Opinions on Subaru B4s? (yes a car)

[MDR2]

I just bought a scoobie against advice from many who had turbo manuals which gave them endless trouble, me, I got an auto non turbo wagon, i'm going to get it regularly serviced by a a mechaic who likes Subarus (yes they exist) and in a few years time i'll let you know if it is as reliable as the toyota levin I am about to sell. I see it that all cars are about the same, some just get abused more than others and have reputations to suit.

You might get lucky with it being non turb, stay on top of the services and keep the inside of that engine spotless.

You'll miss the 4AGE sooner or later

[FlangMasterJ]

Thanks everyone for the info.

How fast a car goes has never been my top priority. I'm interested in the B4 because of the styling more than anything but from what I'm hearing it's not worth the trouble.

If I was to get a legacy or even a forester, a non-turbo would be the way to go?

[Delerium]

'swhy I said get a Falcon. Nice big simple engine. Jappas can't make anything that's simple to work on - all too much effort methinks ('swhy they cost so much to fix.)

my autech pulsar was VERY easy to work on. Its the ancillaries like turbos, intercoolers and the associated plumbing that make it more complex. but then its all about power to weight if you want to go fast.

[Indiana_Jones]

-Indy

[MDR2]

Thanks everyone for the info.

How fast a car goes has never been my top priority. I'm interested in the B4 because of the styling more than anything but from what I'm hearing it's not worth the trouble.

If I was to get a legacy or even a forester, a non-turbo would be the way to go?

Yeah, the styling was what sold me on the sub too, Staunch looking car imo. If your that dead set on the idea of a legacy then drop in on Clubsub.org and have a poke around the forums maybe ask for specifics on what to look out for (though this thread has summarised very quickly on what can go wrong with them)

as much as I hate to confuse matters, when the Sub was running properly it was the fucken sweetest thing on earth. I remember shooting into downtown Auck one chilly and clear morning (3am ish) and getting onto the penrose round about/on/offramp and giving it a boot full, feeling the front and rear fighting for dominance and then flicking it left to get on the onramp heading north as the second turbo was just spooling up off the clock by the time i hit the motorway... brief moment of insanity, the differince the cool air makes is alarming.

If you're not a fan of money.. get one. I had a bad experiance with them though and the negatives far out weighed the pros sadly.

I think it fair to say the turbos put a strain on things.

[FlangMasterJ]

Just an update.

I've just bought myself a 1999 Nissan Maxima 3.0 ST with 100K on the clock. It's nothing flash. It's got plenty of grunt to pull my bike and trailer and doesn't harbour fungus in the carpet like the old Rolla.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

[huff3r]

Gutted, too late for me to chip in. I have the earlier RS TT sedan and love it. Sure it cost me $1k for a cambelt. Sure the K&N panel filter destroyed the AFM (f**ken oiled filters!) so i put a cheapy foam, unoiled pod on it. Sure it has a massive VoD (Valley of Death) but its smaller with the pod. Sure it costs a bit to run, but less than my old 2L Ford Telstar. It is comfortable, has ABS, has Climate Control Aircon, and was considerably cheaper than anything else with these features. I have no issues spending 4hours in the drivers seat, whereas any other car ive driven ive wanted out after 30mins.

[peasea]

Gutted, too late for me to chip in. I have the earlier RS TT sedan and love it. Sure it cost me $1k for a cambelt. Sure the K&N panel filter destroyed the AFM (f**ken oiled filters!) so i put a cheapy foam, unoiled pod on it. Sure it has a massive VoD (Valley of Death) but its smaller with the pod. Sure it costs a bit to run, but less than my old 2L Ford Telstar. It is comfortable, has ABS, has Climate Control Aircon, and was considerably cheaper than anything else with these features. I have no issues spending 4hours in the drivers seat, whereas any other car ive driven ive wanted out after 30mins.

Blind curiosity; what volume of fuel does the tank hold and how many k's do you get from a tank? (Average driving....)

[steve_t]

My RSB - 64L tank. Normally fill up with about 48-49 litres and that normally lasts 400-450km depending on if I do any trips on the motorway or a lot of around town on boost. It's pretty economical relative to my work Holden ute, but obviously doesn't come close to a bike for fuel efficiency.

[MDR2]

Just an update.

I've just bought myself a 1999 Nissan Maxima 3.0 ST with 100K on the clock. It's nothing flash. It's got plenty of grunt to pull my bike and trailer and doesn't harbour fungus in the carpet like the old Rolla.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

My parents own 2 maxima's One st and one model before the st...

one word describes them

Solid

The older of the 2 has cracked the 300 k mark (and my parents tend to run cars into the ground and only fix whats broken) its never had a dime spent on it.

Same with the ST only thats a year old (in their ownership at least ) so time will tell.

I remember giving the older model a bit of a fang when they first got it, bucket loads of torque the ST feels a little slower and the fact it looks physically bigger might have a part to play in that.

Good choice though.

