Fred H

Other tire review sites: https://www.tyrereviews.com/ and https://www.thetirelab.com/245-45-R18/summer/ My approach was to choose the summer tire that was best in the wet — a Conti, as it turned out this time.

Interestingly, I found the most complete information on my battery issue by asking on an audio site. They pointed me to an Outback thread that blamed Subaru turning off the alternator periodically to save gas and an unreliable entry to sleep mode. Here are the two threads: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/car-battery-pulsing.45687/#post-1629036 https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/2017-outback-battery-issue-lack-of-starlink-subscription-cause.531683/page-2

Thank you. I’ll take it off — and accept the likelihood that my every-two-year battery replacement history will continue. I like the car enough that it’s worth it.

I've had bad luck with batteries for my 2015 3.6; replaced it after two years. Three times! (Life was busy and I wasn't paying attention.) Just after the free replacement window closed I needed a jump, one year after the last replacement. This (finally!) made me look at my battery history and I learned about the battery settlement. I also bumped into the pulse technology that purports to increase battery longevity. In an effort to end my two-year cycle, I installed a $50 unit on the car that pulses the battery (Power Pulse 12V Desulfator PP-12-L). I choose this company because they originated the technology. I don't know if it will really do any good but I wanted to mention it.

I’ve just had my ‘15 windshield replaced with aftermarket glass for the second time. Neither time did I need to have Eyesight calibrated. It cost $299 plus sales tax and it was done at our house. Doing my car and my wife’s Mini took 50 minutes. All the sparkles are gone. Yea.

I’m 79; my days of working on cars are past. But I can still enjoy driving them.

FYI, received quotes from my local shop to replace bushings and ball joints in both arms with oem parts. Buying the parts plus labor was $700, buying the arms to reduce the labor was $1,000 (both excluding alignment). With dealer labor rates I expect that the prices would be closer.

Thank you. I was thinking along the same lines and appreciate the confirmation. As I don't track the car I'll stick with oem.

The rear bushings on one arm are loose. The car has 107.5K miles and I plan to keep it. I have several questions: 1. Should I replace just the bushings or the arm? 2. If the arm, should I also replace the ball joint? 3. If the arm, should I replace both sides? 4. If both sides, are there some firmer bushings I should consider? I've read what I could find about the Perrins; they seem too stiff for our New England ripples and potholes. But I couldn't find any other alternatives to OEM firmness.

If I understand the results correctly the fluid is in good shape. I'm going to follow their "do it again in 25K miles" suggestion although I suspect it's standard. I was happily surprised at the good results at the 100K mileage.2015 LEGACY 3.6R-CVT-100K-220202.pdf

$281.31 plus tax. They removed and replaced 6.5qt. I've sent a sample for testing and I'll post the results when they are available.

I had the shocks (8610-1453S front, 8010-1055S rear) installed a few days ago. I chose the softer of the two model alternatives because of the stock springs. I haven't changed the springs because I live in New England and frequently drive in snow and/or dirt roads. The first change I made to the car was mud flaps; the second was Primitive skid pans. The installer set them mid-range, I immediately backed them off to minimum because our secondary roads have fully grown frost heaves and unfilled potholes. The firm-riding snow tires affected this decision too. From reading about the shocks, the compression stroke isn't adjustable; all adjustment is on rebound. I learned three things about adjusting rebound from reading: (1) If adjusted too tightly they can "ratchet" towards full compression, "locking" the suspension; (2) The overall adjustment affects the ride quality and tire adhesion; and, (3) Different adjustments front/rear primarily affect the transient behavior entering and leaving curves by increasing the roll stiffness. The first change from all-minimum was 1/2 turn firmer on the rear shocks. I wanted the rear of the car to have a greater sense of controlability. Increasing the transient rear roll stiffness should accomplish that. But what I got was twitchiness; when I entered a turn at moderate speeds the rear felt like it wanted to come out. Then, when I did a U turn at a traffic light it popped out. So I increased the front so I have 1/4 turn difference; this feels right so far but I may have to reduce the difference further. Note: I have front and rear strut bars, a Whiteline rear sway bar set to 22mm stiffness and well-lubricated, firm (85d) CKE sway bar bushings (link). My thinking from this experience is that the first provides a solid base for the suspension, the second better balances the car mid-curve. And the lubricated bushings affect the entering/leaving-curve transients (causing the sway bars to have an effect more quickly). So the stiff rear sway bar combined with the initial shock rebound difference to give too much transient rear roll stiffness. So, how's the ride? On highways, it's good. I've traded the floaty feeling I was getting (100K miles) for a better controlled, still comfortable ride. Secondary roads are significantly harsher, with bangs from the tires hitting holes. But I still like the change. I'm looking forward to putting the summer tires back on as they ride better.

