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dark

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Posts posted by dark

    J & J McIndoe Subaru Garage, A89, Broxburn

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    For winter I had an old set of RE040s which were the original fitment. The fronts were down to ~3mm and they were terrible! As soon as the temp dropped they became rock hard! Not recommended! :(

    For winter use even in the dry you really want a tyre with more silica that operates at lower temperatures. It's only if you're driving on slush & snow that a full winter tyre with all the extra sipes cut into it really becomes effective. Full winter tyres have the mud & snow (M+S) marking to show they are approved.

    The Mytyres website let you sort by summer / winter / cold weather / all season tyres which is useful for comparison. In general any winter specific tyre, even budget ones, are going to be so much better than a summer tyre once the temperatures drop and the roads become greasy.

    When looking at winter tyres you can consider a H speed rating (max 130mph) and I would tend towards an XL load rating which usually have stiffer sidewalls. The Coopers I bought are a 91H and feel quite soft whereas the Nankangs are a 93V XL and feel great! For winter use I would buy the Nankangs again for £80 each, I don't see the point of paying almost double for a 'premium' brand.

    Apart from www.mytyres.co.uk (ship from Germany very quickly!) it's worth looking at www.clickontyres.com and www.camskill.co.uk

    Cheers, Mark

    J & J McIndoe Subaru Garage, A89, Broxburn

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    Thanks for all the feedback on McIndoe's.

    Certainly not enough positive views to consider using instead of Nobles, Extreme, SWM or any of the other know specialists.

    I'm a bit surprised that that haven't appeared on here!

    You like the RE070s, Mark?

    RE070s are great tyres; just not when it's very cold or the roads are greasy! Amazing grip & feel in the dry & wet.

    In spring / summer I think they are hard to beat although I can understand why some people don't like the very stiff sidewalls or the tramlining when they get worn.

    This winter I've tried full winter tyres; both Cooper Weather Master Snow and Nankang Snow SV. Both are 'budget' brands but are impressive on cold, wet roads. In the snow both were amazing, especially on slush & compressed snow. You could brake & steer with almost complete confidence. Overall I preferred the Nankangs, they felt more like a normal tyre. The Coopers have a very soft sidewall (225/45/17/91H rating) which makes for a nice ride but limited steering feel with a tendency to understeer even in the dry.

    Cheers, Mark

    struts..?

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    Had BC's for a year without problems.

    Make sure you use the rubber (OEM style) rear top mounts to avoid the knocking issue and get the rear adjustment extenders.

    A set of camber bolts for the rear are also worthwhile fitting at the same time.

    A final trick is to rotate the front top mounts so that you can adjust for both camber & castor at the same time! :)

    Mark

    Help: Boot Lid Hinge

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    Job done, adding instructions for future reference.

    A replacement boot hinge is £42 from Subaru but only comes primed, you'd need to get it painted. I managed to get one in the correct colour from Grade-A for only £23 delivered.

    Replacing the hinge is easiest if you remove the boot lid completely, 4 bolts, 2 on each side. Then relax the torsion bar on the hinge to be replaced by levering off the hinged bracket. The torsion bar can then be slide out of the way.

    To remove the actual boot hinge you need to undo the 3x bolts which are hidden under the parcel shelf. Removing the parcel shelf means the rear seats need to come out & all the side trim on the C-pillar needs to come off.

    Don't put the parcel shelf back until you've completed fitting the new hinge, have reset the torsion bar and refitted the boot lid. To realign the boot lid with the other panels you might need to adjust the 3x hinge bolts backwards or forwards. Once everything works you can put all the trim back.

    Cheers, Mark

    bc coilovers

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    I've had BC's fitted to my STI for the last 12 months / 6,000 miles.

    Overall very please although mine did originally knock at the rear; solved by fitted the rear OEM style rubber top mounts. Consider also a set of rear camber bolts to improve the alignment.

    It's a relatively easy job to fit yourself if you can undo the strut/hub bolts on the originals. However make sure you get somebody who knows what they are doing to set the ride height and wheel alignment. Mine rides similar to the OEM suspension with the Prodrive springs. Ride quality & handling are much improved over the tired originals! :)

    Cheers, Mark

    Help: Boot Lid Hinge

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    Hi all,

    Hopefully somebody has come across this before.

