2004 STi - new owner questions

Are those tires the 'stock' size? If not, they may cause the speedo
error. Speedos quite commonly have severla percentage points of error I
think.

Check www.tirerack.com for the stock size and for some reviews of tires.
Note, in larger metropolitan areas, your local chain tire store can
often order any tire you see at that website and sometimes match or beat
the price. If not, tirerack lists shops they will send your order to for
mounting.

maybe your Soob dealer sells a touch up bottle for the paint. Sometimes
a pinstripe or graphics can be applied to cover a 'key' mark or other
blemish.

Wish i had a fun car like that!

carl


Mark Carroll wrote:

> I just bought a US-market 2004 Impreza WRX STi. It's very pleasant to
> drive and, I think, is very good value indeed. I'm new to these cars,
> so I'm curious about the answers to some things that I've been
> wondering about:
>
> The speedometer clearly overreads. Is there any easy adjustment? I can
> check it pretty well with my GPS unit, but I've not been able to find
> a decent repair manual locally to find how to adjust the calibration.
>
> There's a fair bit of noise when I drive. I expect some tire noise,
> but I'm more used to that being uniform. This noise has a periodicity
> to it, quite apparent at around 30mph-40mph, where the frequency (I
> can still hear separate amplitude peaks at that speed) is all to do
> with how fast the car is moving and nothing to do with engine RPM. Is
> this normal?
>
> The car has 225/45R17 90W Bridgestone Potenza RE070 summer tires on it
> at the moment. I drive around 20,000 miles a year, in a reasonably
> sane manner. Any thoughts as to how long these will last? In general,
> I'm looking for good grip, but good value for money: what tire
> recommendations do people have for summer and for winter, and what
> lifetime should I expect from such tires?
>
> The headlamp beams don't both point at the same height. Is that
> normal? The manual adjuster seems to work okay, but that affects both
> equally as far as I can tell. (I'm still waiting for the manual...)
>
> There's a small scratch that clearly breaks through the paint. The
> body's WR Blue Pearl. I figured I'd just go to AutoZone or something
> to see what they had, but can anyone give me any tips on touching up
> scratches in this color so it looks like new again?
>
> -- Mark

--
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

Mark Carroll wrote:

Excerpt
>The speedometer clearly overreads. Is there any easy adjustment? I can
>check it pretty well with my GPS unit, but I've not been able to find
>a decent repair manual locally to find how to adjust the calibration.

>There's a fair bit of noise when I drive. I expect some tire noise,
>but I'm more used to that being uniform. This noise has a periodicity
>to it, quite apparent at around 30mph-40mph, where the frequency (I
>can still hear separate amplitude peaks at that speed) is all to do
>with how fast the car is moving and nothing to do with engine RPM. Is
>this normal?

Don't know how it works in the US (I'm in Oz), but aren't you still under
warranty? If so, why not get the dealer to take a look at the speedo.
AFAIK you're running stock tyres, so I'd expect it to be pretty close to
spot on or only slightly optimistic. How far out is it?

To do maningful investigation of the NVH issues it would help to either
find another stock STi with the same tyres and compare them back to back
OR get someone who knows the cars backwards to evlauate yours as to
whether it's typical or not. IME things like suspension bushings, tyres
and things like aftermarket exhausts and suspension components are usually
the biggest contributor unless there's an endemic problem anyway. Cheers
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

The headlight issue makes me wonder if the car was involved in an accident.
There is no reason the beam patterns should be off unless the headlights
were replaced and no attempt was made to realign them.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

"Mark Carroll" <markc.RemoveThis@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote in message
news:8St*FG3Sq@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
>I just bought a US-market 2004 Impreza WRX STi. It's very pleasant to
> drive and, I think, is very good value indeed. I'm new to these cars,
> so I'm curious about the answers to some things that I've been
> wondering about:
>
> The speedometer clearly overreads. Is there any easy adjustment? I can
> check it pretty well with my GPS unit, but I've not been able to find
> a decent repair manual locally to find how to adjust the calibration.
>
Mine does too. It reads about 8 KPH over (around 5 MPH). The dealer can
recalibrate it if you like. I didn't bother since it keeps me out of
trouble, and the snow tires are slightly larger diameter, so the speedometer
reads correctly with them on.

> There's a fair bit of noise when I drive. I expect some tire noise,
> but I'm more used to that being uniform. This noise has a periodicity
> to it, quite apparent at around 30mph-40mph, where the frequency (I
> can still hear separate amplitude peaks at that speed) is all to do
> with how fast the car is moving and nothing to do with engine RPM. Is
> this normal?
>
There is a fair amount of tire noise on all STis with RE070s. Because the
tire is so grippy, it make quite a racket. My snows are actually more quiet
then my summers. There is also a fair amount of mechanical noise in the STi
and very little sound-deadening material to absorb it. You get used to it,
and for me, it adds charm to the car.

