Subaru Impreza WRX 04' Blobeye
Discussion
Have now had the wheels refurbed. They do look excellent. The gold isn't Subaru as far as I know but I'm really pleased with the results. I've ordered some Poorboys Wheel Sealant to add protection before they're put in the car. The centre caps turned out to be the wrong ones; a quick call to Revolution and a correct set are on the way.
After much deliberation about tyres I've decided to go for T1Rs. Now I know these potentially suit lighter cars as they have a relatively soft side wall but I'll keep an eye on pressures and run them a few psi more than normal. Tbh with my style of driving (generally sedate) I doubt I'll notice, they have to be better than the Wanli's that are currently on there
I did come very close to buying Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas; they have excellent reviews but I wanted to try to Toyos first. A mate has a set of T1Rs on his bug eye STI and it handles very well to be fair so I haven't bought totally blindly. They were also £240 delivered, can't really argue with that.
Should be on by middle of next week, and then off to France on Friday.
test patch against wheel before refurb
done
After much deliberation about tyres I've decided to go for T1Rs. Now I know these potentially suit lighter cars as they have a relatively soft side wall but I'll keep an eye on pressures and run them a few psi more than normal. Tbh with my style of driving (generally sedate) I doubt I'll notice, they have to be better than the Wanli's that are currently on there
I did come very close to buying Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas; they have excellent reviews but I wanted to try to Toyos first. A mate has a set of T1Rs on his bug eye STI and it handles very well to be fair so I haven't bought totally blindly. They were also £240 delivered, can't really argue with that.Should be on by middle of next week, and then off to France on Friday.
test patch against wheel before refurb
done
Tyres turned up yesterday 
wasn't expecting them on the weekend and had booked them in during the week but decided to get them fitted today as I'm going to be very short of time this week to clean/seal them etc. After a decent conversation with one of the boys @ National Tyres and Autocare I was happy that enough care would be taken so as not to mark the rims during the process. Top boy down there fair play, he was manning the counter in between the job but he humored my OCD approach and explained the process letting me watch (giggidy); explaining the care he was taking not to make contact with the wheels etc.
So tyres fitted. I didn't have them fitted to the car as I wanted to was/polish and seal them before they went on. Took most of the afternoon
Washed them with a shampoo as normal to remove any grime/oil and then applied one coat (some say it could have done with two) of Mer Autoshine Deep Gloss Finishing Wax and then two coats of Poorboys Wheel Wax to seal up. Both compounds went on very easily and were simple to remove once hazed. The protection should last a few weeks hopefully.
pic heavy
& on the car. Also fitted my fog light covers
Drives just fine with them.
Having the lambda/o2 sensor fitted in the week @ 3 Arches.
Don't think there'll be any updates for a while, think I've done everything now
wasn't expecting them on the weekend and had booked them in during the week but decided to get them fitted today as I'm going to be very short of time this week to clean/seal them etc. After a decent conversation with one of the boys @ National Tyres and Autocare I was happy that enough care would be taken so as not to mark the rims during the process. Top boy down there fair play, he was manning the counter in between the job but he humored my OCD approach and explained the process letting me watch (giggidy); explaining the care he was taking not to make contact with the wheels etc.
So tyres fitted. I didn't have them fitted to the car as I wanted to was/polish and seal them before they went on. Took most of the afternoon
Washed them with a shampoo as normal to remove any grime/oil and then applied one coat (some say it could have done with two) of Mer Autoshine Deep Gloss Finishing Wax and then two coats of Poorboys Wheel Wax to seal up. Both compounds went on very easily and were simple to remove once hazed. The protection should last a few weeks hopefully.
pic heavy
& on the car. Also fitted my fog light covers
Drives just fine with them.
Having the lambda/o2 sensor fitted in the week @ 3 Arches.
Don't think there'll be any updates for a while, think I've done everything now
Well it's been almost week since we returned from our second trip to France this year and I've managed to find some time to put my thoughts about the experience down. Another great week in Lesbois and the surrounding rural areas. This week was more about doing nothing that doing things. Last time we tripped to Le Mans and a few other places which took up full days, one excursion was completed this time around; last week I mostly sat on this veranda
and stared at this lake
with a glass of cidre in my hand and the bottle never far from my side.
