MarkJHarris

If they're the same model tyre and all the same size, then no, you're right, something is definitely wrong. Make sure the oil is correct subaru spec as some thinner sporty oils can make boxes noisier. My old Blob had quite thick oil in and you could tell on really cold mornings as the gear change was stiffer. My current one is not like this at all. I doubt thin oil will make a noise that noticable but best of luck.

The DCCD seems to have a magic quality that frightens some. it's only an electromagnetic clutchpack that lock the front output to the diff housing really. without it, the internal gears try to make the rear spur gear turn slightly faster than the front, hence the torque split that is fixed. The diff allows the actual speed to vary without changing the torque. It does make your head spin if you read about it too much- torque is only produced with resistance, so if you are spinning, then interesting stuff happens. Example. you are on ice at the front. As you try to pull away, the fronts spin up, if they can only resist the force of 10NM, then spin above this, the torque "produced" is 10NM. This causes only 18NM of force through the back wheels and anything else just makes the front spin and you don't go anywhere fast. This is where the clutchpack comes in and is signalled to clamp the front to the back to provide more resistance to the motion which increases torque through the rear to get you going. The result is locking the centre diff. Once done, any difference in rolling radius, (taking the weight transfer into account too) causes wind up and either the front wheels will slip, the centre diff will slip or something will break. The judder is the slip. It doesn't happen when you put the diff to manual and slide it to the rear because that keeps it unlocked so no wind up. Standard STI pressures are 2.4BAR front and 1.9BAR rear are they not? 34psi/31psi is fine but you need that difference or you'll get wind up. Different brands of tyre have different rolling radius as well, so make sure you run the same sizes and brand or problems like this occur.

The different lengths are just so you can put a nut over them easily- the skin is the same thickness so it's just ease of fit really. no problems if you don't have the right ones. You can even cut down a pair for the back ones if needed. When you open the boot, the long ones are fitted in pretty obvious locations, so anyone who knows will look and see instantly it's been fitted by mickey mouse, that's all.

Another victim.... I've lost count of just how much I have spent (wasted) on cars since I was 17...I'm 42 now and hankering after coilovers for my STi (waste scream the family!). There is a reason kids start out with Corsa's and what you need more than anything is; 1. A job that pays well. 2. Build your NCB. 3. Build your NCB incase you didn't remember the above. Just one year in a crappy little fiesta or corsa will save you a fortune (if you don't crash it). 2 years NCB will pay for all the mods when you find a nice Hawkeye sport which will be cheaper to buy than you'll pay in insurance for those first two years. I'm sorry to sound like our Dad, but it's hard economics. I learned the hard way and it took years to afford a nice car because; I started with a 1.3 mk4 Escort and turned it into an XR3i replica. Sold it to my Mum's hairdresser which says it all.... Then I bought a 1.4l Escort and made that look like an RS Turbo- nice job mind, I put a 1.6XR2 engine in with Kent 285 Cam and ported heads and fitted an RS Turbo LSD gearbox and all brakes suspension. Not to mention cutting the roof off and putting a new panel on so I could fit the factory sunroof. Then a Sierra 1.8LX- left that alone but should have spotted the clues. Then a Citroen BX- Diesel. Don't ask. Then a Sierra Sapphire 2.0Ghia. That ended up a full Cossie with non Turbo 16v engine. Lessons, if I had driven the 1.3 around as Ford intended, and carried on till it died, I'd have had enough left over to buy a Genuine Sapphire Cosworth AND insure it fully comp. Making a slow car look and sound fast is great for only one group- the Insurance industry. With a load of mods and a big wing, your GX sport will be loaded to the hilt by insurers, trust me. It is a AWD 2.0l car after all. If I could do it again, I'd get a Scooby STi R/C car and play with that. Cover my wall in posters of the real thing and open a bank account to save for it. Then buy a 1.0l shit heap and put what I would save in fuel, tax and insurance towards my Scooby fund. If only I could start over.....

