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+-- Forum: Technical (https://forum.mmsports.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
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+--- Thread: Project RS (/showthread.php?tid=6314)
- WRXtranceformed - 02-17-2008
The heat makes more of a difference than anything. The Goo Gone really just loosens it up a little bit. Using the paper towl wadded up and rubbing it back and forth will get the adhesive tape off in no time
- Andy - 02-17-2008
Not to hate Scotty but the new badge looks pretty ricery.
- Evan - 02-17-2008
'goof off' is infinitely better than that citrus goo gone crap.
However, it is solvent based so you have to be careful with it. Might not be paint safe?
- ScottyB - 02-17-2008
Andy Wrote:Not to hate Scotty but the new badge looks pretty ricery.
ScottyB Wrote:but my inner ricer is so satisfied!
even the little things help me cope :lol:
Evan Wrote:'goof off' is infinitely better than that citrus goo gone crap.
noted...i'll have to test it on something painted sometime.
- Mike - 02-17-2008
Andy Wrote:Not to hate Scotty but the new badge looks pretty ricery.
:?:
it's an oem badge... just not from his year. silver and red is perfect since his car is silver and the taillight right next to it is red. yay.
you're the ricer, ninja eyes.
- Andy - 02-17-2008
Mike Wrote:Andy Wrote:Not to hate Scotty but the new badge looks pretty ricery.
:?:
it's an oem badge... just not from his year. silver and red is perfect since his car is silver and the taillight right next to it is red. yay.
you're the ricer, ninja eyes.
My post deserved a :?: really? Disagree if you want but the badge=no workie. It's like when RSX guys put Honda Integra badges on their cars or jackasses that advertise their engine's rev limit on their license plates.
- Maengelito - 02-17-2008
Andy Wrote:It's like when... jackasses that advertise their engine's rev limit on their license plates.
andy 1, mikey 0.
- Mike - 02-17-2008
Andy Wrote:Mike Wrote:Andy Wrote:Not to hate Scotty but the new badge looks pretty ricery.
:?:
it's an oem badge... just not from his year. silver and red is perfect since his car is silver and the taillight right next to it is red. yay.
you're the ricer, ninja eyes.
My post deserved a :?: really? Disagree if you want but the badge=no workie. It's like when RSX guys put Honda Integra badges on their cars or jackasses that advertise their engine's rev limit on their license plates.
a) no, it's not.
b) you wish you had something that could go to 9.
- Jeff - 02-17-2008
Mike Wrote:you wish you had something that could go to 9.
These amps go to 11...
- ScottyB - 03-12-2008
changed the oil again last weekend and sure enough i saw some very, very fine gold particles show up in the pan again.
i'm not sure if i'm an idiot for still driving it or overreacting again over what could be nothing. car still drives fine, no funny sounds, but i don't think all is well in subie land. what gets me is that i drive it so calmly....except for 1 autocross it sees redline maybe 3 times a week and i REALLY drive it like a pansy when its not fully warm. gets all the best synth fluids, maintenance done on time, etc etc.
i think i'll run the new oil a bit longer and send it to Blackstone. depending on what they say i'll either keep telling myself my 37k mile old motor is still breaking in or hopefully try to get something from subaru under warranty. we'll see how awesome i can be at picking engines with oiling problems....
- ViPER1313 - 03-12-2008
Those very, very fine gold particles are very, very normal when looking at used engine oil. Oil out of my SHO and my Mom's 05' Mazda 6 have them, and Blackstone says the oil from my SHO is A-O-K. If an oil analysis will make you feel better, spend the $20 and do it. When it comes back clean it will give you a good feeling.
I will say it once again - your car is fine. Leave it alone. Quit wasting your time and money diagnosing and worrying about issues that don't exist. Cars with stock engines and 37k miles don't blow up. Take one out of my Father's book of car care - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." 108k miles of poor maintenance, Jiffy lube oil changes and other sorts of neglect later, his car still runs fine.
