can a 5 speed manual be converted to an automatic?

[Spinifex]

AUSTRALIA

Yes.... i know

i'm not trying to harp on it.... but it DOES seem that the US produced
vehicles seem to be riddled with engineering / manufacturing faults...
and yet Subaru Japan, who ultimately controls market distribution, seems
to think that ONLY US consumers deserve the kinds of vehicles that you
have.....

Why, oh why, can't Australia have a decently powered Subie??? I mean,
come on.... we have ONLY just, with the 2004/05 model, had a Turbo 2.5
released.... in a FORESTER !!! I've driven one... it's interesting,
and has some balls, but in a large heavy vehicle like that, with the
aerodynamics of a house brick, and the off-road gearing, it wasn't all
that impressive.

Why can't we see that engine combo in an Outback, or a Liberty (Legacy) ???

Why does Australia STILL have Liberty's with a standard 2.0L motor....
2.5 option. Why can't we see the 3.0 6cyl Liberty? At present, we ONLY
have the 3.0 H6 in the Outback.

Subaru Japan..... wake up... Aussie consumers want better engine options
in our models

Spinifex

 

[y_p_w]

AUSTRALIA

Yes.... i know

i'm not trying to harp on it.... but it DOES seem that the US produced
vehicles seem to be riddled with engineering / manufacturing faults...
and yet Subaru Japan, who ultimately controls market distribution, seems
to think that ONLY US consumers deserve the kinds of vehicles that you
have.....

Why, oh why, can't Australia have a decently powered Subie??? I mean,
come on.... we have ONLY just, with the 2004/05 model, had a Turbo 2.5
released.... in a FORESTER !!! I've driven one... it's interesting,
and has some balls, but in a large heavy vehicle like that, with the
aerodynamics of a house brick, and the off-road gearing, it wasn't all
that impressive.

Why can't we see that engine combo in an Outback, or a Liberty (Legacy) ???

Why does Australia STILL have Liberty's with a standard 2.0L motor....
2.5 option. Why can't we see the 3.0 6cyl Liberty? At present, we ONLY
have the 3.0 H6 in the Outback.

Subaru Japan..... wake up... Aussie consumers want better engine options
in our models

I don't know if this will show up where you are. Some websites are
only properly seen in some locations:

<http://www.subaru.com/servlet/showroom?model=OUTBACK&trim=25_XT_WAGON&command=overview>

250 HP from a turbo-ed 2.5L.

 

[Marky]

Why does Australia STILL have Liberty's with a standard 2.0L motor....
2.5 option. Why can't we see the 3.0 6cyl Liberty? At present, we ONLY
have the 3.0 H6 in the Outback.

We (Australia) do have 2 models of 3.0 6cyl Libertys now, check the Subaru
Australia website or your dealer.

 

[Daniel J. Stern]

Subaru Japan, who ultimately controls market distribution, seems to
think that ONLY US consumers deserve the kinds of vehicles that you
have..... Why, oh why, can't Australia have a decently powered Subie?

You mean like the 3.0-litre, 6-cylinder, *stick shift* Liberty available
in Australia but not in North America?

Shut uppa you face!

 

[Spinifex]

Thanx for that link... unfortunately, the 2.5 Turbo is only available in
Oz in the Forester.
Ive driven one, and with it's off-road type gearing, it was interesting,
but not all that impressive. And certainly, in Oz-spec model, wasn't
producing 250HP... imperial OR metric HP !!!

I just wish our Liberty was available with a turbo model bigger than a
2.0 L. I WAS incorrect saying the 3.0 L 6-cyl wasnt available in
Liberty... it IS... but a 2.5 Turbo would be better than a 2.0 T

Spinifex

 

[Spinifex]

LOL

My mistake..... at the time I test drove the Forester turbo, the dealer
was not aware / did not inform me that the 3.0L Liberty was being
released in Oz.....

