mystery machine

Hi folks, Can anyone tell me the thicknesses of Hawkeye STI front and rear ARBs? I'm looking to upgrade my rear bar. Many thanks!

Glad you got that sorted under warranty and thanks for making us aware of the problem

WTF?!

I'm generally not into decals, but I have to say that I preferred your bumper with them - thought they looked great in that colour - helped set your car apart from the crowd too. And the bumper somehow looks narrower now to my eye... think that the decals helped define its width before?

Participating stations listed here: http://www.shell.co.uk/home/content/gbr/products_services/on_the_road/fuels/promotions/

Good thread - here are a few of my faves... A72 Blythe Bridge->Peebles: Great bends, including a few that you can see around, but watch out for wayward bikers. A7 Galashiels->Gorebridge: Great bends, including a few long-arcers that you can use to really play with the balance of the car. A84 Callander->Lochearnhead: Great bends again, many of them with interesting elevations, but be wary of lochside campers hanging about near the road (esp if you're overtaking). All of the above are well-surfaced, but the last two in particular can be busy - best to pick a quiet time for maximum enjoyment (i.e. early Sunday morning or late evening during the summer).

Aye, at least you have the option of the KYBs. Also the inverted rear STI/Hawkeye struts seem to be even more prone to failure than the Blobeye WRX items.

Blobeye or Hawkeye?

Glad you finally sold the car John, must be a relief In all honesty, I think we lost you a while back when you took a scunner to the Scooby, and I for one was sorry to see you go - forum will never be quite the same without you! I sincerely hope the next time I hear about you will be when you exhibit your life's work of fine art at the Tate Modern ("Bunny Rabbits", a retrospective - J. Welsh)... either that or when you make the back page of the Sun, holding the Ryder Cup proudly aloft your loaf. All the very best, mate!

I did a lot of research on this before I had my KW coilovers fitted. At that time (a couple of months ago), no-one apart from Subaru supplied replacement shocks for a Hawkeye Impreza. If KYB are now supplying replacements, then that's news - I'd maybe double-check that if I were you! Regardless - I'd be wary of spending money on any shock absorber for a Hawkeye Impreza - their premature failure is apparently due to a design fault in the suspension layout and not a weakness in the OEM shock absorber part itself - too much lateral movement transfered to the shock, apparently. Therefore, any type of shock absorber fitted to Hawkeye standard suspension can be prone to premature failure. Indeed, if you have a look, you'll find threads from RB320 owners having the same problems with their Bilsteins... That's not to say that coilovers are necessarily infallible, but anecdotal evidence seems to suggest they'll be more reliable than the Hawkeye strut-spring arrangement.

Totally unabashed livestock troublers.

Links above. Used to be a great road... a bit blind but plenty of elevations and interesting cambers. However, the surface was humped last time I went up about 18 months ago - haven't been back since. Also a popular cycling route, which can make it a bit hazardous...

Naaah! 0:14 http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&sll=53.208706,-2.444115&sspn=0.148455,0.293884&ie=UTF8&hnear=&ll=56.184439,-4.388094&spn=0.003893,0.026543&z=16&layer=c&cbll=56.184443,-4.388089&panoid=Poc6GG1WYliwdaPSWKqQ3g&cbp=11,71.57,,0,6.77 5:03 http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&sll=53.208706,-2.444115&sspn=0.148455,0.293884&ie=UTF8&hnear=&layer=c&cbll=56.225161,-4.404356&panoid=5Zdzc2BUMjLpJE84NdiOmA&cbp=11,264.64,,0,5.95&ll=56.225174,-4.404316&spn=0.01503,0.073471&z=14 Roughly 4.8m in 289s = 60mph Anyway, my guess is that both these guys "take it up the Duke's Pass" on a regular basis. Messy.

Glad to hear it, because they had f***-all V-Power this morning

Oh no, even worse than that... In all honesty, it's probably not that bad a tune as far as chart pop is concerned, but I personally developed an aversion to it around the time it first charted - Radio Clyde insisted on playing it every single morning on their breakfast show for about two months...

THANKS Can you guess which song I have stuck in my head for the rest of the morning?

Welcome! Let's see some pics of the Wagon then

That's a belter, Marko - takes all sorts, eh? Here's a telephone conversation that took place between my mate, who had advertised his old Escort in the paper for about £150, and a caller answering the ad... "Hello, I'm phoning about the car - is it still for sale?" "Yes, it is." "OK, would you consider part exchange?" "Erm, hadn't thought of that... what are you offering to exchange it for?" "A fridge freezer?" "OK...... just one question." "Yes?" "Can you suggest how I might get to my work in the morning, in a fridge freezer?!!!"

Result! Good to have you back.

Welcome I had a run of Vauxhalls in my younger years - Astra, Cavalier, Calibra... my last was a Vectra 2.2 SRI 150, bought new, which was the best-driving of the lot. In general they were comfy & reliable motors, but in retrospect pretty dull to drive... largely on account of their lacklustre handling/steering (although the Vecta's nat-asp 2.2L engine was actually very nice - refined and responsive. Nice dash too). Anyway, why the sad face? OK, there can't be much between the old Vectra and the new Scooby in terms of straight line performance, but in just about every other respect the Scooby is bound to be a better-driving car, no? Might not have a turbo, but drive it properly down a twisty B road and it'll out-handle and out-grip many a more powerful car Looks nice too in the wee pic - looking forward to seeing more. Enjoy!

Welcome I must admit to never having driven a WRX hatch, but as it seems to have a reputation for rather spongy handling I'd suggest the same as others, that you might want to sharpen things up a bit before increasing engine power. A set of lowering springs would be a good start - I'd go for the Eibachs as they're very similar to - if not the same as - the springs that Prodrive used to supply as a dealer-approved mod. Opinion was fairly unanimous that they're an improvement on the standard setup! http://www.just-subaru.com/suspension-hatch-73739-0.html It may also be worth fitting some uprated suspension bushes here and there... someone else might be able to offer advice on exactly which bushes to replace, but Whiteline offer a fairly wide range of uprated parts. http://www.whiteline.com.au/search.php If you're in the Central Belt, then it's worth noting that Hypertech in Bonnybridge (Jap car specialist) can supply and fit Whiteline kit - Duncan senior should be able to advise on how to blow your budget . They'll also fit your springs at a reasonable rate. http://www.hypertechscotland.co.uk/ +1 on improving the brakes, I had a Hawkeye WRX and the brakes really weren't good enough considering the available engine power. Probably worth trying some uprated front pads before binning the discs, calipers, etc... Let us know how you get on!

Aaaaah, the joys of private selling - always a magnet for total windae lickers. I had one guy phone me up the day after buying my car to ask me: "OK mate - what's the score with the engine overheating? Eh?! " I was quite surprised at this because it had never overheated in all the time I'd owned it. "What's the reading on the temperature gauge?", I asked. "Well it's aboot haufway... but it's no' that - I popped the bonnet, put my hand on the block and it was RED HOT mate!". Did you make it clear in your advert that you weren't accepting offers?

Thing is John, you're getting 40 miles for the first 1/4 of the gauge. Whether that's actually 1/4 of a tank is another matter

The fuel gauges in these cars certainly aren't linear - seem to rip through that first 'quarter' and then take twice as long to clear the last bar before 'empty'! Perhaps the fuel tank is an odd shape... I don't know, but your car's behaviour sounds fairly typical