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I emailed Ken Beard of Susquehanna Motorsports, telling him what happened and asking for ideas. He's sending me two 55W replacement bulbs! I specifically told him that I was not asking for a refund, and he did that anyway. That's what I call an excellent customer retention program ;-)
I described in detail where the bulbs failed; near the base of the glass portion. I'm waiting to hear back from him on comments he may have; in the meantime I'm searching for a manufacturer of H3 bulbs other than Hella (or PIAA, who IMO want an obscene amount of money for what amount to tinted bulbs).
Any and all ideas, etcetera, cheerfully accepted :-)
Best,
-wdb
Though mine were in for almost a year. I guess that's not so bad for Hellas.
-juice
I didn't have mine in long enough to test their longevity. I'll let you know how the Philips fare.
Ken
-mike
What do you think of the BF Goodrich G-Force T/A R1 tires? Have you heard good or bad things about them? I have to get some this week, and tire rack has these in stock for $95. Anyone else who knows about em let me know too. TIA.
-mike
I have a set of unused older Comp TA R1s, rain compound, in my garage right now. I will probably sell them but the older Comp TA (even longer discontinued) is a much better tire than the gForce-- easier to drive to its limits, and it has an assymmetrical sidewall construction that gives you a degree of negative camber or more. (the inside sidewall is shorter / less stiff than the outside.)
Anyway at $95 each the gForce R1 is certainly a better buy than its previous full retail price... but I don't know if it's a good enough discount to suggest them. How much are Kumhos in your size?
-Colin
Hmm now the Kuhmos are $105, that's what I'm gonna go with...
-mike
-Colin
mike
TIA
Mike
to be safe though, you should get the differential, axles and CV joints. (subaru calls 'em something else, but they are CV joints to me.)
better do your research on axle ratios too-- you'll blow the center diff (or multiplate clutch pack if you have an auto) in no time if your front & rear differentials don't have the same ratios.
have fun.
-Colin
-mike
Thanks for the advise on the ratio issue. hmmm...I'll have to look into that. Yeah I got an auto on my Forester. hmm...seems the clutch will need to be relaced as well then...interesting... well, I called up several "junk" yards in my area and none of them have ANY (!!!) subes. I am not sure whether to be happy or disappointed at this news (??) Anyways, my brother, who is an mechanic, and I, who is somewhat mechanically inclined, will be doing the install.
On a totally different topic, anyone know whether any part of the catback system will need to be soldered together when changing the system. Also is a new direct flow cat converter advisable for a new system? This just poped into my head...would the stock converter take a new 2.25 - 2.5 inch exhaust pipe?
I know this is a lot of questions but summer is comming to a close and I really need to spend the mod money that my parents gave me...or there wouldn't be as much next year....
TIA to all!!
Mike
the other Mike (paisan), you shouldn't need 44psi or anywhere near it. look at the wear along the outer shoulder, and it shouldn't be horribly bad at 32psi. I run 30-34psi in mine... 44 would be way more than enough. They have very firm sidewalls.
-Colin
Here is another question. They sent me 4 of the same tire. My tire place mounted them with the proper side facing out, but my 2 left tires have the rotational arrows going the wrong way. Is this an issue?
-mike
-Colin
-mike
Bummer - now my other Hella H4+30 burned out. Less than one year for both to bite the dust. I hereby rescind my recommendation. $28 for 30% more lighting for 10 months? Forget it.
Worse still, the bulb blew when I was about 4 hours away from home. At least carry spare bulbs with you if you're running hotter than stock.
Mike: I've seen an aftermarket auto shift lever on a Legacy at a local i Club event. I don't remember the guy's name, but I know they do exist. He also had HIDs, and I have a photos of those here.
AFAIK, most cat-backs should bolt-on if they are custom made for you car.
-juice
-mike
Then again, they said 225/60s would not fit a Forester, too...
-juice
-mike
my car has officially be severely de-modified. i started anew job at a country club and it's in a gated neighborhood. there are monstorous speed bumps on every road and i couldn't find a way around them. so i had to swap out my H&R's for my stock springs. then my intake was causing my MAF(?) sensor to fail so my car would only start %75 of the time. so i chucked that thing. a friend borrowed my car and someone, somehow broke my sub, put a hole the size of a fist in it. then one of his friends played with my amp so it's all messed up. my car is a wreck. to top it all off i was parked in a parking garage in downtown seattle and someone stole my front sooby emblem. now that i don't understand! it has been long two months. summer school is over and now i can go out and play.
-juice
Complete baloney. They want those mod dollars to themselves.
