1 Lucky Texan

If you are new to Soobs PLEASE search here for coolant flushing/filling posts - it can be a little trickier to refill soobs confidently. I think Setright has a good procedure outlined somwhere. basically, you have to fill in 1-2 certain ways and burp the system multiple times to assure no entrapped air. Carl

Wow! I hope someone chimes in on this. I got nothing solid - but I THINK the ECU compares the front O2 to the post cat O2 but how it decides one versus the other I'm not sure - so perhaps the cat is bad or the rear O2 is bad and the ECU is mis-reporting/fooled. I would expect the fron one to go bad first. Do you know the history of this car? Has it ever run rich for extended period? Already had any sensors replaced? Any recent work done? Any signs of rust/corrosion in the engine bay? Any weird dimming of lights? How have you been reading and clearing the O2 code? A clogged cat can rob power but I've never read of one surging like you explain. If you're not getting any cylinder misfire codes, it would seem to be a fuel/air issue or a sensor intermittent - not high voltage related.. Maybe TPS, MAF - I got nothing but guesses. Carl

No - no. With car parked, lower the driver's side window completely. Using one hand on the tweeter area inside the car, and the other directly outside on the mirror housing/whatever, push together. This should tighten the 'slot' the window rides up into. This MAY fix the noise. Try not to close the door pushing on the window, reach down and push on the metal. If that doesn't do it, try putting 2-3-4 inches of masking tape (at a time) in different areas and test drive to locate where the noise is coming from. Carl

Well, a little research and you may find a dual or progressive rate spring, that 'should' give you decent ride on pavement/smooth surfaces and better footing/limted body roll on rougher ground. I THINK Whiteline has some springs like this, likely others do too. I dunno. Carl

Quite likely you have air trapped in the coolant system. Could be something else I suppose - do a search here on radiator filling/verheating etc. and you will find many threads that will guide you on checking for proper filling. Carl

I';d suspect the rear brakes you could do yourself for maybe half that with NEW rotors. I might be wrong. On some vehicles (I haven't looked at my wife's OBW alternator) there can be a lot of diassembly to get to the alternator. Sometimes it's quite easy. Even diassembly is just extra time. I admit I farm out some jobs I could do myself if I could create the time or had a better set of tools maybe. Sorta pick and choose - some things I do, some jobs go to an indie mech at $52.50/hr, some to the dealership at -what - maybe $80/hr? You can also find some good tutorials with pics on-line. http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/modifications/brakes/rotors/rotors.html I also just bought some parts from Jamie at www.subarugenuineparts.com did my own cabin air filter swap and threw in an intake filter. Took a soob oil filter and crush washer and 6 qts. of Mobil 1 to the indie mech - changed the oil for $10 while I waited. Carl

Eibach, whiteline and others have springs that may not be too much stiffer than stock. You probably don't want much lowering either or you may be operating the new shocks outside of their designed 'sweetspot'. It doesn't show the lowering (which you might be able to fix anyway with some type of shim?) amount but this site; http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/techdocs/spring/spring.html shows the stiffness. Carl

Yeah, my very first thought was a voltmeter - then I thought an ammeter would be better but didn't know if they existed. Seems like here in Texas - a battery does well to last 3 years and some idea of when it was getting weak might be useful - dunno if ALL failure modes would show themselves but maybe overcharging would show itself? I dunno. Another thing I've always felt was odd is when folks want to measure something but then have now way to make a change or do nothing with the information. I suppose I can see where a boost gauge or a vacuum gauge would be useful for controlling the lead foot. And might also point out probelms developing - what? I dunno. And is there really any useful reaction to - say - oil temp?(is it just a redundant coolant temp indicator?) this could be an educational thread for me - keep 'em coming! Carl

HAH! you're right of course. I usually overfill my tires knowing that they may well be underinflated when I remember to next check them. thanx for hijacking my thread btw ;^) Carl

I haven't decided if I even want to add any gauges but I do intend to keep my new car ('06 WRX wagon) as long as reasonably possible. Given that, I wonder what gauges you guys feel would be most beneficial. probably many of us have been in the position of noticing some slight difference in a gauge and been able to ward off a serious problem. last winter I noticed a slightly lower position on the temp gauge of my Avenger and replaced the thermostat - it was stuck open. I probably saved myself a few bucks in gas as the mileage would likely have suffered eventually - or who knows - maybe some carbon/sludge would have developed. So, given that nowadays the ECU measures a lot of stuff and an OBDII reader may be enough, I wonder what gauges you guys feel would be helpful to monitor in the long run? Carl

Just adding to the Soob stable - not trading in the OBW! (I've been stuck in a '96 Dodge Avenger for a daily driver and am spending my half of an inherited house to spoil myself.) Carl

There are various models available for test drive even here in Texas. I have an Aspen White '06 WRX Wagon on order! Carl

In addition to a few sports parts sold through the dealerships (try jamie at www.subarugenuineparts.com - she also races! www.subiegal.com i think) there are many places for parts and info for modding/tuning. You could learn a LOT by using the search engines and reading for hours bith here and over at www.nasioc.com . I just ordered a muffler from www.boxer4racing.com for my WRX that hasn't even been delivered to the dealer yet! a good place to start shopping for tires wheels might be www.tirerack.com . www.scoobymods.com would be fun to poke around in. http://www.kastleskorner.com/store/index.php has been around a long time. Most of the forums have links to vendors. have fun! Carl

