High Tower Screwbaru

[Thomistopheles]

Nah, I have the OEM dog gate and a bed in the back for Woden. I was taking a photo of the mats for one of my build threads, just cleaned my interior...and my mischievous wolf-like companion decided to jump in and track in a bunch of sand.

[monkeyposeur]

13 y.o. Huskies love it when you do mods to your second gen!

[Tr00b]

Whoa replies galore.

 

I figured out the OBD2 device in Thomistopheles's car. Its the "hows my driving" device from Progressive. Saw it in an ad.

 

Steve, thanks on the blend door thing. I tapped it and then opened and shut it a bunch of times and it seems to be OK now. Sweet setup on the Scangauge, I REALLY like that! Honestly, I am tempted to go with the Scangauge because I don't want to have to fumble for my phone every time I get in the car. Going to read more about both.

 

Kaz, how do you have your phone mounted? Do you have to phutz around with getting the app going or will it automatically connect, etc? Start you car and she starts up and connects type stuff?

 

I LOVE both of those cars! Some killer ideas (although the white wagon monkey posted up at first is closer to the kind of results I'm hoping for) There has to be some serious money in both of those. But, I need to keep this whole thing on the ground. I've pissed away around 10k I'll never see again on on junk cars over the last 5 or so years. If you consider how much money I've actually made the last few years, this is an insane, crippling, bleeding number. This car is going to have to be different.

 

I hate to see a car like this bought, and driven into the ground, because as you said and showed, there is alot of potential with this chassis. But, all the other cars I had too had alot of potential, but you have to have a stack of cash and the free time and rock hard skull to realize that potential without hurting yourself. We will see what transpires on the mod front.

 

Twisty: so you paid $20 for it? That seems too good to be true... The one I was looking at was $200!!11! This is almost cheap enough to just try it and taking the risk... Its cheaper than taking a chick to dinner and a movie, and the OBD2 device has better chances of putting out than the chick.

 

Alter: Point taken, happily. Great MPGs too yo.

 

I took my extra seat into my metalworker friend and he and I were pretty stumped. There is really no good way to modify the stock seat bracket to go back that far and still maintain the structural integrity of the seat. We were both hung over on Labor day tho so... No heaps of motivation will try again.

[Thomistopheles]

lol, yeah. That's the progressive snapshot thing. Keeps track of mileage, time of day you drive, and hard brakes. Doesn't stay in forever, it gets sent back after a bit and you get whatever discount for however long you insure that car with them. I get 25% off.

 

I was looking at getting a scangauge II, but decided to check and see if there was a decent alternative. People seem to be quite pleased with this, and it's cheaper:

http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/index.htm

[kaz98gt]

Whoa replies galore.

 

I figured out the OBD2 device in Thomistopheles's car. Its the "hows my driving" device from Progressive. Saw it in an ad.

 

Steve, thanks on the blend door thing. I tapped it and then opened and shut it a bunch of times and it seems to be OK now. Sweet setup on the Scangauge, I REALLY like that! Honestly, I am tempted to go with the Scangauge because I don't want to have to fumble for my phone every time I get in the car. Going to read more about both.

 

Kaz, how do you have your phone mounted? Do you have to phutz around with getting the app going or will it automatically connect, etc? Start you car and she starts up and connects type stuff?

 

I LOVE both of those cars! Some killer ideas (although the white wagon monkey posted up at first is closer to the kind of results I'm hoping for) There has to be some serious money in both of those. But, I need to keep this whole thing on the ground. I've pissed away around 10k I'll never see again on on junk cars over the last 5 or so years. If you consider how much money I've actually made the last few years, this is an insane, crippling, bleeding number. This car is going to have to be different.

 

I hate to see a car like this bought, and driven into the ground, because as you said and showed, there is alot of potential with this chassis. But, all the other cars I had too had alot of potential, but you have to have a stack of cash and the free time and rock hard skull to realize that potential without hurting yourself. We will see what transpires on the mod front.

 

Twisty: so you paid $20 for it? That seems too good to be true... The one I was looking at was $200!!11! This is almost cheap enough to just try it and taking the risk... Its cheaper than taking a chick to dinner and a movie, and the OBD2 device has better chances of putting out than the chick.

 

Alter: Point taken, happily. Great MPGs too yo.

 

I took my extra seat into my metalworker friend and he and I were pretty stumped. There is really no good way to modify the stock seat bracket to go back that far and still maintain the structural integrity of the seat. We were both hung over on Labor day tho so... No heaps of motivation will try again.