> The car has 225/45R17 90W Bridgestone Potenza RE070 summer tires on it
> at the moment. I drive around 20,000 miles a year, in a reasonably
> sane manner. Any thoughts as to how long these will last? In general,
> I'm looking for good grip, but good value for money: what tire
> recommendations do people have for summer and for winter, and what
> lifetime should I expect from such tires?
>
I have about 40,000 KM on mine (around 24,000 miles) and they are just now
needing to be replaced. However, I do mostly highway driving. On
secondaries, you will get a whole lot less. If you go for a longer lasting
tire, you'll lose a whole lot of grip.

For winter I use Perelli P225 205/55R17 mounted on 7" rims (I don't use the
7.5" BBS in the winter) and I have had good luck with them. However, the
car takes a bit of getting used to when I change tires since the softer
sidewall makes the car handle completely differently.

> The headlamp beams don't both point at the same height. Is that
> normal? The manual adjuster seems to work okay, but that affects both
> equally as far as I can tell. (I'm still waiting for the manual...)
>
That sometimes happens in shipping I am told. The dealer can take car of
it. There are two adjusting screws for the lights but getting them aligned
correctly is best left to the dealer.

> There's a small scratch that clearly breaks through the paint. The
> body's WR Blue Pearl. I figured I'd just go to AutoZone or something
> to see what they had, but can anyone give me any tips on touching up
> scratches in this color so it looks like new again?
>
The touch-up paint is available at Subaru and it was $9.25 CAD per tube.
However, it takes about 4 weeks to get it in unless the dealer sells a lot
of STis and stocks parts; which my dealer doesn't since only four were sold
in my area.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

Mark Carroll wrote:

> The speedometer clearly overreads. Is there any easy adjustment? I can
> check it pretty well with my GPS unit, but I've not been able to find
> a decent repair manual locally to find how to adjust the calibration.

Probably not. Just make sure the odometer is reading accurately.

My speedometer in an '04 STi, Canadian spec, seems to over-read slightly
too, at least according to those stupid annoying roadside unmanned radar
detectors that read, "Your speed: XXX, Speed Limit YYY".

> There's a fair bit of noise when I drive. I expect some tire noise,
> but I'm more used to that being uniform. This noise has a periodicity
> to it, quite apparent at around 30mph-40mph, where the frequency (I
> can still hear separate amplitude peaks at that speed) is all to do
> with how fast the car is moving and nothing to do with engine RPM. Is
> this normal?

In my case, with the stock RE070's on it, I get very similar vibrations too
at odd intervals. They even up very nicely after the tires are warmed up,
but it's still disconcerting. It gets much worse as tire wear continues.
You *might* want to get a four-wheel alignment done. Some places have very
accurate laser alignment machines which can do this within very close
tolerances, but make sure you get the specs from Subaru for the STi proper,
since the alignment tolerances for the STi are much smaller even then the
stock WRX.

> The car has 225/45R17 90W Bridgestone Potenza RE070 summer tires on it
> at the moment. I drive around 20,000 miles a year, in a reasonably
> sane manner. Any thoughts as to how long these will last? In general,
> I'm looking for good grip, but good value for money: what tire
> recommendations do people have for summer and for winter, and what
> lifetime should I expect from such tires?

It sounds like you're not going autocrossing. I've got over 24,000 KM on
mine, and my RE070's are about halfway done. This is somewhat remarkable
because the treadwear rating on the RE070s is something like 140. That's
supposed to be 14,000 KM. In other words, apparently I'm not driving my car
the way it was meant to be driven, even though I'm squealing all over the
place.

> The headlamp beams don't both point at the same height. Is that
> normal? The manual adjuster seems to work okay, but that affects both
> equally as far as I can tell. (I'm still waiting for the manual...)

I don't know if this is normal, but consider it for a moment: is the one
that's lower on the side of oncoming traffic in the opposing lane? Perhaps
your US-spec HID lights are deliberately pointed differently.

> There's a small scratch that clearly breaks through the paint. The
> body's WR Blue Pearl. I figured I'd just go to AutoZone or something
> to see what they had, but can anyone give me any tips on touching up
> scratches in this color so it looks like new again?

Don't touch it up. Get the panel properly refinished, or you'll pay for it
later. It's already rusting if you can see any white, so even though you
can't see it, it's happening. If you absolutely must touch it up and your
insurance carrier is a real bunch of pricks, try to do it properly, and
promptly. Visual inspections are *so* helpful: so do them every time you
park the car.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

johninKY wrote:

> The headlight issue makes me wonder if the car was involved in an
> accident.
> There is no reason the beam patterns should be off unless the headlights
> were replaced and no attempt was made to realign them.

Unless the previous owner adjusted them out of consideration for oncoming
traffic..? Stranger than fiction..

