idosubaru

it can. and i believe it does change the curve, not just shifts it. Kevin did some awesome testing years ago. he's great, does things with a keen eye towards numbers and proof. he dyno's everything. he did it with the XT6, trying 3 or so different intake setups and it did make a difference. you can search for the posts/charts. then he got an SVX and he said the entire SVX crowd was telling him waste of time, so he went and dyno'ed it and it showed some gains. they're not huge on an NA car but it does change things. it makes sense too, here's a hypothetical test: if you blocked off the intake with a piece of plywood, i think that would hurt performance - gas mileage and hp. it might not even run. that proves that intake modifications do make a difference. if you gradually made a pin hole in said plywood....and made it bigger and bigger it would gradually...get to a point where it starts to run, runs better, and improves. math dorks know the curve won't be discontinuous...meaning there will be a relationship between "hole size" and performance. it won't "not run" and then magically jump straight to the stock levels at some random point. rather it will be a curve with continuity. which means intake changes engine performance. my guess is the stock set up is optimized for various things, allowing slight room for improvement depending what you want...throttle response, noise levels, torque, hp, safety, mileage, reliability, acceleration...etc.

that's bizarre, my 97 Legacy steering wheel had a different style. yellow with a green button, but not the slide like in this pic. i need to find two somehow.

while i was doing some reading into this...may have even been in the FSM, but i can't remember. but yes, the seat belts do have some kind of additional "protection" or guarantee of some sort. my memory seems to put it in the 6-10 year range though, but i really didn't pay attention. and keep in mind - that may not apply to all years. that may be a newer reg or something? and doubt it will apply to anything that's been tampered with or in a wreck.

seems like this would also interchange with some legacy's, OBW, imprezas?

The SRS connector in the thread below is from an 02 OBW and I need two of them. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=786241#post786241 I checked my 1997 Legacy GT air bag and the connector in it is different. So I'm wondering what other years/models I might be able to get a body side connector from. I'm guessing it's a 2000+ thing.

interesting, i'd like to know how that works, might have to look it up when i'm not on dial up. it definitely was very picky coming out when i was just holding it in my hand. and then when i started beating it..it still wouldnt' come out...just kidding. safety belts with poisonous chemicals, sweet! i keep wondering...is it hard to get out of these things if you're in a wreck? wondering if i need to keep a knife in the center console?

sorry, i signed a contract with the Darwin Award folks already.

hmmm, definitely dig into this a bit more. i replaced what i thought was a wheel bearing last summer in my legacy and it wasn't a wheel bearing. so all that time wasted. hopefully this isn't a trans (gear box) issue, doesn't sound like it to me). have you ever had an axle replaced? clicking while turning and noises changes with speed while driving sound like possible axle issues to me. start with the fronts, those are much more problematic than rears. if you end up getting a new axle, go with MWE or Subaru only. that's not preference on my parts, aftermarket axles are a gamble and of significantly inferior quality. if you ever had an axle replaced, i gaurantee it wasn't with a Subaru axle and that's why it's failing again.

How do you disconnect the air bag connectors that have the green sliding tab? I see when you press the yellow tab the green one can then slide backwards. I did that and the connector still won't come apart.

Follow up, this wasn't hard at all. The air bags, seat belts, and computers are often sold as sets and I had mine shipped for $350. All are very easy to replace too.....minus some learning curve stuff...like those "special" tabs and connectors. Drivers side - simple just two torx bolts from the sides. Passengers side - also simple, didn't even have to remove the glove box. Separate thread I have on that if you're interested look for it. 3 bolts and done. Seat belts, very simple as well. Remove some trim and 3 bolts. The hardest part is figuring out how to remove those special connectors, which another thread is coming for. I'll follow up once i finish checking sensors and activate it...BOOM!!

as a side note, the passengers side air bag is replaceable without removing the glove box. requires head down where your feet would be looking up. and then reaching your arms around through the glove box to place the two furthest bolts for the air bag. i used a 10mm with a short 2 inch extension, placed and tigthened by hand, then finished off with a socket wrench. i edited the title in case anyone in the future can use this info.