We had great weather, 20/21c all week with blue skys in the day and mild nights. I didn't take many photos so it's hard to show where we stayed/the surroundings but as I've eluded to previously; the gite we stay in was wonderfully presented, a mix of old and new and the hospitality shown by the host/owner of the property was lovely. Sue cooked us a beautiful 4 course dinner one night and we had the company of some ex-pats who were equally lovely. Great food/wine/friends, perfect. It's strange to think that we and many others do this a week at a time if were lucky enough to be able to but this is Sues job, this is her income, tending to the property and making sure her guests are comfortable and well informed about possible activities during their stay. Sat reminiscent in the office today I know which life I'd choose if I had the choice.
Interestingly the morning we got there we bumped into another brit who moved out a few years ago whom we'd met at a small soirée on our last visit. Very handy because we don't speak french, no one in Gorron speaks English and French customs are very different to our own. He explained no chance of breakfast at 10:30am, you'll have a coffee (black) and enjoy it, lunch won't be served for another our and a half. At least Barry could explain this rather than us trying to find a food source that didn't exist mid morning. We've been there a few times now but it's still quite alien. Anyway the interesting bit was Barry mentioned the weekend previous I/we'd missed a big Rallycross event at the local circuit (damn) but that the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations was being held in Ernee that weekend, amazing! I've had dirt bikes in the past etc so was really looking forward to being a spectator at that. Turns out to watch the final on the Sunday was 70euro each, we would have only been there for a few hours so decides against the outlay but was still interesting to see such a huge event take place a few miles down the road from where we were staying
random photo of one of the many camping areas
bike parking
Maybe we'll catch it next time.
Fast forward, got to cottage and de-bagged, popped to the Super U and stocked up on bread/cheese/Brioche/Cidre/Wine/Roule and collapsed into a chair for the rest of the day, only to be bothered by Rory the bernese mountain dog, Billy the Spaniel and 11 ducks that have learnt that guests are a consistent food source.
Really that is pretty much what we did all week, sit and stare. The perfect remedy to daily life. We did actually go on one other trip, to a Zoo. The OH is into Zoo's; I'm not, they tend to bum me out seeing animals behind bars. This place was one of the better ones, large enclosures and an emphasis on awareness and conservation, that is of little consolation to the animals there though I'm sure, especially the polar bear that was in obvious distress, very sad.
The one 'event' of the week occurred on the way back from said animal prison. Driving along, suddenly a wild pot hole appeared, the only pot hole in France I wager. I hit it at about 70mph. Not a small pot hole, a big pot hole, on a motorway. Now this (thank god) didn't result in a flat tyre or the steering wheel developing any strange angles or vibrations but the car immediately felt very different. "f
king Great" I said among other words that made the missus slightly uncomfortable. I pulled over to see if I could see any damage and I couldn't. Thoughts of a buckle in my newly refurbished wheel raised my temperature about 400c for a short time. Got back to the cottage and whipped the wheel off to find no obvious bends or breaks in components, the wheel and tyre looked fine. I can only largely put down the feeling that the car was in some way damaged beyond any economical repair to paranoia. It's been checked over by Dean @ 3 Arches this week after we arrived back and although the tracking on the F/O/S wheel has adjusted slightly he noted he can find nothing else wrong and to 'chill the fk out and just drive it' (not his words but a summary of our conversation) All angles are now back to where they should be and I'm confident in 3 Arches appraisal. Thanks goodness, I don't really have money for new suspension components right now.
Well that's pretty much it, the car made it there and back without any issues, it was a superb companion for the whole week, it ate up miles (710 in total) and didn't put a foot wrong, accept when the wheel fell into that canyon on the motorway.
Oh travel logistics were Portsmouth to St Malo on an overnight ferry, from St Malo to Gorron is about 1 and half hours so minimal motorway driving, which was nice.
and stared at this lake
with a glass of cidre in my hand and the bottle never far from my side.
