spicyHam

Never mind, i found the answer from this handy article. (you need to join ozfoz to see it) http://www.ozfoz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=54 The plug looks to be the same for the newer momo shape wheel, so a swap should be easy. Also has good tips on how to do it safely, ones i didnt know of when i took apart to take my pic...

Touche.. smart money then is leaving the connectors on and cutting/re-joining wires elsewhere perhaps. Though it still hasnt been established that the connectors are even any different yet.

I was a tad worried about the bang lol. but if it disconnects ok it should be fine... right? And yea i said im a real perfectionist with those things, like what i can see, aesthetics and such. ITs just a wire hidden away though, if i cant see it, its not there!

Took apart my column, it has a connector like this. Even if it doesnt fit i guess i can cut it off and use some choc-box connectors anyway. > >

Hi all, Im thinking about replacing the steering wheel in my 97 Rsb, because its starting to split at the stitched joins and im a real perfectionist with those sorts of things. Im looking at a wheel from a 2002 version 7 sti.. does anyone know if all the Subaru airbags use the same connectors? Would like to be able to plug straight in.

Got my new clutch in - almost no pedal travel before it engages now, im amazed at the difference. i just got a regular clutch, still has plenty of bite - i dont see any reason why u would pay double for an HD one unless you are a track/strip regular.

I better get onto fixing it next week - major slippage in 3rd, 4th and 5th under acceleration, slight slip in 2nd..

Interesting to note. I drove a gtb before my current rs and the clutch felt alot easier to use so i guess that had a standard one - but i just test drove it so i don't know if it did that. Ive seen a few aftermarket clutches for sale on TM for around 4-500 (which is appealing as im on a budget) but there were no new sti/stock items. Anyone know a good place to source em and how much? Im wondering whether i should buy the part first and just pay a mechanic to install it or if i should get the mechanic to source the part too. Also interesting to see someone who doesnt defend Exedy as if they are paid commision from them. Autoclutch sounds good but quality comes with a price im sure...

Yup it was a clutch that really hated traffic jams and low driving speeds. (Had to shift into neutral and roll as much as possible because it would just bunnyhop unless under acceleration in low gears) Would have been good on the track but in the real world it wasn't much fun. I think the whole traffic jam clutch in-out-in-out-in-out-in-out wasn't good for em. Unfortunately you cant avoid that in auckland..

Lol ain't that the truth. Perhaps i was a bit quick to attribute the problem to the exedy clutch being crap - I just couldn't logically see why anyone would replace the factory unit before it was needed usually at 80k as far as i know - perhaps a previous owner was too dump-happy with it and replaced it early or something. No service history blows...

yes 120,000 is fine for a clutch. But since its the second one, the first arguably could have done 80 since it was put in? But if you guys think its acceptable then fine, i was looking for input from more experienced peeps anyways. Any recommendations for a replacement? i appreciate constructive input, but what the **** is this? Im just posting my opinion and issue on a forum, its not like i was insulting you personally... Why are there always aggressive pricks like this in car clubs.. >.<

You would be wrong in this assumption.. i get funny looks from people when they see its a young guy only driving at 90 on the motorway... i didnt install it myself, (i guess saying 'i wouldnt buy one again' gave people the wrong idea, my bad) so i have no real idea of how long its been in there for. Have had the car approx 1 year. I dont really know what it is exactly but from the feel of it and the sticker on the car i think it was a HD unit - it was a pain to use in traffic. I did learn to drive manual in this car which may have accelerated its death but since they are designed to take modified powertrains and clutch dumps it shouldn't have failed in my opinion. I took special care to go in neutral when stuck in gridlock as much as possible to avoid riding.

As ive said in another post, my clutch seems to be going. Its an Exedy tuff unit and car is only on 120kms so im surprised. seems to be way to early for a second clutch to be gone, especially a heavy duty one. I wouldnt buy one again, and they are expensive too - buyers beware?

Im experiencing similiar problems, started off happening in 5th and 4th under acceleration, but now happening in 3rd as well. Car is still driveable but its only a matter of time before it slips from standstill i imagine. I would'nt reccommend an Exedy kit. They are a bitch to use in traffic jams and at low speeds, and obviously aren't that tough since my car hasn't hit 120thou k's yet, and its gotta be at least the second clutch fitted to the car.. assuming the original was changed at around 80k, that means the Exedy 'Tuff' unit only managed barely 35k before wearing out. Not a good investment. However this was my first manual car and the one i learned to drive manual in, so i might have accelerated it's demise. But still, isnt the whole point of these is that they are supposed to be stronger? (i.e. not wear out?) Its not like i was constantly dumping it to drag race either..

