mystery machine

With you now, mate

Crivvens, higgy - it's like the 'bridge' on the Starship Enterprise! Gotta love those STi dash-top dials

Sounds interesting. I reckon if you're spending that much on a nice new HU you will want some nice new speakers to go with it too I'd like Sat Nav in my stereo equipment too... perhaps it could tell me where my fecking Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Best Of' CD has got to...

No problem, thefastone. Just when you said that "its a good bit more work to get [a single-DIN] to fit", I wanted to share my experience of fitting a single-DIN + tray, which was that it wasn't much more work at all But it's a good point you raise - the larger 'user interfaces' on the double-DIN units make more sense and you could argue they look better in the dash too. Just happened that, in the price range I was looking at, most of the HUs with the features I wanted were single-DIN. The new tray that sits in the gap is a handy wee cubby hole too

P.S. Depending on which HU you buy, you will probably also need a little plug to convert the banana-style antenna plug in your Scooby to an RF-type plug - Halfords sell them for under a fiver (have edited post above to include this info).

Here's a step-by-step guide to removing the HU: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1261005

You're most welcome, Stu Regarding stock speakers again - one thing I will say is that while the general sound quality of the stock items isn't too bad (IMHO - as far as cheap stock car speakers go), they aren't capable of handling much low-end at higher volumes. It isn't too much of a problem for the styles of music I listen to (mostly guitar-based stuff), but if you're into modern electronic dance music that has a pumping bass drum, then you're almost certainly going to want drivers with a higher power handling. Funny you mention Kylie, because some of her stuff features that real cone-ripping bass drum! (I know this because my wife listens to her - honest ). Should be OK with ABBA, mind

You're very welcome, Steve Is your amp multi-channel, i.e. is it capable of powering your door speakers, or is it just for the sub? If it's capable of powering your door speakers, then IMO it only really makes sense to wire it in if you're going to be replacing the stock speakers with higher power-handling items. An outboard amp would be overkill (perhaps literally) if you're using the stock speakers. If on the other hand your amp is for powering the sub only, then what you're suggesting is adding a powered subwoofer to a "new HU + stock door speakers" setup. Perhaps this is stating the obvious, but you'll certainly have a more powerful bass after wiring-in the subwoofer! The question is whether or not this is what you really want. Given the limited capablilities of the stock speakers compared with your subwoofer, you'll likely end up with a very out-of-balance and bass-heavy sound. I actually had this very same setup myself many years ago (in a different car) and in retrospect it wasn't a great sound at all! It's the kind of thing that the techno fanatics used to love, because it's a quick and easy route to chest-thumping bass that can be heard three streets away... but hi-fi it is not So it depends on what you're after, but if I were you I'd hang back on installing that subwoofer until you've upgraded your head unit and speakers (if not at the same time, then in that order). You might even find after you've done that that you no longer feel it necessary to wire in a subwoofer. Another option is to unplug your rear door speakers and have a parcel new shelf made with two fairly large full-range speakers to take their place. It's amazing how much bass a setup like this can produce, as well as improving the mid-range and top-end at the same time - without taking up as much space or weighing as much as a sub. Tam.

I had no problems replacing my double-DIN with a single-DIN - as long as you have a blanking tray to take up the other DIN it's a cinch.

