Sphinx

Update which I should have done months ago. Since the GG9 is used for daily 100%, I asked around and I got an overwhelming response to use the BNT-branded ones. I have already installed it and was really surprised by its performance. I was told they had the best balance in terms of longevity, dust (or lack of), disc wear and stopping performance. After a few months, the wear is still even and the pads don't eat the rotors. The car is still using the original rotors at 200,000 kms - Japanese steel. Cheers.

Will do. Cheers, mate.

Not sure how I missed your query, COVID lockdown probably. I have an SG5 4EAT that I take off-road touring all the time. It's not too much of a difference when driving a turbo because what we always need is access to torque and the ability to go slow. Fluid drive on the 4EAT is rather efficient as long as fully-synthetic ATF is used. I have toured the dunes of the west coast of Northland, even Pouto Point with mine. Mine is not lifted but I have underbody protection, which is almost always mandatory off-road. If you are going to go (or already went) with a manual, the NZ New SH still has the dual-range option, however, the ratio is too conservative and can only be an advantage when towing. You can open it and install SF's 1.447:1 low-range with some trimming/shimming. If you want more ability to go slow, you can install the 4.444 diffs in front and rear. NA SGs have 4.444 vLSD rears and they are good enough for most terrains. You just have to know how to use them. Regarding creature comforts, the SH isn't based on the Impreza anymore and it has improved rigidity vs previous models. It also has the double-wishbone rear to maximise rigidity at the back. There is a tendency for the SH, though, to be boaty but that can be solved in many ways. Make sure you don't cheap out on tyres. Go with tyres that have extensive amounts of research and are known to be reliable. BFG K02s are highly regarded but they are too expensive here and can be overkill with the our types of terrain. I have Yoko G015s on mine and they provide excellent grip on loose surfaces. On highways, they perform much grippier than my old cheap (you know where from) tyres. Another option is the D697s. They are LT tyres but they are available on almost any town in NZ and Australia. The North Island has plenty of gravel roads and when relatively unmaintained, produce a lot of corrugations, especially in the Northland Region. at 25 to 28 PSI, my Yokos handle corrugations like a king. My passengers were even able to sleep when treading highly-corrugated roads in Northland. Proper touring for me can only be achieved in a few places here in the North Island. North Island's west coast and some places in National Park. I think the North Island is too developed for such activity, haha.

The low dust feature is always tempting. I have semi-metallic in the front of my SG and brake dust has to be thoroughly removed every week.

Hmmm. I've read about this before. It has something to do with ceramics being insulators vs semi-metallic being conductors. So with ceramics, heat is almost always disproportionately generated on the rotors. My old BP5 has ceramics front and rear and it takes quite a while for the pads to generate heat. It has got new rotors, though and they are still OK after about 4 years of conservative driving. I think the GG9 still has the genuine pads in the rear but I haven't checked yet. I can only see one flayed brake lining on the rear-left outer pad. The rotors are still genuine. I am always concerned by the range in quality of ceramic pads as, based on the list I provided above, they range from NZD 27.00 to NZD 200.00!

It seems like EBC has a huge range for the Impreza.

Hello mates, Which brand do you prefer most for brake rotors and pads - daily driving only. Our EJ204 GG9's rear brakes need servicing and would like something that stops well and, most of all, does not have excessive brake dust that stains the wheels. Pads I see at the moment are: Bendix Calibre Royale (Ceramic) Techstop Bosch Tora Auto8 Rotors: asl DBA Royale Techstop Bosch I have read somewhere here that Techstop is an Exedy brand? If it is then it is supposed to be well-specced. I can go genuine but it would be good to know good alternatives. I haven't tried ceramic yet in any of my cars and would also like to know if these excessively wear the rotors. Any insights? Cheers in advance.

