The daily - Impreza 2.5 WRX Wagon
Discussion
Blimey, 5 months has gone!
Er, no news is good news really. I seem to have done less miles of late (now on 82k, so only 7k in 5 months), mostly down to a shift in work-related mileage (I seem to be in London a lot at the moment - the joys of public transport
).
I did half-heartedly try and sell it a few weeks ago but quickly realised that I wouldn't get enough to make it worthwhile moving on. So it's time to commit to keeping it for another couple of years and getting my money's worth
With that in mind I've just ordered a set of new KYB rear shocks, top-mounts and bump stops to cure theknackered slightly knocking rear suspension. These parts cost less than £300 all in, compared to the £800+VAT Subaru wanted for replacement struts alone 
. Should get them fitted by a local place in the next couple of weeks, so I'll report back. I'm also going to sack off main-dealer servicing - given the mileage I'm putting on it's not going to help maintain the value of the car, and to be honest I've been less than impressed with the general workmanship. Service is fine, but quality less so (particularly given the set of 'OEM' brake pads I've just replaced were the wrong size...). It's not worth paying the premium IMHO when there are well-respected indies on my doorstep who do what you ask of them the first time around.
Still, got a few jobs oop north coming up, and sprinting season is starting again soon which means it'll be thrown into towing duty once again. I reckon it'll see 100k by the time 2016 is done.
Er, no news is good news really. I seem to have done less miles of late (now on 82k, so only 7k in 5 months), mostly down to a shift in work-related mileage (I seem to be in London a lot at the moment - the joys of public transport
). I did half-heartedly try and sell it a few weeks ago but quickly realised that I wouldn't get enough to make it worthwhile moving on. So it's time to commit to keeping it for another couple of years and getting my money's worth
With that in mind I've just ordered a set of new KYB rear shocks, top-mounts and bump stops to cure the
. Should get them fitted by a local place in the next couple of weeks, so I'll report back. I'm also going to sack off main-dealer servicing - given the mileage I'm putting on it's not going to help maintain the value of the car, and to be honest I've been less than impressed with the general workmanship. Service is fine, but quality less so (particularly given the set of 'OEM' brake pads I've just replaced were the wrong size...). It's not worth paying the premium IMHO when there are well-respected indies on my doorstep who do what you ask of them the first time around.Still, got a few jobs oop north coming up, and sprinting season is starting again soon which means it'll be thrown into towing duty once again. I reckon it'll see 100k by the time 2016 is done.
Still here, still going and approaching 85k miles. Got some long trips due over the next couple of months so I'll be booking in for another service soon I imagine.
The new KYB rear suspenders are now on, and very welcome they are too. I am finally free of the infernal knocking
Otherwise, no news is good news. It has been exactly as dependable as one would expect through a fairly grotty winter, although I'm gutted there wasn't any snow!
And finally, a gratuitous pic with its stablemate:
The new KYB rear suspenders are now on, and very welcome they are too. I am finally free of the infernal knocking
Otherwise, no news is good news. It has been exactly as dependable as one would expect through a fairly grotty winter, although I'm gutted there wasn't any snow!
And finally, a gratuitous pic with its stablemate:
Can't fault the KYB replacement shocks for these, I've just had the Ultra SR's all round on my STI and now they're bedded in they ride just as well as the OEM shocks but also cost half the amount! Saying that they were rock hard when first fitted but after a couple of hundred miles I can't fault them.
91k miles now. The new KYBs have settled in nicely and I have been enjoying clonk-free motoring for the last few months
The miles will start to rack up again over the next few weeks, with (on top of the usual work mileage) sprints at Croft and Angelsey meaning 1000 miles of towing coming up!
The self-levelling headlights played silly-buggers for a while and decided they wanted to illuminate only the bit of road immediately in front of the bumper. I've had all the connectors off and given them a good clean which only had limited success, so I asked my local indy to have a look. Their tests on the central control module were pretty inconclusive, but they've worked fine ever since so I'll hang fire on replacing anything just yet. Not least because replacement parts are extortionately expensive...
I'm pretty sure this is the most boring Readers' Cars thread on PH.
TL;DR: Man buys Subaru. Doesn't Barry it. Subaru continues to mostly work.
The miles will start to rack up again over the next few weeks, with (on top of the usual work mileage) sprints at Croft and Angelsey meaning 1000 miles of towing coming up!
The self-levelling headlights played silly-buggers for a while and decided they wanted to illuminate only the bit of road immediately in front of the bumper. I've had all the connectors off and given them a good clean which only had limited success, so I asked my local indy to have a look. Their tests on the central control module were pretty inconclusive, but they've worked fine ever since so I'll hang fire on replacing anything just yet. Not least because replacement parts are extortionately expensive...
I'm pretty sure this is the most boring Readers' Cars thread on PH.
TL;DR: Man buys Subaru. Doesn't Barry it. Subaru continues to mostly work.
BenWRXSEi said:
TL;DR: Man buys Subaru. Doesn't Barry it. Subaru continues to mostly work.
Haha, not a bad thing at all!How is maintenance on these? A previous neighbour of mine ran several GTs/WRXs, and i vaguely remember the motor needing some fairly involved servicing quite often (valve adjustment?)
Vitorio said:
Haha, not a bad thing at all!
How is maintenance on these? A previous neighbour of mine ran several GTs/WRXs, and i vaguely remember the motor needing some fairly involved servicing quite often (valve adjustment?)
