Alfred_Buchi

I had to flip my bike trays around to clear the hatch of my WRX wagon, so don't be afraid to try that too.

 

Not a worry, it barely touches as it is now and I've got at least 3" that I can move it forward. Should be fine. I might have to flip one to carry 2 bikes though.

Finally got racks on my wagon!!! Woo!

 

OEM crossbars (thanks to black_bulletGT) and Rocky Mounts Pitch fork mount bike racks. Bike rack trays are really nicely made (I returned a rhino rack tray I bought that cost twice as much and these are just as nice or nicer) they are definitely comparable to any of the top rack brands. The lock cores are quite cheap though and I think I could probably tear one apart with any standard screwdriver. The hardware for mounting to the rails feels solid and is designed so that you have to remove the locking skewers before you can get to the hex bolts so I do feel moderately secure despite the cheap lock cores. The plastic locks on the OEM rack can't be that strong anyway so if there's a weak point I'm sure thieves will find it. Got a muddy ride in today and forgot to take a picture with the bike on top. Soon!

 

Going to move them a few inches forward though. My back tire hits the hatch when open. I was careful to make sure the rack didn't hit when it opened up but forgot that the tire would stick out a little further. The rack I bought here didn't have end caps or keys for the locks and Mont Blanc sent me a full set free of charge!

 

Adding a snowboard rack in the center hopefully next week Racks on racks!

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img210/5157/photo1ber.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img191/1601/photo3to.jpghttp://imageshack.us/a/img4/4006/photo2opk.jpghttp://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/photo3to.jpg/http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/4/photo2opk.jpg/http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/210/photo1ber.jpg/

^ What does pretty regularly actually mean? 20k? 10k? Just wondering.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/mo439470/specbbike.jpg

 

How confident are people with using the upright racks? I really hate taking the front wheel off but I feel like it's more secure.

 

If I take a corner hard could the upright bike fly off?

 

It's a lot more crap up top all the time, I'm concerned with additional wind noise and mpg decrease.

 

I plan to run a 15 or 20 mm thru axle on my next bike so I don't want to deal with taking the wheel off when I get it.

 

Thoughts?

 

Sick bike btw.

A year ago you could find a set for 500 bucks. Now days I would expect to pay 800-1000 without tires for a set in good condition. Which is why I won't be buying a set anymore haha.

Glad to hear it haha. Pretending to be a rally car driver is probably one of the things in life that puts the biggest smile on my face.

Is driving like a tool in the snow (DORIFTO!!!) as hard on my diff as hard launches?

 

Aka should I stop having fun driving in the snow next season?

What about left foot braking through corners while staying on the gas? I guess the equivalent of heel toe in a manual. I find that i fall out of boost in third but sometimes don't really want to drop to second. Is left foot braking a reasonable option or is it hard on anything? Except brakes obviously.

Is downshifting a 5EAT hard as bad as upshifting?

You willing to go to Gardenia? If so, West End alignment has a stellar reputation for performance. Wait list is pretty intense though I'm told, but there reputation is the best in SoCal.

I live in the sticks though so I use someone else in Redlands. (Pruetts, who I recommend.)

 

Thanks man, if I can't find someone more local I'll keep this in mind.

Only really matters if LCA are offset. But, I would wait.

 

Sounds like you need at a minimum a precision alignment (if not a corner balance too). Dont know anyone up north doing precision alignments. We use a local shop (Escondido) that has a pit instead of a lift. that way even the most hammered cars can roll right up. Mechanic has been working with us for over 1 year, so he is very familiar with the Subies we bring and the specs we want..

 

I'm just on konis and stock springs, can I corner balance without adjustable coilovers? I just want them to max out camber in the front within stock adjustability, which I hear is -1.5 and still won't wreck my tires. As it is I'm wearing more on the outside of the tire but hopefully with the konis and an alignment I can even that out. Rears I guess 0 or -.5 seems popular?

 

Mike can you PM me pricing for whiteline LCA bushing kit + install? The ones I can see easily have minor cracking but they don't make any noise, how do you know when it's really time to replace? Are the offset bushings worth doing?

Anyone know a reputable alignment shop in Irvine/central OC area?

