Ranger83

I bought the Michelin HydroEdge ('97 OB). The Michelin X Ones lasted 60K miles and still had plenty of tread left. The HydroEdge is much quieter, has better turn-in, great rain traction. Haven't tested dry cornering limits or snow traction yet, but I'm pleased thus far. My OB turned 120K, exactly, as I turned into the dealer. I now have about 1,200 miles on them.

alias20035, thanks very much! I've taken your advice lock, stock, and barrel and ordered four Inifinity Kappa 62.5 from Etronics, who had the best prices that I could tell. From etronics.com - $79.95 / pair plus $23 shipping (for two pairs) = $182.90 From crutchfield - $149.99 a pair plus free shipping = $299.98. I didn't find the foam speaker surrounds on their website - would most places like Best Buy or Radio Shack etc have them? Thanks again!

I installed the Xtravisions last night. They are substantially better than the standard bulbs - brighter, sharper cutoff, etc. Well worth it. They're $13 at Pep Boys. Bought another pair for my wife's car this morning. I notice a beam down and to the left which I didn't see before - nice for cornering.

I just spoke with a guy at Crutchfield and they have no recommended rear replacements for the 95-99 OB. He said the problem is that there isn't a lot of depth, or front space, or room for a magnet. He had two speaker sets from Kenwood and someone else that were shallow enough (2") and didn't exceed the front spacing (0.5") but the magnets were too big. It appears most replacement speakers have a 3" magnet or more, so you'd have to drill a clearance hole for them. The Kenwood is 3" or so. I'm going to open up the door panel and see if its feasible to run a hole saw in.

I'm going to try the Sylvania XtraVision, supposed to be brighter but not whiter and thus a lot cheaper. Keeps away the Grim Reaper. (headlight rap)

I tried to spin the tires on my OB when I first got it. I was in a dirt parking lot in VT and it was pouring rain. When I hit the other side of the parking lot, the speedo, and the car, both inidcated about 30mph. Guess what? You can't brake as fast in a dirt parking lot in pouring rain. End of experiments.....

Are the Sylvania Silverstar really brighter, or just whiter? They mention on their website that the European version does not have the "whiter" light. That would be my preference, are they available in the US? Wagner makes a Halogen Gold product, that says they last longer, but they don't make any brightness claims. Sylvania claims "SilverStar bulbs are whiter, brighter, and closer to the color of sunlight." To me, if they're more like the HID lights that a minus. I find the whiter HID lights to have annoying glare when approaching.

I have another question. Does the '97 OB require removal of the whole door panel, or do the speaker grilles snap out?

Thanks very much. Are the directions on where to wire the capacitor in the instruction manual? One stereo shop I spoke with said they would disable the tweeters in the rear speakers? TIA

Sounds like the Polk 365 is a good choice for a 97 OB wagon? Related questions: - Should I order 4 or is it OK to leave the factory rear speakers? - Do I need to disconnect the tweeters installed on top of the doors? If so, how? They're on eBay with a buy-it-now price of $57.50 plus $14 shipping per pair. TIA

I believe when initially produced they were test marketed in New England. Don't know if they were ever sold anywhere else?

I bought the factory unit from a late model OB Limited - AM/FM/Cassette/single CD/ weatherband. New with a 30 day warranty for $159 on ebay. Used take-outs are also available. Jsut search for subaru radio to start.

FWIW, Consumer Reports has an article on hydrplaninng and worn tires. This was very noticable on my Michelin X Ones ('97 OB wagon), which I just replaced with 60K miles despite significant tread remaining. These tires when new were the best rain tires I'd ever had. But by last month I was hydroplaning at 65+ in heavy rain. Inflation pressure was 35 psi cold. I replaced them with Michelin HydroEdge tires last week. With about 300 miles use they are noticalbly quieter and turn-in better than the X-Ones. It has not rained since I bought them, but by the end of the week I should have a rain report as well - maybe even snow.

I went to Tweeter, Etc. today to see what I could replace the OEM speakers with in my '97 OB, and they suggested some Boston Acoustic speakers @ 159 per pair - I think it was the NX 67. Good choice?

Thanks, I have X-Ones on it now, 55,000 miles. But rain performance has degraded and I want to get some new sneakers for the winter. Costco has the "Old Reliable" Michelin X, don't suppose I can go wrong with them, either.

