RallyKeith

I have two of those. One on the trunk and one in grill. I also have two stickers on the front bumper that STi, and one on each front door. That makes a grand total of 6 STi "badges" Keith :bday: :bday: :bday:

No. Third gear in the Auto should be fine WAY beyond 50. Hitting the rev limiter is not the problem. I have very little experiance with automatics but I'd guess it isn't actually the trans. Check all the motor and trans mounts for excess play. Also, do you feel the vibration in the steering wheel at all like you would if the rotors were warped? Keith

Thanks Dennis. I need to figure out who is handling the SCCA stuff. I want to make sure that if we show up with our Rally car that it doesn't go "overlooked" Keith

I can also see the demand and price for an EA-82T short block from CCR going way up. Keith

Hooking up the jumper cables like that isn't a problem. The simple fact is that your car has nothing more than a big fat wire going straight from the battery - to the chassis. I would start by searching for this on the board. Happens all the time and usually has nothing to do with electronics. This is normally caused by differences in tire size that cause the transmission to bind up and "lock" into 4wd. If you don't have identical size tires with close to the same tread depth on each this will happen all the time. If you jack up the car on all four corner you should be able to get it to come out. You can also start by looking at the actuation mechanism on the trans. It is basically a big vaccum solinoid that moves a level on the side of the trans. If you can see it trying to move when engage and disengage the button then tire sizes and binding is your demon. Keith

I'm not so sure about that, but I really don't know. Timing is set in Degrees BEFORE Top Dead Center. Power is optimized by having the mix ignite at the correct rotation of the crank, usually a few degrees AFTER top dead center. So you see, you are firing the plug even earlier before top dead center to get it to fire at the correct time after top dead center because the higher octane fuel takes more and longer to ignite. I'm not sure how that effects power output. That is the one place I still need to learn. Keith

I had an 85 FWD Carbed 3spd auto GL wagon back in the Blizzard of 95-96. I had a set of Hakkapalitta snow tires on the front and I couldn't stop the thing if I tried. Only on solid ice would I have trouble. The old 3spd auto was really cool. When you put it in 2 it stayed in 2 the entire time. It didn't start you in 1 and then shift to 2. That made the car unstoppable. I managed to plow through snow level with the top of the front bumper in that car. As for FWD vs. RWD it is debatable. Getting going tends to be much better in a FWD car, but after that it leans towards RWD. with FWD the front tires are steering and driving which can lead to trouble. In RWD the fronts only have to steer so you tend to get a little better handling. Personally I'd say FWD is better for getting around and driving like normal. For racing and for the sheer FUN RWD is the way to go. My friend was just telling me about an article he read from Canada that talked about this and claimed that RWD with snow tires is the best setup for snow driving. Either way, a FWD subaru still kicks butt in the snow! Keith

I personally think it is a shame that they allow the Fieros in. It's only because it is a kit car show also, and almost every kit out there starts with a fiero. Also, I think the one subaru that was there got the wrong weekend. They do a Sport Compact Custom show in the begining of May. This is the show for what most people call the "ricer" crowd. This subaru was all chromed up with a super expensive stereo in it. This also might have been two years ago that I'm recalling. Anyhow. I agree. Time to get some Subarus out there to represent. I really think I'm going to plan on coming out and trying to get my RX on the road and in decent shape. I'll even work on finding somebody to drive it out so I can also bring the STi or the Rally car if my dad doesn't come. Keith

Forgot about that. Still end up with the same effect as running higher boost. Higher pressure, and therfore heat, in the combustion chanber. I think this is a good basic way to figure out what you got going here. The car is running 1.8 liters at normal atmospheric pressure which is 14.7psi. So, normally aspirated car that 14.7 PSI gets compressed 9.5 times to a pressure of 140psi. Now, normally in a turbo car the compression ration is only 7.7:1. So, when you take the 14.7 and add that to the factory 7psi boost to get 21.7psi compressed 7.7 times for a pressure of 167psi. So, in doing the math of 21.7psi with your 9.5:1 pistons you get 206psi. "reverse" the math and that is like running 12psi of boost. 206psi(your cylinder pressure)/7.7(turbo pistons)=26.7psi. And 26.7psi-14.7(Atmospheric)= 12psi. So, you are currently running on the edge where most people would say you need intercooling to be any more effective. Just some fun with math that may help you in the end. Keith

Ya know, you didn't actually answer my question. Now I have to sit here and explain why I asked the question I asked in the hope that I will sway you to actually give me the answer to the question I asked that if you would have just answered in the first place would have saved me all this typing. (That means I'm just pulling your leg Paul) So, is it cars or people? If we come I should have no problem bringing 2 cars and 3 people. If I get healthy and get the heads I'm still waiting for, I might be able to bring 3 people and 3 cars. If the deciding factor is cars I would put a little more effort into getting the other car on the road. AND since the one car would be our 96 Impreza SCCA Rally Car with the 03 WRX driveline stuffed in it, I think it would be really cool to have this tent setup if possible. Keith

