Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Holly and I were driving home from Christmas with her family in Atlanta, GA. We divided the trip into two sections. On our drive back we stayed in Roanoke, VA and when leaving Roanoke we went on a hunt for the Blue Ridge Parkway and then drove a significant portion back up until exiting the parkway at VA 56.
I filmed some of the driving because it was gorgeous.

This is some of the footage of Holly's driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway between Peaks of Otter Visitor Center and VA 56 when we exited. We weren't really wringing it out of the BRZ because there were some cops and we were being respectful to the park.

Audio and video are unedited. Sorry if the audio sucks (I suggest muting it).
This was shot with a Canon Rebel T2i and a 10-22 mm USM lens.

The road was gorgeous though and I may need to get a GoPro or some other such camera and revisit.

Part 1

 

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), JPM Coachworks Knee Pad Review

Having now used the knee pads from JPM Coachworks during a road trip  it is a marked improvement over the stock plastic pieces.
Both Holly and I found them much more comfortable over our 900 mile road trip.
Definitely worth the money and certainly worth the time.
It really would have been better had the car come with this to start with.

(Prior photo of the installed knee pads.)

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), JPM Coachworks Knee Pad Install

Cagalli Yula, my 2014 Subaru BRZ Limited, has one really annoying feature when you drive for long distances, especially if using cruise control. The knee pads where the dash and center console meet are hard plastic with very little give. If you're like me and you rest you knee against it, especially on long road trips while using cruise control, this is very uncomfortable.

Enter JPM Coachworks. They produce knee pads for the Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 that are padded and come in optional leather or Alcantara with red stitching (which matches the seats). Also, apparently padded leather knee pads are either an option or standard in Japan.

All that said, I decided to write this up as an install guide as JPM Coachwords has not provided one yet.

Mintaka (Honda Prelude) CustomLightz HID Headlight Retrofit

Mintaka is Holly's1994 Honda Prelude VTEC. Holly bought Mintaka roughly two years ago. Mintaka had almost exactly 72,000 miles on her when Holly bought her, which is REALLY LOW for a Honda Prelude, especially a 1994. The previous owner had done a few modifications including Enkei wheels, an AEM cold air intake, and an aftermarket exhaust that we're not sure about the manufacture on. Also, the Mintaka has the clear JDM parking corner lights. Otherwise, it's stock.

The headlight output has always left something to be desired. The glass on the headlights was in great shape. The issue had to be the bulbs. Holly and I have recently been spoiled by driving Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ Limited) which comes with OEM HID headlights. The difference is pretty staggering between HID and halogen headlights. Also, the added visibility and thereby the additional safety of the HID headlights is wonderful, something I first noticed around 5 or 6 years ago when driving a friend's Nissan Murano. Driving the Murano and talking to my friend James got me interested in the headlight retrofits.

Skywater, 2014 Subaru Outback Premium

Having test driven numerous Subaru vehicles, originally prompted by my parent's search for a new car, they finally got one!
Introducing Skywater!
Skywater is a 2014 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium with a 6-speed manual transmission. One of the few that was left in the US. Thank you Hodges Subaru for giving me the US inventory list so I could find her.

It's spacious. The rear seats lean back very nicely and tons of leg room, which is nice on long rides in the back. Heated seats and the adjustable lumbar / seat hug is very nice in the driver seat.
On the negatives though, the infotainment is very basic and connecting a device via Bluetooth is kind of obnoxious as it involves the voice command system.
There is more body roll than I would like, I wish it was more like the 2014 Subaru Legacy I had driven, just flatter with more feel.
Skywater provides a rather cushy ride. It is also very quiet by Subaru standards in terms of road noise.
When you properly rev it you will get the Subaru boxer sound.
It's a good car if that is what you need, probably one of the best. But, owning a 2014 Subaru BRZ myself, the 2014 Subaru Outback is too soft.

Anyways, pictures:
(Photo-bombed by Champ the border collie)

Moving and Towing

Upon moving one of the fun things was loading up Cagalli Yula on the trailer.
Being a Subaru BRZ she has a rather low front lip and it protrudes a fair bit past the front wheels.
In order to load her we stacked wood boards at the beginning of the ramps for the car carrier and then drove up very slowly, this was in order to lift the nose up just enough to clear the lamp.
We did similar for the dismount from the car carrier.

Anyways, here are some pictures of the car on the trailer behind the rental truck:

Even More Test Drives of the Subaru Product Line

2014 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited

The H6 provies much better power, when comparing Outbacks with automatic transmissions, than the H4 (EJ25), though I don't find it nearly as zingy as the FB20 or FA20 engines couples to a manual transmission nor does it have the punch of an EJ25 with a turbo, but, I think it shows and shows well that it is more powerful than the EJ25 with no turbo coupled to an automatic transmission.

I do not think that the suspension was any stiffer than the 2014 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited with a CVT transmission that I drove previously, however, it felt significantly more responsive and communicative.

Another (Semi-Extended) Test Drive, Chevrolet Spark

My fiancee and I were in Miami, FL for a friend's wedding and had a Chevrolet Spark as our rental. My guess is between 2013 and 2014.

