Langdon

Thanks, Strakes. That's a great site.

It was my tire guy who wanted to sell me new wheels... I asked him about remachining them or something and he said there was nothing he could do. I think it's time for a new tire guy.

The manufacturer might... I hadn't thought of that. I haven't tried sealing the rims at all since I really don't have access to them, nor the means to remove tire from wheel. Nor the means to refill the tires when finished...

^^^ bump

Anyone here have any experience with aftermarket wheels? I'm specifically wondering how the quality and safety of cheaper aftermarket wheels compare to factory alloy wheels. The vehicle in question is actually my non-Subaru other car, the wheels of which need to be replaced due to chronic tire leaking. (Figured you wouldn't mind since y'all love cars here. ) I need to get new ones immediately but I just can't swing $275 a pop for factory rims, so I'm looking to go as cheap as I can and still be family-car safe-- Hence, something like Discount Tire's MB Motoring series. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Update! I finally took my OB to the shop for a $1600 fandango of maintenence, and the shop isolated the rattle to the heat shield on one spur of the Y-pipe under the engine. My mechanic said it would be okay to remove the rusted shield, so I gave my consent. It turns out he removed the entire heat shield from the Y-pipe, not just the rattling segment. The car sound great now, I'm just wondering: Do you really think I'm okay without that heat shield? And would the heat shield otherwise act as a rock-guard against the perforation of the Y-pipe?

Thanks, Jamal. The noise reduction and the cool factor have decided it for me. Interesting that I can't find more info from fuel economy fiends out there, though. I'll try to maintain good records and see if I can discern any difference in milage after the fairing's installed. Right-o!

Mine has a rotary dial. I have the 'basic blue,' non-deluxed 01 Outback.

I've got a THULE roof rack on my '01 Outback wagon (square crossbars), and I'm thinking about getting a fairing (wind deflector) with the hope that it will either improve gas mileage, or at the very least not affect it. I've read that results can vary from car to car. Has anyone kept track of their mileage pre- and post-installation of a THULE fairing on their Outback wagons? If it's too detrimental to economy, I'll happily put up with the wind noise. Thanks!

I'm looking at subwoofer options for my '01 Outback, and I am pretty sure that an underseat powered, enclosed sub is what I need right now. (I need as much cargo space as I can get, I don't have the resources to really consider the spare-tire sub, and I don't need a lot of bass) My options are fairly limited, one of my choices being the Subaru factory amp/sub. I'd love to hear opinions of the Subaru sub or any aftermarket underseat sub in conjunction with upgraded, aftermarket speakers. I'll be installing Infinity reference series speakers, and for the sub I have my eye on the Kenwood KSC-SW1. Thanks!

You read me right- I don't want the deep bass massage, I just want a full sound with bass where it's called for. The spare tire well thing has gotten me thinking. If I design something outrageous, I'll let you all know!

Sorry folks, lost my cool there... I didn't know the plastic housing that the carpet shell is screwed into popped out. Once it did it seems like accessing the bar's bolt won't be a problem. Now let's drill some holes...

Knights of Columbus, this is torquing me off! I bought a Rear Gate Bar kit for my 01 Outback after looking at the installation PDF online, and I thought the process was going to be a breeze. It turns out that several inches away from the outside body layer that I'm supposed to drill through there's a second layer of sheet metal and almost no way to reach that outside layer to put the nut and washers on. There's a couple of holes and wiring accesses, but I can't imagine reaching my hand back there, much less a ratchet and socket. Has anyone here had luck installing a Rear Gate Bar on an 01? It seems that the only instructions floating around online and with the kit are a wee bit out of date. I suppose I should be glad I didn't drill holes in my car!

Heat shield, eh? I'll check it out and keep this thread posted. Thanks a lot!

Andyjo, THAT's the kind of ingenuity that made this country great! I'll expect equally creative solutions from all of you from now on.

Whar har har. Yeah, silly me. Funny how a zero can mean so much. I'll get someone to help me try to isolate that noise, though. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a commonly known problem that would eventually cause my outback to drop its transmission or burst into flames. My big issue is that it makes my car sound like that car that that other guy always drives... The guy with the squeaky brakes. I know you can sympathize with that!

To the mechanically inclined, from a first-time Subaru owner: My 2001 Outback's engine produces an odd 'buzzing' or vibration sound when the RPMs reach 27,000 to 30,000 RPM. This happens either driving down the road or when simply revving the engine in neutral. It is a rapid, metallic rattling heard on top of the regular sound of the engine, and subsides above ~30k RPM. I don't hear it when the windows are up and the mechanic who looked the Outback over before I bought it last week didn't see anything wrong. There seems to be no loss in performance, but it definitely sounds like there's something wrong. But then again, this is my first Subaru. Any ideas what this sound could mean?

So far, sregor13, you're saying just what I wanted to hear. In fact even before reading this I ordered the very speakers you recommended for my 4-speaker system. I'm also considering an underseat sub/amp unit of some sort... I've heard people actually recommend the Subaru sub/amp. Do you have any opinions on the matter? It really would have to go under the seat, which unfortunately rules out Infinity's Basslink. Thanks!

Wow, that is a big difference... Thanks a lot, Steve- That's a huge help. I was thinking that if they were already 'upgraded' I'd simply decide to enjoy it, but based on what you and others have said I may as well start thinking about upgrading the whole system aftermarket. Fine with me.

First let me say howdy! This is my first post and as a week-old first time Subaru owner (2001 Outback) I'm delighted to encounter such a robust community of enthusiastic Subaru owners. Of course the first thing I started thinking about after buying my Outback was how can I upgrade it. I love my music, but at this point in order to really justify shelling out the cash for new speakers I'd like to identify the speakers currently installed. Is there an easy way to tell which of the two grades of factory speaker is installed by looking at it? My previous car was a 98 Jeep Wrangler, so my ear is admittedly easily charmed by just about any other car stereo I encounter... My Outback has the tweeter package but only the basic CD player, and no amp/sub. The previous owner (the original owner) couldn't tell me if the speakers were Standard factory or the Upgraded set. Thanks!