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Comments
Not often that that happens in the real world.
However for the average car that an average person can buy, the manumatics offered are inferior as they are slow to engage. Nothing more than just shifting your automatics manually.
If it's that slow, why bother? I usually tapped it so late that it shifted on its own anyway. Even if it doesn't shift you'll lose speed if it's bouncing off the rev limiter.
VW's is also slow. Execution would have to be far better than VW's and Volvo's.
Hutch and I drove rather aggressively at Edmunds Live (my wet shorts proved that), and we both agreed that the buttons on the steering wheels worked better than on the shifter, because you didn't have to take your hands off the wheel.
So, give us a near-immediate shifting FIVE speed manumatic with buttons on the wheel for the same price as a manual that is as quick and as fuel efficient. Then I'll consider it.
-juice
-mike
My initial thought was that it was an idiot proof design for someone who might try a 5->1 shift, but don't most manumatics have built in ECU control so that it can handle big downshifts anyway?
Ken
Drew
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Interesting. I think I've heard about that Saab tranny too, now that you mention it. Any idea which models will get the MB Sequentronic (what a tounge twister!).
Ken
http://www.ozwheels.com/r28.html
The "OZ Prodrive 17x7" has a 53mm offset
http://www.ozwheels.com/r26.html
The "OZ Superleggera 17x7" has a 48mm offset
http://www.rimstock.com/wheels/wheels/wheels.htm
The "Team Dynamics Motorsport 16x7", 17x7" & 18x7" all have a 50mm offset
These wheels are definately on the expensive side but they do offer the proper fit for the factory imprezza 2.5RS (5x100 @ 53mm)
The auto Soobs do well because of the 90/10 power split, vs. 50/50. Still, though, in practice the 5 speeds do about 2mpg better.
I think they make more of a difference with small displacement engines. In those you really need the manual to wring the power out.
In big engine it matters less. You've got enough torque in the Trooper that it basically won't matter.
-juice
Pros and cons of manuals v. manumatics v. full automatics aside, think of how far automatic technology has come. I've driven Buick Dynaflows(known as "Dynaslush" in the day), Packard Ultramatics and a bunch of early US 2-speeds. My '79 Accord had a manually shifted 2-speed Hondamatic that was just worthless. Now we're arguing that passenger car manumatics aren't close enough to F1 and WRC transmissions for our liking. Granted it's taken 50 years to get here, but I'd like to believe the days where we can blip up and down the gearbox in affordable everyday passenger vehicles with buttons, paddles or shifters and without a clutch pedal are not far away. My bad knees and I are looking forward to it.
I know exactly where to find wheels made for Subarus.
-Colin
-Colin
Auto mode is to the left, and neutral to the right. Reverse is a pull down from the neutral position
Drew
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Bob
Drew
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.
I am definitely going for new rims though. can I get them from the dealer? at about what cost? or should i go through that darlene lady you all talk about?
- hutch
I purchased my Vision Plus blubs at:
http://www.autolamps-online.com/
I believe a pair of H4s go for about $28.
I've found that the Vision Plus bulbs are the brightest stock wattage halogen bulbs available. Click here for a comparison photo I took between standard H4s and the VPs.
Ken
-mike
Sure you can -- as long as the design allows for more efficient transfer of electricity into light. That's exactly what some of these "premium" blubs do. They simply contain a mixture of certain halogen gases (xenon, for example) at a higher pressure that allows the filament to burn brighter.
Ken
Thanks for the URL .. I'll order them today. I trust you're happy with the results.
- Hutch
Just got off the website. They don't show a conversion for the Forester (that is what you have isn't it). Do you know what the proper bulb is? I'd hate to buy the wrong item.
Thanks for the help.
- hutch
;-)
-Colin
-mike
Colin -- Got me!
Mike -- Yes, I've read that some bulbs (like PIAAs) use a thicker filament that's wound tighter so you get a brighter but narrower beam. I'm not sure if this applies to Hellas or Philips products. In any event, I've been extremely pleased with my Vision Pluses.
Ken
Thanks for the info. I ordered the H-4's today. When I get them installed, I'll post my impressions.
- hutch
-mike
Thanks
Yes it does make a difference. Quite a bit. It reduces body roll in corners, but mostly in the rear, obviously. While turn-in is improved, and the car feels firmer, be aware that your rear end is now cornering better than your front end, and may try to get ahead of you. That is to say, it will reduce the inherent understeer currently engineered into the car, and you will actually be able to easily induce oversteer. Sudden lift off of the throttle through a turn, or braking, will probably induce oversteer. I recommend the mod, but only if the driver is aware enough to adapt to the changes in handling.
I have one on my Outback set to 20mm. I'll be ordering one for the front as soon as I have the cash.
A front strut tower bar may also be a good addition to your vehicle. Juice is quite happy with his. Improve handling, improve braking, then worry about power.
Which reminds me, those Powerstop pads I ordered ought to be here any day!
Check out rice at www.beaterz.com. My favorite are the non-Type R cars with Type R stickers. Remember, stickers=fast, yellow=fast, yellow stickers=very fast! ;-)
Drew: Mercedes MUST change that font. Once again, I thought the "A" was actually an "R". And I had seen it before, too!
seamus: for the new rims, try these:
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/
http://www.tirerack.com/index.jsp
Tire Rack has more selection and expertise, but DTD has better prices and the specials are unbeatable. Check out the specials and e-mail or call to see which might fit your vehicle.
Remember - you can get lighter, wider rims with the same diameter and still improve performance.
On higher wattage bulbs, beware. Some people have no problems, others have melted their wiring harnesses.
The Hella H4+30s I have are actually not wound tighter. In fact, looking at the bulbs they look absolutely identical. The light is visibly brighter, though.
