2004 STi - new owner questions

[Mark Carroll]

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

 

[y_p_w]

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.

I don't think one can legally do this in most states. There are too
many people who might want to recalibrate a speedo to reduce the
odometer reading. Take it to a shop if you need recalibration.

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 stock tires are known to be extremely low wearing. If you're
willing to sacrifice some grip, you can find suitable all-season
performance tires. Perhaps Michelin Pilot Sport A/S or Pirelli
PZero Nero M+S will last longer.

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?

I haven't found any parts stores that sell the correct paint.
Dupli-Color certainly doesn't have it.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

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

 

[hippo]

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

 

[johninKY]

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.

 

[JD]

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.

 

[k. ote]

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.

 

[k. ote]

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..

--

 

[CompUser]

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.

 

[JD]

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.

 

[CompUser]

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.

 

[JD]

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.

 

[CompUser]

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.

 

[Spudster]

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?

 

[CompUser]

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!)

 

[Spudster]

Coupla two, three pounds, usually.

(Sorry, it's normally an orally delivered
gag..just couldn't resist!)

I thought I'd catch you by spelling out "what is" rather than saying
"what's" per the oral version of the joke. Oh well, it's still a good joke
and probably some here have never heard it before.

Steve.

 

[Mark Carroll]

Thanks for the responses. This seems like a great, helpful group!

It turns out that a previous owner had a small collision with a fire
hydrant, which explains the alignment and the headlamp issues. The
Infiniti dealer I bought the STi from was kind enough to adjust the
headlamps and do a four-wheel alignment for free, but next week I'll
take the STi over to a Subaru dealer (first one I found I didn't like,
so onto the next) to have them look it over with the history in mind
and make sure everything's back to within specification.

I'll get the scratch refinished at a professional body shop. I found
out which the Subaru dealer uses; I figured they'll have the right
paint, etc. and know what to do. They make all the right noises about
sanding and rust protection and clear-coat and suchlike.

The speedometer's out by between 5% and 10%. It doesn't sound like
much, but it drives me crazy: our other car and my previous car are
dead-on by comparison. The dealer doesn't yet know if they can adjust
this, or if they'd have to replace the speedometer (presumably
prohibitively expensive). My hope is they can adjust it so that it's
within 5%, but if not then I guess I'll learn to live with it.

Thanks for the pointer to www.tirerack.com! It seems a good site:
large selection, reasonable search. Are there any other good ones?
It's got me thinking of maintaining two sets of tires: four for
summer, four for winter, keeping the others in cool, dry, air-sealed
storage. I usually just buy all-season tires, but maybe it's worth
reconsidering that?

-- Mark

 

[Mark Carroll]

dead-on by comparison. The dealer doesn't yet know if they can adjust
this, or if they'd have to replace the speedometer (presumably
prohibitively expensive). My hope is they can adjust it so that it's
within 5%, but if not then I guess I'll learn to live with it.

(snip)

They say that they can't adjust the speedometer calibration. Ah well.

-- Mark

 

[JD]

(snip)

They say that they can't adjust the speedometer calibration. Ah well.

-- Mark

If it is any consolation, mine is out by about 6% but the odometer is bang
on for some reason. Kepps you out of trouble though.

 

[Mark Carroll]

(snip)
If it is any consolation, mine is out by about 6% but the odometer is bang
on for some reason. Kepps you out of trouble though.

Thanks! I was wondering about the odometer. (-:

-- Mark