We had great weather, 20/21c all week with blue skys in the day and mild nights. I didn't take many photos so it's hard to show where we stayed/the surroundings but as I've eluded to previously; the gite we stay in was wonderfully presented, a mix of old and new and the hospitality shown by the host/owner of the property was lovely. Sue cooked us a beautiful 4 course dinner one night and we had the company of some ex-pats who were equally lovely. Great food/wine/friends, perfect. It's strange to think that we and many others do this a week at a time if were lucky enough to be able to but this is Sues job, this is her income, tending to the property and making sure her guests are comfortable and well informed about possible activities during their stay. Sat reminiscent in the office today I know which life I'd choose if I had the choice.
Interestingly the morning we got there we bumped into another brit who moved out a few years ago whom we'd met at a small soirée on our last visit. Very handy because we don't speak french, no one in Gorron speaks English and French customs are very different to our own. He explained no chance of breakfast at 10:30am, you'll have a coffee (black) and enjoy it, lunch won't be served for another our and a half. At least Barry could explain this rather than us trying to find a food source that didn't exist mid morning. We've been there a few times now but it's still quite alien. Anyway the interesting bit was Barry mentioned the weekend previous I/we'd missed a big Rallycross event at the local circuit (damn) but that the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations was being held in Ernee that weekend, amazing! I've had dirt bikes in the past etc so was really looking forward to being a spectator at that. Turns out to watch the final on the Sunday was 70euro each, we would have only been there for a few hours so decides against the outlay but was still interesting to see such a huge event take place a few miles down the road from where we were staying
random photo of one of the many camping areas
bike parking
Maybe we'll catch it next time.
Fast forward, got to cottage and de-bagged, popped to the Super U and stocked up on bread/cheese/Brioche/Cidre/Wine/Roule and collapsed into a chair for the rest of the day, only to be bothered by Rory the bernese mountain dog, Billy the Spaniel and 11 ducks that have learnt that guests are a consistent food source.
Really that is pretty much what we did all week, sit and stare. The perfect remedy to daily life. We did actually go on one other trip, to a Zoo. The OH is into Zoo's; I'm not, they tend to bum me out seeing animals behind bars. This place was one of the better ones, large enclosures and an emphasis on awareness and conservation, that is of little consolation to the animals there though I'm sure, especially the polar bear that was in obvious distress, very sad.
The one 'event' of the week occurred on the way back from said animal prison. Driving along, suddenly a wild pot hole appeared, the only pot hole in France I wager. I hit it at about 70mph. Not a small pot hole, a big pot hole, on a motorway. Now this (thank god) didn't result in a flat tyre or the steering wheel developing any strange angles or vibrations but the car immediately felt very different. "f
king Great" I said among other words that made the missus slightly uncomfortable. I pulled over to see if I could see any damage and I couldn't. Thoughts of a buckle in my newly refurbished wheel raised my temperature about 400c for a short time. Got back to the cottage and whipped the wheel off to find no obvious bends or breaks in components, the wheel and tyre looked fine. I can only largely put down the feeling that the car was in some way damaged beyond any economical repair to paranoia. It's been checked over by Dean @ 3 Arches this week after we arrived back and although the tracking on the F/O/S wheel has adjusted slightly he noted he can find nothing else wrong and to 'chill the fk out and just drive it' (not his words but a summary of our conversation) All angles are now back to where they should be and I'm confident in 3 Arches appraisal. Thanks goodness, I don't really have money for new suspension components right now.Well that's pretty much it, the car made it there and back without any issues, it was a superb companion for the whole week, it ate up miles (710 in total) and didn't put a foot wrong, accept when the wheel fell into that canyon on the motorway.
Oh travel logistics were Portsmouth to St Malo on an overnight ferry, from St Malo to Gorron is about 1 and half hours so minimal motorway driving, which was nice.
Cheers dude I'm very pleased with the Revs 
Yea I felt the same, the fog covers really finish the front end, never really liked the visible laps either. Most seem to come up for about £120 which is crazy for what you're getting, mine came up for £60 so it bit the bullet. Mine aren't genuine and have slightly too much of a curve to them (sit slightly proud) but I'm still happy with the result. THey 02c blue and as new which is the main thing for me.
