Who here owns a Subaru?

[EddScott]

I'll be interested to see how you get on with the CAE shifter. I see it causing issues for people to shift quickly most of the time...

Is this what you're bringing to the hill climb btw?

Yes, I'll be bringing the RA. The Evo will be at Engine Tuner by then. RA is way better for track/sprint.

The CAE shifter. Well, it's cool and a massive PITA all at the same time. I wouldn't go as far to say it won't be staying but it will take some geting used to and may need some adjusting. Going up is fine but down 6th to 3rd is very easy to do.

It's quite nice to just tap it into gear so you don't have to be particularly harsh with it as it's still a normal box so doesn't need to be thumped to change. Pressing on, it's very cool to click through the gears

I worry it adds additional load which CAE say isn't the case. However, I missed a gear this morning and honestly thought I'd left tooth by the kerb! There's no "sublty" to the change.

It will probably stay because Rally Car

 

[dave28]

always wanted one, maybe one day when they are really old i will pick one up just to run around in

 

[Meridian]

Well, not me any more. Mine developed a problem with the synchromesh. It could be repaired, but at a high cost that wasn't justified. So I sold it last Friday to the guy who's done most of the recent work on it. He sees to want to reburb it and actually use it as a daily driver. It had a good life with me: sixteen years, and 115k miles. I miss the power, but not the fuel consumption.

I now have a 2015 Merc GLA250 4motion.

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

Blimey - you really did have that car for a long time!

Out of interest what was the cost quoted for your synchro? Assuming it was 4th, 5th or 6th gear? Had to do the same on my old blobeye, and that was at a cost of around £2k IIRC.

 

[Meridian]

Fifth. And the estimate was £1500-£2000.

 

[Tom_ed1987]

Seems a shame to let it go after such a long time for a synchro issue! I guess it was reaching an age/mileage where the problems would keep coming?
Are synchros a common thing to go on the 6 speed gearboxes?

 

[Meridian]

There was also the issue that I was commuting in it. Sixty miles a day, meaning a fill every four days of 99-RON fuel at about £60 a time. It's not an example with high resale value because of the high mileage (145k from new) and the extensive mods. At best I might of got £5k if there was nothing wrong with it. And I'm rather too old to be driving a car like that (as a nice police told me a few years ago). Everything added up to getting rid while it was still worth something. But I really miss being able to put my foot down and take off like a -ing rocket. 410bhp and 350lb-ft. (The low torque is because it was mapped to have max torques at about 4500rpm rather than the top of the rev range.)

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

Fifth. And the estimate was £1500-£2000.

Did well to get so many years and miles out of it being it being needed

A friend of mine's lovely white STi at Curborough recently:

 

[agw_01]

I haven't logged on here in over 12 months, so hi chaps and Happy New Year Couldn't resist the urge to post this when I found it...

Look what's popped up on eBay... @Meridian

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294675790028?hash=item449c0bb8cc:g:VpMAAOSwSO1hk8Ou

Still looks great and a rare beasty these days. Gets a good write up in the ad, so credit where credit is due!

Seems like it went to someone who continued to look after it which is great to see and hopefully it reaches a figure high enough to put off the numpties and will carry on in the hands of another enthusiast.

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

It hasn't had the synchros fixed though

 

[naefeart]

It hasn't had the synchros fixed though

So the tuner didn't fix it and is just selling for profit?

Shame as it looks in great condition. I was never keen on the bugeyes, but that one looks amazing.

I sometimes wish I had bought the P1 I went to look at back in 2003. However many of them started going bang due to their ECU setup IIRC and I didn't want to risk it. Bought an M3 instead but feel I totally missed out on Scooby ownership.

 

[Sinbad2000]

Checking in here - nothing particularly exciting... 2017 Forester XC Diesel lineartronic but I likes it

 

[Meridian]

It hasn't had the synchros fixed though

I'm not sure how you get that, as he doesn't say one way or the other? There's no way it would get through even a short test drive without noises from the gearbox, so he'd never sell it without the work being done.

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

I'm not sure how you get that, as he doesn't say one way or the other? There's no way it would get through even a short test drive without noises from the gearbox, so he'd never sell it without the work being done.

He posted it in several places on Facebook. I asked the question about the synchros, he ignored it a couple of times.

A Subaru for sale Facebook page shared the eBay link so I asked the question again. This time he finally answered saying there was nothing wrong with the gearbox, and there has been no work done to it. So that says to me the synchros have not been done...

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

Bought an M3 instead but feel I totally missed out on Scooby ownership.

There is still time before prices keep going more and more crazy. Just lots of bad examples out there these days.

In other news, put one of the STi's through MOT yesterday. Just shy of 12k miles from new

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

Few from Caffeine and Machine today:

 

[Aeleys]

Been a while since I've been here, the newer shape is definitely growing on me looks nice.

 

[EddScott]

I have been playing with seats recently.

I bought these Recaro seats before I bought my RA and had them retrimmed before being fitted. They've been in pretty much since the start. These are the 2nd set of Recaros as I bought 2 new SPGs at vast expense which turned out to be tiny in the hips.

I absolutely love how these SR5s look in the car and really suit it. However, I find them uncomfortable after a short space of time. Doesn't happen to my GF who can drive the car for hours with no issues. I get pain in my legs even in my OE BMW F31 seats so I guess simply suscepitble to it.

I also tried a Recaro Pole Position for a while which felt OK to sit in but just was overall a bit "meh". Having been through a decent selection of Recaro seats I can't say I'm all that impressed. I had a Sabelt Taurus is a sim rig which felt way better quality than the SPG and Pole.

So now I'm onto Corbeau and their Pro X range. This is a standard size which actually fits pretty well. I considered the XL but this suits my hips and upper legs fine. Not as practical and not really as nice looking but really nice to sit in and no early leg pain.

 

[Stu999]

This looks lovely (shamelessly lifted from the latest Harry’s Garage video):

Iconic Auctioneers | 2000 Subaru Impreza P1-Sold

This 2001 SUBARU IMPREZA P1 Ticking all the right boxes, this well presented, totally

silverstoneauctions.com

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

@EddScott - I do love the red seats, but I'm a sucker for the finish on the rear on the Corbeau's

The bug STi seats are so damn comfy and supportive, I really wish they stuck with that frame as I really don't believe many would have swapped them out for aftermarket. The blobs/hawks wide seat bases just made them useless for spirited driving.

In bug STi news.. passed MOT this week with no advisories. W00t.