gsa103

That's the standard recommendation for Subaru's. Any AWD vehicle is going to be similar.
Winter Tech Information - Matching Tires on Four-Wheel Drive & All-Wheel Drive Vehicles
Tires 101 on Tire Matching on All Wheel and Four Wheel Drive :: Souza's Tire Service

The issue is increased wear on the center differential which tries to make the front and rear axles rotate at the same speed. Cars with an even split are going to want a tighter tolerance, since both axles are continuously driven.

Congrats on the FXT! How do you like it?

jtaylor996

My XT only leaks oil from the oil filter. That thing can vibrate loose and leave a drip in the driveway everyday. Getting to it with your hands is not recommended, either:


This location is known by subaru owners as the "ring of fire". This is a great pic, too, because you can can even see the oil leaking past the filter as I mentioned earlier.

1: Get a tool that fits on a socket wrench extension to get the filter in/out
2: Use a tarp for oil changes.
3: Change the oil pretty often. Waaaay more often than non-turbo cars. Exhaust **** from the turbo gets in the oil.
4: Also, subaru uses tiny debris filters in the banjo fittings for the oil lines. You will have to remove them all, if a previous owner hasn't already had to. I had to hunt one down that a previous owner didn't remove. These clog, and can really F up your day (detonate your turbo, but you'll get engine codes before that). Nobody can understand why after all these years subaru is still putting the damn things in their cars...

TimothyH

2014 to present XT has a completely different filter setup, on top of the engine in a cup that allows oil to drain back into the crankcase when the filter is changed.

joeyduck

I remember we had a customer stop at the garage who had a blow out and limped to us on a spare. It was an awd GMC Safari or something similar from the early mid 90s. We couldn't get the exact size tire so we just pulled that piece of drive shaft so he could get home and figure out what to do from there.

Tire sizes matter, I made sure when we sold our golf to let the fellow know if he had a flat with the winter tires (they were larger than the stock tires) in the front to put a rear tire on the front and the mis-sized spare on the rear.

TimothyH

All, thanks for the education on the tires. I'll do some research on the Subaru forums. Good to know.


Literally bought it yesterday, drove it 20 miles home and took it for coffee this morning. Wiped it down with cold water this morning before heading out and I'm thinking about using the clay bar on the paint next weekend.

Previous owner bought it at the local Subaru dealership and then traded it in for a Mercedes at a super high-end dealership. It was on their used car lot, oddly enough, right next door to a different Subaru dealership. They Mercedes guys took it next door for the ECM recall. I went next door and the service guys printed out a record of all the service on the car just because I asked.

2015 model year, showroom condition. Every major option - navigation, Eye Sight, Harmon Kardon audio. Lots of Subaru accessories as well like the cross rails for the roof rack, cargo nets and air deflector for the moon roof.

It isn't like any normally aspirated performance car I've driven. Weird, like two different cars. If you keep it in normal mode it is like any grocery getter and only hints at being fast. If you put it in sport or sport# mode it lights up, keeps the revs up and keeps in in the boost. I did one blast in sport# with manual shifting last night and it launched impressively for such a tiny engine in a big car. Spec is 0-60 in 6.7 sec.

Every time I turn the steering wheel it reminds me that at the end of the day it is still a truck. Sway bars might be needed.

And the stereo cranks.

gsa103

You have the modes labeled wrong
Sport# = video game mode. Sport = normal mode. I = stuck in traffic mode. I mode actually restricts the peak boost (in addition to muted pedal response), so you can't get full power in I mode.

The Subaru forums are generally very good, tons of great information. One word of advice, don't spend too much time on car forums, they will convince you car is about to explode (same as with bikes and bikeforums).

Porschefan

Elementary, my dear Watson....

I just found my bike hauler....after searching nationwide for about six weeks for a 2007 + Honda Element (I live in ABQ, NM a fairly small metro area and not a lot of these around), a 2007 model with an UNBELIEVABLE 27K miles showed up on the local Craigslist at an excellent price. I almost missed it, but first buyer's wife nixed the deal and I was next in line. In six+ weeks of searching I had not see a single Element of any vintage with less than 40K miles offered for sale--and 40-50K mile cars were being offered at $2-5K more than this one. It's very close to showroom condition. If I had a choice I'd probably opt for another color....but I can live with this one.

BTW, those rear seats fold up and out of the way, or can be removed entirely leaving room for at two-four bikes in the rear.

STP

rekmeyata

Great find, I love the internet for car shopping, a little patience and low mileage older (though 07 isn't that old) cars will pop up at great prices, so a person can get virtually a new car for less the half the cost of new.

Beachbumer

I vote for a 911. Why? Well it's a 911. It is fun to drive and it rips in the snow. Bike fits on roof. I do really like the Element though.

TimothyH

That's a great find Stephen. The matter has been settled however. The best car for bike owners is, without a shadow of a doubt, the 2015 Subaru XT Touring, turbo/intercooled with 440 watt Harmon Kardon audio.

