nipper

Drivers side - pass side Front 1-----------------2 3-----------------4

I meant 6 speed, 8 speed is under development. You can disagree, but thats the technical reason for it. They are not going to spend literally 720 million dollars on a marketing gimick. Also this transmission was designed as a joint venture, between Chrysler, Ford and GM (chrysler was part of the original deal, and seems to have parted ways with thier sale) http://car-reviews.automobile.com/news/gm-and-ford-develop-6-speed-automatic-gearbox-in-cooperation/263/ The interesting thing is that they made it so that it can be front or rear wheel drive. That makes for a very compact transmission. Each mfg will have the TCU tuned to thier own brand "personality" With a 4-8% increase in fuel economy fleet wide. CVT's are a gimmick that are not going to take off. There have been buyer complaints of the drone of the engine and lack of shift points. Customers just dont like them. http://www.autoblog.com/2005/11/09/breaking-news-fords-new-six-speed-automatic/ "Short steps between intermediate gears enhance performance and feel by finding the right gear for the most efficient operating conditions. The smooth shifts reduce harshness and reduce overall NVH." Also Dont forget, I am in the engineering end of the automotive field. I get the inside scoop on things nipper

I would DEMAND new tires. nipper

Look at the bottom of this thread at "related threads" nipper

me too nipper

Yes you have to look at the power band of the engines. Alot of v-8 engines with automatics are just off idle at highway speeds (below 2000 rpm) on flat ground. They rely on the torque converter and puter to react when the little pedal is pushed. Also the aerodynamics etc etc etc. Look and see where the power band is for the accord, the subaru is about 3200 rpm (i think). IN a manual you want to keep the car just shy or on the bottom edge of the power band so you dont have to downshift. This is why your seeing 6, and soon to see 8 speed automatics. The idea is to keep the engine right in the peak of the power band, so that fuel isnt wasted off the powerband peak. This way the fuel is being used most effeciently. nipper

AHA! hehehehe nipper

Except your using a 20 year old car to use as a comparison. We are talking new cars here, 2007 model i do beleive, so your comparing apples and oranges. Weight really is a moot issue, as automatics are no as near as heavy as they used to be (they are getting pretty close to being equal weight) Also your assumption is wrong about gear ratios. You have a thing called a torque converter, which actualy multiplies torque, thats why you can run higher gear ratios. And its not the cruise speed that it helps or is imporatant, its the starting off the line. The torque converter multiples torque, so you can have taller gears, where as a manual does not, so the gears can not be as tall for the benfit of acceleration. Like all things in engineering, everything is a compromise. nipper Correction 15 year old car

Also get yourself a cheap vacum gauge, between the two of them you can diagnose the internal health of an engine pretty well. nipper

Well its almost a tie. the throw in the cost of or a clutch if you keep the car long enough, that auto wins. Computer controled automatics are almost as effecient as the manuals, so now its just personal taste. nipper

Blow by when cold is possible, but we have gotten to the point where we need numbers. Start with a dry/wet compression test. nipper

it doesnt do three letters, it can be frustraiting. i think its best for when somone starts a post that has anything with three letters or less to spell it out at least once. nipper

Its not that old. In the last year or so, and the HG issue has been resolved for a few years, so the information is valid. At least untill the next emissions change (and the cycle starts all over again). nipper

Maybe ill try to find it later. Luckily the HG posts are thining out. They still come up time to time, but i think a lot of cars who are getting bad HG from internal leaks have been repaired. Used to be several a week came up, now we can go almost a month without seeing one. Repeats happen but thats due to buying aftermarket, or not taking the heads to a machine shop to have them resurfaced. nipper

I did a long post here about why they fail, its been very well documented. Use the search To review, it sounds like the HG may have come from someone besides subaru. Suppliers only get the original engineering data, not the in house revisions. Aftermarket may try to reverse engineer the parts, but they don't dop any real testing of some parts (reinventing the wheel). Here are some causes: http://www.aa1car.com/library/gasket_failure.htm nipper

drain and fill 3x's is almost the same as a flush. Do the flush if you cant get rid of the old fluid easily or there are other issues. Do the drain and fill if money is an issue. nipper

WHy would you use them when SUbaru has fixed the HG issue with multi layered gaskets with inserts. ALso dont forget that gaskets for performance engines (ie race engines) are not meant to last 100's of thousands of miles. Passenger car gaskets have different performance requirements then race engines. nipper

Ah when you let off the power. Look at the heat cheilds and anything else that may be loose thats attached to the engine. Pinging is only under load. nipper

sounds like ping to me. Try a cooler plug to see if it goes away or reduces. nipper

i like that topic much better nipper

Isnt that getting a little personal? :-p nipper

Damnit. Your way over <--------------------------------------------------------there. nipper

Here i thought you were making a bad pun nipper

Is it just me or does it seem to be needing a big VW emblem on the nose? nipper

ooooo i like the figero nipper