Throw a thread up for yours dude
Yea I felt the same, the fog covers really finish the front end, never really liked the visible laps either. Most seem to come up for about £120 which is crazy for what you're getting, mine came up for £60 so it bit the bullet. Mine aren't genuine and have slightly too much of a curve to them (sit slightly proud) but I'm still happy with the result. THey 02c blue and as new which is the main thing for me.
Throw a thread up for yours dude
williamw1987 said:
The gold on the Rev wheels goes perfectly with the blue! I'd kill for a set of those lol .
I almost had to to get my hands on them . or at least spend more than I wanted to! Fortunately mine were already WR 02C blue and covered in a 3M protective film which was brill. think it's just an case of keeping your eyes peeled on the for sale pages on FB etc, I'm pretty lucky I picked these up for 'so cheap'
Nope, spoiler is a copy too, but I'm none too bothered by that either; it's blue and looks good from 50 yds, that'll do me
All the best bud
williamw1987 said:
Awesome headunit and is the one I was going to get for my Blobeye too! How are you finding it? What's the carplay like too? Quite a responsive touch screen etc too?
Cheers dude. Love the head unit, fits in nicely and easy to install if you've spun the odd screw driver before. The carplay is instant, plug in the iphone and it's then switchable to carplay mode. It allows access to
Ta dude!
itunes/podcasts/messages (which Siri will read to you and allow you to respond by voice which is excellent, I spoke a message and it got it spot on, microphone on steering column cowel) maps/audiobooks. It's more or less an iphone in the car; bar apps like whatsapp etc which don't transfer.Cheers dude. Love the head unit, fits in nicely and easy to install if you've spun the odd screw driver before. The carplay is instant, plug in the iphone and it's then switchable to carplay mode. It allows access to
Ta dude!
It's mostly touch screen and even whilst driving I very rarely miss a 'touch', the screen is sensitive so you don't have to annoyingly double tap and the commands are followed pretty much instantly, no lag. Volume and modes are buttons on the lhs of the unit, it almost feels like its setup for the american market in this regard as the buttons are 'far away' but still easily within reach in the newage Impreza. It has great pre set EQ settings and 2 custom settings if you want to tailor, the screen is adjustable for themes (different colour combos) backlighting (can match the Subarus green instrument illumination) and so on. One thing I haven't resolved yet is there's an icon to access iphone pictures i believe but it's greyed out atm. My thoughts are; as the unit has no in-built memory if I were to add an SD card I could then transfer e.g. a picture of the Subaru (
) as a screen saver etc.All in all a brilliant unit, the sound it produces is clean, crisp and clear. The carplay makes accessing iphone infotainment effortless. Buy one.
AWG said:
This might be a stupid question but does that head unit have CD access?
not a silly Q at all dude no cd slot. it relies primarily on your iphone to provide the source material, it does seem to be an apple-centric device but does have mirror-link for android I believe. It does have USB connectivity etc for further media options. oobster said:
Nice head unit!
Reminds me of my 2003 WRX Blobeye, great car
Lovely bugeye you had there dude!, very ... red! Reminds me of my 2003 WRX Blobeye, great car
well guys, I'm looking around again for a mowta. I'm really not sure why, I absolutely love the Impreza, but alas, I still find myself looking.
Who know's what will happen in the next few weeks
After having my time comprehensively wasted with 2 'buyers' in particular I'm leaning towards keeping the Impreza. This is no bad thing as it's hardly a trial to own/drive.
So washed it, actually changed a few pictures on the ad, but if I don't get offered the asking price I'll hold on it. A BM is still on the cards but maybe not for a while.
It's going into 3 Arches tomorrow as I noticed a slight smell of burning oil over the last week or so when I came to a stop. From inspection on Friday the rocker gaskets have a slight weep which is allowing oil on to the manifold, will be replaced with oem gaskets tomorrow.
What's that? ... of course I took pictures of it clean
So washed it, actually changed a few pictures on the ad, but if I don't get offered the asking price I'll hold on it. A BM is still on the cards but maybe not for a while.
It's going into 3 Arches tomorrow as I noticed a slight smell of burning oil over the last week or so when I came to a stop. From inspection on Friday the rocker gaskets have a slight weep which is allowing oil on to the manifold, will be replaced with oem gaskets tomorrow.
What's that? ... of course I took pictures of it clean
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