Coyote64

I had my 2002 recalled by subaru for the rear diff a while back, they said subaru had recalled them all as there was a manufactoring defect.

All good you might think, but when i got the car back there is a great difference. In the dry no problem same old huge ammounts of grip, go in harder and oversteer plus big grin and smoke. Now in the wet however, the car is totally wrong. Even at very stupidly slow speeds the rear end will just skip out for no good reason what so ever.

I was following my mate home in his golf and we approached a roundabout, i took the lead to show him what i meant, at only 40 mph the rear end went and i ended up fish tailing all over, but his golf driven at exactly the same speed was fine. When we pulled over he straight away confirmed it wassnt me, the car should not have lost it and especially at that slow speed.

Whats going on ? Is it the diff ? I thought it was just me but now i am certain something is very wrong.

The garage who fitted the diff (Jennings) has since been stripped of its Subaru franchise as they did not meet subarus technical competancy levels which is making me think they have done something wrong, especially as the last "warranty" fix they did for me they accidently put engine oil in my new gear box but only realised when i took it back because the box was a nightmare

172sport

iTrader: (6)

I bet the tracking is out by a mile.

PeeVee

iTrader: (1)

Yea agree, sounds like it needs a geometry set up.

Coyote64

That never acurred to me at all, makes sense, should they have done the tracking when swapping diff over ?

Coyote64

Hang on sorry guys, ive realised that ive already posted this up and forgot so this is a repost ( blonde moment )

Moderators feel free to delete this thread, my bad

W9LTN

iTrader: (1)

my car was a bit dodgy on the icy roads. even at slow speeds the back end was waving side to side on a straight road. islands in the wet were also alot of fun. i found the back tires and front tires were differnent profiles. 50 on the back 55 on the front. bought myself some new wheels and tires (all the same size) and everything is all good.

adzer

iTrader: (13)

if i went around a round about at 40mph i'd think it would kick out aswell

taking a round about at 40mph is just insane on public roads

Coyote64

Not really 40mph is the usual everyday speed to take it ( its quiet big ).To put in perspective my dad who is totally speed limit minded (ex traffic copper) takes it at that speed in his toyota previa, that was my whole point even at normal speeds (not racing ) it still goes.

dean_gti

I think golfs handle better than an impreza wich have not got the best handling by a long shot. Alot of grip yes, good handling alas no.



Your problem is to complex to try and resolve over the net imo as it could litrally be any number of issues. My advice would be to take it to a specialist such as power station etc and see what they make of it.

drive

iTrader: (1)

is the new diff a slip by any chance?

ceri

Bikebloke

iTrader: (2)

[QUOTE=dean_gti;8404616]I think golfs handle better than an impreza which have not got the best handling by a long shot. Alot of grip yes, good handling alas no.

Yes we know some of the Golfs are good handling wise mk1 & 2 Gti's good,mark 3 & 4 were rubbish. To say the Subaru Impreza is not as good what model Subaru are you talking about ? Nige

dunx

iTrader: (3)

I agree, loads of grip isn't good handling.
I needed two ARB's and an ALK to sort mine out.
No more understeer, and oversteer on demand.

imho

dunx

Coyote64

Two whats ??????

corradoboy

Then I must be positively certifiable I used to go 'round the M62 J27 exit roundabout at 80+ on RE070 tires with AST's and Whitleine bits

Dunx is referring to Whiteline (or similar) Anti-Roll Bars. Fitting a rear one (usually 22mm for normal drivers, 24mm for advanced) will reduce rear-end roll when cornering, allowing the front tires to retain better alignment with the road surface and thus increase grip allowing higher speeds. Adding a front one will allow speeds to go higher still as more roll is removed, but at the expense of reducing the comfort zone, as when it breaks loose you will be much more likely to make a mess at the higher speeds.
The ALK is an 'Anti-lift kit' which sees a selection of shims and spacers fitted to key front suspension and steering mounting points to change the amount and way they move under load, limiting the amount that alignment is affected by 'lift'.

I trust that you have good quality tires all 'round, ideally the same make with similar wear levels and correct pressures too

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Hi Dave,

was a bit abrupt me-thinks !

LOL

dunx

Coyote64

Cheers for that, much appreciated mate. tyres are all new bridgestones only a couple of hundred miles on them as i only use the car as a weekend car

The rookie

iTrader: (1)

As JR would say, my ****!

The 'ALk' is a pro-lift kit that replces the rear mounting for the front arms with one that lowers the pivot pount to increase lift under power and moves it out to increase castor angle.

Simon

escott

iTrader: (1)

Exactly - and having had one fitted recently I can confirm that it lifts slightly more under hard acceleration.

But the benefits are more 'positive' (meaning slightly heavier) steering, making the front end feel a bit more planted round corners and positive on the straight ahead. I would say there is a slight increase in front end grip, although this is subjective.

One slight downside, which comes from the increase in castor - a slight reduction in steering feel.

But anti lift - no!

Perrin actually call it a PSRS - positive steering response system I think, which more accurately describes it, but it's not as catchy as ALK!

Somewhere there is an article from Whiteline giving a good description of the effects and why it has been named incorrectly.

The rookie

iTrader: (1)

The article is on the WL website, just google ALK pro-lift and you'll find it!

How are the PD springs Ewan?

Simon

escott

iTrader: (1)

I'll tell you on Friday

escott

iTrader: (1)

Initial impressions of the PD springs are very good Simon - more composed and 'solid' without being harsh. Had the alignment done at the same time, -1.5 of camber and it feels great! I'll PM you with a better write up in a few days.

The rookie

iTrader: (1)

Thats good new Ewan, nice one, mind you -1.5 camber at the front will help!

Simon