Snoshado's FXT Journal

damu, I was thinking the SAME thing the whole time I've been reading this thread. No offense, but even I wouldn't really want a 20G, much less if I wasn't experienced with AWD and Subaru's trannys.

Lots of good advice in here. You should really take a year or more to truly learn all the ins and outs and quirks of the subie tranny before you even think about launching it. Ever read all the "subaru glass tranny" posts over on Nasioc? Lots of guys, many with more experience than you, broke their trannies thinking they could get away with not knowing them, beating on them, etc. But I think everyone here's put the fear of G-d in you regarding your weaksauce tranny. Remember, those "glass tranny" threads were from people with stock power, not freagin' rockstar 20G turbos! :Banane36:

BTW, those videos were with meth (in addition to gas) and tuned to 20+psi. Your car isn't THAT but it will absolutely smoke a stock STi and many other cars as attested. VERY dangerous, please take heed to what we're whining about And as for trannies - if you have time to hold out and do all (and I mean ALL) the labor yourself, you might could score all the 6sp stuff needed for $3-4k. But if you have a 20G, I'd be considering a PPG gearset (hardened).

Off-topic, I think bacon time is over. As someone else said, not kosher for passover!

BTW, many of us speak from experience. I totalled my first car when I was 16, two months after I got it. It wasn't exactly my fault but it sort of was (long story, a combination of circumstances). Before graduating highschool I nearly totalled another car and had a couple of bump-ups that weren't as bad - but any of them could have been life ending!

Even at 23 I nearly ended my life and others around me. Came across a hill into a 90 degree turn too fast (like I did every day), pavement was slick (from fog), and went sideways down the road with three oncoming cars nearly kissing my back bumper, then over-corrected and did a 270 into a gravel bank on the other side of the road. Praise G-d all I had to show was some gravel stuck in my rim. If one of those cars had been 5 seconds slower, it would have been over.

That was my last big screw-up long ago. Stuff like that can happen in a car whether it's fast or not, but speed/power increases your chances of losing what little control you have in all those potentially fatal situations and the chances of putting yourself into them. At least for most of us drivers who really enjoy driving. I guess you could say it's something that's against you in thos "combination of circumstance" moments that you won't always know are coming at you but you can often put yourself in.

You've got nice car, take care of it, and take care of yourself bud!

# 1 - JBP is THE BEST! :icon_wink:
# 2 - When those tires are gone get some that fill out the wheel well a little better (those look small)
# 3 - I am on the same road as you, Sno. I've GOT to get my baby polished and waxed well. It has reached swirl hell. :icon_cry:

Take it from me, don't start doing anything until you know more about fixing the surface. To start with last year, I bought some good name brand 'wax' but didn't realize 'cleaner wax' meant it had polish in it. Polish is ABRASIVE, the purpose being to grind down the surface of the clearcoat to buff to a shine. I didn't know this and just applied like wax and wiped it off, and actually CAUSED microfine scratches on my baby. I did this a second time before realizing what I had been doing.

Then a few months ago I unfortunately let some mobile detail unit do a quick wash/dry, and the scratched the :yell: out of it. It's swirl mark city now.

My plan, should you choose to follow:
1. Wash really good
2. Clay bar, to remove embedded surface contaminants before polishing (done once before).
2.b - buy myself a random orbital buffer!!!!
3. Use a soft polish (polish only, no wax). Currently have Meguiar's Pure Polish # 7 (from local autozone). There was another Meguiar's I first bought, but reading on the back it talks about 'cutting so fast you won't believe it' and I really don't want to start out with something very abrasive as soft as Subie paint is!
4. Wax (wax only). I had picked up Meguiar's Gold # 26 somethingorother, but it's listed as a show car shine. (Sounds like high shine, not as long lasting). I think I'm going to use their Techwax instead as it sounds more like something that will last longer on a car that sits outside every day.

Some of those links above are good, but I hopped autopia and realized I was a NOOB - I was lost with all the acronyms and terms. I'm still a noob and wanting to learn. Meguiar's has a helpline and I bet they would really be helpful to talk to from what I've read. I'll post up once I get around to taking care of mine. Keep us updated on what you do!