Impreza automatic vs manual

"Edward Hayes" wrote in news:zNVRb.129935$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

Yep. Wrong. My Legacy wagon has 182k on the original clutch. Wife's '97 Outback has 92k on the original.

Heck - we got 90k out of the front brakes. The rear brakes still haven't gotten pads.

-T.O.M.-

"Edward Hayes" wrote in news:oTzRb.25615$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

Or you can take the $800, invest it, and 10 years down the road when you still haven't replaced the clutch you can take the $1700 and get a REALLY nice bottle of wine........ ;)

-T.O.M.-

I like your idea if it works !!!!! eddie

I've had Subarus with orginal clutches that were still fine in the

140,000 mi. range. I just had the clutch in a Toyota pickup replaced for around $700, at 170,000 mi. -- and she does a lot of pulling and pushing on things, so she's entitled to a clutch now and then...

Of course, when I was 16 and learning to drive with a '76 Camaro with a

3-speed, I was going through about a clutch a year for a while...

We have a wagon with the manual. It's funner than hell. Probably too fun. ;-)

However, on a test drive, pay especial attention to what it's like in stop-and-go or very slow traffic. I don't know if it's the gear ratios or the clutch or what, exactly -- but it's nerve-racking on the rare occasions I'm in stop-and-go city traffic. Had the clutch replaced on some kind of warranty deal, but I haven't been in that situation since so can't compare.

What it does is jerk along like the engine is lugging, idling in first gear -- and then shudder oddly when I disengage and re-engage the clutch to coast. I'd like to think I've had enough manual-shift cars (old VW's and Subarus, including several years living in a city) that this isn't a skill problem, because even a really steep learning curve should have leveled off by 2 1/2 years.

Luckily, I hardly ever drive in that kind of situation.

When we first test-drove an Impreza it was an auto, and we did it in the middle of winter in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. I remember being amazed at how on packed, slicked-down snow, I could just step on the gas and it would just take off and ...go.

God I hate anti-lock brakes in snow.

Or buy two clutches ;)

hen we first test-drove an Impreza it was an auto, and we did it in the

Amen! The ABS light recnetly came on in my wife's '01 Forester. Took it out in the snow and the ABS did not work - I was ecstatic! Nothing seems to INCREASE your stopping distances in the snow or ice more then ABS. Now, if I can just convince her not to get it fixed. Maybe I'll put a piece of black electrical tape over it.

Hmm, so don't know if it was the same as my 95 Legacy, but it only took me a few months to learn that to start moving in stop-and-go traffic, you first release the clutch until the car starts to move (don't touch the gas). The engine will start to drop below idle rpm as you begin to move, so slowly give it a little gas. Don't necessarily let the clutch in all the way - if you actually want to go that fast (>5mph) shift right to second and only go back to first if your speed is dropping below 2 mph.

But yeah, it's different that other manuals I've driving - driving in first and taking you foot off the gas is enough to spill your coffee all over the radio!

I think it is a matter of preferrence. I have had ABS on my last two cars, and now drive the STi. It also has ABS. I find it works just fine; not much different from the last two cars. I also would not buy a car without ABS (we have the possibility of snow for six months of the year). There are people who have driven my car and complain about the ABS because they are not used to it. They don't like the sound it makes, or the fact that it resists your foot pushing down on the pedal. But, I have driven three Scoobies with ABS; the 02 WRX, the 03 Forrester, and the 04 STi. They all seemed to work the same except the STi (it has EBD and behaves slightly differently). But they all worked fine for me.

"!!bogus" wrote in news:KHESb.6859$ snipped-for-privacy@news20.bellglobal.com:

Hmmm..... lessee...

Two clutches......

Nice bottle of wine......

Two clutches......

Nice bottle of wine.......

I think I'll take the wine.

-T.O.M.-

I'll probably get flamed for even mentioning this, but there is a fuse marked ABS on the fuse panel under the dash. I took it out last winter, and it drove just like a regular car. I've been trying to learn how to live with it this winter -- as all future cars will probably have this idiot-proof panic-mode "safety" "feature" and I'll need to adapt. But I'm getting pretty tired of pulsing past stopsigns, pulsing right through intersections, pulsing right into deer, pulsing straight forward when I reflexively try to hit the brake and slide sideways...

I'm convinced it's just for people who panic, shut down, and lock the brakes when something happens. It allows them to steer without having to remember to let off the brake. Poo on that.

andy asks:

My uneducated guess is that this complaint about ABS is about the whole ABS idea in general -- from people who learned to drive in slippery conditions before there was ABS, and prefer to use their driving skills than idiot-proofness that increases stopping distance. Maybe it also has something to do with where the driver lives?

I used to have a '92 Chevy full-size Blazer 4x4 that had the worst ABS system I've ever experienced. If you hit a ripple in the pavement under hard braking, you'd hear a "RRRRRrrrrrrr" sound as the ABS system released essentially *all* brake pressure to all 4 wheels -- and suddenly you're driving on marbles. After I rear-ended a guy in traffic with it (on dry pavement and starting with about a car-length between us), I pulled a relay under the hood to intentionally disable the system. Best thing I ever did to that dumb truck. Other than selling it, of course.

- Greg Reed

Andy,

I'm new to this group, and I'm only here because I'm *going* to buy a Subaru. Since the couple of test-drives in a Forester XT didn't really give me much reason to try out the ABS, I can't speak about Subaru's ABS. But I can speak about the ABS in several other cars. It is my opinion that ABS works best on dry or slightly wet pavement. On gravel or snow/slush, you're better off without it -- *if* you know what you're doing. As a previous poster already mentioned, if your skill level confines your actions to "mash brake pedal, close eyes, pray" then you'll probably do better with ABS in

*all* circumstances. But to reassure you, I don't expect that Subaru's ABS is significantly different from the systems in the other cars you've driven.

- Greg Reed

ABS is only better than a good driver on dry pavement. In the rain, ice, or snow its worthless for a person who knows how to drive. It increase stopping distance by a lot.

Rob

To this point. I believe on Acura NSX abs can be turned on/off with a button on the console. But automakers seem to assume that just because a car is affordable there is always an idiot in the driver's seat. It's an IQ test in a sense. If an operator is so dumb that he can't locate the ABS fuse and pluck it out for the winter then he should definitely have ABS on.

I finally bought my impreza TS. I am not an experienced driver and I've never driven in snow before. In fact I try avoiding doing so as much as possible. I've never driven a car with ABS before too. My question is... is this ABS supposed to work fulltime or only in certain situations?

Thanks