News from Subaru4You

30th June 2010
Mapping Day
Subaru4you's next mapping day is Wednesday 30th June. Book yourself in for a mapping and/or rolling road session. Prices start from £50

30th June 2010
Moving to a New Server
Subaru4you's website is moving to a new server. Parts of the website may be unavailable or display in an unusual way during this time. Emails may also be erratic. We apologise for the inconvenience.

27th Feb 2010
Rolling Road Day
Subaru4you held it's first rolling road day. A great success and enjoyed by all even though the weather could have been better. Click the picture to see more.

Dec 2009
Dyno Dynamics Rolling Road
Subaru4you has had a Dyno Dynamics 2W/4WD rolling road installed just before Christmas. After 3 days of intensive training we are just waiting for the snow to clear before we start taking bookings but you can view the web page for this new equipment HERE Next RR session see Hampshire Subaru Forum

Nov 2009
Book Early for Christmas
Don't forget to take advantage of the last few weeks of low VAT. The rate of VAT will be increasing on 1st Jan 2010 so any servicing or repairs that you have been putting off getting will be cheaper before then so book now to avoid disappointment!

Sept 2009
After much tweaking, changing, moving and grooving by Rick the Subaru4you website finally achieves the Holy Grail of Websites - Number 1 position on Google UK and Number 2 on Google World. (Click the pics for a larger image). Rick took over the running of the website when he joined S4Y as manager in 2008 (see earlier article). Giving the website a complete makeover it has expanded from five static pages to the current 100 pages and growing. Rick is only an amateur at this using only HTML and a bit of Javascript to build the website. He started building websites a few years ago a a part time hobby and is really pleased that his search engine optimisation of the S4Y website has finally produced such a good result. Now all he has to do is keep it there.

Rick said, "I am over the moon at the results with only Subaru Australia beating us in the world rankings. We are also on page one of Google for a number of other search terms. Trying to maintain that position is going to be the hardest thing now. It is so easy to slip a few places overnight. As well as having the right content on the page, 'links in' are always a help in keeping a website high in the seach engines so if any of the readers have a website that features well in Google Rank and they will know what that means, then a link on their website to ours would help and it would mean that their website would get a reciprocal link back from our links or resources page, where they will also find the code to use for a the text or banner to put on a website."

           

Apr 2009
The Black Beast gets a makeover with the subaru name and Len renames it Black Jack. Taken onto the track at Castle Coombe it makes a recorded 1min 19 secs in the morning session taken from the in car video camera. No times for the afternoon session but someone said it was 1min 16 secs. Click the pics for a larger image.

   

Feb 2009
The Black Beast is back on the road again. Len has rebuilt the Black Beast, another remap and 480bhp/ 497lb/ft torque and an APRacing brake kit. (You could have cleaned the tyres Len!)

   
   
   

Feb 2009

On the 20th Feb 2009 Subaru 4 You became a member of the Good Garage Scheme. Using the Good Garage Scheme, you'll find local independent garages you can trust. Be assured that every garage listed performs services to a strict standard and will always have your best interests at heart. Find out more at Good Garage Scheme

Dec 1st, 2008

The workshop has new overalls complete with logo!!

   

Nov 18th, 2008 - Nov 8 2008

The doors go on and the furniture starts to move in. Just a bit of decorating and the carpet to go down in this area now.

   

Oct 19th, 2008 - Nov 8 2008

The mezzanine floor has been installed and the false ceiling and walls are going up. Lights to be installed on 24th so I am a bit in the dark at the moment (Len, what do you mean by the comment 'my lights have never been on'?).
Click the pictures below for a larger image.

   
           The empty new workshop                We move the ramps and cars in              The Mezzanine floor starts

      
          More shots of the mezzanine floor construction.   The stairs are completed and the builder moves in.

      
          More shots of the mezzanine floor construction.   The stairs are completed and the false ceiling is up.

      
          The builder moves in and the walls go up.  The electrician starts installing the lighting

      
          More shots of the builder in action.   Lets take you upstairs and show you the store room.........

      
      More store room shots. The electrician has finished downstairs! The diffusers are installed

Sept 19th, 2008

The electric meter has been installed, we have 3 phase!!  Do we have lift off? All can proceed now at a cracking snail pace!  Not that we will be cracking any snails you understand, it is just a figure of speech.   We do not condone cruelty to molluscs.  Back to the workshop (that is what I keep telling the technicians as well).   The next stage is getting the ramps moved and a 4 poster ramp installed.  Then get the electrician back in to connect them up and we are back in business (not that we ever stopped, just another figure of speech).  Then we have to move everything else into the new unit except the office so that we can gut the old unit and start the conversion.  Is it Christmas yet?

Aug 22nd, 2008

The electrics are in and just need connecting as soon as the 3 phase meter is installed.  The alarm has been extended and the wall has been cut through for the double door between units.  The go ahead has been given for the mezzanine floor in the old unit. 

July 10th, 2008

Subaru4you have finally gained the keys to the new unit and now all we need to do is move in...................
if only it were that simple.

The new unit will house the workshop.  We intend to move the existing ramps and install additional ramp(s) but first we need three phase power so get quotes from electricians to install 3 phase fuse board, move the lighting switches etc. etc..  We also need a door through from the old unit so get quotes from builders.  The old unit needs alterations so more quotes from the builders.  The premises needs alarming so quotes from alarm company (priority).  Work starts............






April 1st 2008

April 1st marks two occasions.  First is the launch of the new website (this site).  There is much much more to the new website, more interaction, more information and more dedication.  The old website was stagnant for too long.  The new website will be updated with new information as often as possible with links to the WRC rally site and information about the current WRC rally.  You will find parts and products on our parts and shop pages.  Over the coming weeks and months these pages will be expanded to include new and existing products and prices.  This news page will keep you updated with what is happening at Subaru4you and the other news page will try to keep you abreast of happenings in the Subaru world in general.  We have an interesting pictures page so if you have any pics. that would be of interest to our readers then email them in and we will see if we can publish them.

