MoleMan

@Whitexc, I will be happy to take a pic for you tomorrow when I get back home from my business trip. First time anyone wanted a pic of my old truck! The exclusive part is its a manual! Don’t really see a lot of manual Diesels anymore. @Sliverton, I remember when COVID hit In 2020 the highway patrol where I live were clocking people on an average of 90 and sometimes 100 and it was all over the news urging people to slow down. They were not pulling anyone over because nobody knew how serious COVID was at the time. It says something that when the state troopers don’t wanna pull someone over unless they have to what’s going on. I generally don’t want someone right next to me pacing my speed when driving lol. But to your point people I think are just over this and feeling pushed and in a pissy mood. I think we are all trying to make the best of it and all have rants as you saw with me!

@Sliverton, Yes it is really neat. The hack to show how to do this is all over YouTube. The G has a pretty crappy AWD system anyway. The Attesa system is nothing compared to what you you find in a GTR. The system is 100 percent to the rear in normal driving and will split the traction 50/50 if it detects slippage. However having one of these cars I can say the car gets loos really quick since the system does not grip like a Quattro or a Subaru. In fact I prefer my 2006 2.5 over my 3.0 or 3.6 in the snow because of the manual trans. My S4(well wife’s) has the eleusive 6 speed as well and that car to me is just a hair better in the snow then the Subaru but just by a hair if that.

@Sliverton, I somewhat agree with you. It’s a good choice for people that like to hammer on turbo and N/A engines. The added Zinc pack is great for that. However most people I see running it are running it in a race specific car and will change it after a day or weekend of hard racing. I have used it a few times and can say it’s not a good daily driver oil unless as stated you like to completely hammer your engine to redline every chance you get. Besides that it’s expensive at about $12 bucks a quart. To your conclusion on Mobil 1. I have been using it since 2004 and the only car that I have that hates it is the Infiniti as for some reason it burns off quicker so I use Penzoil Platinum in that car. All my other cars take regular Mobil one with a M1 filter and they couldn’t be happier.

I you want a AWD drive car that you can just pull a fuse and go 100% RWD just go get a Infiniti G37x. You can do what you want and its easy to switch back and forth. No mods needed except pulling a simple fuse to go back to AWD. And yes you have your choice Coupe or Sedan. But sadly the "X" model only comes in a seven speed auto.

Thank you, I do not worry about PCV valves. Generally change them out at 100,000 anyway. Its a part that is either broken or not. No in between.

Problem with Motul is that is on the same level as Redline when you want to buy it. Nobody stocks it and you need to order it. And someone mentioned Castrol. I would not even put that crap oil on my kids bike chain. I have had nothing but issues everytime I have used it.

@Brisvegas, When I lived in South Africa that is when we used to say as well when the Wallabies came to play the Springboks. @Dishwasher Not to mention the V6 Charger and V6 Mustang drivers. @Whitetiger I will agree on your statement probably more then my Outback rant. The Wrangler, Base model A4 Drivers, and Outback drivers are all on the top of the list in my area. The F150 Ecoboost drivers along with the Ford Edge drivers round out the top five. And finally@gathermewool. Its mainly the base model half tons that think they are one tons that seem to have this issue and mainly Ford F150s ecoboosts. Most of the 3/4 and 1 Ton owners know they can get away with being an asshole because they have the power to get away. I have a mid 90's 3/4 ton Diesel with a controller and an exhaust. I mainly only drive it to tow the fifth wheel when we go camping. But I forget sometimes that it blows black smoke just because its a dodge and its even worse with the controller. All in all I will agree each brand has some smug AH drivers.

Ok, As of recent every single Outback driver I have encountered has been a real Asshole. I own multiple cars across multiple brands including Audi,infinity, and a Mercedes. I have always honestly thought those brands have some of the biggest AHs. Outback owners always seemed to be the most friendliest people up to now. I have seen it the dealership seeing Outback drivers yelling at service people because “I bought a Subaru to drive in bad weather” yet they don’t understand their tires are 2/32 of tread and that why the car is not gripping. Or in the case of today pulled into a parking lot to get lunch. Guy pulls next to me with his 3.6 Outback with a bunch of cycling stickers of the rear glass. Started to talk to him since we support and have raced bikes for years on a semi and professional level and he gave me a get away from me AH look. Then proceeds to cut In front of two people. I am not saying once again other brand drivers are not Asses but once again of recent I am seeing this trend of Arrogance with the Outback drivers in specific. While on the other side of the spectrum the WRX guys just wanna race everyone with a smile on. Anyone have any opinions specifically on this subject? I know some of the members here own Outback’s and as mentioned most people I encountered for years always had this I just smoked something happy as a clam attitude. And I figured this was the best place to post this as most are Sixth gen Outback’s.

