AKIC OT - All OT posts go here

[Akrexak]

I got bust with homework last night so I failed to post my two year celebration miles picture. Tadaaa.
Winter garage queen. No Nebraska salt for this car.

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[Akrexak]

Achievement unlocked 2 May 2021, 2014 FXT.

[Akrexak]

8 years with the FXT today and just over 90k miles.

June 13th, 2013:

[Markski21]

Hello,

First time here and I don’t want to bother much. I am looking for more details on preparing for Alaska. I will be in Kodiak by the beginning of October. I just got a 2020 Subaru STI and want to get it ready for Alaska. I have little to no knowledge on turbo cars but I’m reading those user manuals and watching YouTube videos. I’m currently living in Nevada, so desert to snow is a big jump. Any recommendations will be so much appreciated.

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by Markski21

Hello,

First time here and I don't want to bother much. I am looking for more details on preparing for Alaska. I will be in Kodiak by the beginning of October. I just got a 2020 Subaru STI and want to get it ready for Alaska. I have little to no knowledge on turbo cars but I'm reading those user manuals and watching YouTube videos. I'm currently living in Nevada, so desert to snow is a big jump. Any recommendations will be so much appreciated.

Welcome! For an STI, I'd probably recommend a Cobb Accessport and have your car tuned for 90 octane as that's the highest rated octane available in Alaska. They basically tune for California's gasoline. The factory tune on EJ Subarus have been atrocious for years, most likely because of their having to tune to meet CAFE/EPA regulations.

Otherwise get some good all-season tires. Currently I'm trying out the Michelin Crossclimate 2 tires and they're pretty good. I took them around half of the continent just a few weeks ago through scorching heat, tornado-prepping-rain, hail, etc. Continental ExtremeContact DWs are also good. For Kodiak I don't think you need dedicated snow tires, and with a Subaru you generally don't NEED dedicated snow tires unless you're whipping it in an empty parking lots during the deepest, record-setting snowfall. Or going deep into the mountains to snowboard or something, but, again, for Kodiak I don't think that's a concern. It's usually pretty wet and cold.

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure whoever's still lurking might chime in eventually. I personally moved away 2 years ago and haven't owned a Subaru requiring Premium octane in about 4 and a half years, so my information might be old. I am still active on the forum, though, and see the many complaints about Subaru's stock tune grenading engines, so that's where my info also stems from.

[Markski21]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Welcome! For an STI, I'd probably recommend a Cobb Accessport and have your car tuned for 90 octane as that's the highest rated octane available in Alaska. They basically tune for California's gasoline. The factory tune on EJ Subarus have been atrocious for years, most likely because of their having to tune to meet CAFE/EPA regulations.

Otherwise get some good all-season tires. Currently I'm trying out the Michelin Crossclimate 2 tires and they're pretty good. I took them around half of the continent just a few weeks ago through scorching heat, tornado-prepping-rain, hail, etc. Continental ExtremeContact DWs are also good. For Kodiak I don't think you need dedicated snow tires, and with a Subaru you generally don't NEED dedicated snow tires unless you're whipping it in an empty parking lots during the deepest, record-setting snowfall. Or going deep into the mountains to snowboard or something, but, again, for Kodiak I don't think that's a concern. It's usually pretty wet and cold.

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure whoever's still lurking might chime in eventually. I personally moved away 2 years ago and haven't owned a Subaru requiring Premium octane in about 4 and a half years, so my information might be old. I am still active on the forum, though, and see the many complaints about Subaru's stock tune grenading engines, so that's where my info also stems from.

Thank you so much for replying!
Will definitely look into those tires. The car came with a Cobb AccessPort, previous owner did some stuff to it lol. Let’s say I tune out the car for 90 Octane now, will putting 91 mess it up?

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by Markski21

Thank you so much for replying!
Will definitely look into those tires. The car came with a Cobb AccessPort, previous owner did some stuff to it lol. Let’s say I tune out the car for 90 Octane now, will putting 91 mess it up?

Not a prob!

Nothing bad will happen if you tune for 90 and add better octane. Better octane is always best, but worse octane causes the engine to pull ignition timing and can be excessive after a while. Top Tier gas is the best for these cars, so Shell or Costco, and sometimes Chevron and BP. I just looked at Kodiak on Google Maps and unfortunately you don't have anything good from what I see. You'll have to ask the locals which gas is the cleanest one, even if it's more expensive. Or maybe look into adding your own fuel detergents and such.

If only you had a 2015+ WRX/2019+ Ascent/2020+ Legacy XT/2020+ Outback XT, then you could run regular octane.

[Akrexak]

FXT is 9 years old today! Got it with 12 miles.

[Akrexak]

It's been a while since I've posted. Cars cleaned and mileage update for our oldest Subaru.

[Akrexak]

These dang adds gotta be messing with the uploads.

[Akrexak]

Out and about with a clean car:

FXT milage update from yesterday:

[Akrexak]

It's been a while for an update.
2014 FXT (ten years of ownership this year!!!):

[Akrexak]

It's been a while for an update.
2019 STI (4 years of ownership next month):


So many smiles!!

[Akrexak]

Keeping off topic, in topic, or is it off topic of the off topic?

[Akrexak]