Mine basically gets serviced along with Subaru's service schedule (although I use independents now). Genuine parts can be pricey but otherwise I've not had too many nasty surprises (touch wood). Never heard of valves needing adjusting though! How is maintenance on these? A previous neighbour of mine ran several GTs/WRXs, and i vaguely remember the motor needing some fairly involved servicing quite often (valve adjustment?)
In June I said.... said:
. I reckon it'll see 100k by the time 2016 is done.
99,500 miles now, so thought I'd give the old girl a service in preparation for her 'birthday.' They like having their fluids changed and I'm conscious of any additional strain that towing might put on the drive train, so I got on the blower to Opie Oils and took delivery of this little lot:
I also decided to take matters into my own hands with the servicing, so headed on down to This Is Your Garage and rented a bay and lift for a few hours. Typically the car fought back a tad (apparently the oil filter was last fitted by the Hulk) but hey, bleeding knuckles is all part of car ownership right?
So it's had new engine, gearbox and diff oil, along with the air-con and alternator belts (the latter of which was also a sod to fit). Certainly drives much better for it.
Tune in for the next exciting instalment. It might even get a wash
me73 said:
What are your thoughts on the seats in your current car compared to the bugeye. The seats in my bugeye are some of the most comfortable and supportive street seats I've experienced.
Good question. It's been about four years since I last sat in a bug-eye, but I'm pretty sure they're the same seats. EDIT: actually, I've just found a pic of the old car's interior and they're not the same:
Old:
New:
I wouldn't say they're the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in, but then my last car was an E39 5 series. They're plenty supportive enough for the long journeys I do though.
BenWRXSEi said:
Good question. It's been about four years since I last sat in a bug-eye, but I'm pretty sure they're the same seats.
EDIT: actually, I've just found a pic of the old car's interior and they're not the same:
I wouldn't say they're the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in, but then my last car was an E39 5 series. They're plenty supportive enough for the long journeys I do though.
Interesting, your seats in the UK bugeyes were different from what we had in the US. Ours had more bolstering.EDIT: actually, I've just found a pic of the old car's interior and they're not the same:
I wouldn't say they're the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in, but then my last car was an E39 5 series. They're plenty supportive enough for the long journeys I do though.
The seats in your eagle eye do look the same as the ones we had.
We ran an'01 bug eye 2.0 WRX Wagon as out daily for 10 years. Did 80,000 mikes and it NEVER broke down, just had a second hand turbo fitted at 110,000 and was as good as new. I actually gave it away to a friend last Christmas. Was the best car I have ever owned, ridiculously reliable and would travel as fast down a B road 100% standard as fast as anything I had ever come across in that time. Great car.
Furyblade_Lee said:
We ran an'01 bug eye 2.0 WRX Wagon as out daily for 10 years. Did 80,000 mikes and it NEVER broke down, just had a second hand turbo fitted at 110,000 and was as good as new. I actually gave it away to a friend last Christmas. Was the best car I have ever owned, ridiculously reliable and would travel as fast down a B road 100% standard as fast as anything I had ever come across in that time. Great car.
Yeah, it was the experience with my bug that made me go and buy this. A quick check on the MOT site suggests it's still running (despite from apparently having a 30k-mile 'haircut' a couple of years ago... I guess it must be on 160k+ by now). Aside from having a bit more poke the hawkeye feels exactly like the old car, and in stock form it's perfect for the crappy bumpy backroads around here. I'm certainly no faster in anything else!
I'm not big into modifications, but I have to say that I was thoroughly irritated by the terminal understeer of the car running on the stock suspension. It would do nothing but push and I had to do something about it.
With a little investigation, it was obvious that Whiteline has a very thorough understanding of the handling characteristics of these cars and has good documentation to prove it so I decided to try to mimic their settings. Unfortunately, getting Whiteline hardware for the GG Wagon in the US isn't easy and there are alternatives that are a little cheaper.
I wasn't able to locate a set of Whiteline sway bars for my wagon, but I did happen to find that Hotchkiss makes a hollow set of bars that are close to Whiteline in stiffness. The result was that they completely transformed the attitude of the car. The car became completely neutral and with easy control of the yaw with the throttle. The most impressive part is how it woke up the chassis feedback. Even more than just having communication from the front and back of the car, I can honestly feel what is going on at each corner.
A year later I updated the springs, again with Swift springs that were near the rate and height of Whitelines. The most noticeable difference being even more feel from the chassis and the steering got sharper.
For a front heavy, awd car, these GD/GG gen cars are way more entertaining than they have a right to be.
With a little investigation, it was obvious that Whiteline has a very thorough understanding of the handling characteristics of these cars and has good documentation to prove it so I decided to try to mimic their settings. Unfortunately, getting Whiteline hardware for the GG Wagon in the US isn't easy and there are alternatives that are a little cheaper.
I wasn't able to locate a set of Whiteline sway bars for my wagon, but I did happen to find that Hotchkiss makes a hollow set of bars that are close to Whiteline in stiffness. The result was that they completely transformed the attitude of the car. The car became completely neutral and with easy control of the yaw with the throttle. The most impressive part is how it woke up the chassis feedback. Even more than just having communication from the front and back of the car, I can honestly feel what is going on at each corner.
A year later I updated the springs, again with Swift springs that were near the rate and height of Whitelines. The most noticeable difference being even more feel from the chassis and the steering got sharper.
For a front heavy, awd car, these GD/GG gen cars are way more entertaining than they have a right to be.
Edited by me73 on Wednesday 21st December 22:30
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