Sorry for resurrecting this old post but I only login but I am not an active forum user, at the moment. This can still be helpful for someone looking for an SG or an SH. I have an SG5 EJ203 and I am a member of those who do off-road touring with their Subarus and there are only a few things to note with the SG5: The left-hand side headlight may harbour water. This is because the adhesive used when manufacturing is inadequate. Many would replace the headlight assembly with a 2nd hand one but there is a high chance that it may experience the same problem. The remedy is to open it up and use better adhesive like Selley's Windscreen Sealant or use a proper headlamp butyl adhesive that can be bought from eBay. You may hear rattling in the rear of the strut tower area and may freak out about it, especially if you try to assemble and disassemble the strut/springs, but the rattling is just the slight less-than-a-mm gap between the rear seat mounts and the lock. I just wrapped it with something resilient like Bear tape and the problem disappeared. I may redo it but with a silicone tube. It's just one of those things. For the SH5, this is just 2nd hand info from one of those who tour with his SH, as well.: The rattling for the rear seat lock may be present. See above for remedy. Coming from the SF, you may experience that the car is a bit boaty at the rear. This is complained by other SH drivers, as well. This is due to the change in suspension type in the rear by Subaru. The spring rate may be on the softer side. Some of the people I know just used an upgraded sway bar system to reduce the swaying and it worked. Also, some general pointers: If you are going to get a turbo, every Subaruer knows that fresh oil a turbo engine's best friend so... oil changes Heat shield rattles are common in modern cars but it can be much more pronounced in Subarus because of the need to have more heat shields for more parts. To remedy, either strap the rattly area with a hose clamp or remove the heat shield, especially if it is in the lower part behind the axle. For the front heat shields, I would only stuff steel wool between the metal and the heat shield and use a hose clamp. JDM SGs have rear vLSD. Try to lift both the rear wheels to check. Sometimes, the viscous fluid wears out if the car is drifted a lot and there is a huge speed differential between the left and right rear wheels due to different wear rates and/or different tyre brands. Even the spare wheel, when used, can wear out the vLSD much more quickly. For the centre diff, manual/4EAT/5EAT, make sure that the tyre brands are all the same and the maximum wear difference all across is 1.6mm. If not, transfer duty solenoid C can get too much strain with the autos and with manuals, the vLSD centre diff can wear out more quickly. Cheers.

Hi @RaKid, Do you have the face-lift SG? I have an SG and the factory antennae are in the rear glass between the C and D pillars. They each have their own attenuators located right below them in the trim. Usually, yes. They have the same wheelbase and if you download the original brochure of the SG from Japan, they market it as a GG/GD Impreza that has just been lifted. Those who lift their GG/GD Imprezas usually just buy the SG Forester's suspension components like shocks, trailing arms, half-shafts, etc. to keep the alignment as spot-on as possible. I can imagine doing the reverse for an SG if you are thinking of lowering it. I have seen tourers using the GC/GF brakes on their SGs without modifications/adapters. Cheers.

Hi everyone, Does anyone have insights on the maintenance and reliability of aftermarket alloy radiators? I am thinking whether or not they will give any sort of advantage when one is touring remotely, where reliability of the cooling system is a must. Since modern cars have plastic radiator tank tops and, of course, they will degrade over time. Has anyone installed an aftermarket radiator, particularly ones that are sold her locally, and has had a good run with them so far? My default will always be genuine parts all the time but it would be nice to get some opinions and experiences on this topic. Cheers.

Thank you. If you or anyone you know are looking for ones, I can sell them for $20.

Bought these off Trademe, seller claimed they are for BP Legacy models. Tried them on, they didn't exactly fit. I've searched online and the closest I could get to comparing these with are BE/BH Legacy floor mats. Can anyone confirm which model Legacy these mats are for? If anyone want's them, they're yours for $20.

Plasti-dip or any rubber paint is what did it for me. As others have said, perfect colour and texture match. 3-5 coats would do.

Good point. Nice.

This. I've just changed my plugs on Saturday and I can confirm it's what fixed my issue. The symptom was: The car would jolt and hesitate under load and slight acceleration but only at about 2000 rpm. This meant that, during cold start, I'd get a hesitation while accelerating from a full stop to 50-60 km/h. And also on the motorway (warm engine), if I step on the gas at 4th gear (Max in my AT), I'd get a hesitation at the 2000rpm area. I then inspected my plugs and saw that there were 2mm gaps on 2 out of 4 cylinders. Don't think they've ever been replaced before because they were well worn out, So I replaced them with the factory recommended NGK platinum spark plugs. Today, I tested the car in cold start and under load on the uphills. Hesitation was gone. Have a bit more power when accelerating and engine is a tad quieter. I also noticed a small elimination of the delay in my gas pedal as I accelerated from full stop (didn't know that would be affected). May be well worth checking out those spark plugs.