I asked my dealer about replacing the CVT fluid as I'm now over 100k miles. The response was "Absolutely!" (which I was surprised to hear). When I asked about doing it 2-3 times to replace enough fluid I was told that they remove about 8 quarts when they do it and that they didn't think it was necessary to do it more than once. My compromise was to ask for a sample of the fluid removed. I will have it tested, and make a decision on another replacement from that. The replacement will be done next week but it will be a few weeks before I get the test results.

Tires are certainly an important component of "a better ride", regardless of how you define it. I'm in much the same place (older and approaching 100K miles), except that I'm looking for better handling. However, I think there's an overlap in the desirable changes. By replacing the front struts with Excel-G struts you may be able to have the reduced transients of the later sixth generation cars. I don't know if you would have to replace other suspension parts to do this. Second Grnlantern1's suggestion to upgrade the rear sway bar and add strut bars. I've made these changes and each one made the car better. I like my CKE sway bar bushings with zerk fittings added to keep them greased. These made about the same improvement as each of the other suspension changes. After reading of Grnlantern1's experience with his radiator cap I've ordered a replacement for mine. I haven't considered changing the CVT fluid, it seems like a good idea as I'd like to keep the car for another 100K miles. I'd like to hear others' thoughts.

I accept your experience, and the operation of your Android phone. However, without cell service my (first SE) iPhone shows the downloaded map, but doesn't move either the map or the car on the map when the external GPS receiver is turned off until I either turn it on or approach a cell tower.

A common misconception. Phones use Assisted GPS, which uses cell towers. See https://www.virtuallocation.com/iphone-location/iphone-gps-accuracy.html for one of many explanations. A major city isn’t a test; Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom is a test - dozens of miles without a cell tower, and your maps won’t work.

Because of where some of our friends live and places we like to go, we spend a lot of time without cell coverage. As we use our phones to navigate and phones need cell towers for their GPS, we have a GPS receiver in the car. I first bought one in late 2014, shortly after we bought the car, as the car's original software would shut down the phone's navigation. (Subaru later fixed this.) As others might be interested I thought I'd comment on my experience with three units: Dual XPS-150a - Our first unit. It needed an app running on an iPhone to work, but it worked well. 16 years later it stopped seeing the satellites. Customer Service told me to open the unit, unplug the battery (being careful to not rip the wires loose), wait 10 minutes, and reassemble. I ripped the wires lose and ruined the unit. (If I were to do it again, I'd cut the wires and solder them back together.) So I looked for a new unit - preferably one with an easy-to-unplug battery and able to support more than one phone. Garmin Gl0 - Costs the same as the 150a but has a replaceable battery and supports two simultaneous users. I ordered one and tested it. My main problem with it was that when I went far enough away to lose the bluetooth connection it didn't automatically reconnect when I returned. My second problem was that I'd become used to using an iPhone app to check that the unit was working properly; Garmin doesn't have such an app for this unit. Bad Elf 2200 GPS Pro - Costs 50% more, but Amazon had a "like new" unit available for less, which I bought. It supports 5 users, can be read directly, reconnects automatically when I'm near the car, has a (factory) replaceable battery, and an app that gives its status and will update it. Also, when it's connected to my car by USB it turns off shortly after the car is turned off. It's now in my back window, velcroed so it won't move around, and the silver label on its back covered with black electrical tape so that no one notices it. I would probably have been just as satisfied with a Dual XPS-160, but there wasn't one available at a comparable price.

