The service shop has now had my car for 14 days, and I have still not received a definite date they will be done. They are apparently waiting on a wheel—-something I told them to deal with early, but which they waited until the last possible second to deal with.
In addition, they are now telling me how I am costing them money, because my car is taking up space. Woe is me, is this my problem? No. The bozos should get my car fixed in a prompt fashion, as they promised.
So I talked with the dealer finally and found out that indeed, their body repair group is certified by my insurance company, so I can take it in Monday and they’ll get started on it. I’m so glad this is just some cosmetic damage.
So I just got broad sided by someone in a 1993 Camry while driving home along Route 7. I had left the office early because we were having all sorts of network problems that prevented me from actually accomplishing any work, and I thought that if I want home, I would be able to function better. So, for whatever reason, I decided no to take the beltway, but instead drive down Rt. 7 to my house.
Big mistake. Coming up the right side of some stopped traffic, 2 cars pulled out from the oncoming traffic and turned left in front of me. The first I was able to miss, the second hit me right in the front driver quarter panel. Fun. Damage includes the front driver quarter panel, the bumper cover and my lovely Prodrive wheels, which are going to be fun getting replaced. Hopefully no damage to the suspension.
Let’s hope State Farm is good. The police cited the other driver for failing to yield, and we were both ok, so at least nothing really bad happened.
Friday, I got the Porterfield R4S brake pads put on my car, and swapped out the brake fluid for Silkolene synthetic. The brake pads were an upgrade, both in power and in fade resistance, whereas the fluid was mostly for fade resistance. I have a tendency, as anyone who has ridding with me would know, to brake hard and late into a corner sometimes, and doing that repeatedly could set up the brakes for serious fade.
So how does it work? Well, I took the first day to bed the pads in, so they will wear correctly. Mostly that consists of repeated stops that are smooth and progressive, increasing in firmness. Last night I had a chance to drive with them bedded in on Rock Creek Parkway, especially once you get above the Art Barn. Wow, much tigher, more responsive (less pressure needed), and they grab cleanly. Can’t speak to fade issues yet, but they seem to hold well.
At some point, I’ll probably switch to Willwood 6-piston calipers on the front, and 4 on the back. That will be more like throwing the anchor out.
So my brake pads finally got here, and it was more trouble than it should be. They tried to deliver to my house, around 1pm, and claimed they couldn’t because there was a signature required. At that point, I told them that the office always signs for packages, and gets 4-5 FedEx trucks a day. Then they said there were stickers specifically demanding only that address and no substitutes.
I got them to try and redeliver, and when the package arrived, it had no stickers on it. I don’t know why they couldn’t deliver it the first time, or why they felt it necessary to keep coming up with excuses. Oh well, tomorrow they go on the car.
What does it say about you when you get excited when a set of brake pads arrive? No, wait, don’t answer that question.
This morning, driving to work, the “Brake” light on my dash came on as I passed 10MPH. This was troubling. I thought perhaps I had left my parking brake on, and when I came to a stop light, I pulled it up, dropped it and the light went out. Great, I thought, I’m an idiot, but that’s easy.
Instead, the light came back on at 20MPH. Again I cycled the brake handle, again it came back on. I called the dealer, and discussed it with them, and they commented that since my brakes were getting well worn last time I was in there, that it was likely the pads were heavily worn, and the fluid level had dropped. Bingo! I checked the fluid level, and it was low. Not low as in leak, but low as in drained into the system. Since there’s never been the smallest spot of fluid under the car, I’m confident that is the problem.
A note on this is that in fact the “warning lamp” was useful in providing an actual warning and not a “oh my god, it’s going to blow, Jim” warning, but something that should give me plenty of time to react. I’m going to take a peek at the pads tonight and see how much wear is left, but will go ahead and get them replaced.
So, my car goes in Friday for new brakes at under 29,000 miles. Rather than put new OEM pads back on the car, I’ve ordered a set of Porterfield Brakes R4-S pads, which are designed for high-performance street and light track duty. This probably matches my driving pattern better than the factory pads. Hopefully the rotors are fine, otherwise, I’ll probably order a set of Pagid rotors.
