[raindance]

Whoa, whoa there! My '05 was loud, clunky and smelled of curry. That's normal for these cars. But there is absolutely no way any previous year should be quieter than this car. Dude my '08 is smooth as butter compared to the '05. Yeah the gear whine of the 5MT is still there (but quieter) and I do get the occasional clunk from the diffs per the norm but this car is a lot quieter than the previous years. As far as the electronic goodies for the drivetrain, take the sucker out on a nice road somewhere and try them! Do all the different combinations of the controls. You'd be surprised at the difference putting the VDC in "Traction Only" mode with SI in "Sport #" and DCCD in "Auto -" can make. The car is almost exactly like my '05 that way but somehow is more controllable at the limit. If you turn the VDC as off as possible (hold the VDC button down till the light is yellow) the damn car is pretty near exactly the same as my '05 (it was stock). The only thing killing me right now is holding it at 4 grand for the first 1000 miles. I admit I've had a couple of "emergencies" but it's hard not hot dogging it. As far as noise, if you really need to hear some, put the DCCD in "Manual" and set it to full lock. Then try a nice sharp turn. It'll scare the piss outta ya. Full open is the DCCD in "Manual" and set to the most negative setting on the '08 LCD display (only one short bar at the bottom). Wait, bubbling? Nope I ain't heard that yet in my '08.
-rain-

[jph]

Originally Posted by 07 Flt4bxr

ya leave it in auto wen diriving, but wen u make sharp turns or u-turns u will tend to hear biding, even in auto, in full open u wont. then jus put it back in wuto after ur doneturning... trust me i know. do it evey time, and i notice wen i dont. but its like second nature now.
if u dont believe me, go into ur drive way right now wen ur done reading this and try... then post.

actually, i did drive it before i posted.
i drove my '04 around for a couple of years. had it in full open (rear bias) when driving, i flicked it into auto when entering parking lots.

i guess our cars are backwards

i've kept it in auto on my '08 so far, as i haven't started to experiment with how the diff settings change the handling.


J.

[07 Flt4bxr]

JPH: iguess they are backwards.lol. but ya wen in full open u should have less bind....you could even try different dettings to see wut feels right.
RUM: yes the lowest setting is full open, vs the highest seting is full lock.

[jph]

Originally Posted by 07 Flt4bxr

JPH: iguess they are backwards.lol. but ya wen in full open u should have less bind....you could even try different dettings to see wut feels right.

or, there is a difference in between the '04 diff and dccd and the '07 that you have.
in full open, i could still hear it crunch in parking lots, in auto, it was silent.

i'll start messing around with the '08 dccd and see how that one liked to be treated


J.

[07 Flt4bxr]

Originally Posted by jph

or, there is a difference in between the '04 diff and dccd and the '07 that you have.
in full open, i could still hear it crunch in parking lots, in auto, it was silent.

i'll start messing around with the '08 dccd and see how that one liked to be treated


J.

good. find wut works best, im sure the 08 will be the same.

[blizzster]

Originally Posted by Rum

I just picked up my 08 STI last Wednesday. I've put on, oh, maybe 300 miles on it so far. This is my first Subie and my first AWD car. FIrst car of any kind with something other than a single open diff on it.

The DCCD is in AUTO - I haven't started playing with that yet.

I hear all kinds of gear sounds - is it normal?

When slogging it in traffic (straight line), in 1st or 2nd gear, the second I lift off the gas and the weight transfers forward, I get a noticeable meshing/whining/almost crunching sound coming from the front-center of the car. I assume this is the center diff, but is it normal for it to make this noise?

When turning at low speeds, I hear meshing sounds, and something that sounds almost like water draining out through a pipe (like the noise after you shut off the shower)... Are these noises normal?

I actually kind of like these sounds - makes me take note of the mechanical stuff happening in the car. I just want to make sure there isn't some minor problem (low fluid, for example) that needs to be corrected before it turns major.

Thanks for your input.

I kinda started noticing extreme loud binding/grinding noises from the front axle when it set the DCCD to "LOCK" and sport mode. I was just driving slowly backing in and out of the lot trying to park. specially when steering to fully to either side. I didnt know if this was normal or not. I am abt to go back to the dealer and have them check it...

[06sti_rp]

when in "lock" you will hear those binding/griding noises its normal.... its becuase the diffs are not letting the wheels spin as freely as in auto mode or any other mode so what you hear is the diff preventing the wheel from spinning faster than the others thats all...all NORMAL SOUNDS!

[Rum]

yeah dude don't lock the diff and then make tight turns on a high-traction surface. That's not good for the diff. That setting is for mud/snow/etc.

Of course that post is month old - hopefully blizzster has already figured this out.

[Wales Garage]

mine makes plent of noise in 2nd and 3rd low speed straight line, gotta love noisey gear boxes.

[zacknolden]

Heat treat scale is oxidized material left after the heat treating process. Left on the gear, this scale can cause noise, or if it comes loose, it can put contamination into the transmission.
_______________________________________________
Hit the Road with Autopartswarehouse.com

[mdiesel]

[sparx]

Originally Posted by Rum

I just picked up my 08 STI last Wednesday. I've put on, oh, maybe 300 miles on it so far. This is my first Subie and my first AWD car. FIrst car of any kind with something other than a single open diff on it.

The DCCD is in AUTO - I haven't started playing with that yet.

I hear all kinds of gear sounds - is it normal?

When slogging it in traffic (straight line), in 1st or 2nd gear, the second I lift off the gas and the weight transfers forward, I get a noticeable meshing/whining/almost crunching sound coming from the front-center of the car. I assume this is the center diff, but is it normal for it to make this noise?

When turning at low speeds, I hear meshing sounds, and something that sounds almost like water draining out through a pipe (like the noise after you shut off the shower)... Are these noises normal?

I actually kind of like these sounds - makes me take note of the mechanical stuff happening in the car. I just want to make sure there isn't some minor problem (low fluid, for example) that needs to be corrected before it turns major.

Thanks for your input.

Just found this post as I was having the same type of issues. I'm at about 1100 miles and still have the 1st and 2nd gear metal rubbing sound (is how i describe it) when engine braking. 2nd gear is definitely loud and just sounds terrible. This is my first subie also. I just wanted to hear updates and comments that put me at ease. Either that or if anyone has remedied this issue. Thanks in advance.

[blizzster]

Originally Posted by sparx

Just found this post as I was having the same type of issues. I'm at about 1100 miles and still have the 1st and 2nd gear metal rubbing sound (is how i describe it) when engine braking. 2nd gear is definitely loud and just sounds terrible. This is my first subie also. I just wanted to hear updates and comments that put me at ease. Either that or if anyone has remedied this issue. Thanks in advance.

I already got 4000miles on my car and my car still make all kinda noises. when starting from dead stops, low gears, turning at slow speed, breaking. I kinda got used to the noises. but the only thing i cant get used to is when i am cruising at low speed or constant speed and let go the gas the car kinda pushes you. almost like if there was a fuel cut...

[longfury]

You will hear all sorts of lovely noises from Subaru's AWD drivetrain. Unless you hear something like broken gear shards bouncing around then there is probably nothing wrong.

One thing that worked for the WRX was to keep the front tire pressure about 4 pis higher than the rear. It would make the center diff quieter but would not take the noise away completely.

[Szumita]

very normal.

just wait until you start hearin 600 different rattles. hahaha