Not to be a dick (correct me if I am wrong) but as I recall, the only reason the Audi spun the rod bearing was because you were trying to "fix" the sludge issue by putting Diesel in the engine oil to clean the motor. If you hadn't f-ed with it, the car would probably still be running on the original motor.
- ScottyB - 03-12-2008
Adam, you're not being a dick. the whole reason i post this drivel here is to get feedback, the more honest the better.
i waited until the second time i saw this to post about it because i wanted to be sure i wasn't freaking out about nothing. all i know is that i'm not used to seeing metal in my oil, but i'm always learning. i'm aware i'm running a fine line between sounding like an idiot and honestly seeking advice.
as for the audi -- yes, it was running when i effectively killed it after trying to flush the crankcase with deisel and it somehow did not entirely drain out. since then i've tried to touch engines as little as possible.
- CaptainHenreh - 03-12-2008
The funny thing is that the diesel fuel in the crank case *worked*.
It worked too well. The real person responsible for breaking Scotty's Audi is Audi.
- Dave - 03-12-2008
Haha, Rex is right, the diesel worked like a charm :-).
Scotty, I too would be weirded out by seeing metal flakes in my oil, you're not over-reacting, yet :-). I believe you might want to check my thread on the truck to see the veritable gold mine that flowed out of my differential when I changed that fluid....
I think at your next oil change, which should be exactly like all of your others (not extended), take a sample in the middle of the stream and send it off to Blackstone. Hell, take it at the very beginning, that's when all the deposits will flow out. Those results should tell you where your car stands, but until then I would continue to drive as usual.
- WRXtranceformed - 03-12-2008
I also think you're fine buddy, you've got every reason to be paranoid after what happened with the Audi. With that said Subarus, especially stock NA ones, are built like tanks man.... that car will run forever. Send off your next oil change to get analyzed so you can sleep better, but I bet the results will come back positive
- flintster55 - 03-12-2008
I've actually noticed some in my Scooby the couple of times I've changed mine too Scotty so you're not the only one. I ended up sending off to Blackstone for an analysis just make sure everything is okay. I have no problem really paying 20 bucks for a lot of peace of mind.
- ScottyB - 03-12-2008
thanks for the info guys
- ScottyB - 03-21-2008
just realized its been 6 months since purchase, why not do a little short term review? i'll use Mikey's format because it works pretty good!
bought it with 26k on the odometer, now has 38k
original purchase criteria- was looking for a small car, easy to maintain and upgrade, low cost of parts, good highway milage, fun to drive and a good dealer network. i was also concerned with theft issues and wanted a low-key car. i also wanted to get back into autocrossing
Engine - peppy, NOT fast but lots of accessable power although it chokes bad up high. very responsive which makes rev matching great fun. kinda crude, i've noted piston slap on cold mornings, oil consumption, and lots of pinging in hot weather. returns excellent milage on the highway and stars on the first crank every time. currently looking for a tuning solution to get rid of the pinging and help the top end. also noted metal dust in oil when changed, looking into some analysis on that. minor detail but the current STi cat-back is bassy but does not have the characteristic "rumble"...sounds like a rough version of a honda....bit of a let-down.
Suspension - stock is a little too soft for my liking but rides well. swapped in 04 STi struts/springs/tophats and a WRX rear sway bar. ride is stiff and what i would consider overdamped. grip is really impressive though and i typically run out of balls before i see anything close to the limits of how fast i could take a turn. custom alignment offers awesome turn-in however its a handful in crosswinds...not a car you can drive with one hand anymore. looking forward to more autocrosses.
Drivetrain - gears are spaced well and the clutch is excellent -- short throw and easy to feel engagement. shifter is direct albeit resistant to go into 1st at times and can be balky. brakes are easy to modulate, quiet and resist fade well but are not powerful. lots of rattling from the shifter at some RPM's, clunking and lash from the driveline in traffic and very annoying grinding/whining/rattling from the tranny on deceleration at higher speeds, all of which is considered "normal". very disspointed in this aspect.
Exterior - paint is thin and prone to chipping. windshield is showing lots of pitting from rocks/sand. otherwise its a handsome, but not beautiful car that doesn't garner too much attention -- a good thing. visibility is excellent and all panel gaps are tight. frameless doors are actually pretty cool and make ingress/egress great with the windows down.
