mystery machine

Where in a newage Impreza would you normally find the detachable jack handle? It's not to be found near the jack or in the little bag that contains the towing bar, lock nut, etc. I'm thinking it might be missing, but wondering if it might be secreted elsewhere in the car? Cheers

I am biased, but... It's an absolute dog's breakfast! From the front, looks like the hatch, and that's the bit of the hatch I like the least. From the back, looks like a Hyundai. From the side it's lost all the simplicity and smoothness of the previous saloon, i.e. - An odd, irregular-shaped line around the windows. - An ugly quarterlight. - Pillars around the door windows where before there were none. Utterly abysmal C'mon Subaru, screw the nut!

I'm certainly impressed that the front-wheel drive Ford feels more 'sorted' in the wet than an AWD Impreza - that's nothing short of incredible Hats off to Ford!

All that cash on fancy wheel alignment and all you had to do was press that wee button under the gearstick to put the diff into 'manual' mode Just kidding

Are you one of the guys who's running BC coilovers?

Looking even nicer all cleaned up with the sun bouncing off it The decals work nicely too. Intel inside?

Easy! Excellent choice, Tommo - has to be a far more involving car than a WRX hatch

Bull-SHEE-IT!!! Your camera disnae work in the rain?!!!

OK, starter for ten... Does it have orange decals?

Aye, at least give us a foglight or a wheelnut, or something to go on!

Oh, ma ribs!

Well at least tell us what you've bought!!!

Ah - in that case I can understand why you're concerned about possible over-use.

I tend to leave mine fully open in then dry and use 'auto' mode in the wet. The handling does seem more neutral in auto mode, but I like the livelier/looser feel of the open mode for enthusiastic driving. With the centre diff fully open in the dry, the back end will occasionally slide a bit when pushing really hard, but the rear diff seems to lock up before things become too lairy. I tend to take it easy in the wet... no incidents so far... Does the Type R's DCCD have an 'auto' mode?

Front-end is looking great - really tasteful mod, so much nicer than the silver mesh you sometimes see (IMHO) Still totally envious of your splitter too!

That sounds great! Time to start saving...

Perhaps it had been seized by the local polis in the interest of public safety...? http://forums.sidc.co.uk/index.php?&showtopic=151289

Aye, I know what you mean This isn't a comment on anything you've posted, but on the general subject of "dangerous driving by other road users when you have kids in the car"... Last time something similar happened to me I found myself following a car full of young guys into a petrol station... the missus persuaded me to leave it, and TBH she was quite right to. Doesn't matter how hard you think you are (and I don't necessarily think I'm hard), but following a bunch of neds into a petrol station and confronting them is unlikely to yield an edifying result for either party. Pains me to admit the missus was right, but there you are!

Sorry Joe, missed that! But even then, it's not really the result you want, is it?

As someone who also carries a very small child in the back of his Scoob from time to time, I can totally empathise with your frustration, but your three-year-old boy isn't going to appreciate that tactic much. Better to slow down until the t**t passes, or even pull over to let him past if need be. Always better to have a bonehead like that way out in front of you than right behind you, eh? I've had dickheads drive dangerously near me while the wee one was in the car... tailgaiting, undertaking within inches of the nearside, cutting in front, etc. It can be fecking infuriating, but the last thing you want to do is to become involved - if there's one thing I've learnt while driving it's never to underestimate the stupid or dangerous lengths that another driver will go to to 'prove' himself - some of these nutters are absolutely willing to risk their own lives and yours! Totally agree, Joe

Interesting post Not meaning to hijack the guy's thread, but seeing as we're talking ECUs... Andy - when you remap an ECU, do you have enough control that you can 'reshape' the engine's torque curve? i.e. this graph shows traces for a standard Hawk STI (dotted red line) and a PPP Hawk STI (solid red line): Would you be able to program the ECU to give a torque curve that approximated the green line? (assuming the exhaust had been derestricted and the fuel pump had been uprated). Or are you constrained by the mechanical response of the turbo, etc? I'd be very interested to know because, while the above green-line curve offers nothing like the peak torque of the PPP (or similar remappings), it would yield similar peak power and a IMO a more useable response for my driving style, which is more about accelerating smoothly out of bends than ultimate straight-line acceleration. Perhaps I'm being naive and idealistic, but I might as well ask... Thanks.

Lovely! Those STI alloys are a great match for the hatch too

And as a consolation for there being no clock, the dials look like they'll offer plenty of reflection for aiding in the application of lipstick

Welcome - sounds like a nice Scoob you have there! I haven't taken the Performance Driving Course at Knockhill, but have long fancied a go on the skidpan.

That sounds very like gubbed shocks - very common problem with your car. I've had three sets of rears done on the two Hawkeyes I've owned... Is yours an extended manufacturer's warranty? If so, I would seriously consider taking the car to another Subaru dealer for a second opinion. FWIW, I've found Nobles in Penicuik to be good for fault diagnosis (if a bit of a trek through).