 

I'm running a droid razr maxx that's mounted with a tom tom gps "sand" base that goes on top of the dash, and a universal phone holder that suction cups to the tom tom base. It's a slick setup that doesn't move around over bumps; once I got my phone, I realized that it does everything my gps and computer with scangauge did, but so much better.

 

Once you pair the bluetooth obd adapter with the phone (it'll require a security code in the phone's setup menu), you'll need to pair the torque app with the bluetooth adaptor as well. After you do this the first time, it will connect automatically from there on out. Beyond that, all you need to do is set up the vehicle profile and the layout of the gauges...hands down, I will choose torque over scangauge every time. I was sick of having to carry around a laptop and a corded obd hookup, then have to look over at the passenger's seat (!) while driving to get any real-time data.

[Tr00b]

Ok, read for 4 hours on Scangauge, Ultragauge, and Torque.

 

The word is, Torque app, gonna buy TWO of the junkariffic OBD2 bluetooth devices to increase chances of it working, worst case I can give it for a gift or use it in my other vehicle.

 

I haven't decided on a mounting system, I have some RAM mount parts.... might get their X grip holder to top it off. Only problem is, I might have to drill holes in the dash unless sticky tape has come a long way.

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/RAM-Mount-Universal-X-Grip-Holder/dp/B0055PH0XA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1346907498&sr=1-1&keywords=Ram+mount+x]Amazon.com: RAM Mount Universal X-Grip Cell Phone Holder w/1" Ball: Electronics[/ame]

 

Thats all I got for now... I think getting that App working will be a great starting point.

[kaz98gt]

As long as you figure out a secure way to mount your phone, you won't have any issues. I mounted mine originally to the windshield, and it was bouncing around and driving me up a wall. If the phone doesn't move, you can actually read what's going on with the car; but good choice!

[Tr00b]

The last job I had (trucking industry...) we used the RAM mounts for the mobilecomm units, both the keyboard holders and the screen mounts in the trucks... The things were indestructable, often the only thing NOT destroyed after truck rollovers/nasty truck drivers/horrible accidents.

 

I figure, the base of the RAM mount is 3" around, normally its screwed down, but if I cover it in some strong ass double stick tape it should hold to the dash...

 

BTW I want to thank everyone for their amazing responses to seemingly stupid, penny pinching, minor detail questions. You guys are great!!!

 

Ordered so far:

Ram Xgrip mount

2 Mini cheapie OBD2 things... My legs are long and I'm worried about whacking them when I get in/out of the car, so I got the smallest device they sold. And it takes 17-28 days to ship!!!! Wow.

Front Husky liners in black...

 

Haven't found a cargo liner for a reasonable price yet. The weathertech one is 120 bucks... Tarp looks pretty good compared to that.

[twisty]

#1 thing I will say to anyone... have a 5/6mt never go above 3k rpms etc etc lol sheesh.. i'm going to look into over inflating my tires a bit also.

 

Yeah my suggestion .. save your money and just get some good brakes/calipers/struts/springs .. don't bother with any "mpg cold air intake msd stuff" Just drive properly.

 

 

while i agree for the most part, it came down to curiosity and cost for me. the stock coil was 120 at the dealer here, the MSd was 74 shipped. guess which one id rather buy?

[twisty]

Kaz, how do you have your phone mounted? Do you have to phutz around with getting the app going or will it automatically connect, etc? Start you car and she starts up and connects type stuff?

 

for torque you still have to start the app, but you can shortcut it to one of the home screens. not too bad. i have it linked in the car dock interface, so when i put my phone in the dock it is available with one click.

 

I'm running a droid razr maxx that's mounted with a tom tom gps "sand" base that goes on top of the dash, and a universal phone holder that suction cups to the tom tom base. It's a slick setup that doesn't move around over bumps; once I got my phone, I realized that it does everything my gps and computer with scangauge did,

 

i have the droid razr maxx also, but i talked my work into buying me the stock car dock for it as well. i used to have the droidX and the dock would bounce all over the place, but this one for the maxx is solid. i cant bend it around like the X dock, but i think thats why it is more stable. i even was able to record video of me doing stupid shit like driving up to comm towers that no FWD vehicle with the clearance of a coke can should be driving.

 

The word is, Torque app, gonna buy TWO of the junkariffic OBD2 bluetooth devices to increase chances of it working, worst case I can give it for a gift or use it in my other vehicle.

 

 

 

i kind of wish i had ordered two, my daughter keeps stealing mine out of my car.