Yesterday I had new sway bar bushings w/zerk fittings installed. I bought the bushings from traildogck on Subaru Outback dot org (https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/subaru-specialty-products-by-tdck-cke-ssp.458146/page-21). The car has almost 100k miles in the Northeast salt and I'm old, so I didn't want to install them myself. I'd tried to help the installer by spraying WD40 on the bolts, but he still had difficultly with the rear sway bar (Whiteline with braces, so more bolts to corrode. I choose the 85a hardness (vs ~60a stock and available 75a) because I wanted preciseness. As some Outback owners had developed squeaks months after installation I wanted to be able to grease them, hence the zerk fittings. traildogck had told me that the Whiteline bushings were probably still good, but I replaced them to have the same firmness front and rear. Also, I had the Soft (vs. Super Soft and Medium) transmission bushing installed at the same time. I didn't notice any added harshness from the sway bar bushings. It might be masked by the snow tires that are now on the car, but it can't be much more harsh or I would have noticed it. I noticed a bit more "engine" feel from the transmission bushing, which some would call harshness. I don't mind it. [Edit:] After driving more I'm noticing added vibration from the snow tires, which I'm interpreting as increased harshness. However, I thing that it's indicating increased precision -- which I like. When I drove the car I was happy. The first thing I noticed was that there was no delay when i accelerated; I'd never noticed the delay when it was there but I notice and enjoy its absence. Starting to run a series of errands I used a familiar entry ramp and the car seemed to have more roll stiffness. Then, when I was driving in the mid 70s I noticed that it tracked much better. I'd been driving my wife's Mini while the work was being done and I'm always impressed at how stable it feels with such a short wheelbase. My Legacy is now much more stable. Having already added a large rear sway bar and front and rear strut bars I didn't expect this. Trips will now be less stressful. The roll stiffness became more apparent as I tried other corners. While the snow tires are still sloppy, I could feel and control the car better in the corners. I found myself driving faster -- particularly in corners -- just to feel and enjoy the changes. They gave an overall feeling of increased preciseness, which I enjoy. People on the Outback forum reported that their car tracked better after changing the sway bar bushings to 75a hardness. I now expect that anyone would find the same change.

Added sound dampening and insulation over the past few days. This post (https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5572676&postcount=2) got me started. I used the same material under the rear seat and in the spare tire well and trunk bottom. But I wanted some insulation as my wife feels cold coming through the passenger door in very cold weather. After looking around I found Second Skin Audio. They have a broad range of sound treatment material and some hydrophobic insulation. I tried their dampifier pro and 1" thick melamine foam (R4.16). They recommended 60%+ coverage of the damping material and 100% coverage of the foam. I was most impressed with the foam and their double-sided tape to hold it in place. The 16 sq ft I bought was enough for almost-complete coverage of all four doors. The damping material was good, but I think the Lowes stuff recommended above would have been good enough for all that I did. I found some disparaging comments about it on line as it can drip in high temperatures. If you are concerned about that I suggest using SSA's non-pro material for the parts of the doors near the mechanisms. I had the same result as the post that got me started: under the seat and trunk seemed to make the most difference. But there was a noticeable improvement from the inside-the-doors changes. The car is much quieter than before with mild wind noise and occasional tire noise on some surfaces. Also, the door speakers sound a bit better. Finally, the doors now close with a dead-sounding "thunk".

This rear strut bar was listed for 2015+ WRX & STI (link), but I thought I'd try it as I've read about the similarities of rear suspensions across models by GTeaser. Searching on line, I saw a solid one for $99 + $23 shipping and a drilled one for $120 at CARiD with free shipping, so I bought the latter. It was an easy installation: two sockets and an 8mm hex to bolt it in place. The holes they drilled for the strut bolts are elongated to make installation easier. The bar itself is well made with good welds, and is solid (and heavy) except for the drilled holes. I didn't expect much of a change as I already have a front tower bar and a 22mm rear sway bar. But the changes were immediately noticeable: entering corners was smoother, the rear felt better planted in sweepers and entry ramps, and the car felt more stable at highway speeds. I'm very happy with it.

Please add me to the interested list.

I was willing to pay the difference to get an adjustible bar. 22mm is 33% stiffer than 20mm. I tried mine set at 20mm and it wasn't stiff enough; the car felt more balanced and handled better at the 22mm setting. I didn't try the 24mm setting, which is 30% more stiff than 22mm.

The Whiteline one (BSR49XZ) is currently $207 on Amazon, and it comes with supports for the sway bar mounts and bushings. Mine made an enormous difference.

While looking around the web for tire information I came upon this site: http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp. Not only did it do all of the calculations, but it shows diagrams that perfectly explain the measurements. I've seen lots of other tire calculators, but nothing this comprehensive. It helped me and I hope it helps others.

Yes. It's in the "what did you do ..." thread.