I appologize but I don't have time to read the entire post to validate or invalidate everything you said, but from what I saw you are right on most of it, but I think you never talk about one of the single most important things. Let me start off by explaining something. You say several times that "the volts ignite it." No not really. The coil produces a voltage that is applied to the electrode of the spark plug that then arcs to the ground tip. That arc is very hot. The heat from that arc is what ignites the compressed air/fuel mix. Now for that important thing..... Intercooling. The Octane rating of the fuel is actually what is called an AKI, Anti-Knock Index. The higher the number the more it takes to ignite. What happens in a turbo system is both simple and complex. Basically, the act of the turbo creating the pressure also causes a super heating of the air. Then as the air is compressed in the cylinder it gets even hotter. The problem that occurs is that the combination of the effects makes for a high enough temp that it ignites with out the heat from the spark. (This is actually how diesel engines work and why diesel engines run about twice the compression in the cylinders as gas engines.) So, the battle you need to win is that of not reaching all of these critical parameters before YOU want it to ignite, and there are two basic ways of doing that. One, by increasing the Octane rating (AKI) of the fuel to allow it to resist the higher combustion chamber temp, or add an intercooler after the turbo to reduce the combustion chamber temp allowing you to run the lower Octane fuel. An intercooler is like a radiator for air. It will cool the pressurized air coming out of the turbo to a level much closer to what it came in at. Just think about how hot the turb gets when you are using it. That heat is getting transfered into the air and that is bad. So, while running higher octane will allow you to run higher boost levels while avoiding knock, so would just simply adding an intercooler. Keith

Me and my Father (RallynutDon) are thinking about it. Just to be clear though, we are talking about needing 25 people or 25 cars for this?

Basically a shock setup with less rebound will be soft and give you a squishy ride. A shock setup with more rebound will be stiff and ride hard. More rebound means more force pushing it back in contact with the road, and therefore generally better handling. Keith

In all fairness a WRX with the stock RE92s on it is about as bad as it gets. The RE92s are absolutely horrible in the snow, not to mention that most people just don't understand how to drive AWD in the snow. As for me..... lets just say I'm usually the one passing everone where he can, but you are only as safe as the other people on the road. That said I usually play it as safe as I can and not go trying to pass people in the unplowed left lane unless I really have to. Keith

As we are slowly getting snow here in PA I've been taking out the STi only on short non-highway trips or to play. Well, let me tell you, there is nothing as cool as being able to play with the center diff. Center diff in "Open" mode basically means the car is a RWD doughnut producing terror. I first learned to drive in the snow with RWD so for me this is very pleasant, as long as I lead the lead foot at home. Center diff in "Lock" mode means all 4 wheels with power and one heck of a lot of fun in a straight line. Don't try to turn in lock though. The LSD front tied to the locked center diff makes for tons of understeer. It just grabs and claws its way along at an impressive pace. I've only got Sumitomo HTR+ High performance all season tires on the car, but so far I've been majorly impressed with the level of grip and control. The trick is being gentle with the foot. There is enough power to spin all 4 tires in 4th gear at 35mph, and that's way before it's making full boost. I still won't be driving it the 40+ miles each way to work in the snow, but I'm defenitly not affraid to drive it in the snow. It's got tons of grip and with all the locking diffs is a blast. Keith

http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7032 I'm in the middle of rebuilding a turbo motor myself. Let me first say that I totally agree on buying one from CCR. There price is great, especially if you wind up needing things machined. Anyhow, when I went looking for the Bearings it turned out that just about all of the major manufacturers list the same bearings for every ea series motor, turbo or not. The bearings are in fact not the same. Read through the above thread and you'll understand more. Keith

You're right skip. I don't know why I was thinking it was an MPFI. Keith

It's most likely the temp sensor that the computer uses. Next time you have the problem open your door and try te smell the exhaust. If it smells really rich then the sensor is the problem. What happens it the computer thinks the car is cold so it adds more gas. This sensor is on the passanger's side of the intake manifold towards the back of the engine. Keith

Lets get things straight. If it came across harsh it wasn't supposed to, It was honest. 80% of Americans do not properly maintain automatic transmissions. They need filters changed and fluid replaced just like an engine. If this isn't done problems will happen. With 127k on it that could be a long time of being driven without a proper fluid change. I've driven a lot of subarus with bad autos. I didn't say anything about the motors being a problem. In fact they are probably the second best motor Subaru has ever made. Second only to the original EA-81 pushrod style motors. What I did neglect to mention is that I personally dislike automatics. That couple with my personal involvement with bad legacy autos and the relatively high mileage of this car makes it one that I wouldn't buy. I'd hold out for a 5spd. Repairing or replacing the auto trans can be very very expensive. Keith

Well, the one thing you didn't mention but for the year should be assumed, is that it is an automatic? ( the 96 LSI was the first year for AWD 2.2 and 5spd if my memory serves me correct) For that reason alone I wouldn't buy it. Unless it was maintained properly you are bound to have problems. Keith

http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8993 Same basic thing was just happening on my father's Lagacy. Turned out to the a bad CV joint. No noise or torn boot, but it was the problem. Keith

he he he. I used to shovel the snow out of the back of my brat before going anywhere. In all honesty, I found that with weight in the back the front end would push out a whole lot easier. With out the weight I could still get the car to turn, but had to watch how much throttle I applied to keep the back end inline. Keith

It isn't really torque steer as you think of it. What happens is the front Diff is an LSD so it pulls you where ever the wheels are pointed, and with 300hp it pulls you hard and fast to the point where you need to react quickly. Its hard to decribe. Keith

If you ever get the chance to drive one on an autocross course I highly reccomend it. When you exit a tight corner, all you have to do is floor it and keep the wheel pointed where you want to go. The rear will start to step out, but as soon as you reach to correct, the Diffs take over and you are gone! I was used to a FWD car before the STi, and by far the STi is more fun. Keith

The STi is an increadably fast machine. If you launch it hard enough you are reaching for second gear in a blink. The car handles wonderfully, and with a good alignment is awesome. But at the same time the suspension is soft enough that you can go on a four hour road trip and not get sick(that's the longest I've taken so far, but 6+ is in the near future) The car isn't really that noisey inside. It may be noisey compared to other $30000 cars, but compared to mid 90's legacy I'd say they are about the same. The gearbox shifts like a racing H pattern should, and the gearing is perfect for autocrossing. All around it is an awesome car for the money. Oh, and with some decent Mud and Snow tires it doesn't do that bad in the snow. Keith