Autoweek is reporting that Subaru will not only bring a turbo version of the Forrester (with the WRX engine) to the US next year, but that 2004 will bring a twin-turbo Legacy. This will probably be based on the Liberty B4, which is available overseas. While not the same class of “fun” as a WRX or even more an STi edition, the Liberty is quite a car, and hopefully they will work out the turbo stage issues before bringing them to the US, and endow it with performance as good as the WRX. Maybe we’ll even get the Blitzen.
Subaru has posted pictures from the Paris Auto Show on their global website. Nothing shocking, though I can find a few dozen minor changes. The new seats seem to be identical in shape between the STi and the WRX, though I’m not sure I’d want the bright blue interior on the STi, honestly.
For those interested in the movie, I’ve got a copy of it here (9.5Mb Quicktime). It basically shows the three models of Impreza (2.5RS, WRX, WRX STi) in a little promo clip.
On one of the mailing lists I’m on, someone posted a link to pictures of the new MY03/04 Subaru WRX. Quite a change from the current “bug eyed” model, and I’m not sure if I like it. There were a lot of photos floating around the Internet, but I’m pretty sure these are 1) real, 2) official, 3) they also match the new WRC photos. That should be a pretty good indicator. One picture is below:
I haven’t decided whether I like this view or not, nor what impact it might have on my decision to buy a STi at some point if they are actually offered to the US market. I’m certainly hoping they will be. If this is actually the MY04 for the US (MY03 in Europe), then it will show up mid next year. At that point, I will have had my existing WRX for about 2 years, where I should no longer be inverted on it, and I can seriously consider it.
Of course, I have no idea whether I will like it in person, as looks can be very deceiving. I definately think the new tail lights are a downgrade, and play into the riceboy motif. Also, this new look may or may not have a negative impact on trade value for the MY02 that I have. Fun fun.
N.B. Someone on the mailing list pointed out that it sure looks like the MY04 is going to have a sunroof standard or as an option. This will be great. I don’t miss it that much, but it would be nice to have one for those fall/winter days that aren’t quite warm enough to put the windows down.
Yesterday, I went for a drive out to VA-601, and around the mountains of the Shenandoah valley. Was a lot of fun, although I think I scared my friend James a little, as he made the comment he had to use his ab muscles to stabilize in some of the corners. Fun!
Anyway, we also stopped at the Apple House, and picked up some of their awesome Scuppernong cider, which is made from muscadine grapes. Very yummy.
The fun part is of course Mt. Weather, where FEMA has a “secret” facility. Got to wave at Dick Cheney and his secret “lair”.
It’s been roughly 18 months since I first bought my Subaru WRX and my odometer has just rolled over 28,000 miles. That translates into roughly 19,000 miles per year, which is a bit on the high side, but I’m reasonably confident the car is built to last, and I look forward to the next 28,000 miles. I wanted to make a few observations after the first 18 months of what life has been like with this rather unique car.
First, it continues to be an amazing amount of fun and excitement to drive on a daily basis. Even when stuck in rush-hour traffic, it’s not a bad car to be stuck in. There is enough power for any situation, and it still handles great.
Second, the factory tires suck. While they’re adequate, and handle well in inclimate conditions, they definately are lacking on the sticky scale. I traded them around 20,000 miles for a set of Yokahoma AVS Intermediates on gorgeous Prodrive P7 wheels. This has changed the character of the car substantially. It is only slightly harsher riding, but handling has become knife sharp, and it will stick to the road as if someone has applied Elmer’s Glue to all four tires. In addition, they break loose at the edge cleanly, meaning a 4-wheel drift is easily doable.
Third, value. This car has been cheap to maintain, consuming nothing more than oil, gas and some soap and water.
Lastly, the dealer has been overwhelmingly positive, with a good parts department for goodies, and a service department that takes care of things in a timely fashion. Our only disagreement is over what I believe to be excessive driveline lash.
So what does the future hold? Probably a few more parts, and a lot more miles.