Just put those pads on myself - already saved my ***. If I bothered to clean my wheels, I'd be able to chime in on dust level .

 

haha my thoughts exactly. everyone tore brandon apart when he posted he was getting one.

 

We're selling stuff @ Cost+10% so I figured why not pick some stuff up for myself too.

 

I just ordered a set myself

 

Picked up a used HKS carbon ti hi-power. previous owner had it custom fitted for a rear diff skid plate. pics to come once it's on the fxt

 

I have the exact model. Great shotty.

 

I bet the kids were stoked when they saw that

 

Grimmspeed Master brake cylinder and some subiefest goodies.

 

I picked up 1,000 rounds of XM855 at the gun show today

 

Yep. Happy kid(s)=Happy Wife=HappyLife.

 

Kick ***! I got to check it out.

When I said "those" I meant Outback XT's w/ 5spds, so yeah - I am sure. But, now that I know you were specifically looking for that car, no - did not see too many, but then, I wasn't looking for those. I was looking in the $15k-$20k range.

Where is a good place to get a set of axles these days? I need fronts for late '04-'05 WRX, I think basically like those in the pic. Super-tardo-expensive from Subaru.

 

Why not just rebuild them? Super easy to do, less than 1/4 of the price and takes the same amount of time

 

I think the Cusco-specific talk regarding the cage is that it's not going to pass any inspections or be legal for any sort of competition. People that are familiar with cages and how they should be put together will instantly notice the "Z" or "S" shaped part that is designed to go around the dash. This outs the cage as a "for looks" only sort of thing, since having bends like that is almost like having a "crush section" on a rollcage, which is insane. Any impact sending force downward will buckle at those bends. A proper cage would have a gentle bend to follow the windshield, then vertically down THROUGH the dash into the floor, no "S" bends anywhere.

In addition to that, there is talk of having "any kind of cage whatsoever" inside a car that is daily driven. If you have experienced this, you will know how much it hurts! Even having a rollbar in a convertible, you are GONNA clonk your head on it one or seven times, and it hurts. I cannot even imagine having my head hit one in an impact. Dead.

Now, you can see in the photos where that cage "may have" helped in certain areas, and that's great! You can also see where parts of the cage are simply not attached any more. Where did they go? Where they removed by emergency workers, or would one of them have gone through a passenger's head? Even a crappy cage may help a little bit in a roll-over, but, that will not stop it from being terribly dangerous in every day usage, or a different (more common) sort of collision such as a T-bone at an intersection or being rear-ended.

Then there is the foam you can put on it. The "actual" cage padding foam feels like it's hard as a rock in your hand. People put the soft foam on their cages but this actually does absolutely nothing in an impact, as if it's not there. That is where the "hard" padding comes into play because while it's hard, it's softer than steel and that is what is important to your head.

There is a strong desire for some to have a rollcage inside of their car, just like there is a strong desire for some to have suspensions set in a way that does not seem to make sense. It will be hard to explain why it's not a good idea to have a rollcage in a street car, just like it will be hard to explain why we have known good practices for suspension settings.

It ain't what it ain't.

 

I have axles from my 2002 that normally plug onto splined stubs sticking out of the transmission, finished with a drift pin, but my replacement transmission, from a late '04 WRX, showed up without those splined stubs sticking out of the transmssion.

 

I'm pretty sure you can take those stubs out and put them into your new transmission...

Bolt in cages are perfect for show cars that spend most of their time laying frame on concrete and chillin with the bros. If you're going to depend on a cage for actually withstanding a substantial impact it will need more than a dozen or so bolts through thin sheet metal to keep you safe. A serious cage is a structural member of the vehicle which must be able to resist separating from the vehicle as well as compromising it's own shape.

Ways to get hurt with a poor quality cage:
Banging around while you get in and out (ankles, head)
ANY accident could bounce you around like a frog in a blender(great visual, huh?), especially with anything less than a 4 point harness.
Once you're all harnessed in and only your head can really move, you're at higher risk for whiplash (ask me how I know)
In a serious accident the cage material may bend, potentially directly INTO YOU or just along your flight path inside your cabin

Lets be honest, even custom weld-in cages can have some or all of these pitfalls, depending on the quality of materials, design, and construction.

The biggest risk of running a bolt-in is that you end up like this guy:

(as the most infamous failed bolt-in cage pic on the interwebs)