Hmmm I've had no experience owning a turbo, but in the engineering point of view, as soon as the car is running under load, it could be an ignition issue (but don't quote me on that haha, could very well be something else). At least, that was my issue on my non-turbo. However, you pointing out that it 'suddenly went pop' could mean something else. It's also very possible that whoever used your car put in a low octane fuel (91?). Try using a Subaru Fuel Additive next time you fill up with a 98 octane. Add in the additive just before you fill up the tank so it mixes well with the fuel. They cost about $30 from any Winger dealer. It may not solve the issue but it's a good maintenance check to have anyway. Actually it's recommended by Subaru to use their additive every 6,000 kms or every oil change, so that wouldn't hurt. Just make sure to use up all the fuel after using the additive so that you don't lower the concentration by adding more fuel halfway through.

Hey, Try inspecting the spark plugs. Or anything ignition related (coils etc). Had similar symptoms in my car when I purchased it. Inspected yesterday and the spark plugs were pretty much gone, so I replaced them. Some would call it a "hesitation" in the engine. If the clearance on the spark plugs are over 1.1mm, I'd suggest replacing them first. See if that helps.

Ah ok, so they moved even the fuel consumption to somewhere else on the facelift? Interesting.

Hey, I think the only difference is that the clock on trademe has a "bright" button. They took these out on the newer models.

Nice! Just in time for the road trip!

Edited my previous post. I included a video link on how to remove the stereo. Check it out. follow it and you won't have a problem

Hey, replacing the unit would cost about $200-$600 just to get the housing for an aftermarket stereo. On top of that, an aftermarket stereo would be $100-$400 depending on the features (single din/double-din). A good alternative would be to just purchase a bluetooth adapter, can find them on trademe or jonvy etc. Keep in mind, if your unit is McIntosh, you'd need a specific one for a McIntosh. My brother's McIntosh needed a specific bluetooth unit which cost about $130. Hope that helps. here's a video for the removal of the stereo. Follow it and you won't have a problem.

This might help some of you guys. Sorry to bring this thread up again. But I thought it would be good to clarify some things as I've got a few insights from recent experience and opinions. My Legacy 2005 has a 'fish-bowl' factory tinted glass all around with 70% VLT (measured using the VLT device both at VTNZ and The Tinting Guys). I was about to get it tinted with 35% VLT film. I had a hunch that it might be illegal and got The Tinting Guys AND VTNZ to measure the VLT. It turned out to be an overall value of 26% VLT (close enough with the proven calculation using 0.7(existing)*0.35(additional film) = 24.5%. This is considered ILLEGAL and WILL NOT PASS WOF. Luckily, the tint guys also supplied 45% VLT and 50% VLT films. The 45% VLT were still too dark, approx overall 31% VLT (measured and calculated). Based on calculations, the perfect tints on top of the existing 70% VLT glass is the 50% VLT tint (0.7*0.5=35%). I have yet to have these installed. Be aware that films don't get made to the exact VLT value that it's said to have. This was the case when I went to the tinting place. The 45% VLT tint film was measured as roughly 43% VLT. So keep that in mind and get them to double check the VLT of that specific batch of film they will install on your windows. I was told by the tinting guys that VTNZ are stricter since last year (2017) when it comes to the VLT. They want it to be at least 35% VLT and nothing less (consumer cars of course. Goods vans etc can go as dark as they want). Even 34%, you might fail the WOF. JDM Cars with factory tinted glass (the dark ones on the rear windows) are perfectly LEGAL as they are factory windows (said by the guy from VTNZ directly). Hope that helps

Hey guys! I'm thinking of doing a full respray for my GC8. It has the usual pin dents from 20 years of use. No major dents or damages. Any recommended painters out there? Looking for good quality ones. Could be a shop or an experienced individual. Would be good to know a rough price as well. I'm located in North Shore, Auckland. But might be interested in places outside of the shore. Please let me know. Cheers!

Would it still be 14.5 lbs for a GC8? I read the same thing on most models as well.