mystery machine

Absolutely agree that Subaru ownership is rarely about driving a pretty car, but that doesn't mean to say that aesthetics are completely unimportant. Personally, I have to at least find a car 'inoffensive' to look at to be happy owing it. The Classics and the Hawkeyes are IMHO the nicest of all the Impreza turbos, and this latest saloon effort the ugliest... too ugly for me. OK, the standard Bugeye WRX was a good deal dowdy to my eye also, but fundamentally at least it had pleasing smooth lines, and was quite salvageable with some 'detangoing' and other attention to detail. JMO.Bobby's right in a sense - it makes little difference today what I or most others on this forum feel about the new saloon's design, because the majority of us aren't in the market for a car in that price range... but then perhaps we will be in 2-5 years' time when they're sitting on your secondhand forecourt? As a salesman for a Subaru franchise, I would of course expect you to be fairly dismissive of any negative comments toward one of the products that your livelihood depends on you selling, but in another sense it would be heartening to hear that you were willing to feed back to Subaru the general feeling 'on the street' about their new design(s)... I'm not so naive that I expect the opinions of a bunch of punters on SIDC to directly influence even the smallest detail of any design present or future, but our mutterings are all part of the big picture, and if they're not willing to listen on some level then more fool them! Apart from all that, it's simply interesting to hear everyone's opinions on the subject. Some posters apparently really like the look of this car, and I respect that - it's just another opinion and it's just as valid as mine

Aye, it's great to have the option to customise - really glad that I went with adjustables! I'm sure we could arrange something, Dave. True enough.Och, in all honesty it's not such a big deal to take the back seat out again if necessary. I never planned on making regular adjustments... maybe more an issue for those planning to exploit the coilovers on track.

Funnily enough, after a bit more tweaking I've settled for something a little harder at the rear and softer at the front:Front rebound: 61% hard Rear rebound: 61% hard Front compression: 71% hard Rear compression: 71% hard It wasn't so much that I was being buggered by understeer with the previous setup, but I could feel the front/rear were imbalanced coming out of bends. Been out a couple of good runs with the tweaked setup above, and it seems like a good compromise between handling/grip/ride. The nose will still push wide if I go into corners at a really adventurous speed with a neutral throttle, but there's no sign of 'power understeer' on the way out (DCCD in manual mode and rolled right back takes care of that! ). OK, that's the back seat re-fitted*, so no more tweaking for now Very pleased with how these coilovers have improved the car! * Why can't KW do rear extenders like BC?!

I used to see this one regularly in Glasgow years ago, always made me smile... P15 HED Spaced so: P15HED Wonder if he got breathalysed much?

Always nice to see the back of rust Do you have any 'before' pics that show the extent of the corrosion?

Ouch! Are you getting physio for that?

Gav, I reserve every right to comment on how a car looks in a photograph - there's nothing at all indecent about that! Being free to share our opinions on this stuff is a large part of the appeal of this forum, as far as I'm concerned And it may drive like a Ferrari F430 for all I know, I was offering an opinion specifically on aesthetics... Anyway, I'm sure it'll sell fine regardless of anything I say, but that's not going to stop me having a pop!

Jeez-oh, that must have been some night out! Just kidding mate, hope it's nothing serious.

Yes, you are mental - you should've gotten up earlier and taken the back roads down Have a good day!

Makes sense from a rallying perspective, where it's all about grip and the clock is ticking. On the ride height - there is still a decent gap there I feel, not much different from a standard BMW 3-series really. But aye, matter of personal taste I 'spose. I do think the standard setup is under-damped. which does nothing for the handling, but I guess they're trying to strike a balance with ride comfort. But yeah, a decent set of coilies goes to show that there's ample room for improvement!

You are a man of great foresight! It all depends on what you're looking for from your car, Craig. I made this mod not to increase grip, but to make the car flatter, more balanced and more willing to change direction quickly. I've seldom felt the car wanting for grip, and as such I was quite prepared even to sacrifice some by going lower and stiffer than standard.I could quite believe that, for a given driving surface, raising the suspension and making it softer would yield more grip and a greater awareness of when the car is losing grip. That's why IMO a suspension setup has to be tuned relative to the roads on which the car is being driven. The stock STI is designed to handle a wide variety of road surfaces, and does so admirably, but I tend to stick to the better-surfaced roads (for enthusiastic driving at least), so felt I could trade some 'bumpy road' grip for better handling on the smoother stuff. Ideally I'd like the Scooby to handle like an F1 car, but it's probably safe to say that even the best roads around here are still a little more uneven than Silverstone, so for grip's sake I'd better not make it too stiff! Interested to know why you suggest a 10-15mm higher ride height though? I take it you mean higher than it is now, as opposed to higher than standard? Cheers.

