built overnight ;-). But she is getting there, just needs more practice. Do you think stalling the car "hard" will damage the engine? That was my one main concern. I'd hate to damage the valves!

    We'll see how long my patience holds up!

    Also, does anyone have any quick thoughts about using synthetic oil for turbos? Would you wait until after the engine is broken in?

    thanks

    tom

    PS. Maybe it's because there are less lawyers in Canada that car companies don't worry as much. ;-). I can't believe I'm saying this. . . It sounds like having a lot of lawyers is a good thing.
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    I tried to teach my wife to drive stick on my Prelude. It made horrific mechanical noises that I have never heard from a car. My nerves were shot but the car was fine, and my wife still drives auto only.

    Craig
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    It sounds like having a lot of lawyers is a good thing.

    You're joking right? ;-)

    -Frank
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    You guys married the wrong women. :)

    My ex-wife can drive a manual transmission with more coordination and smoothness than most men I know... Oh yeah. Well, she is my ex. Maybe I picked wrong. ;)

    The point is tsy, I think your wife will be just fine. And no, she isn't hurting anything by stalling the car a few (dozen) times. Drive her somewhere that doesn't have a hill and practice there, then come back to the hill with more confidence later on!

    ~c
    PS speaking of exes, that reminds me that Hutch dropped in a while back and said "hi" then promptly disappeared again! :(
  • ozman62ozman62 Member Posts: 229
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Kate,

    That would be above trade-in, of course! No way any dealer would ever give you above private party sale unless they were reaming you on the new vehicle mark up.

    Ken
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Frank- Definitely! ;-)!!!!

    (Do any lawyers drive Subies?)

    tom
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    How could they resist a car that starts out with Sue in the name?

    Not to mention the bar in there :-)

    And Subaru Lawyer resolves to "rub rules away," which is what lawyers seem to do.

    Looks like a good fit to me.

    Steve, Host
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    LOL

    that was two truly awful puns in a single post. I know Karen was worried that this place might fall to pieces in her absence, but I doubt she predicted it would go down in quite this way...

    ~Colin
    all in fun of course!
  • jfljfl Member Posts: 1,399
    My wife hates that I do this...but on a hill, I set the hand brake, gently rev up and very slowly release the clutch, when I feel the car pulling forward, I release the hand brake and roll off smoothly.

    To me, it beats reving up hard, releasing and slipping the clutch and driving off to the aroma of burnt clutch...which I find my Subie being more prone to than my other cars.

    Jim
  • subearusubearu Member Posts: 3,613
    Back when I took my dw for her first test drive of the XT (the same day we put the eventually put the order in), she took a turn behind the wheel. The sales guy was quite surprised she could drive an MT. It is a rare talent these days.

    -Brian
  • lark6lark6 Member Posts: 2,565
    (Do any lawyers drive Subies?)

    I know several who do.

    Ed
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    This past Saturday we had a wonderful time at our town's Community Day celebration. Food, waterfront, games, fireworks, etc. Spent much of the day there, but took a short break in the evening to go home, change cloths, and return for fireworks at 9:30pm. That's when the problems began. DW suggested that we use the Subi as a couch for the kids to watch from. As in on the hood and roof.... I nearly cried, and said absolutely not. DW was miffed...

    Is it wrong to put paint (beautiful, shiny, well cared for paint) above family??? Did I mention that I obsess over every scratch???

    Steve
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    Steve,

        Speaking as someone with no kids, no it is not unreasonable to put paint first. You could always say you were protecting the family investment.

    Mark
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    I agree with your wife, it would drive me nuts too! I'd say you're a perfect candidate for Subaru's hill-holder clutch :-) So why do you rev the engine and slip the clutch on hills? I've never found it necessary.

    -Frank
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    My wife knows better than to even suggest such a thing in the first place:-)

      Cheers Pat.
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    My kids and wife are really beating up on both cars - work, soccer, etc. I've pretty much given up thinking it will give me an excuse to buy an 06 GT. :)

    Greg
  • c_hunterc_hunter Member Posts: 4,487
    Some people are hard on cars, such as my wife's entire family (and she inherted their bad habits unfortunately). Without thinking anything of it, her little brother dove onto the hood of my old Outback pretending to be hit by a car, and then jumped on the back bumper and hung onto the spoiler. I was speechless to the point that I could not even freak out. I feel lucky there was no damage to the car -- I've seen much worse happen when people jump/sit on hoods etc... You can get concave and convex dents on hoods (supports or stuff in the engine bay can dent it from the inside). Anyway, we will be driving my wife's car next time we visit or host her family, leaving my Outback safely in the locked garage at home (I will have to lock all doors to the garage from the inside and hide the door opener remotes). Since I can't fight it, I will just hide my car! The old Outback had pretty heavy sheet metal, but the new one, with the aluminum hood, will definitely not stand up to abuse.

