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Comments
It is *extremely* light, under 3lb. However, the shell is physically large and it rubs on the edge of the sunroof on the left side. If I had to do it again I'd spend the extra $100 or so for a Bell Mag5, which is noticeably smaller and only ~1.5lb heavier.
I've found helmets to be very non-standard in size, so it's best if you test fit one at a local dealer. You can then decide if they deserve your patronage because it's nearly guaranteed to be cheaper online / mailorder.
Oh, and if you are Asian then you will probably find Asian helmets will fit better because they are more round inside. European / American helmets are more oval-- longer from the forehead to base of skull-- because that's what non-Asian heads are shaped like. Unfortunately I figure this out *after* I spend many years wondering why my Arai motorcycle helmets fit the best. ;-) Buy the one that fits you.
-Colin
Mike, Will keep you in mind. I usually learn of track days on i Club's Mid Atlantic forum (I visit infrequently). And by the way, my comment about "auto-crossing one day" is because I'm sure I'll succumb to peer pressure from you
..Mike
EDIT: Bam! And there's Colin's answer; thanks, man. I emailed myself your post so it doesn't get lost in the quagmire of this search-free forum.
..Mike
-Colin
Colin: get pix of those tires/rims, k?
-juice
Cheers Pat.
sounds like you got a good (no, make that great!) deal on those tires and wheels. I just sold an extra pair of gold 98RS wheels that I had (which I had put 60K+ miles on) for $400, and I had four people willing to give me that for em.
Just got my new summer tires yesterday. Potenza S-02PPs. Still a bit too cold here in Michigan to mount em, so I have to show restraint. I went with 205/55R16s, and stacked up they are a good bit wider than the stock RE92s I stacked em by here at work.
Ryan
Look at some truck tires - they are so rounded off sometimes, it's likely that 235s have about the same tread width as your 205 Potenzas.
-juice
The RE92 is narrow in both section width and tread width for a 205/55-16. Good point about tread width versus section width though Juice.
-Colin
although after a brief unmounted measurement, I did find that the actual unmounted tire size of my S-02s matches up with the Bridgestone Website specs quite accurately (as long as you know what areas to "measure")
i.e. they quote a tread width of 5.9",and you have to go from the shoulder in quite a bit to find that measurement. Much more than what I would have casually grabbed.
Ryan
We swapped the Bridgetones on my wife's car (RE92s IIRC) for BF Goodrich Comp T/A VR4s, and they look wider and taller. At least visually they fill up the wheel wells more.
-juice
-Colin
I should be wider, but by 20mm. It was about 25mm wider.
-juice
If I measure the S-02s at what I would realistically believe the tread width to be, it's about 8 inches. You have to move WAY up off the shoulder to get that 5.9". And with any kind of load on the tire there is a lot more than that contacting the ground.
Either way, I'm happy. These things look incredibly fast and sexy. Can a tire be sexy? if it can, then these do.
RP
-juice
i was driving and was just around the corner from my apartment and my car swerved across all three lanes of the road. i thought there was something wrong until i stopped my car. it felt like there were people standing outside rocking the hell out of my car. my first real earthquake.
so what is the diameter limit for a catback? i have heard anything over 2.5 inches doesn't do anything for you and may even take away power. opinions, facts anyone?
Stephen
please would someone explain to me what headers do and what advantage they give you besides making your car noisy. also what will a new cam do, specifically a "racing cam". my friend has an accord and is set on doing these mods to his car. i think they are pretty stupid myself, for an accord at least. i could understand if you had a 67 camaro (for example) and threw headers on, they belong there, but a 96 accord coupe? he also wants to change the pullies to a different ratio and cut out the a/i and whatever else it is that gets cut out. could you please give me the pro's and con's of these mods.
Headers are basically the first portion of your exhaust. They bolt on to the sides of the block, and route the exhaust fumes into the catalytic converter. Better ones have a smooth interior surface, gradual curves, equal length for all cylinders, and a larger diameter.
Pro is +5hp or so. Con is cost and difficulty to install.
The cat itself can be a bottle neck, so some people change these. They are a couple hundred bucks or so, and have to still meet emissions standards. By itself this won't increase power, but combine it with other mods and it will.
Behind that is the exhaust pipe, muffler, and tail pipe. Collectively these are called the "cat-back". It's really the easiest part to change, so it's a popular mod.
Moving to a 2.25" diameter pipe can give you maybe 5 hp or so. 2.5" could yield more at the high end, but it also reduces back pressure and can cost you some low end torque.
But what's right will depend on what other mods you do. 2.25" ought to be fine for normally aspirated engines, but a 2.5" is better suited for forced induction.
Pro: more power, deeper exhaust note. Con: more noise, droning, kick-backs, burble, and cost, if you don't like that stuff.
Finally, cams control your valves. The Phase I engines were DOHC, which means 2 camshafts per bank of cylinders. Since it's a boxer, that meant 4 cams total. One set of cams controls the exhaust valve, the other the intake valves.
The Phase II engines are SOHC, so one cam per bank of cylinder, or two total. In this case, the single cam controls both intake and exhaust valves.
The key is they determine the lift and the duration of the valve opening. Racing cams increase both of these to make the engine breath better (more air/fuel in, more exhaust out).
Pro: more power. Con: expensive, high level of difficulty to install (just ask Colin), and it could possibly affect the drivability/smoothness of the engine.