You'll have nissan reliabilty and you'll still get to pay what you would have in petrol if you had brought the sub , good comprimise

[huff3r]

Blind curiosity; what volume of fuel does the tank hold and how many k's do you get from a tank? (Average driving....)

I've never taken it below 40L and i get 380 - 400kms a tank

I have spreadsheets for all my cars L/100km from fill-ups, i always take the odo when i fill the tank and i always fill the tank.

[peasea]

I've never taken it below 40L and i get 380 - 400kms a tank

I have spreadsheets for all my cars L/100km from fill-ups, i always take the odo when i fill the tank and i always fill the tank.

Ok, so that's around 9.5-10km per litre say? Pretty thirtsy I reckon when our V8 does 580k's to 65 litres, or 8.9k/per l. That's an average, it can do better if we cruise everywhere.

Not bagging your car, mate, just making comparisons.

[Mikkel]

We bought a 1998 Subaru GT-B with around 70,000 km on the clock back september 2006. Manual transmission of course - the autos suck when paired with the twin-turbo setup as far as I can understand. Something to do with the transition from the smaller primary to the larger secondary turbo and the resulting valley of death in the torque curve... with a manual it's easy to drive around that.

Anyway, we've done in excess of 60,000 km now and have been very happy with it. Besides the normal servicing we've had two large expenditures: new cam-belts around 100,000 km (~$1200) and a new clutch (~$1600) - dunno how the previous owners drove it, but hard launches in a 4wd is just hard on clutches. We get a full service done every 10,000 km and change oil and filter every 5,000 km.

Of course it is very thirsty - it kinda goes with the "permanent four wheel drive, boxer engine and turbos"-territory. Not to forget that it is a fairly heavy car - about 1700 kg I believe. On long road trips - if my partner is driving - we do see up to 10 km/l. I once did a 250 km stint around town where I got 5 km/l on average (yes, I was having fun). But average around town is 7-8 km/l and 8-9 km/l on the open road.

Our aircondition is pretty shitty and it could really do with a cruise-control. The suspension is not the most quiet setup, but it bloody well works. One annoyance is that the front left brake on our car squeals a bit... other than that, it's been the perfect car for us.

Oh, and no one is going to go to the trouble of stealing an old scummy twin-turbo legacy if it has got a decent immobiliser installed. It's just not worth the effort when there's another one right over there which doesn't have one.

Enjoy your Nissan, they make bloody good cars as well. Unless you go places where the 4wd actually helps you (shingle roads, snow, gritty roads) there are better choices than the Subarus IMO. On the other hand, if you do go to such places you can't beat them - not as far as value goes anyway... sure an Audi RS4 would be better, but then again...

[peasea]

We bought a 1998 Subaru GT-B with around 70,000 km on the clock back september 2006. Manual transmission of course - the autos suck when paired with the twin-turbo setup as far as I can understand. Something to do with the transition from the smaller primary to the larger secondary turbo and the resulting valley of death in the torque curve... with a manual it's easy to drive around that.

Anyway, we've done in excess of 60,000 km now and have been very happy with it. Besides the normal servicing we've had two large expenditures: new cam-belts around 100,000 km (~$1200) and a new clutch (~$1600) - dunno how the previous owners drove it, but hard launches in a 4wd is just hard on clutches. We get a full service done every 10,000 km and change oil and filter every 5,000 km.

Of course it is very thirsty - it kinda goes with the "permanent four wheel drive, boxer engine and turbos"-territory. Not to forget that it is a fairly heavy car - about 1700 kg I believe. On long road trips - if my partner is driving - we do see up to 10 km/l. I once did a 250 km stint around town where I got 5 km/l on average (yes, I was having fun). But average around town is 7-8 km/l and 8-9 km/l on the open road.

Our aircondition is pretty shitty and it could really do with a cruise-control. The suspension is not the most quiet setup, but it bloody well works. One annoyance is that the front left brake on our car squeals a bit... other than that, it's been the perfect car for us.

Oh, and no one is going to go to the trouble of stealing an old scummy twin-turbo legacy if it has got a decent immobiliser installed. It's just not worth the effort when there's another one right over there which doesn't have one.

Enjoy your Nissan, they make bloody good cars as well. Unless you go places where the 4wd actually helps you (shingle roads, snow, gritty roads) there are better choices than the Subarus IMO. On the other hand, if you do go to such places you can't beat them - not as far as value goes anyway... sure an Audi RS4 would be better, but then again...

Sheeyite. Having to spend that on a clutch and cam belts would make me puke. 50,000kms in our V8 Berlina and only oil/filter changes and a set of tyres. We chose to put good shocks and springs in it but that's not because they were knackered, we just like to 'drive'.

Our V8 could probably match your 5km/l too, especially on the Takaka Hill. Good fun, eh?

[scumdog]

Just an update.

I've just bought myself a 1999 Nissan Maxima 3.0 ST with 100K on the clock. It's nothing flash. It's got plenty of grunt to pull my bike and trailer and doesn't harbour fungus in the carpet like the old Rolla.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Had one once as a work car, thirsty-as when hammered for a bit (like really REALLY thirsty.).