The Element matches your Morvelo Hemisphere Gilet perfectly thought and makes it a fine second place finisher. I'd ride around ABQ in the element with the gilet on just for fun.






-Tim-

mpath

Awesome. That's what I do (997) too. BTW, how did you fare on "hot or not"? I think the Brooks saddle with the matching handlebar tape looks great.

molten

The trouble with the above:
The great majority of "bike-owners" / cyclists making better car-drivers.
Because they drive a car nearly all their time, on the roads.
Vs. the minor cyclists who have a bike as the only way of getting around.
Secondary: add as sport.

Beachbumer

Thank you. I did not fare very well on 'hot or not'.

mpath

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Most of us on the 41 are non-racers, but have racing aspirations or are wannabees, thus the hot or not bikes more or less need to fit that very narrow bandwidth of what a race rig ought to look like.

Back on topic, I've been getting tired of putting on/taking off my the bike rack, so I'm seriously considering SeaSuckers. A couple of my riding buddies use them on their sports cars and have had no issues even "at speed"

Namida12

I own a pristine 2006 Scion xB.
I certainly enjoy driving this Aero challenged vehicle. Wish it had about 15/20 more HP for freeway driving.
160K miles, Tires: 205/45 17s and sway bars makes it handle better than most other vehicles I have driven for years. My 1970 914/6 GT was more fun to drive & handled a bit better.
Front wheels must come off to carry 2 bicycles inside 60-cm, with seats folded flat and 2 blankets for padding to keep bicycles & wheels separated.
Can carry several eight foot long 2"x4" but not easily.
Never carried a straw bale with hooks or in a car.

I have a hitch mount rack for 3 bicycles but it is like dragging a small boat anchor @ 80 on freeway.
I will be driving to from Las Vegas, to Seattle for the STP event in July with the bicycles inside. Afterwards increasing a passenger, I will move the bicycles to the hitch rack.

Then 3 of us will visit family in Willamette Valley Wine Country for a few days, then take a road trip that will includes parks: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and the Dinosaur National Monument. Not certain if we will have enough time or clean clothes to see the Navajo Nation's Monument Valley Park, since that still only has a dirt/rock strewn unpaved access loop.

That is the best off topic answer I can provide.

JR

* * *
2010 Jamis Ventura Race
2009 Fuji SST 1.0
Basso Tri-Color
Novara XR
Bianchi Nuova Touring

Road Fan

Certainly nothing depressing about an Aprillia!

thin_concrete

I just picked up the roof transport system for my 996 - which carrier are you using? I've read that some don't fit over square bars, but don't know if that's accurate. I have a feeling my Thule ski rack won't fit on the bars.

rekmeyata

I will NEVER, NEVER buy a minivan for as long as I live, I don't care if I can park my 67 Galaxie inside of one, you won't catch me getting one.

mpath

I couldn't really tell you - whatever the Porsche roof rack system included (which are Porsche branded Thule) - roof rack, front wheel holders (fork mounted) and the bike rack.

nycphotography

Why? Because you are too insecure about what other people think about you to get the most useful tool for the job? Or is there some other reason not related to a phobia of emasculation?

It's ironic really that the SUV is bought by every soccer family in America as the "not a soccer mom vehicle", yet now (in 2016), nothing screams "bland suburban American soccer mom or dad resigned to raising their demon spawn progeny" more loudly than a SUV.

How people delude themselves into thinking that because it looks rugged and gets half the mileage it must make them some kind of rebel, some rare exception to their arch type, is just fascinating.

From a sociology standpoint, one could study the auto industry for a lifetime and never run out of new material.

rekmeyata

Yeah, that's it I'm too insecure to drive a minivan, by the way I don't own any "rugged" vehicles, you can't think far enough into what I said that really was saying I hate minivans, I don't need one, I don't have kids. I just love all the hate some posters have on these forums, nothing like a hater to throw schit into the wind just to piss off others. Next jacko please.

Porschefan

No pix, but I just transported my bike in the Element for the first time. Folded passenger side rear seat up and out of the way (the rear seats "hang" on the side walls). Rolled my bike into hatch. Rear wheel touches the front passenger seat. Front wheel just barely touches the tailgate/hatch. I may add a bungee cord just in case, but bike seems to fit just about perfectly. Sweeet!

STP

nycphotography

Of course you didn't say that you don't need a minivan and don't expect ever to have any use for one, so it's unlikely you'd ever buy one.

Rather, you said you would NEVER EVER (emphatically) buy one and implied that would be true no matter how much needed space it had.

But everyone else is a hater and throwing the s***.

Hey, I asked what your reasoning is in case it was rational. But from your defensive reaction it would appear to be exactly as I expected. Lady doth, and such.

PeregrineA1 

Best rental care I ever had was a Honda Minivan. I and my ego survived.

Rollfast

I assume that I already said WORKING?