subyroo

Thanks 99obw. The reason why I am looking around for alternatives to the Geolanders is because they wear out quickly from what other users have reported on different forums. Most people agree they are good for 35,000kms or (21,750 miles US) which is piss poor in man's language. Now as for the reasons why they wear out so quickly nobody has hinted as to why, I only have 11,200kms (7,000 miles US) which is 1/3 worn if mine go the same way as all other reports. The Cooper H/T tread pattern would suit me and the way I use my Forester, I am a Pensioner (not an old one either :argue: ) so I can't afford to go flogging my car around the scrub as much as I would like too as I can't afford the repairs.

These are the octane ratings for our BP fuel: Lead Replacement Petrol 96 min - pre 1986 cars mainly Unleaded Petrol 91 min - normal everyday use by most Oz cars Premium Unleaded Petrol 95 min - BP Ultimate 98 min - dearer fuel by up to 9 cents /L BP Racing 100 110-115 (typical) - not available at the pump, only in drums. I myself like to use the Shell Optimax as the Forester has better acceleration (seat of the pants stuff) and gets a little better mpg per tank.

Greg, thanks for the feedback. Did the bands break because you ran low tyre pressures ie <32psi?, or were they just **** tyres all round? Coopers had a prob down here with "chipping" of the lugs and have made an alteration to the compound for Oz conditions, but dealers are waiting for them to arrive here downunder.

Is or has anybody used Coopers tyres on their Forester? I am currently running the dealer fitted Geolanders and I am currently looking around for alternative brands that will replace the Forester's 215/60 R16's. I have heard that there is a problem with going to a taller tyre ie 215/70/R16 as it rubs or bumps against the bottom of the spring holder on the front strut. Does anybody have any knowledge they can impart here?? P.S. I am in australia but can search for the brands to see if they are available down here, I know we can get Coopers and I like their idea of a Warranted mileage.

Try this link to do the above conversions for you: http://www.tdiclub.com/misc/conversions.html Following mpg etc have all been converted to US measurements: I own an Aussie MY03 XS and I am getting 27.75 mpg on a round trip of 920 miles travelling at 75MPH with the A/C on the whole time and laden with 3 adults - suitcases etc on vacation. I average 26.73mpg and for combined City & Hwy driving, and around the city I drive quite briskly fast t/o's & acceleration are fairly common as a lot of drivers don't respect the Forester down here, they call them a "soft roader" but a lot of the std cars cannot keep up with their speed away from the lights and I like showing them that ability. 5 - 6,000rpm in 1st is good at doing that too. :D :D

cx20 there is a pkdavis300 who is a member of this forum he can help you out with an Aussie made lift kit from the Backyard Boys http://www.ausubaru.com who are into modifying all Subaru's.

I have 215/60 R16 Yokohama Geolander's on my 03 XS Forester and I'm running 36psi in them and I rotate - balance & align them at every service interval. They are currently wearing very even from an eye perspective the aligner & balancer may say otherwise as they are due for their 1st rotation in another 1,200kms. I have always run 36psi in the tyres on all my cars and have never had a problem. However, NEVER NEVER go below 32psi on Steel Belted Radials or you may end up having tread seperation. That information was passed onto me by a Bridgestone Tyre Technician when Steel Belted Radials first appeared in Australia, the reason being that the steel belts may overheat and fracture causing the seperation or a blowout. The main reason some people deflate their steel belted tyres below the 32psi is because the ride is too harsh for them, those people should remain using "cloth radials" if they desire a softer ride.

howards11....... the Ausssie XS Forester comes standard with 215/60 R16 Yokohama Geolanders if that helps you at all, I am not up to date with the new fang dangled tyre sizes. :o

I have an Aussie MY03 XS Forester with a 75/35 - 925 Red Top Optima fitted, it was originally fitted in my MY01 RX Liberty (aka Legacy)........Howard is right on the money though you will have to get a longer + lead made up, mine cost $19.00AUD back in May 2001. I can post a pic tomorrow (my time, it's 7:20pm at the moment) if you want to see it fitted With my MY01 Liberty I also had to change the Hold Down Bracket and that was about $10.00AUD. Optima is the way to go in my opinion it boots the Subee's where it counts. :eek:

That's Subaru Cruiser I saw on a Forum but can't remember which Forum it was on, but the name Colfax was the name of the place.

We could tell you how to get more "hp" out of your Subaru but then we would have to kill you. ala Mission Impossible..........we can't have you guy's out running us now can we Seriously though, do a search for subaru+police vehicles using GOOGLE and read to your hearts content. I have seen a pic of an OBW as a Sherrif's car in the USA and this one in Italy This one is from the UK Why not try an XT Forester (this is not an XT) but it gives you an idea on what it would look like.

See my latest figures that I posted here in this thread today, the MY03 Forester has the same running gear as an OB only difference is that the Forester is 33kgs lighter than the OB in Unladen Mass: http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3310

I just did a long trip: Miles: 847 (US) Avg MPG: 28 (US) Hwy Cruise Speed: 70 mph (US) less through towns enroute of course. I used Shell Ultimate which is 98RON down here and ran with the A/C on for the whole trip.

These guy's can also do a 30% reduction mod on the standard Aussie D/R box. http://www.users.bigpond.com/subaxtreme/

Why is it that the USA "hasn't got with the program" and gone Metric too

MarkHP, I have a 2003 XS Forester with 4,035 kms (2,507 miles)on the clock and have kept Fuel stats from Day 1 (07-01-03) my figures are: Best 8.27 L/100K - Combined City/Hwy Cycle Worst 9.76 L/100K - All City Cycle. For our USA friends that is: 33.80 mpg 28.64 mpg all figures were obtained using 98RON fuel and I fill my tank to the brim everytime and then give it a little bit of stick on the way home to "burn off" the excess. I also try to fill my car in the early morning when the fuel is more dense, although that is not always possible when travelling. I will be doing a 3,000 km (1865 miles) round trip soon so I will be able to give a better idea of my Hwy figure.

Caboobaroo, I would have thought that being in the USA you guy's would have better access to obtaining these items more so than we Aussie's.

Has anybody had any experience with these things or seen them fitted to know whether they are worth the money or not This is what they look like for a Nissan 300ZX DAY NIGHT

I have an MY03 XS Forester and the fogs come on with the park lights and stay on whether the low beam or high beam lights are used. Obviously things are different here downunder.

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