[kaz98gt]

i'd want to record a video of me at auto-x, but it moves too far around with the rig i have set up.

 

far and away, i'm so happy with the app and the bluetooth adaptor. i took a trip to boston this weekend and monitored mileage, spikes in engine load (trouble with coil packs), voltage, etc. i'm gonna try to download it all to my pc and keep a data log of everything soon...i love this kind of stuff.

 

what else you working on troob?

[Tr00b]

Twisty, I almost wish I bought more than two, several of my family members got all excited by Torque too, and want to try out the extra device (gift idea?). Says shipping will take like 30 days. Maybe I should have found a vendor that actually had the product...

 

Kaz, and Auto X video would be cool. Is the sandbag rig what you are talking about thats not steady enough?

 

I am also into performance tracking. I rigorously tracked my Jeep commuting mpgs by babying it and hoping to get into the 17-18 mpg average range but it let me down by only slobbing out 15mpg average, which is the reason I bought the Subaru. I am pretty scared to find out what the actual mpg on this is... I will be MFing pissed if its less than 25mpg

 

Replaced a shattered windshield wiper motor this weekend, took 4 hours, was very, very frustrating. Parts are bent under the cowl and the wiper doesn't wipe all the windshield so i have to tear it apart for the 3rd time to find out whats bent, too lazy/busy.

 

The windshield fogs up very badly. I've been washing the inside every day for the last 3 days with microfiber and its helped some but still fogs pretty bad even with the defroster on. Also, RainX has been pretty ineffective on the outside of the windshield. Not sure what to make of it (fine layer of grease or something??) but I'll look like a crackhead trying to wash windshields for pocket change until then, might try MAF cleaner or rubbing alcohol if Windex doesn't work.

 

Hit a dead, bloated, fermented raccoon on the road and drug the thing for what seemed 100 yards, car stinks horribly at the moment.

 

Need to get the car up on jackstands and check the popping in the front end. Never gets better or worse but it bothers me alot. Maybe I will find a raccoon arm under there to dry out to make a keychain out of.

[twisty]

haha sounds like youre having a bunch of fun!

 

as for the MPG, mine hovers about 26 average, but if im driving like a teen and using the air it can drop down to the 21-22 range. it can also get up around 28-29 if im traveling a lot for work.

[Tr00b]

Twisty, was that with the EJ22?

 

Fun for me is subjective, but hopefully its entertaining to others.

 

Got the cell phone holder stuck to the dash, got Torque Free running with a GPS speedometer and... COPS EVERYWHERE, lots of speed stings, guessing my speed wasn't going well, this all came together at the right time before tickets were issued... Pics SOON.

 

I used 3M heavy duty snap lock tape (super velcro) from Ball-Wart (so i can detach the holder if I wish.) Apparently the stuff holds 2lbs. I had to scrub the lemon pledge off of the dash before it even thought about sticking but now it sticks great. It took two packages of the tape, it was like 6 bucks but well worth it. Great stuff!

 

My windshield wipers are super broken... They went off of the edge of the windshield today, then came back onthe windshield, wiped the whole thing for a few strokes then went back to normal IE not wiping the whole window, and now they are parking way higher than what I set them to... I have a feeling I have a majorly broken component somewhere. I pulled the cowl, ran the wipers and saw nothing broken earlier this week.

 

Positive is coonguts rinsed off of underbody by rain.

[kaz98gt]

The wipers are probably just one of the plastic cups used to hold the assembly together. I picked up a wiper repair kit from advance (universal) and the ball socket fit into the wiper arm juuuuuuust right. It was a pain in the ass disassembling/reassembling, but that's probably just it.

[twisty]

Twisty, was that with the EJ22?

 

Fun for me is subjective, but hopefully its entertaining to others.

 

 

 

yes, ej22 with no real mods beyond the grounding one. 172k on it so far.

[Tr00b]

Kaz, thanks for the advice and the heads up. I would have thought I would have had to go to the junkyard to find those little plastic things.

 

Next thing I think will be fixing the wipers and getting some very nice wiper blades. the ones I have are chitty Anco's. This windshield is wtf, I've cleaned it and cleaned it and its always foggy. I took some brake cleaner to it yesterday and reapplied Rain X to the outside and windexed the inside again, lets see if that does it.

 

Twisty, ok, cool... Whats the grounding mod? The one for the automatic trans?

