darrylw

It's a good idea to look into valve stem seals. This is the one place where an engine can internally consume oil and not smoke a lot. This is because the oil is mixed in with the incoming air/fuel stream and burned efficiently. I've seen cars use 2 quarts per tank of fuel and not have much visible smoke. As for the issues with engine temp and oil sensors: I wouldn't be pointing the finger at subaru. I've never seen a car with an oil level sensor or a temperature sensor for the oil. Has anybody else seen it on a non-subie? Crush washers suck. They can split and cause all the oil to leak out. They should just use no washer at all. Engineers... Darryl

Thanks for your advice guys. I got some Goodyear snowmark studded tires. They have something like 115 studs per tire and nearly an inch of tread. They are the loudest tires ever, but grip like a warm tongue on frozen steel! I changed the size from 195 60 15's to 195 65 15's for a slightly larger diameter. My speedo reads low by about 3%, but that's no biggie. Now it's time to do some shopping for 17" summer tires!! Darryl

I've tried this in my impreza and it doesn't work as well as you might expect. Fog lights are aimed low, around 10 feet in front of the car. The bright light at the bottom of your vision ends up spoiling your "night vision" and your ability to see what your high beams are shining at. Now, if you could get your fog lights pointed up and outwards towards the ditches where the deer wait before they jump in front of you that might work well. You'd have to turn them off when passing other cars, though. Whatever you do, don't be one of the many dough-heads out there who buy the super bright blue lights and blind the hell out of oncoming traffic. Then it won't be blinded deer you will be colliding with, it'll be blinded SUV drivers. Darryl

I think that you should seriously question your boss's sanity at this time. Winter roads which service these communities are for transport trucks supplying the villages only. When people need to get in and out they fly. The trucks used in these areas are never turned off unless they are in a heated garage. Idling the engine overnight is the norm. They also use things like engine blankets and axle/transmission heaters. I live in northern manitba (nowhere NEAR as far north as Inuvik) and it gets as cold as -45 here, without the windchill. My '03 impreza ts has synthetic motor/gear oil and it is still not happy at these temperatures - even when it is warmed up fully. Even subies have their limits! Yes, square tires DO develop at -45. They go away. Just a point of interest for other motorheads: I cover my rad entirely with cardboard and platic with no hole whatsoever in the winter. I keep the fans unplugged, but I have never been able to get the temperature above normal. I've driven the car right up to springtime in lots of city traffic, but no luck. I only remove it out of nervousness. Wierd, eh? Darryl

I too am using AMSOIL right now. I've got the 0w30 racing oil which quotes a 35000mile/1year drain interval. I've put 8000 miles on walmart house brand synthetic and the oil/disassembled filter looked OK at the end. The AMSOIL has fantastic cold starts and the engine sounds smoother at startup. I'd love to know how your oil analysis works out!!! Has anyone found a "higher" profile filter that fits an '02+ 2.5liter engine. I'd like to do the filter-only change every 8000miles instead of 4000.

Good to hear your interest! Here's a photo taken at Wolverine Lake, near Amisk lake, Saskatchewan. (near the northern villiage of denare beach saskatchewan, canada) The lake is only accessible through portage. The car is obviously in deep snow but had no problem in the 2-feet of snow and the steep portage. If you're wondering about the rims, they are part of an impreza TS special edition package including alloy rims, fog lights, and spoiler. Sorry 'bout the picture quality, the thing will only let me upload 640 by 480. Know how to do it different? Darryl

I've run full-synth in my chev truck (420 000km) and various logging epuipment with no ill effects. I run AMSOIL 0W 30 synthetic in my impreza with great results. (car starts well at minus FORTY) I also have castrol synthetic gear oil in tranny + rear diff and am not happy with it. Just like the stock oil it turns solid at minus twenty.

Thanks for everybody's great chat on winter tire choices. I have an 03 impreza TS with 15" alloys and I want to do some adjustments... -get larger tires to "gear up" the car (I think the 2.5litre and 5-speed can pull 60mph at less than 3000rpm) -install WRX brakes all-round... TS disks/drums wimpy:( -get a second set of narrower winter studded tires for cummuting in Flin Flon, manitoba. (yes, it is a real place) I need to know if a higher profile tire is going to have clearance and if 15" rims will clear the wrx brakes. Can anybody help me out??? I'm also in the market for 16" WRX rims, brakes, etc... thanks!

Just wanted to say to hello to the group. I drive an 03 impreza ts in the cold climate of northern manitoba. I love working on my subaru as much as I love driving it! I'm always interested in spare wrx or sti parts, so if you are doing any mods, please offer to sell me your old parts. Any other manitobans on this site???? Darryl