Boy, This type of thread can open up the sky lol. Since you are running a GT and cannot find Rotella which is the best choice, as mentioned PPHM is a good oil and Pennzoil Platinum Ultra is also a better choice. The HM oils don’t really appeal to me as I have used them and seen a noticeable difference the MPG drop as well as performance in several cars across several brands. Now the Ultra you can’t just go to Walmart and buy. However NAPA seems to have it and is the only one to carry it anymore. Of course you could also go Amsoil or Redline if you want to spend the money. And of course you could always go with M1 but I have found for cars that are pushed a bit N/A or Turbo the Pennzoil does not burn off as fast.

@XT-sub, I think it would be funny to attach a Toyota emblem instead of the Subaru Emblem sometimes. Our cars after all are somewhat Toyota’s to a degree. My 3.6 actually reminds me of my 13 Camry XLE V6 as far as the door handles with the three lines for the touch entry and the seats are concerned.

@Sliverton, The OP mentioned that his voltage was at 12.5 volts AFTER the car was on and running. I assumed this since they said they had it checked at Autozone while it was in the car and after I once assumed they drove it to said parts store. So at that point the battery at that voltage would be toast and require a replacement. To give reference. I drove my 3.6 a total of 320 miles in 2021. It has a stock battery. The battery is dead. I have a Schumacher plug in jumper/tender which I use to start the car. On occasion The car gives an eyesight warning issue on the center display between the speedometer and the tach. I have come to the conclusion that since I don’t drive the car and it’s in a garage and the windshield gets dirty the eyesight cameras are just going haywire until I clean the windshield near the cameras and then the car is fine. In this case this is a simple battery issue with the voltage issue when the car is running/has been run recent. Some of us live in climates where the weather gets below zero quite often In The winter months(it was -12 where I was yesterday and only 6 durning the day yesterday)so the average life of a good battery is generally 2-3 years instead of the normal 4 or more when going through the climate cycle. @slyquist, If the dealer does conclude it does need a battery replacement be sure to tell them you want your old battery back. You can get a proration or free replacement if you are within the warranty period. Napa is really good about not giving you BS if you are within the warranty period. Good luck.

@Sliverton, Just saying I would never touch the negative and positive cables together. Yeah it could work. And yeah if you are a trained Subaru mechanic I would also expect the dealer to take up responsibility if something goes wrong. Not saying it does not work. With the battery pulling 12.5 volts any mechanic would say replace the battery regardless if factory trained or backyard. I design aircraft parts for military aircraft and also have worked on commercial airliners such as the 787 designing parts. You would never believe me if I told you how many people freak out when I tell them the wings flex and it’s designed to do that. But let me ask have you done this procedure and have any electrical issues happened specifically with the sixth and seventh gen cars?

I would not recommend the "cap discharge" method as described. Never have heard of this of seen it done. To touch the negative and positive cables together seems like it would just invite an issue to the electrical system and I can not see any trained professional mechanic doing this at all. The other method of removing the negative and positive cables will reset the computer etc. The only setting you will lose on this car will be the window settings(relearn procedure a five year old can do as it's easy) and maybe the TPMS display in the cluster. But it won't move your seat settings like other cars. But since you have said that your meter tested the battery at 12.5 volts just go ahead and replace it with a non Subaru upgraded battery(huge discussions on this issue) you take your pick of the two sizes and go from their. I would not do anything else at this time besides replace the battery. Once again please DO NOT touch the negative and positive cables together! Good luck.

Its your alignment. I have the same issue with my daily Honda. The steer ahead needs to be adjusted when the alignment is done. Its just part of the alignment anyway so you could mention the wheel is off center when you do the alignment. The Perrin Damper has nothing to do with this at all. If you are in a state that gets snow and ice and has potholes I would hold off on the alignment until after winter is done and go in April/May. Surprisingly I have found that the dealers do the best alignment around my area. Except for one indi shop that sold out and is crap now.

Heres an idea. Look at the date on the Battery. If its more then four years old just replace it. Autozones testers generally only tell the truth 50% of the time. You have to remember when you had it tested you drove the car to the Autozone. The alternator was putting charge into it. So it would test good at that time. I would test the battery cold before you start the car. If you are in the 13-14 volt range you are fine. If you are under that as suggested go and replace your battery. If you are running a Subaru OEM battery they generally are only good for three years if that.

The OE Goodyears are the OE tire for this car regardless of the state. Of course they are going to be crap in the snow unless they are factory fresh with 10/32 of tread on them and even then they are just MEH!. The only ALL Season tire that can even stand up to any snow in my opinion is the Continental DWS. And even then only in anything about 2 inches is pushing it. As others have said Snow tires are the way to go if you are going to be driving in snow daily regardless of car. I prefer the Blizzak WS90. Just remember as I always forget when I change to my snow tires is your cornering ability just got reduced 50% as well as your mileage is going to go down compared to all season V, W, or Z rated tires. BTW the Michelin Premier A/S they really cheaped out on. Only 8/32 of tread new. I had them on my Honda for a few months. They were responsive I will give them that. But not a snow tire at all. The Geolanders are an SUV tire so that could explain why you felt more in control as the tread is deep and pushes the snow away better.