I thought about it- for a second, then got an STi rear bootlid instead. If you can get the right colour in good condition, it's a wise move. If the rear wing is a fake/copy, then whatever- it won't fit, or look right no matter what you do so stop reading. It only needs to be 2mm out and it will look crap. mind you a genuine one fitted 2mm out looks crap too. If you are fitting a REAL STi rear wing, then here we go; Firstly, you must make sure you have the following parts with the wing- If it's in one piece, check the screws that hold the side covers (2) and under the upper wing (10). Under the upper cover is a wire that runs around into the lower wing and terminates as washers round on of the captive bolts. This stops it coming off in accidents or car washes if you are stupid enough to go into one....... The upper joins to the lower with three bolts each side under the side covers. If it's all in one piece- great leave it be. (the upper cover screws are replaced if you fit Stiffi's. Right, the holes you have as used, but note that some are elongated. The WRX has two bolts each side and one clip plus a 7th hole on the right for the wiring for the rear brakelight. The STi uses those plus two more clips, and has 17 holes in total. You will need to make a template using either cardboard or cardboard. The STi uses three lenghts of bolt, all captive by slotting into plastic lugs and each has a rubber gasket fitted. YOU MUST HAVE THESE GASKETS or you will get leaks! The spoiler is designed to allow water in under it and channel it to outlets at the rear. These must not be sealed up. You should have 4 long bolts, 6 medium bolts and 2 short ones. Under your boot you can see where the long ones go. i think one pair are the WRX holes, and one pair are the medium ones. You need 12 nuts. The two short ones go under where the rubber bumpers are. They're all 6mm but you can drill slightly larger holes with no problems. Fit the bolts, push the cardboard over so they all poke through and then offer up to the boot and mark. Good luck. Like I said, I researched it then got a proper STi boot- i got the thicker torsion bars at the same time so it doesn't try to chop my head off......you'll need them as well! hope this helps.

~Not a bad idea. Bridgestone RE070 (090- I thought they were Bike tyres?)have rigid sidewalls and make for an exciting drive...O.e. on STi. Toyos are softer so make a more forgiving ride, but frankly you should profile yourself a bit first... Are you a steady road only driver and use the WRX because it has AWD and a nice engine note plus good reliability or because you want it to go FastAs**** and give you a "rush"? You can choose a tyre that suits you but not one for everything. I use Pirelli SottoZero Winter tyres and swear by them, but I also take the rear wing off, disconnect the 3-way boost solenoid to make it run a lot softer and tend to Radio 4 to chase smoothness and economy in the Winter. In summer I refit the Splitter and Wing and run in high boost to drift on the back roads and get my kicks- hence the RE070 tyre choice. An all season tyre is OK, but will never be as good in snow and ice as a proper Winter tyre- but they ain't cheap. If it comes down to a choice between Xmas presents for the kids and tyres though, then I would go for an all season like the Uniroyal and drive sensibly. A Track day would kill them before lunch though.... Driving is not meant to be cheap, and Subaru motoring on the cheap is an oxymoron. Best of luck and Merry Xmas!

The funny thing is without a spoiler, the car seems to blend in more. i had taken it to my local Karate club spoilerless for about three weeks, and several months with the low spoiler on before that, then on the first day I turned up with the wing on, I got several comments of ooh, it's a Scooby-Doo, and such like. Weird, but then I always park nose in I guess?

I honestly think it looks perfectly fine-especially for winter. I have a Spec D and I got a proper STi spoiler and bootlid for it and halfway through sort of left it spoilerless for a few weeks and liked it. Granted mine's Crystal Grey not Blue, but it does look classy. I've just decided to take mine off for winter again as it stops the car looking like it wants to go quickly as well. the only problem is I could do with a third brake light fitting. At least I know where the plug is...I also have a couple of sheets of almost matching silver vinyl 1 inch round stickers to cover the holes when I take it off as well.

I'm a firm believer in winter tyres. They are not just for snow, but the compound and tread work to improve grip in damp, wet or even really cold dry conditions. they transformed my driving last winter and come april were virtually unworn as well. Back on last week. I do appreciate they're also a lot more comfortable as the sidewalls are more complient than the RE070 that are my Summer choice. Even got a set for SWIMBO's Espace as that really is a PIG in snow!

Hiya Dougie! My spec D was bought because I wanted a Hawkeye STi and it was the only local one I could find at short notice (previous lost on black ice). It's not really a Spec D any more with big wing and roof spoiler fitted- but I have the original and bootlid to match in the loft if I ever need it! There are now 4 on the IOM! But this place is a Scooby Redoubt- they're everywhere. The O.E. Sat Nav was pants so that went first-nice double DIN Alpine now. The supposed extra soundproofing was pants too, so there's loads of dynamat in mine now. Much nicer. Enjoy!