 

The Husky Liners came in. I put them in and I was immediately dissappointed. They didn't fit as well as I'd hoped. I'm sure they will catch the garbage I need caught, but I hoped for a tighter fit. I've got some fairly massive gaps on both sides of each liner, over 1/2 an inch. Is this normal?

 

Hauled 396lbs of honey on Sat... She squatted pretty good! I think I found a solution for a cheap cargo mat... At the farm store they sell diamond plate "shop mat" which is made out of rubber, it would match the Husky Liners.

[twisty]

 

Twisty, ok, cool... Whats the grounding mod? The one for the automatic trans?

 

 

 

naw, thats "power mode". the grounding mod is adding a few (5) ground connections to various points around the engine bay. theres a sticky for it somewhere, but i couldnt find it. i also forgot i did the MSD coil mod as well, which is adding a higher output coil pack in place of the stock coil pack. theres a few details about that tho, you have to go find a harness from a mid-90s dodge neon to make it work with our cars.

[kaz98gt]

Kaz, thanks for the advice and the heads up. I would have thought I would have had to go to the junkyard to find those little plastic things.

 

Next thing I think will be fixing the wipers and getting some very nice wiper blades. the ones I have are chitty Anco's. This windshield is wtf, I've cleaned it and cleaned it and its always foggy. I took some brake cleaner to it yesterday and reapplied Rain X to the outside and windexed the inside again, lets see if that does it.

 

Twisty, ok, cool... Whats the grounding mod? The one for the automatic trans?

 

The Husky Liners came in. I put them in and I was immediately dissappointed. They didn't fit as well as I'd hoped. I'm sure they will catch the garbage I need caught, but I hoped for a tighter fit. I've got some fairly massive gaps on both sides of each liner, over 1/2 an inch. Is this normal?

 

Hauled 396lbs of honey on Sat... She squatted pretty good! I think I found a solution for a cheap cargo mat... At the farm store they sell diamond plate "shop mat" which is made out of rubber, it would match the Husky Liners.

 

Definitely take your time with the wiper arm job: it can be a real pain in the ass, and you do not want to lose a plastic joint in the area there. Have a good flashlight and the claw handy.

 

Grounding mod is pretty much what twisty said. I went to it after I was sick of the engine bogging whenever I'd hit the brakes or when my headlights would be on. Cleaned up the original contacts, added two new ones, and was on my way. It helped a bit...I'll be doing the same thing to my sister's fozzy this fall.

[Tr00b]

I got the OBD2 readers in the mail today. First and foremost, the OBD2 reader (even the super slim one I got) smashes into my shin when I hit the clutch. It takes a bit of adjustment to use the tip toe clutch action... Will need to mod the seat even worse now.

 

The Torque app is awesome, got instant MPG graph gauge, an average mpg gauge, and MPH from the ECU and I'm set for some hot mpg viewin' action. I haven't bought the full version yet. My android phone (HTC Desire) is on the crappy side and immediately crashed hard when I got it first connected to the bluetooth device. It also got very hot when operating torque. Today when I got home I could smell electronics cooking it got so warm... I think I'll be getting a new one soon.

 

Kaz, twisty, Thanks for the heads up on the grounding. Many of the grounding bolts i noticed are into rusty sheetmetal or were corroded, and need to be cleaned badly.

[stevenva]

Move the OBD2 port so it won't get hit by your shin. Just zip tie it up behind the dash. The device is bluetooth and can be hidden without affecting operation.

 

Congrats on doing the "Grounding mod". You are now halfway there. I think what Twisty meant was the Big 3 Upgrade.

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1

 

I found the best stuff to use is Welders Cable. I did 2/0 Gauge on mine.

[Tr00b]

Steve, I really haven't done the grounding mod, I just noticed more grounding points than usual, and that they were all corroded.

 

Awesome call on moving the OBD port!

 

I have noticed that power seems to come and go, but there are no OBD trouble codes. For instance, earlier today the way the car sounded changed and it got snappier for a little bit, then went back to being normal.

 

The MPG function on Torque is not working properly on my vehicle... Torque is saying I get about 44mpg. I've dinked with all the settings and no luck... Frustrating. If I let off the gas, the average MPG climbs like crazy. If I stomp on it and go 80, it stays the same or only declines slowly... Looking on forums now to figure out wtf.

 

Maybe I suck at driving... Buuuuut....

