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Subaru Impreza Outback Sport & TS
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Subaru uses rubber bushings and a rubber insulated gear lever/shaft, so engagement is less precise but the shifter doesn't vibrate with the engine. You can get aftermarket levers that are shorter and use urethane bushings (S2000, for example), but you won't get the same level of isolation that you get with the stock lever. Those feel metallic and sort of snick-snick into gear.
-juice
The lever is in picture 3. The bottom one is the stock lever, with the thick part of the shaft insulated by rubber. The top lever is the STi shifter, which is not insulated at all. So you trade off some driveline vibrations for more precision, basically. It's also shorter, so you trade off leverage for a shorter throw.
-juice
TWRX
Possibly related is the hard shutting of the hatch. The hatch on the car has to be shut very forcefully to make the inside lights go off. This is our first Subaru so we do not know what to expect as far as the working of the hatch,the hatch on her Jeep Grand Cherokee shut with probably half the effort of the Subaru,does this sound normal? Her car has 2700 miles on it and will go in for its first service at 3000 miles hopefully they can fix this for us. Thanks in advance for any information.
Do you have the roof rack and crossbars? It's possible that some of the wind noise is coming from them. You might try moving them apart a bit more or removing the crossbars to see if the noise disappears.
-Brian
Other than those fairly minor problems she has loved the car so far. We haven't had any significant snowfall yet so she hasn't experienced the bad weather ability of the car yet. Never thought I would be able to say that in the middle of December hear in western NY.
Have a safe and happy holiday.
I live at 8000' elevation in the Rockies of Colorado, get lots of snow in the winter, and am looking forward to my 1st AWD vehicle to help me get up and down my driveway safely!
Does anyone know of a manufacturer who offers any kind of power enhancement for the Impreza 2.5L? I wish for another 10-20hp to help me more easily get up some of our steeper grades. Any assistance will be appreciated!
On i-club.com, a few people have put chips on their N/A 2.5's. No hard numbers yet though. You can go there and check the Normally Aspirated forum.
Celeste (from this board) installed a GanzFlow cold air intake on her 02 OBS. You can get more info on that on i-club.com or Larry Ganz' site, imprezars.com.
-Dennis
Check the window seals - I think the angle of the glass can be adjusted by the dealer if you find a wind leak.
Performance mods? Yummy. Here are some options, with rough prices and claimed hp gains:
$40 K&N filter, +3hp
$180 UR Underdrive Pulley, +5hp
~$150 Complete Intake Kits, +5hp
~$400 Headers, +5hp
~$400 Cat-back exhaust, +5-10hp
There are trade-offs in noise in some cases, but you can probably gain a few useful horses on a $600 budget.
-juice
As far as weak points, people complain about the shifter being difficult to get into reverse. My first OBS was manual and I went to 2nd gear, then reverse. Some complain about it being difficult to get from 2nd to 1st but I think they're trying to shift into first when still moving slowly. Don't use first except to start the car rolling. Some have clutches that don't last but remember the car has power to all 4 wheels and if you do power launches all the time it will be rough on your clutch.
Go to i-club.com as they have a search function and look around in past posts there. You will learn quite alot. Most of the people there have WRXs or RSs, however the clutch is so much like the one on your car you'll still learn alot about yours. Also in Yahoo clubs they have an Outback Sport Club and you can ask around there.
Congratulations, you will love the car. I've had mine since April and I just love it more and more every day!
-Dennis
Careful with intakes - they can increase noise a lot, especialy at high rpms and at WOT (wide open throttle).
-juice
Apologies to OBS owners for intruding with a Forester Q.
Ed
The exhaust are routed differently. To install the diffy protector, I had to loosen and lower part of the exhaust, which you supposedly do not have to do with the Impreza or Legacy. That means it takes a different path to the tail pipe.
You could have a muffler shop custom build a SS exhaust for you, but it would not be tuned for sound quality. You could use a Borla muffler, though, and 2.25" pipes.
-juice
I found a similar product in pep boys for half the price but the Wheelskins leather was softer and thicker and I deserve it!
p.s. they also have some nice leather shift boots, reasonably priced, I thought.
I got a cover from a Toyota dealer back in 1991. It was in their parts area, with other accessories, but it was not a Toyota product.
Believe it or not, it's so good, I took it off my last car, after 107k miles, and put it on my Forester. 42k miles later still looks perfect, thicker than the stock leather covered rim.
I wish I remembered the brand name, but it was over a decade ago.
-juice
Hey, check with the vendors at i-club and register there so you can ask about the ECU mod.
I'm not sure but you may be able to ask in the Vendors' section. I don't spend too much time in that particular section there as I'm pretty content with mine as is.