Still, the E-codes make even more of a difference.
-juice
I swapped in the 18mm rear bar a few months ago and found that the handling has about evened out front to rear (subjective, seat of the pants feeling). Is there a front bar replacement for the Forester that you're aware of that would balance things out? I know Forester and Impreza rear bars are a diect swap, I don't know that for sure for the fronts.
Thanks,
Ed
PS: I don't think those 2 mods are enough to warrant my swapping the black Subaru badge for a pink one.
You could stiffen up the front with a shock tower brace, but some say it isn't necessary.
I may paint my badge green with touch-up paint (after sanding the black paint off). Anyone think it'll work?
-juice
bob@whiteline.com.au
Juice is right, it will dial some understeer back in. But 13mm to 18mm is a hefty jump for an otherwise stock set-up (Juicy has more rubber than you do), so it might not be a bad thing. Would Colin care to weigh in on the physics/real world driving aspect?
C'mon, snow!
-juice
Go out to the i-club page - there's instructions there for repainting your badges. If I get a few free minutes I'll cut/paste those instructions here. I assume you're going for the green to match your Forester? Using that logic, I should leave mine as is .
An Amsoil filter and performance exhaust might be the extent of my mods. Thought Stromung but have read negative comments on their durability - low-grade steel rusting prematurely. I understand STi has exhausts for the Impreza that give higher performance than the "performance exhaust" sold by SPT through dealers, but these might be Impreza-only items. I'd like to pick up 5-8 hp and get a nicer note - taking advantage of the H4 growl but not backfiring and burbling when I lay off the throttle (don't wanna be no ricer). I'd also like somthing no greater than 3" in diameter (see ricer comments again). I'd like I'd be interested to hear what other Forester owners have done.
Ed
3" for the exhaust is too much. You need back pressure or you'll actually lose torque at low revs.
I think the consensus is for 2.25" pipes. 2.5" only if you use forced induction.
Forester owners do very little. Ken and I are pretty much the exception that prove the rule, and even ours are pretty tame.
-juice
Tame is okay. I don't think Foresters get used the way Imprezas do - most of them anyway. When I was in the UK last fall I picked up a marketing blurb at Ace Kensington that was co-written by Car magazine and Subaru UK. It mentioned that someone has actually used a Forester in competitive rallying. Does anyone know who did this and where, and if there are any pix floating around the web? Just curious.
Ed
Check by topic, search for "Forester".
-juice
I think the Forester could be made Dakar-ready or Baja-ready, by just adding some of the goodies from their Rally-ready racing Imprezas.
I was just watching the Paris-to-Dakar Rally on Speedvision the other day. Didn't see any Subes, which is a shame. I think they would do well there.
Bob
-mike
An 18mm rear sway bar is a simple and cost-effective modification for your Forester. The Forester uses the same bar as the Impreza and installation simple -- especially with the added ground clearance.
I've found the 18mm rear sway bar does make my Forester feel more solid through turns. This past weekend, I had the chance to drive in the snow and yes, the rear end does come around quite a bit quicker than before. I'd turn in, let off the gas, let the tail ride out a little, get back on the gas and drift right back into line -- sweet!
I've found the Amsoil filter doesn't do much for gas milage. Think of it as an earth friendly alternative to paper filters.
One other mod I've done that's quite popular is removing the intake silencer before the airbox. The instructions are well documented on juice's webapge. This mod not only adds a nice growl to your H4 at WOT, but it also seems to allow the engine to rev more freely and pull harder at high RPMs without low-end loss.
You can find some of the mods listed here at a webpage I set up for my Forester.
Ken
Paul Eklund was part of a team that won first overall in a 1998 Impreza 2.5RS. (read about it here) Subaru of America brought two then-new 2000 Legacys. Isuzu had a factory team too, but both lost to the independents in the very lightly modified 2.5RS. ;-)
Strange thing is that Subaru never used this impressive achievement for marketing purposes. Perhaps at that point they didn't care to spend the money for an Impreza that would soon be old news, and would have rather had their Legacys on the headlines. (They did get 3rd & 4th.)
-Colin
Bob
paisan: I don't know if Foresters were used to recce the Paris-Dakar, but they WERE used to recce the 2000 Safari Rally. That was part of the Car blurb and Subaru UK has gotten advertising mileage out of it. I downloaded a pic of that and if I can figure out how to post it here, I will if that's okay w/the moderators.
Ken: Your description of Forester handling w/18mm rear bar is just as I interpret it. Squirt on the gas, lift, rear comes around, squirt again and off you go. Reminds me a lot of making turns in my kayak. There's an alternate route home from work that has a 90-degree right hander, go 50 feet, 90-degree left. Sometimes I go out of my way to take that route.
I'd have to go look in the archive but I'm pretty sure that one of my earlier posts here (maybe in "Future Models") was to the effect that SoA wasn't taking advantage of its rallying heritage in marketing to the US. Looks like that's finally changing. Way to go, SoA!
Ed
http://www.subaru.co.nz/rally_content.html
And here's something about a Forester setting a 24 hour speed record at Indy.
http://www.fhi.co.jp/subaru/bode27.htm
Dennis
It seems pretty obvious to me that Subaru's factory interest in the event was promoting the new 2000 Legacy. Otherwise it shouldn't have taken a genious to realize that the nearly 500lb lighter Impreza 2.5RS with the same powertrain would make a much better racer. ;-)
Don't see how the Forester would enter into the equation, personally. One car is the best for the task at hand, the other is (was) spanking-new and ripe for positive press.
-Colin
juice, I think the shifter in the picture was a prototype, so hopefully it will look better in person or the font will be altered. There will, of course, will be an in-dash gear position indicator. I've also heard that there will probably be steering mounted shift buttons.
Drew
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