RallyKeith

That's the bueaty of driving a car that was designed to be a factory race car. The Turbo Legacy and any Impreza is a strong car. I got rear-ended in my STi by a guy going atleast 45 (speed limit on the road) and never hit the brakes. All 4 doors opened and I drove the car home. The section behind the wheels was a little crumpled, but for a pretty good impact the car held up really well. That said, it held up too well. Translated enough energy into the car that it bent the seat backwards and I spent a few months at the chiropractor getting my back and neck fixed. Glad to hear you are alright also. That's what really counts.

That should be an OBD2 car. There should be a trapazoidal connector molded into the panel under the steering column. Need a reader to get any codes out of it, but a lot of places like AutoZone or Advance Auto parts will read them for free. Keith

Now now. That's not over rated, it's just well marketed. The Marshall is putting out 100watts RMS and a peak power somewhere over 200watts. The spark-o-matic amps has atleast two channels putting out a combined peak power total of 400watts on a 14 volt system. Same thing as what 91Loyale was talking about with the tractor motor.

They now have what are called the FF1000's. Entire kit is only $107. Little bigger lens with Free Form technology gets a lot more light out, plus the mounting setup is really easy to adjust. I'm probably going to get a set for my legacy. They also sell plastic stone sheilds for $11. In some states the laws require a light like this to be covered when on public roads, but they don't say the cover can't be clear! (my brother got away with it once in NH or VT.) Keith

First off I don't want to argue so lets not. I honestly don't know enough about automatics to say that an automatic can't be strong, and for that matter yes I agree that they can be strong. (Look at american drag cars, that's strong) That said, #1 the STi type RA gear set came in a stock car made in Japan, therfore it is a stock trans. You can call your local subaru dealer and if they are willing to talk to Japan they can get the parts. #2 I never said the US stock 5mt is bad. It holds up to abuse well and will hold a decent amount of power without any problems. Lots of people have put them into their SVXs when the automatics has gone.

It all depends on what year car you're running. Anything pre '04 is defenitly the 5speed. Not sure about things since the STi and the 6mt hit North America. As for power, be careful what you really mean. All Turbo rally cars are forced to run restrictors. That means the cars don't produce a lot of HP. They do however create tons of torque. a properly tuned WRX motor running an FIA 32mm restrictor will put out just over 300 ft. lbs. of torque to the wheels. And yes, most rallies are dirt, but there are tarmac rallies. As for NASIOC, just like hear you can't blindly go by what someone on there says. You get a lot of people over there that do nothing but read this and that but have no real experience. 275Whp is a lot of Flywheel power but I think it can take a lot more. I've been around lots of rally cars including our rally car that destroyed it's stock WRX gear box shortly into it's second rally. We put the Type RA gear set in and we've put it through a ton of abuse with no problems. Also, here is a link to a really good east coast rally prep company that sells some 5mt gear sets. http://www.rallispec.com/product-gearset.htm They don't really say what the type RA is good for, but it's what they usually install for rally cars. Keith

Well, I don't know enough about the internal workings of an automatic transmission, but I do know that you are trying to compare apples to oranges. If the trans has poor cooling stock and fails it fails. Stock to stock the automatics in the SVX don't seem to hold up. Even in the first gen legacy they are the first big thing to go. Also, it's hard to overheat the coolant. You can overheat the engine by not having coolant or a properly functioning cooling system. But once angain have a functioning stock cooling system and the engine will not overheat and fail. Brakes, I'm not even going to get into it, but you'll be hard pressed to overheat brake fluid even with some semi-metallic performance pads on.

Well, for those that don't know, the STi type RA geat set is the Homoligated FIA racing gear set for Subaru. That means it is what is used in all FIA group N rally cars around the world. These cars routinely put out over 300ft. lbs. of torque to the wheels and the gears never complain. Not saying the 6mt isn't stong, but the 5mt with the type RA gear set will take a whole lot of power.

I'll disagree on the automatic bit all day long. Answer me this, why do SVXs always seem to have failing automatics???? SVXs with dead transmissions (they only ever came in automatic for those who might not know) can be had for a dime a dozen across the country. Also, you can take any EJ series 5mt case and install the Japanese spec STi type RA gear set and it will be just as strong or stonger than the US 6mt, plus a whole lot cheaper at around $1500. Keith

It's something in the gauge itself. My father's 90 legacy had the same problem. Worse part about his was that it did it at about 60mph, so there was always a chance you could be doing 70mph in a 55 because it was stuck. I think he fixed his by swapping it with one from a junkyard. Keith

I've always been a big fan of running exactly what the manufacturer specifies. I figure that the engineers at FHI designed the system to work with that plug, so it's going to perform the best with it. NGK is I believe the OE manufacturer, and is usually the cheapest at the stores I go to. Keith

