swc7916

Zaino's is not an organic wax like carnuba. It is a synthetic "wax" that does not have the low melting of a wax. It has to "cure" rather than harden like a wax and leaves very little residue. 2 ounces will coat a whole car. The residue is very thin is easy to wipe off. It doesn't need to be buffed. I works great on plastic; I coat the headlights and the lens on the tailgate of my Outback with it. The website doesn't get into specifics of the chemistry, but I have tried it and it is the easiest to apply, longest lasting, glossiest "wax" I have ever used. Even my wife commented that she couldn't resist running her hand on the car whenever she walked by it.

Wow! Thanks! This is just what I needed. Where did you find it?

I decided it was worth the price. Here is the new ride: I my opinion: 1. The engine is quieter and smoother. 2. The ride is better. 3. The steering is more responsive. 4. The seats are more comfortable. 5. I like the idea of having side-impact airbags. 6. The automatic climate control is nice.

No. It is not a wax, it is a polymer of some sort. It is clear and does not leave any residue. If you claybar the car and use Zaino's, you can hardly set anything on the hood; it will slide off. It is very easy to apply - there is no buffing required, you just wipe it off. You can even use it on your windshield; it works better than Rain-X. It is a bit pricey, but now that I've tried it I wouldn't use anything else.

I just purchased a Subaru bike rack that mounts in the bed of the Baja. I got it from a guy on eBay and it looks good and seems to have all of the pieces, but I didn't get the installation instructions. There are two brackets that have 3 holes each but there are no holes in the bed that match the holes in the brackets. Does anyone have the installation instructions for this rack? Thanks.

The best car polish on the planet (or at least, the best I've tried) is Zaino's. http://www.zainostore.com/

Western Washington is lousy with them. I swear that every 10th car is a Subaru. There is a Subaru dealer within 2 miles of me and another 3 within 20 miles. When we were in Southern California and looked for a dealer, there were only 3 in the whole Los Angeles basin and the nearest to where we were was 40 miles away.

One of the local dealers tells me that they have never had to replace a turbo on a WRX.

For a extensive summary of all models and years, try http://www.cars101.com/ The tire thing has been beaten to death in another thread. It took me a long time to get accustomed to the 2000-2004 Subarus, but now I've had 3 of them and think they are OK. I like the looks of the 2005 but I'm not sure that I will ever get one. My wife is very sensitive to the seat cushion depth and the location of the pedals. The 2005 Subarus have a longer seat cushion than before and are too long for her legs. Also, the gas/brake pedal offset is too much for her comfort; when she adjusts the seat to reach the gas, she hits her knee on the steering wheel when using the brake.

A Subaru in Texas? When we spent a week in Southern California I saw less than a 1/2 dozen Subarus and this spring in San Fransisco only saw 3. I bet there are fewer than than that where you are.

I have. The dealer doesn't have any in stock to look at and says that if I wanted one, it would take about 10 days to get it. The price looks good, but I'm concerned about resale. Also, the warrantee would be through Saab and there are far fewer Saab dealers than Subaru dealers.

What I like about Subarus is what you get for the price. On top of that, each one I have bought cost less than the previous one. Our 2002 Outback cost less than our 1996, and our 2004 Outback cost less that (invoice plus $49 minus holdbacks and a $1500 rebate.) Our 2003 Baja was purchased last September for about $6000 under list and it had only 10 miles on it!

Last night I went to the dealer and drove a 2005 WRX and a NA Impreza back-to-back for comparison. This 2005 WRX was noticably better than the 2004 we drove last weekend. My overall impression was that the WRX has a smoother, quieter engine. The NA engine seemed a bit noisy and I could feel a lot more engine vibration. The WRX acceleration didn't feel that impressive until comparing it to the NA engine; the power climbed as the rpm's increased instead of peaking out and dropping off. I called the dealer to talk to a service technician and was told that in 3 years they have never had to replace a turbocharger on a WRX. In my estimation, the WRX is not a "pocket rocket" or a ticket waiting to happen; it's actually quite nice. Also, the WRX and STI are the only Imprezas to come with side-impact airbags. Hey, if I buy this car my son won't be the only one to drive it!