    And then of course there are the neighbor's kids who think nothing of hitting baseballs or golfballs out of their front yard into the street and other yards. Thankfully they are moving! It always amazes me that they are thoughful enough to aim away from their own house but don't realize the upshot.

    Anyhow, sometimes I feel like I just can't win with cars, and I must come off as a real jerk for expecting other people to take as good care of my car as I do. Oh well, it's the burden you carry when you like your car! Someday I will build a log cabin car and drive it around like a tank....

    Craig
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    You poor man! You have the sympathies of every member of the OCD Club!

    Someday I will build a log cabin car and drive it around like a tank

    Why not just buy a used tank? :-) Think I'm kidding? I actually saw an old British armored scout car driving down the road not too long ago. Of course the 50 cal. on top would be an added bonus when dealing with cases of road rage ;-)

    -Frank
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Craig, I totally understand. My wife has always had fast cars and never thought much about taking care of them! She would just abuse them and move on to the next one. What's worse is that she would ding both of our cars in the driveway! I have just decided that whatever I buy her will not look very good after 6 months or so. Oh well, no one is perfect. ;-)
    I think people should respect your opinions regarding your own car- let them destroy their own car.
    Instead of a tank, just buy an american car. you won't care what happens to it! ;-)

    I have decided to get rid of the spoiler on my car. The dealer was willing to swap my trunklid out when they get another car in the same color. At least they're not charging me labor to swap it out. It would be nice if they had a more subtle spoiler, a trunk lip spoiler would be nice.

    tom
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    I highly approve of the spoiler-less GT! :)

    ~c
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    I promised her that in a year or two they could have their way, but not yet.

    Steve
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    in that Kirsten learned to drive stick when she was 13. On a 1967 International grain truck. She's never driven an automatic, come to think of it.....

    I've begun shopping for a road bike. I think my MTB days are behind me; right now I have road tires on my Giant Rainier, but it isn't much fun. How many road riders do we have here again?
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    raises hand

    the rear tire is 190mm wide on my road bike. ;)

    ~Colin
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Not iron horses ;-)

    -Frank
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Trek Navigator 200

    Steve
  • nygregnygreg Member Posts: 1,936
    Giant Rincon here. I started thinking about a road bike myself, but will not get one until I can prove I will ride more consistently. Enjoying the Tour though. Lance is yellow again. Basso looks good and can upset things.

    Beating on cars - I was mainly talking about the inside. They both need a good cleaning. Outside too, come to think of it. In any event, I saw a 2005, Red GT sedan yesterday. Very racy looking. I tried to subdue my jealousy.

    greg
  • volkovvolkov Member Posts: 1,306
    OOH! OOH! Avid biker here. Getting back to more road riding because I can squeeze in a good workout in little over an hour, something not really possible with the mountain bikes. Just got a new bike this spring. Devinci Silverstone to replace my 17 year old vitus 979 with full Shimano 600 grouppo - friction down tube levers and all. Loooove the carbon fork and the road STI levers.
    Run a Turner XCE and Trek Fuel for the dirt depending on the ride.

    Nicholas
  • bat1161bat1161 Member Posts: 1,784
    for the streets of NYC:-). Riding my Trek 4300 - try to go 2 or 3 times a week. Great way to relax after work.

    Mark
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    about a Trek 2300. I think I will "grow out" of the 1500 fairly soon, but can't justify the cost of the carbon 5200....

    I just don't have time to gear up, put the MTB on the roof and go to a trail. I want to step out the door and spin.
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    I have a Diamondback Zetec Comp MTB with kevlar slicks and a Rockshox seatpost which is great on the road- not as fast as Roadies but I don't have to worry about pebbles either! It accelerates great- just no top end!

    I have a dual suspension Giant NRS 2 for when the road gets more serious. ;-)

    Nicholas- reading your post almost makes me want a road bike again ;-)!