these are those new ELR pretensioner jokers with the explosive charge thing, that go off in an accident. thought maybe i was missing something...other than the known limitations in my head. ha ha.

sounds like you don't have torque bind....have you checked to make sure you have a rear differential and axles on the rear? maybe it's disconnected? FWD and AWD front axles are identical/interchangeable, so that doesn't mean anything that you ordered 4WD axles for the fronts. check to make sure all your 4WD components are hooked up - driveshaft comign out the back of the trans, rear diff, and rear axles. if your buddy said "the rears were spinning" and the front wasn't, sounds like it's all there. if you don't have binding in parking lots like i described int he post above, it's hard to believe you have torque bind. ATF flush is still a good thing. tires all match? i would make sure you don't have a bad front axle. you probably bought an aftermarket axle, they suck horribly. i've had brand new ones break in less than a week. if you have an axle freewheeling inside it's boot then your front diff is spinning, but the tire is not.

welcome aboard boss. clicking is not a torque bind problem. your friend saw the back tires spinning. thing is, maybe he was on the side, and didn't see the front on the other side was spinning? the way differentials work really in bad terrain if your spinning you should have one rear and one front spinning, but they'll be on opposite sides. drivers side rear and passengers side front or passengers side rear and drivers side front. likely he was on one side and just didnt' see the other? torque bind is not as you described, it's when you are essentially in "locked" 4WD all that time. and it is most prominent in auto's, not manuals. it is possible in manuals but it's all different failures modes because those transmissions are completely different systems. the definitive test for torque bind comes int he opposite terrain of what you described - a parking lot. taking tight turns, steering wheel turned at full lock and the car will feel as if it's slowing down, binding signficantly because the front and rear tires can't turn at different rates. tons and tons and tons of info on here about it. insert the FWD fuse and if it goes away, that's torque bind. due a transmission flush or 3 or so fluid changes immediately and it might alleviate it if you're lucky. mismatched tires, lack of fluid changing, lack of rotating, and improper towing will cause torque bind. good chance older ones have seen some of those conditions.

okay i got it, just too a bit of coaxing. those jokers are sensitive. they come out carefully. seems it needs to be up right and pulled at just the right tension to get to come out.

I have a set of undeployed ELR front seat belts to install. Thing is, the belt doesn't seem to want to come out. Why is that? Anyone know how to get the belt to come out of the housing to install? FSM just says "Installation is in the reverse order of removal".

lol...yeah, i'll overnight it!!!

agreed, that is a cliffhanger. skip is the enterman no doubt. i've been working on it. i think a bit differently though and tend to group things in my mind. i tend to write well in some venues...just not here.

The manufacture dates is also stamped on the metal plate inside the door jamb. open your drivers side door and it'll show some information - like that date and the recommended tire pressures for your car. $80 isn't dirt cheap, but seems reasonable for a newer hub.

2002 OBW - how do you remove the glove box door? There's like two contact points on each side. I see two points of attachment on each side and i pulled the bottom little plastic snap in pieces out. Not sure what to do now. The FSM is really lame - "Remove glove box"....oh thank you!

tons of info, including a complete write up. the search function should pull up all sorts of stuff. just be creative since "EA" and "EJ" won't work in the search. it doesn't like 2 and 3 letter terms. so try "conversion". also, i think the write up is in the USRM. the USRM and Retrofit forum should help here. there's even folks here that do the wiring work for you. and i think there's a thread of "Who's who of EJ swaps" or something like that. lots of swap info.

$500 if you want to buy one from me...lol....a few years ago you could still buy them new for $800. haven't checked if that's still true. you can expect to pay $100 - $300 for one. the longer you're willing to wait, look around, spend your time, and search for one the less you'll have to pay. so it depends mostly what your time is worth.

thanks! hhmmm, so that's a special tool, insert or what? can i get those at any auto parts stores? man the only thing more annoying than torx bolts are special torx bolts...GAHH!!!

are the air bag TORX bits bolts something special? i saw mention in some other thread about "Security" TORX bits, are those different than regular TORX bits? require a special tool?

the difference seems smaller than i'd expect. they *can* get good mileage, but don't seem very consistent or predictable.