I am not gifting it to him; the intent is to sell it to him when he finishes school. He needs transportation now and isn't working yet. It will be MY car but I am looking for something that he would choose for himself. I have provided junker cars in the past for kid's transportation but never felt good about their safety or reliability. I am certainly not rich and cannot afford to give each of my (5) kids new cars. Before I would pony up for the WRX he would have to agee that he is willing to pay extra for it.

Here is the hulk. It's repairable, but not economical to do so; the estimate was over $12,000.

My only previous experience driving a turbocharged car was a test-drive of a turbo Jetta. I could really feel that car take off! The 2004 WRX that I test-drove didn't even feel like it HAD a turbocharger. The Forester XT costs more, uses premium fuel, and gets terrible gas mileage. Anyway, it's for my 22-year-old son and the Forester is kind of stogey-looking. One reason that I was looking at the WRX is that it has side airbags and the others Imprezas don't. Another consideration: What is the longevity of the WRX 2.0 liter engine? I'm assuming that it was designed to be turbocharged and would be stronger than the 2.5 non-tubo engine.

We have to replace our 2005 Outback Sport Special Edition that was totalled two weeks ago. My question to anyone out there is: Does the WRX really perform that much better than the standard 2.5 liter Impreza? We drove a 2004 WRX and the dealer this past weekend and were pretty disappointed; I expected to get a surge of acceleration when the turbocharger kicked in, but it didn't happen. Did I drive a bad car? Did I drive it wrong? (The salesman said that you have to drive them like you hate them to get them to perform.) Is it worth the extra $4000? Thanks.

My '96 Outback was great car, until it was rear-ended last summer and the insurance company totalled it out. It had about 125,000 miles on it and was using oil at the rate of about 1 quart every 1000 miles. At 70,000 miles there was an oil seal leak and since they were in there, I had the dealer replace the timing belt so never had any problem with it. I have had 4 newer Subarus with the 2.5 liter engine and automatic transmission but the '96 had the best transmission - it shifted quickly and positively. I didn't like driving it faster than about 75 mph (at least when it was older); it seemed to work too hard going faster than that and got a bit noisy. Yes, I always used premium fuel.

I had a similar problem and the dealer said that it was the transfer duty solenoid (whatever that is). It was replaced (under warantee) and I haven't had the noise since.

The Baja is a fun car. My 2003 Baja handles better than either of my Outbacks; I think that the suspension is stiffer. I have been told (although I haven't noticed it) that the Baja is quieter than the Outback because the back isn't open to the passengers.

My 2004 Outback doesn't use any oil (yet.) I would top it off and watch it. My 1996 Outback had no significant usage until it passed 100k miles and was using a quart about every 1000 miles or so at 125K. I use 5W30 in my cars.

I occasionally add a fuel injector cleaner to the gas, but otherwise I use regular unleaded gasoline. BTW I use Chevron exclusively.

Wow, I didn't know that this is such a common problem. I have had 6 Subarus with the 2.5 liter engine (1996 Outback, 2000 Outback, 2002 Outback, 2003 Baja, 2004 Outback and 2005 Impreza Outback Sport) and none of them ping under load. I regularly accelerate hard going uphill and while I don't get blazing performance, there is no pinging. I have experienced piston slap when the engine is cold, but it stops after a mile or so of driving.

On my 2004 Outback there is an interlock switch on the parking brake - the daytime running lights are activated when the parking brake is released. Find the switch and you should be able to de-activate the daytime running lights. I don't know how that would affect the normal headlights, however. I wouldn't do it - I like the daytime running lights and have always turned on my headlights on grey days when I had cars that didn't have them.

I have noticed a small improvement in performance after I replaced the stock air filter with a K&N filter. Maybe it's just my imagination, but the engine seems to breathe easier and pulls harder under load.