Don't JB weld that cover back in place It will cause problems later down the line if you need it off again. If you really need something adhesive wise just use something like Flextape(You know from the TV commercials) and it should hold. That way you can remove it at a later date(I would use a bit of care and do a good job and make it look good) As DougKelly20 suggested just run without one. its nothing but decoration anyway. If you need to you can buy a used one off ebay and be better off.

when thumping happens to me its generally a rock in the tire making the noise. Sometimes its ice buildup as well on the underside of the car depending on the weather. The cold weather brings out all the little creaks and moans and normally its nothing to worry about. I remember one time I thought I had a major issue and it turned out I had a stick lodged in between the wheel and the control arm and it was making a thumping noise.

Did you get new tires recently? I am thinking you are probably spot on as far as something in the brakes. New tires would slow you down a little but not excessive at all. Now heres the question of the day. What kind of pads and rotors did you use? I had a slight issue with some Akebono Rotors I used with some Duralast ceramic pads a few years back. Found out it was the pads that were making contact with the rotor because of a factory defect.

@Code, I think you are mistaken as far as the car I have this setup on. Its currently on my 2008 3.0R not any BMW or other car I owned or do own. As far as reinforcement brackets most people do not have them and have very limited issues breaking endlinks at all. Granted you do need aftermarket links as the stock ones are crap when pushed hard. I have never seen a bracket deform or break just from "spirited driving" and only have seen this issue when the car is pushed hard and I mean hard. As far as the strut tower bar theory they only work when paired with bigger sways. And its minimal at best but it still reduces flex over stock. As far as suspension and "lifting" etc.. If you have the suspension done correct as well the right tire/wheel combo the car should never lift in the corners if its dialed down correctly. I know the feeling and its not a good one. But every car has a limit and driving a Leggy like a 911 on the track wont work. @shralp, The setup you have in your wagon is more like what I was used to seeing in track cars as far as bracing etc.. I am also seeing alot of the rear strut tower braces popping up in more track cars as they are easy to remove.

@Painless, Thank you. I have noticed that on white cars the wings just sorta of blend and are just MUH as you pointed out. On the DBP or VR cars(I have a DBP car) the wings pop out a bit from the standard norm. I actually prefer these little duck wings compared to a wing that is more obstructive in the rear view. The question would I have payed $400 to install the wing if it was not on the car? Probably not. But I look at it as its on and frankly most of the Leggys around here dont have one.

@Code, Please explain. The OP said he was thinking about bracing. I took that as Underbody bracing such as a chassis bracing. Not a strut tower bar or sways. Chassis braces are awful for street driving. Sways and a strut tower bar are not what I would call stiff at all unless you are running some 35 series tires set to 45 PSI or something along those lines. As far as comparing a E36 or E46 BMW to a Leggy honestly its a different car in an entirely different world. Different driving characteristic so different responses will be had by different mods just like your Wagons compared to a sedan. I had two E36 M3's in the past and to me they were just boring and people would call me crazy. The Only BMW I seem to enjoy is a N65 M3 for some reason. As far as your comment on strut tower braces on BMW's or any high HP front engine/rear drive car I will agree that the Front tower brace helps plant the front end slightly better but just slightly. And the last thing. The Whiteline is 22/24 and I believe the front is a 25/26.

I will get you a photo as soon as I can. Have been traveling trying to get this year done before I take my vacation. Just a quick search for a 2018 legacy oem rear wing will yield results. Note that the OEM rear wing does not have a Brake light on it like some aftermarket ones do.

It would take a tankful if not more to clear the code if it was the gas cap. Its not an immediate "the car will clear the code" situation. Its an issue with the evap system. When you run your code reader go to readyness and see if the Evap system says "ok" or "Not ready" if it says "not ready" you will need to drive it for a few hundred miles or so to get to be in a ready status. Heres the dumb question. Does the Cruise Control work when the light is blinking?

You don't need reinforcement brackets or any braces for street driving. In fact the more bracing you put on the car the stiffer it will become and the ride will be awful believe me on this. The braces are really only good for track cars where you want the car to have as limited lean as possible. In your case a front strut tower brace from Cusco would be a great option. They look a hell of alot better then the ebay specials as far as that goes. As far as brackets half the people will always say buy brackets. really I have not had an issue over four cars without brackets. And when I did buy some really nice Hotchkis brackets I never got around to putting them on. Once again braces are great for the track and thats about it. As far as saving money do everything at once. Try to get the sways to be matched MM wise which a set will be anyway within 2 or so MM. With whiteline I believe the rear bar is 26 and the front is 28 or so(I am close but not perfect) And I like to run the bar on the stiff setting in the front and the middle hole in the back for a more neutral setup. But thats all about how as well. what works for me may not work for you. If you were going to do anything with the sways I would buy new Whiteline Endlinks Front and real to compliment the new bars. The factory ones are probably toast anyway or will be toast fairly soon after replacing the bars. I have a Whiteline Front/Cusco rear setup with Whiteline endlink and Cusco bar on my 3.0 and the handling is great for the street. If I went with additional bracing yeah it would be better in the tighter corners but awful on anything else.