Clive Armstrong

About a month ago, the P1 went into the local dealers for an offside front shock replacement as it was making some very weird and wonderful noises at low speed.

Got it back a couple of days later and I thought the world was a nice place again!

Last week, same knocking noise again - this time coming from the nearside rear. Oh no, hear we go again.

Back to the Subaru dealership, and into the workshop once again.

Rang them yesterday morning for a status update, and they told me that as well as the nearside rear being on it's last legs - the offside rear was just about shot too.

I bought this car second hand in April, and have had nothing but problems. I certainly haven't driven the car like a lunatic....no track days, no ragging the life out of it....

Looks like the guy that had it before me didn't treat it with the respect that I have.

Anyone else had these problems? Or have I just bought a dud?

Claudius

Sorry to hear about your suspension problems, Clive.

You have to realise that a P1 has quite some potential, and that the dual tube dampers on it are very insufficient for the potential ability of this car. If you are a good driver, you can render a standard suspension like that useless within a few weeks.

You cannot really blame the previous owner for thrashing the car, since that's what you bought it for, too. As long as he does the services (with preferably more frequent oil changes and top ups) and changes the parts that need replacing, he's in his right to go fast and provoque faster wear of the parts.

A good but expensive idea would be to change all 4 dampers and springs to an adjustable monotube system.

Clive Armstrong

Thanks for the reply Claudius.

I'll have a word with the Subaru dealership and find out exactly what they are putting on the car.

MikeWood

Claudius

By dual tube, do I assume that you mean twin tube?

Strange, as P1 is fitted with a monotube damper that has a very large diameter rod to support the higher side loads.

Mike

Claudius

Yes dual = twin. I wasnt aware of that! Thanks, Mike

Steve Breen

I had my nearside rear replaced a couple of months back. It had a tendancy to knock when coming to a halt and would not unload consistantly. This would send a graunching feel through the chassis as the car slowly moved with the weight distribution shifting. A bit of a red herring that caused quite a few trips to the dealers. Full story on

http://www.iwoc.co.uk/myp1.html

Steve