Spinifex

 

[y_p_w]

Thanx for that link... unfortunately, the 2.5 Turbo is only available in
Oz in the Forester.
Ive driven one, and with it's off-road type gearing, it was interesting,
but not all that impressive. And certainly, in Oz-spec model, wasn't
producing 250HP... imperial OR metric HP !!!

I took a look at what you have available. I'm having a bit of
difficulty because A) the Subaru Australia specs are in kilowatts
(1 HP = .7457 kW), and the standard measurement procedure (DIN)
doesn't seem to be the BHP we see in the US.

That being said, it sounds like the 2.5L in the Australian spec
Forrester is likely the same as in the US spec, which is not the
same higher boost turbo we see in the 2.5L turbo'ed 2005 Outback.

Australian spec 2005 Forrester 2.5 XT:
Max. output (DIN) kW/rpm 155/5600 (~208 HP)
Max. torque (DIN) Nm/rpm 320/3600

US spec 2005 Forrester 2.5 XT:
Horsepower 210 @ 5600 rpm
Torque (lb.-ft.) 235 @ 3600 rpm

US spec 2005 Outback 2.5 XT:
Horsepower 250 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque (lb.-ft.) 250 lb.-ft. @ 3600 rpm

<http://subaru.com.au/explore/forester/specifications.asp?item=23501>
<http://www.subaru.com/servlet/showroom?model=FORESTER&trim=25_XT&command=overview>
<http://www.subaru.com/servlet/showroom?model=OUTBACK&trim=25_XT_WAGON&command=overview>

 

[Spinifex]

Ahhhh..... cool.....

thanx y_p_w... i was being lazy.. didn't bother even TRYING to do the
conversion HP to KW, etc, etc....

but you are probably right....

my comment still stands tho.... would be VERY nice to have a turbo 2.5
Outback or Liberty... actually... even a 2.0 Turbo Outback would be
awesome, compared to what we have available....

Spinifex

 

[Daniel J. Stern]

I took a look at what you have available. I'm having a bit of
difficulty because A) the Subaru Australia specs are in kilowatts (1 HP
= .7457 kW), and the standard measurement procedure (DIN) doesn't seem
to be the BHP we see in the US.

BHP has not been the published figure in North America since 1971. SAE Net
horsepower is quoted in North America, DIN Net horsepower is quoted in
Europe and most of the rest of the world, and 280 horsepower is quoted in
Japan.

SAE Net and DIN Net figures are different for any given engine, but not
*very* different at all.

DS

 

[Ceraboy]

Christ, is this rec.autos.tech or rec.autos.resale.value?

The guy wants to know what is involved in swaping an auto tranny into a
Subaru. Instead of getting info, he gets a bunch of editorials on why
he shouldn't do it. Who cares about resale value? If I want to paint
flames on my minivan are you going to tell me how to do it, or tell me I
shouldn't do it because I'll hurt my resale value?

Now I don't know jack about Subarus, but the standard advice for this
sort of thing is do your homework first. You probably need to find some
Subaru enthusiast groups in your area or on the internet. If it's a
bolt up type operation, your best bet is to find a donor car at a junk
yard and get all the parts you need from that. If you do the work
yourself, the cost shouldn't be too outrageous. If you hire it out, it
might get ugly. As Daniel Stern mentioned, you may have to go with a
hot rod shop for this sort of thing.

Go to a "hot rod" shop! Sure we could make the thing fly and travel
on water too if money was of no consequence. I could tell you how to
synthesize nitro glycerin in your kitchen, but I sure hope you would
read the "editorials" on why you shouldnt do it. Can the tranny be
converted, of course. Is this something an average consumer wants to
embark upon, heck no.

 

[y_p_w]

BHP has not been the published figure in North America since 1971. SAE Net
horsepower is quoted in North America, DIN Net horsepower is quoted in
Europe and most of the rest of the world, and 280 horsepower is quoted in
Japan.

SAE Net and DIN Net figures are different for any given engine, but not
*very* different at all.

Cool. I knew I missed something. I thought it might be SAE something
or another, but somehow I put down BHP (brake horsepower).