    Colin- I would say your bike probably wouldn't be allowed on the tour! Thanks for the encouragement about having my spoiler removed- It's no fun to pay for something you don't want!

    By the way, are you using synthetic oil in your Evo?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Don't know where to post this but here goes:

    "Julia Dalesandro was driving home from a trip to Redfish Lake last week when her car was struck by lightning near Malta.

    Cassia County Sheriff's Deputy Larry Thompson says the charge totaled the 1996 Subaru, blowing out all four tires and creating a fireball underneath the vehicle."

    Lightning totals moving car (KTVB)

    Steve, Host
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    By the way, are you using synthetic oil in your Evo?

    Not at the moment. It came with Mobil1 10w30 as the factory fill, but that was promptly drained and refilled with 10w30 Castrol GTX to ensure proper piston ring and cam break-in. Break-in per the manual is only 500 miles, and with nearly 1800 on it already (hehe!) I think pretty soon it'll be time to switch back to Mobil1.

    ~Colin
    ps, it's fast. ;)
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    Furious is up to the driver. ;-)

    Colin -- what break-in procedure did you follow with the EVO, btw?

    Ken
  • locke2clocke2c Member Posts: 5,038
    I attempted to avoid full boost to the best of my ability with no boost gauge, and shifting around 4k rpm. no long duration steady speed on the highway.

    then, around the 500 mile mark, I totally let it rip. I'm now averaging just under 21 mpg combined hwy/city. Under about the same driving habits the M3 returned 22.2 mpg.

    it sure idles rough. inline four big cams designed to rev >7k rpm and no variable valve timing... go figure.

    ~c
  • p0926p0926 Member Posts: 4,423
    Wow talk about coincidences... I also bought a new bike this spring to replace my 19 year old Vitus 979 (with Suntour components). Can’t say I miss those down tube shifters :-)

    -Frank
  • twrxtwrx Member Posts: 647
    Most comfortable road bike I've ever owned. Still own carbon Trek road 2300 and mtn. 8900. Should get rid of them. it's been years since I have used them.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I'm baa-ack. Course we're doing another road trip next week - to CT again. Sandy's really accumulating the miles now.

    Steve: your OCD Club Membership is secure. As is your paint!

    As for bikes, just like the Forester, my preference is a comfort bike that combines the best of mountain and road bikes. It was actually my wife's but she stopped riding, so I use that and took my MB to the beach.

    Between the two, I prefer the comfort/hybrid bike by far. Both have a child seat mounted and the kid *loves* to ride. It's smoother and more secure on pavement, the same way a Forester handles better than, say, a Grand Cherokee.

    The MB has more gears but I rarely use the full range anyway. It also has grip shifters but to be honest I find it awkward to use. I prefer the index shifting, but I really miss the rapid fire shifter on the Mongoose bike I had that was stolen years ago. :-(

    -juice
  • lucien2lucien2 Member Posts: 2,984
    I know me. I'm not going to be happy on a comfort bike after a couple of months.

    Grip shifters? I'm guessing this bike was purchased around 1999?
  • anchoeanchoe Member Posts: 2
    Have you noticed the cheap, ugly, wheels that are on the new outbacks. I wouldn"t be seen with those wheels on a expensive car. I have an 01 Bean and the wheels are beautiful they make the car. What's up with the cheap ugly wheels? It's stopping me from buying a new Bean.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Right around then, Lucien. I find myself shifting unintentionally with the grip shifters.

    What's the latest system?

    New Beans are selling for just over $30 grand. The 04s were selling for about $4 grand less, $5 grand even at the very end of the model year.

    -juice
  • volkovvolkov Member Posts: 1,306
    Shimano triggers are the standard spec. on most bikes.
    SRAM (Grip-shift) twisters are still out there, but uncommon OEM. Back when you bought, there was a flood of Grip shift spec'ed after Shimano lost an anti-trust case which allowed mix and matching of components.
    SRAM just came out with their own trigger system, and the real trick top of the line Shimano fare is a single integrated brake/shift lever like the road bike STI stuff.
    No offence, but I am more likely to go replace my WRX with a Camry than I am to buy a comfort bike.
  • kenskens Member Posts: 5,869
    I personally never liked Grip shifts myself. I found them distracting when I needed to shift while zipping along some challenging single track. I rather click with a pull of a finger while the rest of my hand remains steady on the handlebars.

    Ken
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