-juice
I just went with the wife to her OB and heard our 2nd baby's heart beat. Thumpa-thumpa-thumpa-thumpa. Pretty neat.
-juice
-Dennis
-juice
However, I am doing a lot of freeway driving and absolutlye hate being under attack by rock chips and flying debris: my poor windshield is already scarred in several places, and both my hood and bumper have had little bits knocked out of them. I'm staying back from trucks, but what can i do in the face of a piece of flying plastic that hit me straight in the windshield the other morning? Last time i tried to avoid flying gravel, I killed my Forester....
Happy Holidays to all.
rachel
p.s. congrats juice - babies are miraculous!
Sounds like you're already doing everything you can, so now you just need a bit better luck.
-juice
Do you have a "bug deflector" on the front of your OBSport?? I have put one on my new one, and it at least HELPS keep some of the gravel/rocks/sand off my windshield that we have here in CO in the winter. If you don't have one, you might consider one. Go to subaruparts.com for the best price on them. Oh, and better luck helps too!!
I upgraded to Potenzas RE950s and they make a WORLD of difference. Quieter ride, and in rain, it's as if you have a bottle of rubber cement being poured in front of your tires! I doubt you'd get anything on trade on your RE92s, but see whether Firestone/Bridgestone could work some kind of discount with you -- they are SOOOOO worth it! Also, when you do it, get the alignment and balance contract from them. I just had my tires rotated/balanced/and 4 wheel alignment for the second time and the contract has already paid for itself. Good nationwide at any Firestone.
Anyhow - just my humble opinion!
Ramon: Sorry, now I was close--your car was so much like mine I just said 2000. Hearin' them weddin' bells chime louder?
Juice: Congratulations! When's the little one due? Parenting is hard work and my work there is almost done. Finishing up now on the second one and can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Kind of miss all those fun toys at Christmas, though. I always did like playing with some of em'...
-juice
Subaru used similar rubber bladders in the air suspensions in the early 90s, and those are now a nightmare - prohibitively expensive to replace. Most don't bother, instead converting them to springs/struts.
So I like the idea of being able to control the height, but I'd be concerned about long-term maintenance costs. Also, the hardware is so heavy that even with the 250hp 2.7T engine, it's not fast.
Does look good, though. I like it better than the Volvo XC.
A UK publication called Car tested the XC, Allroad, and a Forester Turbo, and they liked the Subie the best, considering the price. They said for the price of the Audi you could buy two Foresters and still have enough cash left to pay for 10 years of insurance.
-juice
Juice: Hey hey hey, we know what you guys been doin'!! That's the funnest part though! LOL
Brekke - I have not heard any 'snap' sounds from the rear of my car when upshifting. My manual transmission is smooth for the most part, except when I try to put it in reverse or when I want to go from 1st to 2nd in freezing weather.
This part of Michigan finally got some snow (yes we had a White Christmas !). It's about time I got a chance to put the AWD to work! Enjoy the rest of the holiday season and Happy New Year to all of you!
Same with the cold weather shifting from 1st to 2nd. The transmission oil is cold and the oil gets thicker than normal, thus makes shifting difficult. As it warms up, the oil thins to its normal viscosity, and it works fine. Again, this is normal with manual transmissions.
Bob
-juice
Overall I've been very happy with this car with the exception of one thing, the dash rattles and creeks like mad! I've taken it back to the dealership twice to have this taken care of but to no avail.
What I would like to find out is, has any one else who currently owns a car like this had similar problems?
I'm currently looking for another dealership to take this car to have this problem fixed . . . Especially the fight I had with Liberty Autocity in Libertyville, IL concerning a loner car while the dash was being looked at the last time. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another car from but I don't think I'll be going here for service for a while.
Stephen
Give these guys another try. Ask to speak with Elisha or Axel, the Subaru technicians or to Elmer Hansen, Subaru product manager. If the problem can be corrected, they'll do it. If not, they're not afraid to contact the regional office in Itasca for an assist.
I've been living in Florida since the end of April and while I've "found" a great tech here, no one comes close to the service willingness of Libertyville. You can even tell them I urged you to return for a second try!
Hope this helps.
Don Braverman
Dash rattles... I wonder if the cold of winter causes some parts to contract and rattle. Here in Florida I've had mine since April and not a single rattle anywhere.
Don
27 MPG doesn't sound that great.
Funny you should mention Elmer "Fudd" Hansen, he's the guy I bought my car through. One of my coworkers bought a Forester through him and my sister also bought a 626 through him, very nice to work with.
Celeste - The dash rattles were there throughout the summer. They do seem to worsen when it gets cold however.
Oranglebaron - My OBS Automatic gets 27-28 mpg last I checked and that's with a daily 40 mile commute each way.
Good luck.
Don