Megasquirt = Fuel (hence squirt for fluid) It controls the fuel injection timing and mapping Megajolt = Ignition (hence Jolt for spark) It controls the Ignition Spark timing and advance Keith

Gear oil just like all oils is much heavier when cold. Could heavy fluid is harder to push out of the way when shifting. If you think that is bad, my 2004 STi will actually learch forward a bit in the cold with the car in nuetral and the brakes off. It's totally normal. The only way to "fix" it is to put a thinner weight fluid in, and then once the temps outside warm up you won't have enough protection. Keith

There is always something to be said for having a car you know. The other cars could have the same problems in a few years and you'd be faced with the same decision. As long as the body and "frame" are in good shape I'd say you made a good choice. Even if the engine or trans go, they can be had for $500 or less a piece, and they are actually pretty easy to replace. I've gotten rid of a few cars that I should have just spent the money on fixing instead of buying a new one. The last one I had was a great little justy. Dropped it and bought an RX that the motor proceeded to blow up on 6 months later. Keith

This is a good Idea. I'm heavily involved with Rally hear in the NorthEast and will be putting on some Rallycrosses and rally sprints this coming year. I also am involved with several club and pro level events. Next time we have one I'll have to hit up the board for support. Rallies do not happen with out the dedication of workers. As somone who sits on both the work and competition sides of the fence I greatly appreciate all that come out and help put on an event. Good work Gloria! Keith

Not to judge your decision, but do you get a lot of ice where you are? Studs are great in the ice, in the snow ok, and in the wet down right horrible.

I'm intersted in some Intake parts. Looking for parts of what we call a spyder intake which may be what you said was a high rise intake. Keith

I'd say depending on the completeness $100+. I and others are looking for them. At the moment I'm only in need of the waterpipe section that houses the thermostat. Keith

Well, you first problem is that you live in Pottsville, so that means everything is uphill! Seriously, I live in reading, my sister-in-law is from Pottsville, and can you say Yuengling! When I had my 88 carbed wagon with the FWD 3spd I was only getting about 18-20 commuting from reading to allentown. Being that you have the SPFI, but also have the 4wd I'd say that 23 is good. Some of these people can't understand the hills we have here, and they play a big roll when you've only got three gears. BUT, once the snow comes those tall first gears will pull you right up the hills. Keith

Yeah, I think it only is on the automatic cars. On the 95 and newer cars the Speedometer is electronic, so in place of the cable they have a sensor, but on the older cars it's cable, so I think it must be something strictly for the automatic trans. I would replace all the clamps with Fuel Injection clamps at a minimum, and if you can replace all the rubber. On an 18 year old car there are bound to be problems with them if you start putting pressure through them. Keith

The USDM STi 6speed has an open center diff with an adjutable Clutchpack to vary the amount of lock from full open to full lock. It is also setup to give a 35front/65rear power split. Keith

Same thing I'm thinking. I know it sounds wierd, but the bend in the end of that just looks way to close to the bend on the end of the release bearing clip to have been formed by floating around in the trans. Have you tried bending the piece at all? If you can bend it much before it breaks then it could be something else. If it breaks then it was most likely formed that way and not bent by some thing else. Keith

Ok, I just went through and read your old thread about the whiring noise. In that thread you say the clutch has 40,000 miles on it. In that thread the question was asked but never answered: Did you do the clutch job, or did someone else do it? Also, How long ago was the clutch job done? I'm still standing by my claim that the piece is the realease bearing clip. I just did the clutch in my Legacy a month ago and dropped one of those clips and never found it. Had to steal it off another trans in the garage. This could easily have been lying in some crevis of the car from when the clutch was done and just decided to fall out when you were down there working. Keith

COME ON! #1. There is a difference between it showing up after draining the fluid, and I know it came out through the drain plug. #2. Last time I looked, the drain hole on the trans is not large enough to pass something that big, with a hook on the end. #3. Out of all the trannies I've been involved with rebuilding, I've never seen anything even close to that inside it. #4. The dipstick tube is defenitly not large enough to get something like that in there, and the trans was never re-built before. So I stand by that it did not come out of the trans drain plug and just coincidentally wound up in the pan. I offered and answer to what the part was he found in his drain pan and based on that part being missing, how it could cause his problem. I'm no genius, but I think I've now made a clear argument against that part coming out of the fluid drain hole on the trans. No one else seems to have any bright ideas as to what the part could be, so instead of questioning my judgment as to what the part is, how about we help him fix his car. Keith

If it's the same stuff I bought a month ago, one bottle treats something like 40 gallons! I used mine half a bottle at a time. Keith