    Basically the boot lid hinge has broken where the black spring bars attach to the hinge assembly. It means the boot doesn't close properly and the hinge rattles like buggery while driving. Does anyone know:

    1) How do you remove the hinge and black spring bars?

    2) Where can I get a replacement?

    I've tried to take a photo. Car is a 2002 Impreza STI Prodrive style.

    Many thanks, Mark

    post-2796-046599700 1290337984.jpg

    Need To Change Both The Springs And Shocks?

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    My 9 year old, 98k mile bugeye wagon is feeling a little tired in the suspension stakes. I'm also getting some clunking from the rear when going over potholes, etc.

    Obviously the best would be to change the springs and shocks but given that the shocks are the more expensive items, I was wondering what difference just changing the springs would make - would that help with the clunking at all? Would they help put some more life into the tired shocks?

    Thanks!

    Richard.

    Very unlikely, it will be the shocks that are knackered. :D

    Car May Be A Write Off

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    You're perfectly within your rights to decline the insurance company's recommended repairer.

    My wife recently bumped her car (twice) and we used Steve Walker's for the repairs. Both times the insurance company (Axa) wanted us to use Nationwide in Loanhead but a quick internet trawl for reviews quickly put me off that idea!

    Just bear in mind that if you use the non-insurance company repairer it will take longer to get the quote authorised and you probably won't get a loan car (unless you speak very nicely to Steve).

    We've used Steve Walker's for four repairs during the last 18 months and I've been very pleased with the results and the excellent level of service.

    Cheers, Mark

    Whiteline Question.....

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted · Edited by Dark

    Car is an 02 STI with new BC coilovers, so it's not the OEM clunking problem.

    Yes, there is always eBay, B&Q, etc but wanted to make sure I had the right size, strength, etc.

    Fairly sure it's the ARB, droplinks or something closely related because the noise disappeared once I'd disconnected the passenger side droplink.

    Also not sure about the wear on the droplink bushes themselves. There seem to be some small cracks / splits, some go right across the bush but none of them seem very deep. How worn out are these and what's the expected lifetime?

    Thanks, Mark

    post-2796-1260778686.jpg

    Whiteline Question.....

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    Hi,

    Anyone know if it's possible to buy just a set of replacement bolts, nuts & washers for the Whiteline solid rear droplinks?

    The droplinks have been fitted to the car for ~5 years and the originals are very corroded. I think the corrosion, especially on the washers, is causing some of the clunks I'm hearing up through the suspension. I've tried cleaning them up and it's much better but really I think replacements are required.

    I was also surprised (disappointed?) that the Whiteline rear anti roll bar is also very corroded. All the original grey paint is flaking off and the bar is very rusty. Given the cost of these parts I would have expected better quality.

    Cheers, Mark

    Big Thanks To Graeme From Whiteline

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    Didn't realise Whiteline did customer alignment setups!

    I went up there to pickup an ALK and Graeme was great at showing me around their race car and explaining what I needed to do to achieve optimum setup and the necessary alignment targets.

    Only problem now is that despite fitting BC's my car still has a knock / clunk from the nearside rear when I hit a pothole. I thought this was the old OEM STI strut problem but obviously not! The rest of the time it's great, just wish I could get this noise sorted!

    Any suggestions? Going back to the garage on Wednesday........

    Mark

    Bc's And Whiteline Gear Fitted.

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    That's the beauty of the BCs, isn't it - that you can adjust ride height without affecting geometry or ride quality.

    Not sure I agree that point.....

    Surely if you wind the hub up or down on the strut the geometry of the control arms is going to change?As a minimum I'd expect that to effect toe in / out.

    The BC instructions also say that when adjusting ride height you need to loosen the two bolts which attach the strut to the hub, that will certainly effect camber!

    I'm not an expert........

    Mark

    Bc's And Whiteline Gear Fitted.

    in Scottish Scoobies

    Posted

    Hi Richie, Wulsey,

    I tried 16/14 on a drive into Edinburgh yesterday and my teeth were rattling! It doesn't crash over the bumps like the standard STI suspension but still very firm. Was previously running 12/10 and that was very nice! Have now set for 14/12.......

    I'm interested to know what alignment setup you achieved? I had a Whiteline ALK fitted at the same time and managed to achieve 1.2deg camber & 4deg caster on the front and 1.1deg camber on the back (with camber bolts).

    Cheers, Mark

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