Hi Stu, With some cars, the HU is the weak link, with others it's speakers and sometimes both are equally as dire. Based on my own experience over the years replacing car stereos, and the marked improvement in sound quality I gained after replacing my Scooby's HU with a £90 JVC item, I would say that the head unit is by far Scooby's the weak link! The stock speakers don't actually sound *too* bad, given a decent signal. This is all subjective, mind - a real car hi-fi enthusiast I'm sure wouldn't think twice about binning the stock speakers. Having said all that, with a decent budget of £300 you probably want to replace at least the front speakers (but certainly replace that awful HU). My stereo takes a USB stick. Have to say that this is a great way of listening to music in the car. You can carry about a keich-load of tracks without the hassle of swapping CDs, etc. Stick it on random play and be amazed at all the tunes you forgot you even had in your collection Really easy to take the stick into the house and add new tracks too. One thing to watch for - the more tracks/folders you have on your mem stick, the longer it's likely to take the HU to mount it. My guess is that some HUs will be quicker than others in this respect. If you decide to go down the USB stick route, it might be worth taking a largish USB stick (4-16G) full of tracks into the store, sticking it into various HUs and seeing how long it takes to load. Regarding fitment of the HU: You're probably aware that you'll need a wiring harness adaptor. This will convert the Scooby pinout of your car's wiring terminal to the ISO pinout that will be at the end of the cable that comes with your new stereo. It's actually possible to do the job without this adaptor, but for the small cost (less than £15), I'd just buy the adaptor. Also, depending on which HU you buy, you will probably need a little plug to convert the banana-style antenna plug in your Scooby to an RF-type plug - Halfords sell them for under a fiver. Here are some instructions for removing the old HU: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1261005 Fairly straightforward as you can see - first you need to remove the plastic gear lever surround (pull up underneath the edge of the gear lever gaiter) and then remove the heater/stereo surround to access the screws that hold the stereo in place. If you take your time, it's perfectly possible to do all this without marking or breaking any of the centre console plastics. I wouldn't worry if it takes you longer than the guy's estimation of 20 mins, BTW - better slow & careful than sorry IIRC your new HU is simply screwed between the two plates that hold the stock stereo in place. If you buy a normal DIN-sized stereo, you'll probably also want to buy a blanking tray to cover the gap that's left after removing the stock double-DIN stereo (I bought one from the renowned 'Skidz' in Falkirk). I stuck with the stock speakers, but replacements would no doubt enhance things further - I'm sure others can advise on fitting. Tam. Edit: Added link to HU removal instructions.

About the wheels - I ought to say that, despite preferring the look of the silver 17s, I respect the fact that you're enjoying some of the on-the-road benefits of smaller rims. Bigger ain't always better, etc For similar reasons, I would no sooner swap my OEM 17s for larger alloys than I would exfoliate my scrotum with a rusty cheese grater.

Certainly looks it I'd be careful about typing 'bodywork' and '16 yr old lassie' on this here interweb thing though

Certainly be interested to hear how things hold up in the long-run (hopefully much longer than the standard shocks). What are you driving, SS? I got my first ever Scooby wave in Carnwath from a blue blob or hawkeye (can't remember which). Guy might've just been passing through, right enough...

Many miles have you done on those?

Big improvements all round - very nice Have to say I liked the silver 17s Has your driver's door been sprayed at some point?

Pity about that, Grant. Cossie is an icon, a fact that is reflected in the used prices...

Now that is 'shocking' I know what you mean. Must admit to being a tight-erse in that respect, so I'll be taking the 'free' choccos while the warranty is standing Tam.

P.S. Welcome to the forum!

I can only offer an answer to number 4: Yes, this should work - try some drum'n'bass. Personally, I'd rather listen to knocking shocks than drum'n'bass... maybe I'm just getting old In seriousness, I thought the thread was worth bumping - I've had two sets of rear choc-absorbers replaced under warranty and don't intend on paying for replacements every few thousand miles once the car's out of warranty... So I'd also be very interested in hearing recommendations for a more robust third-party replacement (preferably one that doesn't change the feel of the car too much).

I was hearing a knocking noise at low speed, going around roundabouts. The Subaru dealer diagnosed it as beggered shocks - they tell me that the shocks had developed 'sideways play'. Everything I've read on the topic suggests that newage Impreza shocks are very prone to this. Tam.

I've had knocking from the rear of the motor - turned out to be the infamous melting choc-absorbers (they were replaced under warranty).

Welcome to the forum, mate - peachy classic you have there Surprised you're considering a rim change, those wheels look perfect for your motor IMO!

Do ProGrip do the laser eye treatment too? Jings - they're a versatile bunch, I'll give them that. Nae wonder half the population of Bonnybridge claims to have seen flying saucers dancing about in front of their coupons! Having said that, you don't see too many cross-eyed folks in Bonnybridge - perfect pupil-to-pupil alignment

You could try going around roundabouts in the opposite direction to help even things out a bit Seriously though, the tyres that were on my motor when I bought it had done ~13K and were all worn badly on one edge (front worn on opposite edge from rear). Had to be replaced within weeks of buying the car. I've since had the wheels aligned and the new set appear to be wearing evenly after a further 10K. Who's doing your wheel alignment?

Ah, OK. Between the new spoiler and the widescreen lettering the car has quite a presence viewed from the back. "T A I L G A T E . M E . A T . Y O U R . P E R I L"