 

I want them to listen to me when I tell them I want them to max out negative camber and not tell me I don't know anything and that's wrong. Preferably somewhere that won't charge me a crap ton.

 

Also should I wait on this until after I replace my LCA bushings? Or will it matter? My guess is yes.

I did mine over the weekend too. Man what a wonderful difference. It's like a new car! And with the firmer suspension my 5eat feels 10X better without the bobbing and diving I was getting on the old shot stock suspension.

 

I've got 2 "oops" issues, and I don't know if I'll need to tear the rears apart to fix this.

 

1. I have an extra washer on the top of the inside of both rear shocks. After pulling the stock struts out I forgot the order the washer was in and made a bad guess. I put the stock washer that was on top of the top hat between the stock nut UNDER the tophat and then put the new koni nut and lock washer on top of the tophat. Does that make sense? Anyway I haven't noticed any noises yet, but is this potentially an issue? I have tons of thread left up top, so that's not an issue, but have I reduced my travel? Or just raised my car 1/16 of an inch in back? If I raised it a little bit I could care less, if anything I'm happy to gain any ground clearance I can.

 

2. I didn't double check my left rear spring after I loosened the compressors and the bottom of the spring is now sitting 1/2" away from where it should sit on the perch. What are the risks of leaving it like this and will it find it's way to the right place or should I try to compress it on the car and rotate it a little bit?

 

Other than that, thanks to this thread, install was very smooth and I didn't spend a lot of time cussing or kicking things.

 

Pipe cutter was definitely worth the 22 bucks to me. Since the cut doesn't have to be perfectly straight, a hacksaw or saws all would do the job just fine, but it's nice to look at it and say "man that's a clean cut."

Man, those look awesome with bed liner. I would like to trade you for my dirty stockers and uninstalled koni's. Deal?

 

I'm excited to install these this weekend. I'm glad I found this thread, what a great writeup. Wish I had found a donor set so I could get it started sooner.

 

Anything different on a wagon or are the steps exactly the same? I've searched and I'm pretty sure I don't need any spacers or anything with stock springs right?

Anyone know if they make whisper bar brackets for our US wagons? I am having trouble finding them online.

Will those whisbar brackets fit our standard funky US roof rails?

 

Those look AWESOME on Honeybadgers car.

 

I may have a pro deal available... I need these racks.

 

Edit: I also found out that 04 forester racks will fit with some cutting. That sounds like a way cheaper option... but these are so sexy!

How come everyone seems to prefer the slide hammer over a puller?

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/fVykH91RfiI8myTmThUeWbQt6Pb5gGEEOANng0PUeLnHDdFJKQjCThH_LWZxzK_FBwwoaB2nymMd5jRGLb-G-LBnDM7r3Iyq6KcyIChzJ4RmnVkmlTfPOSu7Tycj4HBQk91sUyrRk1dmO3MSYcIG2V1oLp7hnF-ONDycv6k_AoS7YEW73xkiknB3DyYoj_iJy2FM1ZIgMr_VM8uHzPOVQqzmAcCSkn0xk7OHfSD4MdbcTx58XUkmmY3wipdmH7H4GQ912fSj81MS2UGPnnh39P1cf7UDMpLm71RIL8DFLoMGvGtAdOmgVJFuPb0msD6wLuTSot0CUNSXpIUa6R0fS1M

 

Edit: Oh my mistake, seems that the slide hammer is for getting the hub off, not the axle out of the hub. Apparently my axle was uncommonly difficult to remove.

Everyone with canada wagon aero racks - would be great if you could give them to me

^^^ Clever screen name!

 

Inventor of the turbo incase anyone was wondering.

 

Sorry didn't see this. Thanks man - first person to mention it. I might have come up with something different had I realized everyone would be calling me Alfred, haha.

^^ Bad ass conversation!

You should sell them as "lightest BBS wheels on the market"

 

That sucks man those look amazing on your car, really a shame the previous owner did that...

Chipped keys - cut and coded for 70 bucks

 

Ace Hardware in Tustin.

 

Not sure how many other Ace's have the code machines, and the keys are generic, but I don't care if the key I'm going to cut up for my remote start has a subaru logo on it anyway.

 

I bet if you took a key you got online they could cut and code it for you for cheap too. Might be a good option for the all in one keys people love so much.