A pulley swap basically uses a lighter, smaller pulley to turn the accessories a little slower. This makes them less of a leach on the engine, so it can get more of its power to the pavement.
Pro: cheap mod, better throttle response, more power. Con: some complain that lights dim at idle, and A/C doesn't work as well.
Your friend may be talking about removing the A/C system altogether. This can save weight and remove another "leach" on the engine to make a bit more power.
My guess is if he does all this stuff, he'll have a super-fast car that is impossible to live with.
-juice
Cheers Pat.
Still, he'd have no A/C and where I live that alone would make it impossible to live with.
-juice
cheers Pat.
-juice
I would add a bit to the pulley mod: factory front pulleys often serve some balancing and vibration damping functions, therefore putting a smaller, lighter pulley on may increase engine roughness and vibration. I'd guess that this is much less of an issue with horizontally opposed motors such as Subaru uses, because they are inherently balanced by design. However on an inline 4 like Honda uses, changing the pulley may have a more pronounced effect on engine smoothness and vibration.
One thing is for sure; doing headers, cams and pulley is going to dramatically change the character of any vehicle. It will become peakier, less pleasant to drive in normal traffic situations, more fun to drive at the track.
Cheers,
-wdb
If I got the pulley it would be for throttle response - so you can more quickly match revs when down shifting.
-juice
CheersPat.
Back to Subaru-- I like the cams in mine. ;-)
-Colin
Exhaust mods for the most part improve the 'breathing' of the engine. Headers, larger pipe, less restrictive mufflers and/or cats, just make the 'breathing' easier. And just like putting a Breathe Right® nasal strip on your nose, it'll breathe better.
-Brian
Breathe Right ought to branch out into auto exhausts! ;-)
-juice
-Colin
Cheers Pat.
my friend thinks that with all of those mods his car will run like it does now with no change whatsoever. he thinks that it will only be faster. i told him i think that it will change the car quite a bit. making it more like a car that you would reserve for racing on a track and not as a daily driver.
i am also interested in a short throw shifter. who would you reccomend buying it from? brand?
Engines can be thought of as air pumps so air in-air out is agood idea within limits.
Mods are usually done in concert with each other to maximize results-so if you add an intake -adding a better exhaust gives better results.
http://www.cobbtuning.com/forester/drivetrain-shift.html
You can also do with Kartboy, whick Teague's should carry:
http://home.att.net/~teaguesauto/kartboylinks.htm
I've tried the Kartboy with urethane bushings and it's a very direct, metallic feel with zero play. I suggest attending a local i Club meet and sampling some. That's the best way to decide.
-juice
bit
-juice
bit
http://www.kwmuth.com/Products/Kits/200-0058.htm
You can download the instruction manual - installation is not for the faint of heart (which makes this gadget a prime candidate for the monster Forester add-on wish list *haha*)
Just curious, has anyone installed this device on their vehicle? How does the mirror quality compare to the OEM glass?
-Tom
-juice
http://www.club4ag.com/video.htm
Rgds,
Jack
My Forester is pretty neutral, but the tail comes out on occasion. Counter-steer and stay in the power and it comes back in line. If it's wet or snowing, this is very easy to do. In the dry it's possible but it'll scare your passengers.
Hutch and I took an automatic Forester through a slalom and he had all four wheels drifting. It was pretty wild.
I think the VDC may be the only Soob you can't drift, because it has stability and traction control.
-juice
You can keep the tires in a high slip angle though, and my car is tuned for a pretty decent amount of trailing-throttle oversteer at the limit. This isn't a problem for me on the street though because I'm never remotely near the limit on the street.
-Colin
Looked fun, though.
-juice
FWIW,
Theo
There is a road near here called Duryea Drive, named for one of the first automobile builders in the US. It consists primarily of a series of switchbacks going up the side of a steep hill. The SCCA stages a hillclimb there once or twice every year. I have had the pleasure and privilege to see a Type 35 Bugatti driven up that road at race pace, something I consider to be a small miracle. I also remember seeing Hal Keck go up that hill in a 427 Cobra on several occasions. He did something vaguely similar to what I saw on the tape, with a couple of important differences. First, although he set the car into a drift at the beginning of the turn, he didn't enter the corner at a rate of speed so high that he had to drift towards the outside to lose speed. He jabbed the brakes to slow down, tossed the wheel towards the inside of the turn, goosed the gas to get the back end out, and then used steering and throttle (hoo-boy, did that car have a go-pedal) to hold the now-drifting car on the best line through the turn, exactly like a dirt track racer would do. Once he could see the straightaway at the exit, he'd feed in more gas, and that beast would belch fire roar and the tires would spin some more and the whole works would slither and hurtle up to the next turn at a rate of speed that can only be described as immorally delightful. It was delicious fun to watch; I can only imagine how much fun Hal Keck was having!
So I guess I can "get" what those Japanese folks see in lurid slides. It's probably a lot of fun even if it is not the fastest way around the corner. In this day of front wheel drive and torque-free 4-cylinder motors, how else are you ever going to experience a full-opposite-lock four-wheel drift?
Cheers,
-wdb
The sound is absolutely awesome when compared to the stock the pre woofer setup.
The provided instructions were very complete and easy to follow. I took about 1/2 hour for the CD player and about 1/2 hour. The woofer was a seperate installation being that I did not know that I needed it until after the CD was installed.
Next I will replace the stock speakers with sone kind of upgrade. Next payday.
I would recommend the subwoofer to anyone that does not have one.
richawd