I'm about to replace my Michelin X-Ones with new tires. I can get the X radial for about $375, versus roughly $470 for the Hydroedge for four tires, mounted. Michelin claims better performance on their website in most categories - wet traction, dry traction, etc.

I think the most important thing when using a synthetic, if you're shooting for extended drain intervals, is to use a filter with a synthetic filter element, such as the Mobil I or Purolator Pure One.

The 97-99 cars have solid lifters. Being a flat alloy engine, they are very noicy when cold. They are also rough at idle realtive to many other 4 clylinders - 2.5 l is pretty big for a 4. The bad news is the good news, as the Subaru flat four is much smoother at highway speeds than most inline fours. We just sold our blue 97 with 87K miles. The folks who bought it have an Audi. When they started it they thought something was wrong. And didn't believe my comment that "they all do that" until I started up our other Subaru. If noise on cold startup is your primary criterion, you for sure aren't going to be buying any Subarus! Checking the compression is a safer bet. Good luck with your Explorer.

FWIW, Michelin list the overall diameter of the X 205/70x15 at 26.1". Check out the thread http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6507 You will find people here stating, authoritatively, that the 95-99 OB's with a 2.5 l engine "eat head gaskets." I think this is largely overstated, although like many alloy engines it is not unheard of. I own two 97 OB's with 87 and 120K respectively. I have 6 friends with 97 or 98 OB's. The highest mileage is 152,000. The lowest is 62K. None have needed head gaskets. Also posted a thread here to ask about high mileage OB's - http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4328 Guys replaced the headgaskets at 125K, 197K, 120K, 180K, and 94K. Several of these were "preemptive" in that they were replaced while other maintenance was being done. Others have high mileage engines that have not needed head gaskets. If you're opening the engine at 100K plus, most people would do it as a maintenance measure, anyway. But I'd go for an '00 (new body style) or newer anyway, as resale will be better. Excellent cars.

Optima is owned by Johnson Controls (one of four major battery manufacturers - http://www.jci.com/bg/) but also has their own website - http://www.optimabatteries.com/ They're sold by Pep Boys and other chains. There are other AGM brands on the market, but many of them seem to be the Optima battery with their name on it. There is an automotive deep cycle version available.

Speaking of tires, what about the Michelin HydroEdge? Michelin claims them to be quieter, handle better, and be better in the rin and snow than the Michelin X or XW4. I currently have Michelin X One/X-Plus on my '97. They were terrific in rain while newer. Now with 50K plus miles, that's not true. I've considered dedicated snow tires, but I drive 2,000 miles per month on average and a lot of dry interstates and I'd wear them down a lot faster. If the car was newer, the cost of dedicated steel wheels and snow tires would make more sense. I checked Tire Rack and a set of 4 Blizzak WS50's on steel rims was $78 + $38 each plus shipping. The clincher to me was going to the South Burlington, VT WalMat after a snostorm and parking in a row of cars, about 1/3rd of which were Subarus. Exactly one of them had dedicated snow tires - the rest had the usual M+S rated all seasons. Yankees are tight with a dollar, after all.....

I use National Tribology

Then you need a power capacitor, not another battery. Also known as a stiffening capacitor, and routinely used by audiophiles who like to make their cars vibrate. I'm not sure if ham operators or others with high powered temporary output demands find them necessary.

From another forum: You have higher output from the alternator, why not just get an AGM battery? I see that they're starting to hit automotive store shelves, but you can find them in most marine stores. Or add a power capacitor? Where are you going to put it? Locating a 45 lb plastic box full of acid in the front of the car doesn't seem like that good an idea. I'd go to an RV shop, they deal with such systems all the time. Or a high end car audio shop. Or adopt the simple approach my friends in Alaska take. They keep a second battery in a plastic battery box bolted to a piece of plywood in the back of their OB. They can trickle charge it from the rear outlet, but usually bring it in to charge it. It's simple, it's there, and they can bring it inside when it's very cold out to help jump their car the next morning. It's also 45 lbs right over the rear wheels. This gives you the backup battery but does not solve the power problem you have.

Depends on where you live. In the snow belt most garages that work on Japanese cars work on Scubies. If not, you may have to seek out a more specialized garage. Ask the next Subaru owner you see! I prefer private garages because they charge you the actual time, not flat rate, so they do a better job. Depends on the part. All standard maintenance items seem reasonably priced, and the custom bits you have to get at a dealer seem outrageous for all cars.