Ryan (my sales guy) said they were getting a pant-load of cars soon. They've received a coupla truckloads since they opened - plus having some stock left over from the AutoMall. Hope my car is on the next delivery! Carl

You're right of course - it will have some effect. I think , in most normal driving, shifting slowly and carefully should allow the rpms to drop and the synchronizers to do their jobs well. The clutch is a wear item and I think Subaru engines are fairly tough under a wide range of driving conditions. I'm not trying to fault anyone elses driving style. Just pointing out that 'babying' an engine can be counterintuitive to what is actually 'easy' for it. Also, I tend to sacrifice my brakes when decelerating - instead of engine braking. That's not to say, as I'm slowing I don't select the correct gear if an emergency maneuver should call for me to move quickly, I just use the brakes a lot. So , maybe, I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul. Of course, heel-toe and other techniques would be required for racing (techniques I probably should practice) but - ahh - I guess I just take the lazy way out! hah!

Assuming you're car is past the 'break in' period (please - no arguments over that - do asearch for those discussions) I see NO reason not to regularly go to or a little past the peak torque point when driving(say - 4500 rpm or so). Lugging an engine causes more local heat buildup and excessive pressure. I don't think ALL driving situations call for going to redline - but I would never feel redline needed to be avoided either.

Are the spots kinda random? Perhaps it's somethong as simple as the drain plug or filter gasket leaking and the oil is blowing/running to 2-3 different spots before dripping. good luck Carl

Is it auto or manual? Do you have the owners manual? (if not call jamie at www.subarugenuineparts.com ) The 4eat autotrannies have a fuse box under the hood. There is an empty position there that you put a spare fuse (15amp IIRC) into to disable AWD (FWD only) but it really isn't designed for long term use. maybe days-weeks would be OK, a year is probably not gonna be OK. It supplies a constant 12V to the duty soenoid 'C' which is normally getting pulses.(again IIRC) as said, the mods for the 2.2 are more like, reducing wheel, pulley or flywheel weight, or intake/exhasut mods. Some of these will shift torque curves while adding a few ponies but it is gonna be difficult to get more than about 10-12% more hp without doing some changes internally. Or an engine swap for a turbo'ed plant. lots of tuners over at www.nasioc.com I'd suggest lighter wheels and maybe some other suspension mods to increase the fun factor - forget about drag racing (except in the rain where you will OWN the other cars!) Carl

I personally have learned a LOT of good information by posting what I thought was right! lol! Trust me, sometimes on the 'net , folks will keep quiet - UNTIL questionable information is posted - THEN come the links, videos, notarized references, government experts, eyewitness accounts, etc. to the way it really is! In fact, instead of asking how much the stock wheels weigh on an '06 WRX - I shoulda posted that I weighed one and it was 30lbs. THEN someone would call me an idiot and post the actual weight. hah! I'm gonna try that over at nasioc right now! Carl

How much can you spend? First thing is make sure you buy premium gas (is that the recommended grade for your car?) Better performance and usually better mileage - 2 for 1 at just pennies a gallon difference! Next , you will get more 'zippy' acceleration with undersized tires. Of corse, the engine will be revving higher, mileage would likely suffer, and you speedometer/odometer will be off. Oh, and any warranty left might be voided.(this MAY be true for any cold air intake/oiled filter too - depnds) you could try never filling the tank - leave it at 1/2 even 1/3 .Rule of thumb says 1hp equals something between 8-11 lbs. of weight in the car. If you have around $600-$800, lighter wheels will free up a few ponies, maybe look better (bling!) and perhaps improve handling/ride. Lastly, don't be afraid to get the revs up - torque doesn't start making it's appearance till around 3800-4000 rpm I think on your car. It's actually good for the engine as it runs a little cooler and there is a little less stress at higher rpms. Get a sporty muffler, it'll SOUND faster! Drive with all the windows down - it'll FEEL faster! lol!

Well, with the moisture added in to the picture I'd say this is a high voltage problem. Wires or cracked coil pack or something. Sometimes, with the car running at night, hood up, you can see the sparking/arcing around the wires/boots/coilpack(so i've read - never tried it). If not, try spraying a squirt bottle of water around - forst one side, then the other to try to pinpoint the problem. could be something else though. Do you get a CEL? Carl

does your rear brake system resemble this?; http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/modifications/brakes/rotors/rotors.html Carl

Yeah I don't think our '03 OBW H6 has any of that stuff. So THAT'S where the xtra ponies came from! thanx Carl

It may just be kinda stuck with a layer of rust, gently bang it with a big hunk of wood or a hammer with a piece of wood to protect it. Then, you wil see it is loose but, as said, likely captured by the caliper bracket. Support the bracket with some wire or twine tied ut to the spring otr something and then remove the bracket bolts. The string will prevent the caliper from stressing the brake hose.

I don't think anyone could quantify any decrease in engine lifespan. At least, not any that could be directly attributed to the filter. There have been reports of increased silicon (read dust) in some used oil analyses - but no one seems to know if the actual particle size is detrimental to the bearing surfaces. There HAVE been people who destroyed MAF sensors with oiled filters - be careful not to 'over' oil it. (does your car have a MAF?)