 

I grind the trans in this car at least once a day. (driven manual cars every day since about 2004, I am VERY good with a clutch). The 1-2 shift at higher rpm (say, pulling from a stop sign in heavy traffic or "racing it") will scream grind trying to get it into second gear (!). The more common one is 2-1 or R-1 shift at idle both can crunch/slam for no apparent reason... I am told by a fellow Subaru having friend that allowing this to happen is very bad... The only way to prevent it for sure is to stomp the clutch hard to the floor for 1 second or double clutch, or drive really slow and careful (which still allows for the 2-1 pr R-1 crunch slam). Its really frustrating. The clutch action, FYI, is about 150% harder than on my Jeep Wrangler. Maybe that indicates a problem in the clutch or shifter?

 

Coupled with the hill holder it makes me look like a terrible driver. Backing out of a parking spot... feather brakes... shift to first... HILL HO (LOL) DER! Engine kills.

 

EDIT: Had the evening free so I worked on the car some.

 

Lubed the clutch cable at both ends. Clutch effort is reduced. Yes, I have a clutch CABLE... I had read all the cars after a certian year everything was buried under the mastercylinder, but I didn't see a slave cylinder reservoir... So I traced the cable, and lo and behold...

 

Moved the OBD2 device underneath the dash, zip tied it together, thanks Steve!

 

Spent the most time trying to figure out the Torque, no dice so far on getting MPG readings.

[twisty]

the grounding mod i was referring to used to be in the mods sticky, it was adding 5 new cables. one to engine, two to front end by the headlights and one to each strut tower. i added them one by one and tested for resistance changes to the ground circuit, i did show positive results, but not to the degree i was thinking id see. replacing/ upgrading the stock "big 3" actually makes more sense as a first stop for grounding issues.

 

but at least i used bright red, sparkly cabling, so it stands out against the dirt... ;P

[kaz98gt]

Steve, I really haven't done the grounding mod, I just noticed more grounding points than usual, and that they were all corroded.

 

Awesome call on moving the OBD port!

 

I have noticed that power seems to come and go, but there are no OBD trouble codes. For instance, earlier today the way the car sounded changed and it got snappier for a little bit, then went back to being normal.

 

The MPG function on Torque is not working properly on my vehicle... Torque is saying I get about 44mpg. I've dinked with all the settings and no luck... Frustrating. If I let off the gas, the average MPG climbs like crazy. If I stomp on it and go 80, it stays the same or only declines slowly... Looking on forums now to figure out wtf.

 

Maybe I suck at driving... Buuuuut....

 

I grind the trans in this car at least once a day. (driven manual cars every day since about 2004, I am VERY good with a clutch). The 1-2 shift at higher rpm (say, pulling from a stop sign in heavy traffic or "racing it") will scream grind trying to get it into second gear (!). The more common one is 2-1 or R-1 shift at idle both can crunch/slam for no apparent reason... I am told by a fellow Subaru having friend that allowing this to happen is very bad... The only way to prevent it for sure is to stomp the clutch hard to the floor for 1 second or double clutch, or drive really slow and careful (which still allows for the 2-1 pr R-1 crunch slam). Its really frustrating. The clutch action, FYI, is about 150% harder than on my Jeep Wrangler. Maybe that indicates a problem in the clutch or shifter?

 

Coupled with the hill holder it makes me look like a terrible driver. Backing out of a parking spot... feather brakes... shift to first... HILL HO (LOL) DER! Engine kills.

 

EDIT: Had the evening free so I worked on the car some.

 

Lubed the clutch cable at both ends. Clutch effort is reduced. Yes, I have a clutch CABLE... I had read all the cars after a certian year everything was buried under the mastercylinder, but I didn't see a slave cylinder reservoir... So I traced the cable, and lo and behold...

 

Moved the OBD2 device underneath the dash, zip tied it together, thanks Steve!

 

Spent the most time trying to figure out the Torque, no dice so far on getting MPG readings.

 

Not sure if it's on the lite version, but i know on the version you buy there's an area in settings where you can adjust the mpg reading higher or lower than what is happening to you now. Try adjusting it to a lower reading? I'll have to double check that. I follow the instantaneous mpg anyway, and have coolant temp, voltage, air intake temp, and other things instead of average mpg.

 

Cables eh? I was gonna say, maybe your synchros are shot? Time for a trans rebuild/sti 6-speed swap

 

I've never heard of the big 3 before, but I'm with twisty on the grounding mod. I haven't checked the sticky in awhile, but i thought it was there...hmm. Start with the grounds that are on the car now, and work your way up from there. It'll save a bit of cash in the long run if you can clean them all up nicely.

[stevenva]

I even attached a link to it (the big 3 upgrade) It's above, just a click away