This car is pretty tiny by US standards, certainly on the exterior dimensions.

The interior is all plastic, so much plastic. The doors are very thin and have little interior cladding, the instrument cluster is very small and compact, and the infotainment system has some of the silliest menu screens ever (like telling you you're on Bluetooth for the music you're playing with a Bluetooth connected phone and includes a large Bluetooth graphic along with a large phone graphic which take up enormous real-estate for no good reason).

Engine wise the pickup is okay but nothing to write home about. When you floor it it can get out of its own way otherwise it is very much just a car with no thrills.

The handling was okay, you can late brake while taking an aggressive left at 40-30 MPH, shave off lots of speed, and in no way be scared or feel unstable. So, it has that going for it.

One key point of complaint was that the boot and the hatch for it were very small and the privacy cover was terribly flimsy and ill fitting. Don't look to this car for good trim or fit and finish.

I'd conclude by calling it cheap and adequate for A to B driving.

Fairlane Club Of America National Meet 2014

Driving home from running an errand I noticed a lot of trailers and classic looking cars parked in parking lot of a hotel near where I live.
Previously there had been Mustang meets there.
So, I grabbed my camera, walked across the lot, and inquired as to what was going on.
Turns out the Fairlane Club Of America National Meet 2014 was going on, so, I decided to take some pictures.

Lots of old cars, many in really good shape, primarily Ford Fairlanes (as the club name would indicate).
Lots of American muscle, Cobrajet engines, a few Boss engines, some supercharger, and even one that was a modern block with a Roush supercharger with coil packs for the ignition system.

Anyways, here are the pictures...

Test Drive of Subaru CVT with Paddle Shift

Subaru recently announced the 2015 Subaru Outback and stated there would no longer be any manual transmissions, only CVT transmissions with paddle shift manual override.

While I love manual transmissions and would prefer to have them I recognize that at some point I will likely end up with something else, whether or not I want to, due to the general trend away from manual transmissions.

To date, my favorite automatic I've driven is an Audi A4 (B7) which had a wonderful manual override on the 6-speed automatic transmission, i.e. it had a fair amount of bite on downshifts and did not nanny gear changes too much.


Today I test drove a 2014 Subaru Outback Limited (CVT).

In manual mode it is fairly good at not nannying shifts and lets you choose which gear you want to be in, for the most part.
For example you can shift up to 4th gear, but not higher, when doing up to 30 mph.
You have full discression on down shifts but there is very little initial bite, even when you dump two gears. My guess is this lack of bite is due to it being a CVT transmission and not having true ratios like a traditional automatic transmission (with torque converter or double clutch).
I would say acceleration is smoother and better in automatic mode than in manual, the ability to keep the engine in its most efficient range is best.
Also, as compared with the 2014 Subaru Outback with a manual transmission I drove this feels significantly less connected to the road and there is less feedback. In some ways this is true across all automatic transmissions, but even more so in a CVT transmission.



Note: for those who don't know a CVT is a continuously variable transmission which means it has no truly fixed ratios and changes to keep the engine in the optimum RPM range.

Ceras Victoria (Honda Prelude), Salvage (Part VII), Scrapping

Ceras Victoria finally heading to the junkyard.

In the driveway after being pushed out, I may have forgotten it was in gear and this made things difficult at first:

Ceras Victoria (Honda Prelude), Salvage (Part VI)

Last bits of the car removed that we wanted to keep.

ECM removed:

Ceras Victoria (Honda Prelude), Salvage (Part V)

Fiancee and I took out the dashboard.

Steering column cover removed:

Community Day!

Community Day! Oh the joys of working for the Federal Government!

Nausicaa (Honda Prelude) Cleaned and Covered

A while back I ordered a car cover from California Car Covers of the Noah variety.
This is because Nausicaa is currently stored at my parent's house while I tear down Ceras Victoria and make room in the garage.

So, while visiting my parent's for a holiday my fiancee and I cleaned Nausicaa and finally put on the car cover.

I must say, it's pretty solid and I like the material a lot. Fitment was good too.
No idea how it's holding up or if it cleans well, I suppose I'll update on that later.

For now, here's a set of pictures of barely after starting cleaning (keep in mind the car has not been cleaned in 4 years) to putting the cover on. She was REALLY dirty.

Geico / Autometric Collision Ferndale Repair Experience (Part 3) and Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) meets Canadian National Railroad Truck (Part 4)

Cagalli Yula is finally repaired.

Autometric Collision Ferndale was able to return the damaged wheel to me, which is great because at least I have another wheel if any of the other four are damaged and can't hold air. It's just a stop gap, but nice to have.

Geico / Autometric Collision Ferndale Repair Experience (Part 2)

Autometric Collision Ferndale took the following pictures for the Gieco insurance adjuster and was finally able to get everything approved.

Geico apparently also put a non-chromed vent cover thing for the front quarter panel.

So, just adding some more pictures.

Also not sure why some are so blurry, but these were taken by Autometric Collision Ferndal.

