Questions about Subaru, first post, loooong reaD

[grinderdust]

Hello this is my first post here although I think I may have been hypermiling since before the internet. First car: 81 Accord 5sp. That thing could coast for miles, I wish I still had it. Anyway on to the topic. My 92 accord wagon is broken for now. That leaves my winter car to drive. A 98 Outback legacy wagon with a few simple mods. I have many questions about this car so if any of this has been covered, please forgive me. I was overwhelmed when looking for specific info. First off it is a 5sp and I live around some big mountains so coasting with the engine off is a good option for me. I have been doing it with my Hondas for a long time. My Subie seems to run ruch when I catch it in gear so my question is this. Is there something going on with the computer that forces it into rich mode when I turn the key? Or when the engine starts? Can I please bypass this? It seems to undo some of the fuel savings of coasting. I need to put in an engine kill switch because the headlights go out when I flick the key. soooo...will that help?
Next question. Is there any way to make a manual Subaru 2wd for the summer? I have heard rumors that they can be switched if you have auto trans but no data on the manual. It seems they are both Awd but work differently.
Last question (for now). Will coasting hurt the AWD with my manual trans. I have heard people say that coasting or bump starting is bad for cars in general but AWD even more so. I dont see any reason why this car can't coast and bump start. It has a neutral gear. It certainly never seemed to hurt my Honda's.They all lasted a long time and died from rust and general neglect around 300,000. Any input would be greatly appreciated. These Subarus are a lot different. Thanks!

[brucepick]

Here's the URL for what I found to be the best Subaru message board when I was considering getting one:
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Yes, the auto tranny Subies can be switched to 2WD (front) by pulling a fuse or some such fairly simple method. Of course they're still "autotragic".

As for whether coasting in neutral is bad for it, check your owners manual. If you don't have it, chase one down on the web, as a .pdf or whatever. Usually its OK for standard trannies to coast in neutral, and mostly not OK for autos. But then Subie standards might be different...

The manual will tell you for an auto, you can coast at up to x mph for up to x distance. Usually not very far and not at useful speeds either. You look it up under "flat towing" in the manual, which means towing with all wheels on the road.

My Civic goes into open loop (rich) for about 10 seconds after a bump start. A Scangauge will tell you what's up there, if you have one. There's a readout for open/closed loop status. I'm OK with the 10 seconds when bump starting because my commute is about an hour.

[drmiller100]

subarus are all wheel drive.

the front axles always turn, the rear axles always turn, the middle driveline always turns, the transmission always turns.

The manual and automatic trans are slightly different in the central differential. On the automatics, the front axles are hard connected to the trans output, and the rear diff is connected via computer controlled coupling. This means the fronts always turn, and the rear propels the car when the computer tells the central diff to help out.

On the manual, there is a spider gear setup to where power goes to "both" front and rear differentials.

On the auto's you can pull the fuse which disables the computer controlled coupling.

Adding it all up, and I really doubt there is fuel savings in worrying about any of this.

The subies are HEAVY vehicles. They don't get great mileage.

On restart, when you hit the key the computer gives an "extra" shot of gas to smoothly start the engine. I don't know what you do to override this.

[ProDarwin]

I don't know that I would consider a 98 outback that HEAVY. For an AWD wagon <3000lbs isn't terrible.

There are ways to convert the car to 2wd, but with a manual it isn't a simple task. As noted above, the savings are going to be negligible, unless you are removing all of the drive-line components associated with the driven wheels you are disabling.

Related question: Which engine does the car have - the 2.2 or the 2.5? If its the 2.5, have the headgaskets been replaced? If so, when?

[redpoint5]

Coasting will not hurt the manual tranny. I've put hundreds of coasting miles on my old Su and it was going strong until rear ended at 240,000 miles. I also noticed a strong smell of gas when starting after a long engine off coast. Don't know what to say about that. Might not be good for the cat, but mine had died 100,000 miles before.

[pete c]

As drmiller already pointed out, all that driveline stuff is spinning anyhow, so not putting power to it will make no difference.

While on this topic, I wonder of Subaru will ever reverse their decision to go 100% AWD.

They are competing directly with all the other manufacturers in segments where AWD is of little or no benefit and has very measurable liabilities.

i realize that there is some benefit in reducing numbers of assembly lines, but, they make enough cars that that shouldn't be a big issue. I suspect it is more of a marketing gimick as it is with Audi.

[ProDarwin]

Originally Posted by pete c

While on this topic, I wonder of Subaru will ever reverse their decision to go 100% AWD.

The Subaru BRZ is RWD and is currently one of the fastest selling cars in the US.

[pete c]

Oh yeah, forgot about that one. Just read an article about it, too.

Anyway, that model is a little different in that it is a joint venture with toyota. I wonder if they will go back to FWD models of their current AWD platforms.

Seems like it would make sense in the brutally competitive midsize sedan market. Also, I think it would help them in the traditional station wagon market since this market is largely ignored by the other makers.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by drmiller100

The subies are HEAVY vehicles. They don't get great mileage.

Originally Posted by ProDarwin

I don't know that I would consider a 98 outback that HEAVY. For an AWD wagon <3000lbs isn't terrible.

It's not that heavy for a Subaru, but it is quite heavy for a mid size car.

[drmiller100]

curb weight is more like 3500 pounds.