If that felt like a eulogy it kinda was, but the new owner is a 50 something guy who wants to let his 30 yr old son drive his NC and he will drive my car so they can do HPDE and autocross together. It may get wrecked but at least I'm not worried about a young kid being in over his head so I'm happy it will get used well
CyberEric said:I really like these in terms of size, looks, and the way they drive, but every time someone talks about them it’s like the post above: “Other than this, this, this, this, and this, they’re great cars.”
Makes me sad because I think they meet allot of needs.
A well understood platform on an automotive enthusiast board is going to do this to almost anything you want to consider.
GMT400 truck: Other than the rust, fueling systems, crappy plastics and general abuse they take, they're awesome!
Miata: Other than rust in the rockers, being massively underpowered, some crank problems on the early model, the likelyhood it's been on track and getting lost in traffic so you almost get run over by people that can't see you, they're the best car ever.
In reply to Brett_Murphy (Forum Patrón) :
I'm with you, this is the only Subaru in .my area with less than 250k on it, some with 300+
Late to the party.
I had an '05 LGT 5 speed. Random stream-of-consciousness memories:
I tuned it to "Stage 2" at 18K miles, and sold it 4 years ago at 153K with the original turbo still working fine. The buyer was the son of a friend of mine. He still has it. Had to finally replace the turbo at something like 230K. Regular oil changes work! I never did the banjo bolt screen mod thingy. I checked it once and it was clean.
I totally remember the throttle lag thing. Drove my crazy.
With mine, the harder I got on it, the easier it would shift. Shifting at normal commuting speeds was clunky, but when I really needed a clean shift at high RPM, I always got one. Also, I replaced the shifter bushings with hard bushings. That's a good mod; short shifter not necessary.
The torque curve sucks in stop and go traffic - no bottom end and then too much torque. It's worse with the A/C on. Terrible commuter car for that reason.
Part of my commute involved a two-lane in the country. Coolest thing was passing someone in 5th gear at 55 and feeling the car pull harder as I accelerated. I miss the power sometimes and the AWD a lot.
Responsiveness in 5th is syrupy below 70 mph.
LCA bushings last only 40K miles or so. Hard bushings improve steering response, but use stock rubber replacements unless you really, really like NVH with double-extra H. I bought an extra pair of LCA's, changed the bushings at my leisure, and then swapped them in about 45 minutes. Lather, rinse, repeat.
A bigger rear bar was the single best mod I made - better them more power. It's an understeering pig from the factory. A bigger front bar improves turn-in response, but I had to be driving hard-ish to notice it.
They eat wheel bearings.
The brakes always felt soft and squishy. The master cylinder brace mod didn't change a thing. Different pads helped some but I never got it completely sorted.
Supposedly, the stock oil pump pickup is prone to failure. Replacing it is an awful job. Mine was perfect. Grrrr.
Just pay "your guy" to change the spark plugs. Just do it.
I miss the bright blue miata. Such an awesome look.
But i REALLY like the evil black wagon.
This one's for you Mike
More Subaru:
Went to see the guy that owned the car before the guy I got it from, he had 8 Subarus behind his limo service shop, including a Brat. Talked him out of a set of crossbars off a Forester, he's pulling a receiver hitch for me this weekend. Took the crossbars home, scrubbed, shortened, 2 coats of black spray paint, 3 coats of wrinkle paint for a factory fresh look. Threw my luggage thing on top to see where everything fit right and couldnt resist a couple of glamor shots
Anyone wanna guess what my favorite color is?
I've never seen a Miata used for hunting purposes. I will never look at a Miata the same way.
In reply to dxman92 :
Thanks! My work here is done, lol. Honest to God, I drove out into the (unseasonably dry) green field, within 6 feet of it and loaded her up. Gotta love a Torsen. I musthave gotten 15 honks or thumbs up on my way home
Got my trailer hitch and put it on last night. Cleaned up the spare set of wheels and tires and painted the rims gloss black to match the car.
Life is good!
In reply to tb (minimally supportive) :
What do you run front and rear for tire pressure? What size do you prefer for autocross?
R u gonna polish those headlights?
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Getting polished and tinted with protective film tomorrow. Tails too
Anybody have experience with cheap clutch kits on Subarus and the guy that owns 65 Subarus told me under no circumstances to put a lighter flywheel on. At least one of yall said it was a good mod, why would he tell me not to? The one I'm looking at is 14 pounds so not like the 8 or 9 pound ones on Miatas.
I have an '08 Legacy (N/A) , I stupidly farmed the clutch job out (complete-flywheel, PP, disc, etc.) The mechanic installed some Autozone grade parts and it now has some vicious clutch chatter after the car is warmed up. Not sure if it's the crummy aftermarket parts or if they f-ed up the installation somehow, but it's one data point. I will replace all with OEM when I have the time.
In reply to Justjim75 :
I have run a variety of tires and have tried varying pressure, so I am not sure if I have great advice... what tires are you using. For streetable like 200-500 Treadwell stuff I am usually around 36psi all around depending on the weather...
Most of my tires have been 215/45r17s I believe (except the snow tires are skinnier and taller).
Sorry, but I have never gotten serious about this car; mostly because my wife uses it more and doesn't want it too far modified.
The car came with 2 sets of the same size wheels, one with 225/50 500tw all seasons and the other set 205/50 500tws that are old and cracked, so I run the bigger tires which are Kumhos
I just saw the autocross pic and thought it was worth asking.
In reply to flat4_5spd :
Data is good, thank you.
mr2s2000elise said:Justjim75 said:The guy I bought it from (a factory trained Subaru tech gone indy) said his friend he got it from told him not to open it so he didnt,
You would think a "factory trained subaru tech," would have more knowledge than to just rely on "what his friend told him...."
Sadly most "factory trained tech's," have been taught how to be a parts changer, and barely at that!. But you did mention you know him pretty well, so hopfully he is an exception.
Super nice looking wagon Jim!
flat4_5spd said:I have an '08 Legacy (N/A) , I stupidly farmed the clutch job out (complete-flywheel, PP, disc, etc.) The mechanic installed some Autozone grade parts and it now has some vicious clutch chatter after the car is warmed up. Not sure if it's the crummy aftermarket parts or if they f-ed up the installation somehow, but it's one data point. I will replace all with OEM when I have the time.
Sadly, (once again) my money is on BOTH!
In reply to Justjim75 :
Anybody have experience with cheap clutch kits on Subarus and the guy that owns 65 Subarus told me under no circumstances to put a lighter flywheel on. At least one of yall said it was a good mod, why would he tell me not to? The one I'm looking at is 14 pounds so not like the 8 or 9 pound ones on Miatas.
Subaru itself went against that advice and lightened the flywheel from ‘07 on, moving to a lighter single mass flywheel like the WRX with the same engine. I believe The STi has one that was a little lighter. I put a 14lb flywheel in my otherwise ‘05 Legacy GT and it cured the stock driveability issues. I did notice a little more gear whine in 1st, but it wasn’t all that quite to start with.
In reply to Boost_Crazy :
That's awesome, I loved the 9# Fidanza on my Miata. So look for a stock 07 up WRX flywheel or a replacement for one?
I think the WRX changed to the 2.5 in ‘06, so ‘06 up for the WRX style. They changed the Legacy GT in ‘07. You need to change to a WRX style clutch disk at the same time. All aftermarket flywheels are WRX style too and use that clutch disc. The ‘05-‘06 LGT flywheel is 26-28lbs., the ‘07+ is around 20lbs. That should be noticeable, my 14lb ACT flywheel was a night and day difference.
I verified it has the 07 up WRX flywheel
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