Another (Extended) Test Drive, Volkswagen Jetta

Due to the car damage I'm had a 2013 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SE since Monday the 17th.

Here are my thoughts so far:

2013 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SE 6-speed automatic

Geico / Autometric Collision Ferndale Repair Experience (Part 1)

Geico repair experience thus far:

Brought car to adjuster on 03/10/2014 at Tamaroff Collision Center and got a quote.

Dropped off vehicle with Autometric Collision Ferndale on Monday, 03/17/2014. Picked up rental car from Enterprise also in Ferndale.

Image of odometer at drop off (more for my records than anything else):

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) meets Canadian National Railroad Truck (Part 3)

Took the car in for an estimate today.
The adjuster took some pictures of the damage as well. Getting repetitive maybe, but provides a good baseline to compare what the finished repair will look like.

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) meets Canadian National Railroad Truck (Part 2)

More pictures I took of the damage.
These were taken with my better camera and in sunlight.

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ) meets Canadian National Railroad Truck (Part 1)

So, my car doesn't even have 1,400 miles on it yet but this is what happened today:

I got off the highway as I normally do, and today there was a Canadian National Railroad (CNRR) Truck there at the intersection of Chrysler Drive and Larned.
As you can see from the following image it goes: left turn lane, straight through lane, second straight through lane, right turn lane at this intersection.
As usual I stopped at the red light. Now, when I came up the exit ramp and decided to pull along side the CNRR truck it did not have a right turn blinker on, so, I figured (as is usual at this intersection) if someone is in the left straight through lane they plan to get onto Jefferson Ave heading East. I was apparently mistaken in this assumption.

First image shows where the two vehicles were at the red light after exiting I-375 (yes I made a diagram using Google Maps and paint).

Cears Victoria (Honda Prelude), Salvage (Part IV)

Did some more work today.

Removed the divider between the rear seats:

Ceras Victoria (Honda Prelude), Salvage (Part III)

Did a bit more work today.
Removed the center console, all boot covers, the dashboard climate control sliders / center vents, stereo head unit, and rear seats.
As usual the aesthetic bolt covers (this time on the rear passenger side sear) were much more difficult to get off than the bolt or seat itself. Again, seats are being save potentially to make a couch or something out of as they will not be used in Nausicaa, the project Prelude.

Rear portion of center console out, personally, I like the arm rest / storage compartment more than I like the one from Nausicaa which lacks them:

Ceras Victoria (Honda Prelude), Salvage (Part II)

As mentioned in Ceras Victoria, Salvage (Part I) I mentioned that I was unable to remove the passenger front seat.

Here's why:

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), First Oil Change

So really minor here.
First oil change at 970 miles.
Used Royal Purple 0W30.
Dealership price was quite reasonable.
And that is all, and this post is rather lame.

Actually, on the bright side I found a center lift point up front where I can place my hydraulic jack for future maintenance, there's a nice cross member just forward of the engine.
For the rear the maintenance guys said the rear differential is best.
So, I learned something useful.

Ceras Victoria (Honda Prelude), Salvage (Part I)

Now that I have Cagalli Yula [2014 Subaru BRZ Limited] as my daily driver I am now in the process of salvaging parts from Ceras Victoria [1994 Honda Prelude Si] for use on Nausicaa [1993 Honda Prelude VTEC] which is my project car.

Exterior pictures before I started taking things apart:

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), One Week Review

I've owned Cagalli Yula [2014 Subaru BRZ Limited] for one week now.

After driving her for a day I took her on a trip back to Chicago through a blizzard. She's a bit messy, I do not seem to have any coin washes in the area, but I do have one car wash with great reviews nearby, so, hopefully she'll be clean by Sunday.

In terms of driving experience, at first she was very very stiff and bumpy. Now, either I've gotten used to it or she's loosened up some.

Steering wise she is very responsive, you feel everything. I compare driving her and the feel you get as the difference between sneakers and Vibram FiveFingers on your feet. We've had some snow and ice and I have no complaints so far. The Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires are doing their job.

More Test Drives of the Subaru Product Line

While I was at the dealership to get Cagalli Yula's auto-dimming mirror installed I test drove a 2013 Subaru WRX STi.

First, about the mirror, it's nice, and useful. Mainly I got it because I liked the mirror's on my great aunt's Audi A4 (the rear-view and side-view mirrors were all auto dimming). The thing I like most about this is unlike the normal mirrors you do not lose everything except headlights from your view.

North American International Auto Show 2014

My coworkers and I went to the North American International Auto Show at the Cobo Center in Detroit. Tickets were compliments of the dealership where I bought Cagalli Yula.
And there are pictures, lots of pictures.

Rather than label them myself I think I'll just post them, maybe number them, and let people name the cars in the comments if they like.

#1

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), New Car

My fiance and I put a down payment on a new car.
New car is named Cagalli Yula and is a 2014 Subaru BRZ Limited.
Also, I had a new set of tires put on because I'm living in Michigan and need tires that can handle snow, so out with the Michelin Primacy HP that were equipped and in with Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires.

Anyway, here are some pictures...