Interior - fitting of the model/price. cloth in a "carbon fiber" weave, which looks nice but does not hold up in high traffic areas. seats have uncomfortable lumbar which is not adjustable but the bolstering is excellent. seats are also strung too tight and have a tendency to bounce you around which is annoying. silve accents hold up pretty well but have some scratches. momo wheel is great to work with and the pedals are spaced perfectly. tons of storage space but a small trunk with no fold-down seats -- major bummer. 6 disc changer/stereo sounds awesome.
Efficiency - great highway milage, terrible city milage. prone to drink oil. currently needs 93 octane to control heavy pinging in hot weather, despite being designed for 87 (a problem noted by almost all 05+ RS owners). willing to handle paying for 93 considering the highway milage.
Conclusion - a fun car that is quirky at times and more rough around the edges than i thought it would be. i'm decently satisfied with it although after 6 months i know i won't own it for more than another year due to a few things that bother me and the fact that i really, really miss horsepower. i find myself saying how much i would have loved to have this car in college, it would have been perfect. it is a good all-arounder in many ways.
on a side note, the subaru community is one of the best out there and my local dealer network is very good, although more expensive than i thought.
- WRXtranceformed - 03-21-2008
Sounds very accurate Scott!! That's a pretty good assessment of my experiences with Subarus also. I think you should test drive a premium package WRX of the same MY. You might really like it, it would solve a lot of the fit / finish & power issues you have with the car... if you're still considering the Suby world in the future.
- ScottyB - 04-07-2008
eh, small update i guess.
seats:
i was growing weary of coming home from work every day with my lower back burning from the intrusive lumbar in the seats, and getting beat up by the highway ride so this weekend in between downpours i unbolted the seats and got to work underneath and in the back to stretch the springs out. the springs look like this:
![[Image: seatsprng.jpg]](http://www.mooresells.com/images/seatsprng.jpg)
the stock seats are strung really tight. what happens is when you hit some small bumps at speed, the car naturally jumps around a bit but the seat, instead of soaking up some of this up/down motion instead just amplifies it and it feels like you're riding on a trampoline. despite the seats being a tight fit for even my 160 pound ass, it's almost like they expected any American who drives this to be 300 pounds.
the seats are bolted down by four bolts, all easy to get to. for the bottom springs i tipped the seat back, braced my foot and yanked like hell! the back is much easier, just tip the seat back up and there are two zippers that open the back up like a flap. just yank the fabric down from it's clip, unzip, pull the springs out to lessen the tension, zip/clip, done.
this morning on my commute in to work i felt alot more at ease and as a bonus it drops your seating position down about an inch, which makes the boltsers feel even better and your head hits the headrest better. thankfully the lumbar is killed so now i can drive without looking like i have a rod up my backside. for any WRX owners with the later 1-peice racing-style seats this is a solid fix and just requires about 45 minutes, a 10mm ratchet and some anger-induced strength.
these are the 1 piecers for reference:
![[Image: WRX06frontseat1.JPG]](http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/WRX06frontseat1.JPG)
engine
changed out the plugs/wires. i had coppers in last time and they turned out to be a bad choice especially towards the end of their life (had about 10k on them). put in some NGK iridium/platinums (iridium electrode, platinum-tipped ground strap) and with the new wires the car idles much better and isn't pinging as much even with things heating up down here. the nice thing is that the new plugs should be good for a real long time, probably well into the ownership of whoever has this car after me.
i also got my oil pressure tested at a different dealer who's tech i have talked with and has been really cool. i couldn't shake the feeling that i really wanted to know how the car was doing. they did a cold/hot pressure test and sure enough, everything is right on the money, although the techs called subaru to alert them to my findings and will change my oil for me next time to have a firsthand look at what comes out. I may still send my oil and oil from the Xterra in to blackstone just to try out their services and see where my vehicles stand. so, in conclusion -- Adam, you got me there buddy.
also -- have to say again i love these tires