Moar Subie!

The circumnavigation of I-465 went well, without any bits falling off or the car overheating.

Steep curves at on- and off-ramps resulted in me getting all squeamish, afraid that the Forester would tip over, since it has, relative to the Zed Drei at least, approximately the proportions of a wheeled telephone booth*.

Steering took some getting used to: A lot more power assist, plus tall and flexy front tire sidewalls, plus the age of the vehicle equaled a numb on-center feel compared to what I'm used to. Combined with the increased body roll, it's going to be a while before I get comfortable with the idea of making like Tommi Mäkinen in the thing.

Pulls good up to freeway speeds, but runs out of breath a lot sooner than I'm used to. At ~70 mph, both the Forester and the Zed Drei are turning right around 3k rpm, but if you flatten the throttle at that speed, the Bimmer will still shove you back in your seat, while the Subie just sighs and grudgingly, slowly, picks up more speed. This is to be expected from an object that weighs 500 pounds more, has 25hp less, and is the size and shape of a small garden shed.

Today I'll be changing the earl in the car, despite the sticker that says it was done 2k ago, because just because.


*Ask your parents what a "telephone booth" is, kids. Basically, back when telephones had to be connected to buildings with a wire, we put up tiny glass buildings on the street in which to attach phones that anybody could use and get their nasty germs all over. The next time that old movie The Matrix comes on the classic movie channel, look for the scene where Trinity nearly gets squooshed by the truck. That thing she's standing in is a telephone booth.