I've been slowly fitting a cheap dynamat soundproofing to my poor car- having done the front doors completely the noise has definitely moved rearwards- a lot of noise comes through the lightweight doors on newage imprezas! I must do the back ones and boot area plus under the headlining at some point. I put the original exhaust back on it was too boomy inside with the prodrive back box on.

Funnilly enough, I've just done this very thing! Mine uses an older Newage WRX seat so it doesn't have an airbag in, but I got a scooby one for the height adjustment. I cut the brackets off the runners, welded a set of nuts on (M12) and then made a frame up out of bits of 6mm alloy bar, 2"x2" alloy box and a lump of alloy chequerplate. My mate helped (he can tig weld and is a pro metal fabricator to be fair...) The piece-de-resistance is an adjustable table. The legs extend and it all clamps up. Totally over the top to be fair, but I am using it to run a flight simulator with Saitek yolk and pedal set at the local career's fair first, then as a driving sim with my Logitech Driving force GT set afterwards on the PS3. The fundementals are; It's very easy to go over the top and end up with a lot of metal. WRX seats are very comfortable and if you have some-ideal. There are a lot of designs out there- some you can buy without the seats but they often use side mount race seats so you couldn't mount your WRX ones. My recommendation is to get some steel or better still alloy box and make two runners about 4ft. Make a cross frame under the seat. you'll want your car's subframes as the height adjust is part of them. Cut the mounts and weld nuts on to bolt to the runners. Make the cross frame underneath then run s 45' angle piece up between your legs and make a small flat table to go on the top. Best to cut the 45' piece short and bolt it to a second piece to make it adjustable. If you can get 2" and 1 3/4" to go inside it's ideal. A plate between the front of the runners for the pedals to go on stops them sliding away under braking...... There are loads on Fleabay and logitech.com have a few designs for sale too. Still cheaper to tame a local fabricator though-my full job will be less than playseat charges.

Excellent! Any other Scooby owners up in GLA then? I'm just a lowly pilok here on the Island- I forgot to hide when they needed a numpty so some call me the "Pilot Base Manager"- but mostly it's filling coffee machines and sending company mail. Were you Loganair before Manx took over or arrived after?

Well, my home button was knackered and it was driving me mad! So... Stripped the poor thing down to change it for one I got off Ebay.... F**king hell what? The 3g was piss easy- the front comes off with two screws and you can get right at it but the 4? Firstly, it needs virtually dismantling as the front comes off last- you need to take the back off, the battery, camera, vibrator, wifi aerial, 3g aerial, motherboard and finally the front and digitiser. Only then can you get to the home button. Thanks Steve.... Let's just say don't try this unless you have magnetised P00 screwdriver, fantastic eyesight and no sodding kids running about your feet. Half the screws are 1.2mm jobbies and I was amazed to get it back in one piece and working again. Next time, I'll just buy a new one!

Totally agree with the previous. Three red and one black!!! Agh! Seriously, you need to prioritise- sod the dents. you need to get the car back to standard ASAP first. A set of standard springs for a WRX would be the ideal start- BadBAZ is your man! You need to check the shocks are in good condition, should be GAs KYB units on there and with standard springs will lift the car back to the right height which can only be good with Winter coming. Next order up some all decent tyres. Bridgestone RE050 or similar- all season if you are on a tight budget. Having new quality rubber on with deep tread will help in the coming months. Remember, lowering a McPherson Strut equipped car will lower roll centre and alter cambers quite a bit. You need the springs sorting BEFORE you get the geometry set correctly. Once the ride height is back where it should be, the roll centres will be correct and you can get the cambers and toe set correctly which should return your car to mild understeer when pushed, as Subaru intended. Then sort your bodywork. Welcome BTW. Enjoy!

4 kids and they love my Scooby. My 2nd doesn't like to go fast at all but is happy in the Scoob if I drive sensible. The other three (10, 4 and 1) egg me on and love to go fast! I ran it without a rear wing for a while and nobody batted an eyelid at it. (Crystal Grey Newage) but as soon as the big wing went on it was like they'd had eye surgery or something- all the usual comments. I have the O.E. STI exhaust on BTW so not even slightly loud.