NO!! as great as this sounds, think about what would happen to the prices of our policies if this was brought in today.. Take a look at the UK - even though only 3rd party is compulsory, average insurance cost is now over 1000pounds. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/28/car-insurance-costs-rise Topgear also did part of a show about insurance and from what i remember and it seems anyone under 25 has to drive a 15year old 1.3l vauxhall viva over there unless they want to be paying 5000pounds a year in insurance. - the only cars they found to be an acceptable price in their challenge were an ugly old volvo 240 estate, a cheap and nasty early 90's hyundai coupe, and a golf. Id like to know more about the buyback policy and what you would expect to pay.. seems like a good idea if your car has had alot of lil' bits added that cost alot of money when added up.

you have a point, but its not like i came to this conclusion from just the one tank.. it was a trend id been noticing for awhile, and i finally decided to measure it. And my driving and destinations were very similar as i already said - if i had'nt gone to the clubsub meet on the tank of 95, they would have been nearly identical, and there probably would have been an even bigger gap in the results.

i reset the ecu before the tank of 98, not the tank of 95.. if anything shuldn't this give the 98 tank the advantage? Yet i still get 40k's more out of the 95... And with a loss of 40kms of mileage, do you really think i want to run say 5 tanks of 98 through just to make sure the tank results are consistent? Thats potentially 200km of mileage lost!! No thanks..

test update: as i said previously, i disagree with the '98 is freakin awesome' fanclub, as from 70bucks of BP 98 i only got 370kms before the fuel light came on. i removed the battery terminals hoping to rest the ecu before i filled up also. From 70 bucks of 95 from pak n save fuel, i got 410kms before the fuel light came on! i didnt even bother to reset the ecu, and i went to the last clubsub meet on this tank and i STILL got BETTER mileage! 40k's is a BIG difference, and i think this totally proves my theory... Fuel prices and my driving style and destinations were similar on both tanks. However what exactly i proved isn't quite certain... either 98 from BP is crap (as i,ve been told by a couple people), pre phase-II engines do not receive any benefits from 98, or my car is just a bit strange.. perhaps the next step will be trying out 98 from Mobil... everybody reset your trip meters next fill up and try it for yourselves!

perhaps thats why i don't find any difference between 98 and 95. Phase II engines might be more efficient in burning the gas. As for my car though if anything it burns through 98 faster.

As i said previously, i don't think 98 has ANY mileage advantage over 95 gas - i put $70 of BP 98 in last fill up, and disconnected the battery terminals for about 10mins to reset the ecu. I only got to 370kms before the fuel light first came on, and filled up just before 400. Although $70 isn't quite a full to-the-brim tank, its pretty close. (full on fuel gauge), Usually i get to at least 400 before the light comes on.. therefore i think i can already conclude that 98 IS NO BETTER. This fill up i have put in 70dollars of 95 for comparison. I know gas prices went up slightly, but as i used a petrol discount voucher, this should be offset. Will post results of this tank once it's empty.

You just saved me 400bucks a year.. I decided to ask them again if it was agreed value just to be sure... and it wasn't at all! So i promptly canceled - was really misleading, when i got a quote, the guy on the phone told me he would try and set up a deal which would beat what NAC were offering, which lead me to believe the insurance was the same type.. totally not fair. Now i just have to get my deposit back.

Page 2 of this thread wins, nice to get a positive perspective on it! Im sure thought that the N/A models will go alot further than the turbo ones ever will however. And i don't think i,ll be pulling part my engine just to have a look.. id end up with a pile of parts that i couldn't put back together again. If ive had the car for a year and nothings buggered up then i guess i got lucky and got a non-thrashed one. Though i was looking for about 2months before i decided on this one..

The quote i got says it is 'comprehensive cover', and im sure it is agreed value, especiially in that price range. i have to ring them to tell them my deposit went in tho so ill double check then.

This was such a lol thread, took ages to read. I was with NAC, but they just put prices up - i was on 1270, they put me up to $1435 - and thats not cool with me, so i just changed to clubauto, who offered me 1239 instead, with better excesses and full glass cover. Expensive i know, but as i'm 19 with a legacy TT, its to be expected. I think the big price differences we are seeing is because some people are on market value policies while others (like myself) have chosen agreed value ones, which cost more. Personally id avoid a market value policy even tho they save u quite a bit (i was offered a couple, for $856 and $819 a year) as i can imagine that even though my car could probably sell for 6-7k today, it's 'market value' according to the insurer would be more like 4-4.5k, as market value is pretty much an average of all the cars out there, most of which are probably crappier. when taking nearly a grand excess into account, this means id probably only receive about 3600 if im lucky. Not exactly great money.. ive had alot of screw around with nac with their automatic payment system, so hopefully clubauto is better to deal with.

Thanks for the input. Yea i realise its going to happen eventually, but what im meaning is that i hope it doesn't happen while i own it, haha. I would sell it before it ever reached 150thousand k's and as i dont even do 10thou a year id probably sell it long before it got to that many. I drive carefully most of the time, off boost (my friends call me a nana ;D) and generally do my best to treat the car really nice. The bad part is that despite buying it from a dealer, i have no real history about the car so i don't know exactly how well it was treated - i know this is breaking rule no.1, but the car was too good a deal to pass up at the time. And in all the time ive spent looking at cars to buy since i started driving, i have never found one with a complete service history.. in 10 years or more it must be easy for these things to get lost. After owning a Mitsubishi that had a failed tranny after less than a month, a and smoky toyota, the Subi has been the most reliable car i,ve had. i do have money do do repairs if something went wrong, but if the whole engine catastrophically failed then yea id have a problem. Unfortunately to 'downgrade' to a non-turbo honda, toyota or whatever seems to cost more! Nissans are even worse. It'd really suck to have to pay more to get a worse car. For now i should probably do some more maintenance for piece of mind and keep an eye on it.. But any other advice? Like i there a certain age or mileage where i should really get rid of the thing? or some way i can test to evaluate my engine's current condition better?