The second announcement is that as of April 1st Subaru4you is now a limited company.  This step roughly coincides with the appointment of a new full time manager and the expansion of the workshop and customer sales area (more news on that later).  All in all this is an exciting time for us and we would like to take you long on our journey.  Welcome aboard!


March 15th, 2008

Len's Black Beastie Has a Fit

And so nearly did Len!  The story so far, see below.  At the end of the day before the Donnington track day Len and Marc bring the sponsored car into the workshop to swap out the wheels on the Black Beast only to find that the locking wheel nuts are over tight and will not be removed!  Two hours later with the wheels swapped and the transport truck checked over and oil topped up it was time to load up and head home for some tea before setting off for Donnington.

On the journey up the clutch seemed difficult and there was a vibration on the back of the truck so they pulled into the services to check but found nothing amiss.  This vibration continued off and on all the way until they were a few hundred meters from junction 23A on the M1, (due to come off at J23A) but the tyre burst yards before the slip road. It was now about 12.30am and woe and behold the spare was flat too so they decided to struggle a bit further to get off the motorway and reach the services which must have been a mile or so.  By this time the only way that the truck could restart from rest was to turn the engine off select first gear and then restart the engine, jerking off down the road. After making it half way up the slip road they realised that it was a job too far, so the track car was unloaded to give the remaining tyres a chance to make the last half a mile or so (twin wheel rear axel).

At the service under the light of the canopy with the truck jacked up they started to remove the offending wheel but found that it was seized onto the hub and despite beating it with a large hammer from the inside it was not going to move. This then meant that the drum and wheel bearing had to be removed as well and once off the centre hub had to be beaten from the wheel rim.

The spare was pumped up at the pump on the forecourt and they attempted to fit it to the hub but attempt was the right word. The spare wheel rim had a different hole diameter in the centre of it, this then wouldn't go over the bearing boss on the hub and with tempers at breaking point all the tools, wheels etc. went into the back of the cab and they drove off to the hotel, (now 01.45am).

The following morning still rolling along on 5 wheels they arrived at Donnington (a short hop from the hotel) and after the pre track talk Marc was first to try out "The Beast".  Four or five laps later it was back in the pits with a slight misfire.  After changing the plugs Len took it out but after another 4 laps the coolant pressure cap was blowing steam.  After replacing the cap it was back onto the track but after another couple of laps the misfire was back so it was a gentle drive back to the pits but unfortunately on the way there was a very large cloud of oil smoke from the rear of the car and a severe lack of any power.  After recovery to the pits it was discovered that both the oil and the coolant were now empty.  End of track day.

Off to the tyre repair shop to get the truck tyre fixed whilst Marc tried adjusting the clutch cable on the truck.  With the wheel back on the truck and the clutch working again they set off for home........

Halfway down the M1 the gears became difficult to select again even after further adjustment so there was no option but to carry on.  Within sight of the M40 the clutch cable snapped!!!  The rest of the journey was spent wrestling with the gearbox in the start of rush your traffic on a Friday!

UPDATE:  After stripping down the engine they found that the head gasket had blown and caused pressurisation which in turn blew out the side of the liner.  A piece of the liner had disintegrated and been sucked around the system destroying the heads and pistons.  It's going to be an expensive repair!!


March 11th

Many of you will know that Len has been upgrading the black beastie, a '95 WRX by building a 2.5 engine from a new EJ25 block, forged pistons, H section steel con-rods, race series shells and a standard crank.  At the top end, modified cylinder head combustion chambers, S4U spec. valves and S4U spec. profiled cams.  An in tank up-rated fuel pump provides the fuel through an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and modified parallel fuel rail to 850 injectors.  An S4U spec. turbo with ceramic housing and custom made equal length headers, bespoke twisted up pipe and down pipe, all ceramic coated, all feed into a 3 inch bespoke de-cat exhaust system.  Helping to keep this cool is a Front Mount Inter Cooler (FMIC).  A twin plate Exedy clutch delivers the torque..  Stopping this lot are 330mm front disc brake set- up using 4 pot front caliper and adjustable pedal box.  The rear has a 330mm disc conversion and 4 pot calipers.

He finally saw the finishing post towards the end of Feb and went to get it mapped only to blow the gearbox on the rolling road!!  Limping it back to the workshop avoiding third gear it was back onto the ramps and out with the box.  Yep, third gear had stripped teeth.  After ordering a straight cut synchro gear kit and using 3.9-1 front diff and a matched rear LS diff and installing said items it was time to book another rolling road session.

On March the 10th he once again made the journey and this time everything was successful.  After a long wait he finally made it onto the rolling road (roll on the day when we have our own) and the ECU was mapped and the engine tuned and the result was..................500/500.  Yes 500 Bhp with 500lbs torque!!!  He came in to work the next day grinning ear to ear.  Pics. below

  Before  

     After 

February 18th 2008 Welcome Rick

Rick joins the team at Subaru4you.  Rick will be the new manager ordering parts, booking jobs, manning the phones and the 101 other jobs that need to be done which will free up Len (he hopes) to manage the workshop.  Rick is also completely revamping the website (the one you are on now is the new website). New pages will be added to the current few pages with a parts department and an upgrading section.

February 1st 2008 New workshop

Hopefully by April/May 2008 we will have expanded into the new workshop.
We are planning an expansion over the next few months.  We need more space in order to develop a customer reception area, a parts department, a clean room and eventually our own rolling road. 

Proposed new workshop: