MoleMan

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.

Prefer Redline in both diffs as well as in the trans. Have used it for years across multiple car brands as well. Very smooth. Liqi-Moly sometimes is hard to source as well. In fact I have never seen Diff or Trans fluid even discussed just the engine oil.

Congrats! Overall for the price you got the car for its a steal. As far as right now change the head gasket and put some mild mods on it and you will still be fine price wise. As far as a turbo motor you are probably better off finding a used GT in the future as it’s just easier especially if it’s been modded already. As far as the Protege 5. Great car. I remember buying one of those brand new off the truck back in 2003 or so. Only regret was it was a Auto but at the time I also had a 626 ES six cylinder as well. Never had any issues with any Mazda owned. Even had a 1993 Miata I drove for 174,000 miles before I sold it and still regret selling that car to this day. As remember with a turbo built car this opens you to a lot of tuning you can have done for specifics as to what you are doing with the car. And literally pages upon pages of information are available for research. On a side note I see you are from B.C. Even though I am from the states I can tell you a lot of the YouTube videos of some really crazy builds are out of B.C. So you have a great community in your area when you do decide to pull the trigger on that.

@Infosecdad, Good call out on that. I have had so many issues with aftermarket thermostats in the recent five years on various cars that it’s to the point I just buy factory ones from the dealer. It’s funny you go in thinking you are going to get ripped off but they are only a few dollars on average more then an aftermarket part. @ohno06gt does the car throw any codes? I nursed a bad thermostat on my daily Civic for six months and what it would do is throw a code every 1500 miles or so and then once reset the code went away for another 1500 miles or so. It was doing what you described and just was stuck open but the car drove fine on the highway and the temp was fine. I know on my sixth gen when I drive it I put the setting on the car info screen where it shows the coolant temp and it’s always running somewhere in the 199 to 201 range.

In theory yes. It seems like the dealership is causing issues for you. What I personally do is go to another Subaru dealer In your area when the problem happens and do not say anything about how you pulled codes or had anything replaced at all. So essentially play stupid with the service writer. See what they say. They may have an easy fix or can fix it. To me it seems that the issue is electrical and something with wiring since the trans shifts and the car drives regardless of codes. I had the same exact issue with my Infiniti and they traced it to water getting the main wiring loom wet because I had debris on my battery tray(main harness is located directly under the battery tray). Also@d0bdish18. You are right about the shifter lock. You just flip up the tab and insert a flathead to get the shifter to engage. It’s actually in the owners manual as far as the procedure.

Just curious as to how many us have the factory rear wing option. When I got my 3.6 from the dealer it was already installed. Comments on looks? I do not really see a lot of wings on the sixth gens around my area and when I do it always is a rare treat. On that topic has anyone seen a 50th anniversary Legacy on the road? I have only seen an Outback and when I asked the owner she had no clue it was a very limited edition and just bought it for the color.

@jrizz, As far as a smoother ride that’s really your call. What is smooth for me may be rough for you. But overall the setup I have with the 225/45s as well as the mix of Cusco and Whiteline parts is not bad at all and to me is the best setup. As far as the Cusco part numbers I can get you a number on the Strut Tower brace possible tomorrow. You could always call Yoshi at Cusco direct and he will answer if in the office. Other then that you can send an email to Cusco and they will get back to you with the proper fitment numbers. Just be very accurate with your car description as far as year and build. Whiteline can also help with specific part numbers as well for the front sway and endlinks. White line is a tad better then Cusco in deciphering part numbers.

Stupid answer coming here. But have you bought a cheap scanner so if the car has the check engine light pop up again you can plug it Into your bod port and get the code for the dealership? A cheap scan tool will run you $20 bucks at any Walmart in the auto section. If the dealer keeps saying no problem and yet a specific code keeps popping up then this is proof and they can pinpoint the issue and not guess.

@ Febreze Mee, Its all good. As far as ANY Michelin being livable thats a discussion for another time. They are just hard as rocks to me. The rubber compound that Michelin uses is just not my thing. As far as balancing comfort and performance thats the tricky part. What works for me may not work for you.

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@ Febreze Mee, The Pilot Sport 4S is a summer tire. Just curious why you are running it in temps less the 28 degrees. And ANY Michelin turns into a block of cement anything colder then 32 degrees this is why I hate Michelins. At least they have the best smoothness on a open highway with no potholes however lol. As far as the Dunlop Signature SPs they are total garbage in any light rain or even light snow. The running joke in the Infiniti forums is how fast owners remove these tires after purchase of their new Q50s and Q60s. Once again not being an ass but I have had both sets of the tires you have mentioned on various cars. Once again the Michelin is great for summer only and sticks like glue once heated up. The Dunlop is really bottom of the mark for any performance tire. Once again I prefer the DWS line from Continental. Personally have driven this tire is upwards of 3 inches of unplowed snow as well as pushed the performance level in multiple modified vehicles. Its a great all around tire and gives the balance between performance, traction, and safety in wet and snowy conditions. As far as the muffler delete I don't get why this is becoming so popular. It really makes any car sound like crap. And it really does not provide anything but to be annoying on the roadway. But to each his own I always say. Every 18 year old kid around here does it. For me I would rather have a good exhaust setup that makes power instead of a muffler delete.

Get a set Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 Plus in 225/45/18s. Both the other tires you are looking at are basically touring tires and give no performance at all. The MXM4 is generally a stock tire for Avalons and Camrys. Its a good smooth tire but once again not a good rounded tire. The DWS will give you everything you want including smoothness if balanced correctly. I personally have been running this series of Continental for the past ten years or so without issue and its the only tire I buy. I also have the same 225/45/18 setup on my 3.0R. As far as performance parts really nothing but suspension components from Cusco and Whiteline. Personally I would shy away from any sort of performance exhaust on this car. Just stay as close to the stock setup as possible.

Multiple dealers have them here. It may be a regional thing where only the top dealers get them to offload. In certain states I think they are not allowed to sell branded title cars yours may be one.

The oil discussion can be hashed out for decades and has been on other oil specific forums lol. In Turbo Cars prefer Rotella. I am a huge M1 advocate for non-turbo cars as I have run that oil for years without issue. The more specialized oils such as redline are also great oils because of the ZDDP pack additives. But only for racing to track days. Stay AWAY from Royal Purple as it’s just crap. Just stick with the Rotella.