--
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

In article <3r_Ae.1946025$Xk.993884@pd7tw3no>,
kote.TakeThisOut@example.com says...>
> It sounds like you're not going autocrossing. I've got over 24,000 KM on
> mine, and my RE070's are about halfway done. This is somewhat remarkable
> because the treadwear rating on the RE070s is something like 140. That's
> supposed to be 14,000 KM. In other words, apparently I'm not driving my car
> the way it was meant to be driven, even though I'm squealing all over the
> place.
>

Is that the US DOT number? That doesn't
translate to any particular mileage, but can be
used "relatively" between tires from *same
manufacturer*, to guesstimate which tire might
last longer in use. There's latitude for the
manufacturers in how they do the actual testing,
so even trying to cross ratings between makers is
somewhat iffy.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

"CompUser" <NoooSpamm.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d3ef603c19f6cde989912@news.tds.net...
> In article <3r_Ae.1946025$Xk.993884@pd7tw3no>,
> kote.DeleteThis@example.com says...>
>> It sounds like you're not going autocrossing. I've got over 24,000 KM on
>> mine, and my RE070's are about halfway done. This is somewhat remarkable
>> because the treadwear rating on the RE070s is something like 140. That's
>> supposed to be 14,000 KM. In other words, apparently I'm not driving my
>> car
>> the way it was meant to be driven, even though I'm squealing all over the
>> place.
>>
>
> Is that the US DOT number? That doesn't
> translate to any particular mileage, but can be
> used "relatively" between tires from *same
> manufacturer*, to guesstimate which tire might
> last longer in use. There's latitude for the
> manufacturers in how they do the actual testing,
> so even trying to cross ratings between makers is
> somewhat iffy.

No, it is the wear rating and for those of us on metric it does roughly
equate. The average street touring tire is around 480; about 48,000 KM or
around 30,000 miles under harsh driving. 140 is approximately 14,000 KM
(9000 miles) under harsh driving.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

> >
> > Is that the US DOT number? That doesn't
> > translate to any particular mileage, but can be
> > used "relatively" between tires from *same
> > manufacturer*, to guesstimate which tire might
> > last longer in use. There's latitude for the
> > manufacturers in how they do the actual testing,
> > so even trying to cross ratings between makers is
> > somewhat iffy.
>
> No, it is the wear rating and for those of us on metric it does roughly
> equate. The average street touring tire is around 480; about 48,000 KM or
> around 30,000 miles under harsh driving. 140 is approximately 14,000 KM
> (9000 miles) under harsh driving.

Ah,nice...we have federally mandated wear, temp
and traction ratings, but they lose
"comparative" value when crossing brands.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

"CompUser" <NoooSpamm.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d4046e54c90b269989915@news.tds.net...
>
>> >
>> > Is that the US DOT number? That doesn't
>> > translate to any particular mileage, but can be
>> > used "relatively" between tires from *same
>> > manufacturer*, to guesstimate which tire might
>> > last longer in use. There's latitude for the
>> > manufacturers in how they do the actual testing,
>> > so even trying to cross ratings between makers is
>> > somewhat iffy.
>>
>> No, it is the wear rating and for those of us on metric it does roughly
>> equate. The average street touring tire is around 480; about 48,000 KM
>> or
>> around 30,000 miles under harsh driving. 140 is approximately 14,000 KM
>> (9000 miles) under harsh driving.
>
> Ah,nice...we have federally mandated wear, temp
> and traction ratings, but they lose
> "comparative" value when crossing brands.

We do too. We use the same ratings as you do. However, it happens that by
luck the numbers work out if you are on metric. It still depends on your
driving. On my 140 tires, I now have 40,000 KM (about 26,000 miles). Then
again, I do mostly highway driving and believe in friction; not losing
friction. Like most things, the wear indications are worse case.

However, if you are driving on, say 280 (a pretty grippy tire) under the
same driving conditions they will likely wear about the same irrespective of
the brand.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

> >
> > Ah,nice...we have federally mandated wear, temp
> > and traction ratings, but they lose
> > "comparative" value when crossing brands.
>
> We do too. We use the same ratings as you do.

In that case, unfortunately, crossing a BF
Goodrich "140" treadwear rating to a Firestone
"280", will not signify that the Firestone will
last twice as long; nor will it signify that the
Firestone will last any *specific* quantity of
miles, kilometers, cubits or henways.
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

"CompUser" <NoooSpamm RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d416be1e8b60ad9989916@news.tds.net...
>
> In that case, unfortunately, crossing a BF
> Goodrich "140" treadwear rating to a Firestone
> "280", will not signify that the Firestone will
> last twice as long; nor will it signify that the
> Firestone will last any *specific* quantity of
> miles, kilometers, cubits or henways.


OK, I'll bite....

What is a henway?
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions 

In article <S_fCe.258090$El.186723@pd7tw1no>,
shuvyerspam.DeleteThis@spamhaters.ca says...
> "CompUser" <NoooSpamm.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1d416be1e8b60ad9989916@news.tds.net...
> >
> > In that case, unfortunately, crossing a BF
> > Goodrich "140" treadwear rating to a Firestone
> > "280", will not signify that the Firestone will
> > last twice as long; nor will it signify that the
> > Firestone will last any *specific* quantity of
> > miles, kilometers, cubits or henways.
>
>
> OK, I'll bite....
>
> What is a henway?
>

Coupla two, three pounds, usually.

(Sorry, it's normally an orally delivered
gag..just couldn't resist!)
 >> Stay informed about: 2004 STi - new owner questions