It's hard to make a meaningful comparison, Dave - you're running BCs, which have different springs and a different method of adjusting damper power. All I can say is that the car was very neutral with the original settings, and front-to-rear I've stuck with the same ratio of damping, so I'd hope that it's just as neutral with the harder settings.Driving style comes into it too. As mentioned in another thread, I tend to run with the centre diff fully open, so that I can use the throttle to balance the car against understeer. As such, I can tolerate a bit of neutral throttle understeer. A lot of powerful RWD cars are set up this way - gives you a bit of margin for error, rather than having the car's handling on the brink of spinning if you become over zealous with the throttle. But then some people prefer the latter for their approach to cornering Also, I have the ALK fitted, which itself is supposed to reduce understeer (maybe you have that too, I'm not sure). Yes - it's a car forum cliché, but it certainly does 'transform the car'

No need to be so defensive, Gav - Chevrolet seem to be doing fine selling some of the monstrous crap they're manufacturing, so I fully expect the new Depreza Saloon to be a rip-roaring success. Good times!

I was using the towbar piece...

In fairness, at least the dark blue hides some of the car's f*ck-ugly lines! Still think it's as clunky and dowdy-looking as sin...

Dunno if anyone's interested, but I had a play with the KW damper settings at the weekend. Before I changed anything, this is how it was set: Front rebound: 44% hard (fitter's setting) Rear rebound: 33% hard (fitter's setting) Front compression: 64% hard (KW factory setting) Rear compression: 64% hard (KW factory setting) First thing I did was to increase the front rebound damping by quite a bit, which has really brought the front-end bounce under control. Steering is heavier and more feelsome now too. Good result! I then increased rear rebound damping to keep it in proportion with the front (i.e. harder than before, but still a little softer than the front). Also increased the compression damping by a couple of clicks all around. Car felt a lot firmer, flatter and more stable as a result, but I feel maybe a bit too hard for the road... i.e. a bit skittish over slightly rough surfaces, which makes me a wee bit wary that I've reached a point where grip is being compromised on "yer average road surface". Felt amazing on smooth road surfaces mind - really go-kartish! Anyway, in the interests of keeping out of ditches, I backed off the compression damping to halfway between the old and new setting - hopefully that'll give a practical balance between stability and grip on our 'varied' road surfaces. New settings: Front rebound: 72% hard Rear rebound: 56% hard Front compression: 71% hard Rear compression: 71% hard Basically gone for an even-ish amount of roll front to back via the compression damping settings (without taking into account roll bars, weight dist, etc), and a slightly softer rebound at the back to help keep the back-end in check. Ride certainly is firmer now, but I prefer 'firm' to 'bouncy' (I'm talking strictly in automotive terms here ). Still to give it a proper drive with the above, but looking forward to it. Adjustable damping is the b0ll0cks

Yes, it was under the wooden boot cover right enough! I did check the manual the last time I was looking for it and don't remember anything about it being stowed under there... Anyway, problem solved - thanks very much folks!

Good way of putting it. What we'd do for a decent-looking Impreza STI coupe!

Honestly, I would sooner massage my goolies with an angle-grinder than I would spend my hard-earned on something as incoherently designed as that I didn't realise you'd punted the hatch. What are you driving now?

TBH, the STI roof spoiler doesn't appear to be designed particularly to match the standard STI spoiler anyway (aesthetically at least), so it would probably work fine with yours. I think it beefs-up the back-end a wee bit.

Are you asking if the roof spoiler will complement your existing boot spoiler?

Thanks again James, will take a squatch the morra.

P.S. If nothing else, it does make the hatch look better! (IMHO)

Hi James - I don't recall seeing it there last time I took the cover out, but I'll take another look! Thanks

Totally agree. Used John myself to square my car shortly after I bought it