-juice
-mike
-Colin
I had a pair of Hella super white type lights that I bought before they were officially available in North America. One lasted 3 months, one lasted 6. There was a claim by the dealer that sold them that they actually lasted LONGER. But, I had E-mail correspondence with one of their engineers in Germany who told me that short life was expected because of the high performance. I found them to be whiter and somewhat brighter, but subjectively, not 30 percent.
I am now using some super white bulbs supplied in the US under the NAPA brand. NAPA is a large parts distribution company. These are as white and somewhat brighter than the Hellas (again subjectively) and so far, have lasted over a year. I am told that they are actually made by Wagner and sold under that brand also. HOWEVER, when I sent someone else to a NAPA store, they were sold some other brand that was absolute trash with less light output and poor beam aiming. So, if you want to try them, be sure the box says NAPA or WAGNER. These were H4s for a '98 Forester. They were $10 each, U.S.
Tires
I recently went into a local tire department where I saw a sign saying essentially the following:
Warning. Tread life warranties will NOT be honored if tires are fitted to the vehicle in a size not listed by the manufacturer in its owner's manual.
So, if you are going oversize, be careful and consider the consequences. Of course, most ultra high performance tires do not have tread life warranties, but for other types, the wrong size could be an added excuse not to honor a warranty that is always a pain to get honored anyway.
On the flip side you have vehicle manufacturers making great efforts to avoid liability when owners use aftermarket parts (and yes, I know the whole spiel about "the manufacturer has to prove that the aftermarket part caused the problem in order to void the warranty"). The Aussie piece would, to juice's point, lead me to believe that Subaru wants people to buy their "aftermarket" parts and yet Subaru will not stand behind them.
Makes you wonder if replacing anything on your vehicle, including tires, with anything other than what was on the vehicle when it was new is worth the effort. I'd be willing to bet that many Ford Explorer owners believe that it is.
Sorry for not being more articulate - I don't usually have that problem.
Ed
The strut brace also affect the steering and the handling, though to a lesser extent.
I think the whole disclaimer thing is cowardly. It should be obvious that if an owner runs 18psi and blows a piston that the warranty will not cover it. They don't need to go out of their way to state the obvious.
-juice
Wow, sorry to hear about the string of bad luck. When it rains, it pours, right? I'm sure better fortunes are on their way. I don't get that whole thing about the Subaru emblem either -- I can't picture someone wearing it on a big gold chain.
Ken
-juice
Ken
I haven't done it yet, though. Maybe I should - my mileage has been below average lately.
What plugs? Are they the same for the Phase I & II?
-juice
they are easy to replace. remove the intake plumbing at the flex joint a little ways upstream of the black box on top of the throttle body. remove the washer reservoir.
now you've got unfettered access to the plug boots. pull hard on the ears of the boot-- not the wire!-- and they will pop off. use a ratchet with a 8" extension and a sparkplug socket and things are very easy. check the gap on the new plugs. hmm... ok, I'm a bit embarrassed. I can't remember the plug gap. :-D it's in the manual.
reinstall in reverse, and make sure the plug boots are on all the way. tug lightly on the ears to make sure they are secure.
-Colin
bit - 2001 GT Wagon
-juice
I'd suspect oxygenated fuel first (summer blend, winter blend-- when do we get the good stuff?) but if you're sure the MPG didn't sag at a similar time last year you could be on to something.
Then again you could be running the AC harder or driving more aggressively too. ;-)
-Colin
But I've been consistently below average lately. Mind you, I mean 23-24mpg, nothing that bad.
But last summer I was getting 27mpg consistently.
-juice
bit
i am considering coil overs. are they height adjustable? i don't really know much about them i just thought of it today. i do know that they are pretty expensive.
i did make my friend buy me a new sub, i actually made him buy me an upgrade (MTX to rockford fosgate) because he did screw up. i had the guy at the local place where i bought my stereo stuff adjust my amp back to where it was supposed to be, luckily he felt bad for me so he did it for free.
i am pretty disappointed in the handling of my car now. there isn't a drastic difference but i can tell. plus my car doesn't look as cool as it did before.
-mike
I had posted previously on this board about any suggestions in removing the plug boots from my 99 Forester. I had tried everything possible to do so. Even with all the suggestions from you good people as well. I tried removing them with tools while the engine was hot, warm and cold. But nothing. So while the Forester was in for a brake check up I had the service tech try to remove them. Picking up the Forester later in the day they told me that they had a hell of a time removing them as well took them over 40 mins to remove one after figuring out the best way the others came out easier. They weren't burnt or baked on just frozen on to the plug. Now with a coating of di-electric grease they were easy to remove. I have been working on cars for many years and I never had this problem, at least now I know I wasn't going mad about this.
bit - 2001 GT Wagon
-juice
Stephen
-juice