Yes, for my sins..... No Flymaybe jokes FFS! I moved to the Island to work for Manx Airlines and never left so after BA came and ruined nearly ruined it all Flybe pickup up the pieces and restored what was left. Godsend for the 72 of us that are left! I do miss the Manx days though...

Hmm. Looks like a cross between a GT-R35 and a 350z but no question it's a looker.

Not sure on Blobs, but my Hawk had the right aerial connection and the feed was DIN standard so my Alpine unit fitted in fine. The stereo is not like European cars in that it is mounted in a carrier under the trim not into a slot, so a converter trim is not ideal. You remove the fascia trim on the radio an bolt it to the carrier plates then bolt to the dash before clipping the cover over. My Spec D came with a single DIN unit instead of the standard one and it came with a lower cubby box with lid. This I think is fitted to other Japanese models and foresters,etc. Standard Subaru parts. It is silver and matches the 05 on dash but earlier models would have an equivalent. With this fitted it looks factory. My new unit is a double DiN anyway IXA407BT.

I take it the different sizes front to back don't wind your centre diff up then Baz?

oponeo.co.uk still have some accelera snow tyres cheap. mind you, even they've nearly doubled in price in the last few weeks. If you wait till November to buy.... I always buy mine in late September. Learned the hard way a couple of years ago. No help to you, sorry.

All down to postcode. you'd get it cheaper if you moved in with him! simples!

The idea is that the aircon comes on dry the air that goes to the windscreen. The compressor doesn't cost a lot to spin for a few minutes, but if you disconnect it and it doesn't get the lubricant that is added to the gass it might seize. Getting that fixed will cost an arm and a leg and further devalue the car if you sell it that way. It's frankly costing pennies. On a little 1.0l car the air con will make a noticable difference, but if you are driving slowly on a scoob, it ain't the air con that is giving you poor economy! It's pumping losses and drivetrain loss. Locking your centre diff and removing the front driveshafts would save a lot more. Disconnecting the rear injectors and leaving out the plugs would too- if it wouldn't bring up loads of fault codes! A small xcar driving at 50mph will need about 20bhp to keep steady. You would need 22bhp. This is power to the road don't forget. To put 22bhp to the road you need to overcome the fact your throttle is nearly closed, so the poor cylinders are sucking like hell on each intake stroke. you have to drive all four wheels, three diffs and three 500cc pistons around each stroke too. The little car only makes 25bhp max at the revs he'll be going so his throttle is mostly open. (Hence he'll get bugger all acceleration if he floored it unless he changed down). You would be driving 2000-3000rpm to stop the vibes and would get 70-100-300bhp dependent. So he has very little losses to make 20bhp and puts the fuel in to make maybe 25bhp. You have a lot and therefore put the fuel in to make 40bhp to get 22bhp out. Thus your 50mph steady economy fuel consumption is twice as bad. No win in a Scooby. you need to drive it faster! Keep the boost gauge if you have one near the 0-0.2BAR boost level to indicate open throttle off boost ( change up at 3000prm and you'll get a balance between economy and getting there more enjoyably.). Roll on electric Scoobies. Four 100bhp electric motors on each corner and a turbine generator. No diffs no low compression greedy lumps in the front. Till then, honestly, your air con will not like being disconnected long term. Mark

Have you had a new fuel pump fitted? Often garages get their apprentice/monkey to do this and they often cock it up. Easy to bend or jam the float arm.

Depends on a few things. Is it a standard car? Does it have PPP? Has it been re-mapped? If not 276bhp was the standard power. The 03 UK spec car did not have a rear wiper, did not have dark tinted windows, did not have DCCD, did not have electric folding mirrors. It did have a double DIN Cassette/CD/Radio. It did have intercooler spray. A/C, electric windows all round. Brembos. Viscous 50/50 centre diff. Open front diff, Suretrac rear LSD. 6 speed box. No brake light in rear window. No rear arch plastic trims. A SUBARU individual letters on boot lid. WRX on left lower edge, STI and a TYPE UK resin sticker on right lower edge. No HID lights and yellow indicator lenses. That should sort it. If there is any mods under the bonnet you didn't fit, like air filter, induction kit, De-CAT , exhaust,etc then it may well have been mapped. More knowledgeable types will be along shortly but i can get my brochure out later on if no-one else has by the time I get back.