forester06x

This is the journal for my Aspen White 2006 Forester X Base model with the 4EAT. Since I'm a highschooler I don't have that much money or time so I do a lot of mods myself and try to save money. I own a small yard work/landscaping business for my income, so the mods pick up in the summer and such during growing season. I earned the money and bought her myself from my neighbors for $5400, on a salvage title from the insurance company for severe hail damage. The hail damage is why I call it the GolfBall. The damage is more evident in night shots where the contrast from the flash really shows off the dents.

Since I joined subaruforester.org and got hooked on modding, this Forester has progressed beyond my wildest dreams. I bought it expecting to daily drive it and occasionally haul a lawnmower.

As of today, the GolfBall is on the path towards becoming a true "2.5x_sleeper" with a swapped 5MT, Mercedes C230 Eaton M62 supercharger @ 6psi, and stealth black FMIC.


How she sits currently:









Mods:


Engine

-Power Steering Delete

-Snorkus Delete

-Foglight CAI --> Returned to Stock Intake

-Muffler Delete --> Axleback Exhaust Dump --> Exhaust Sound Video

Transmission:

-04 WRX 5MT Clutch/Brake Pedal Box

-Rallitek 4EAT Transmission Mount Insert- Hard/Race Version


Suspension:

-Rallitek HD Rear Endlinks

-Kartboy Subframe Lockdown Bolts

-Ebay Front Strut Brace


Utility:

-DRL Kill

-Wolo 417 Air Horns

-Removed Rear Seats --> Replaced Rear Seats


Interior:

-RGB LED Strip Footwell Lighting

-Plastidipped Shifter Gate Trim --> Carbon Fiber Vinyl Wrapped Shifter Gate Trim

-Fuzzy Dice


Exterior:

-Relocated Stock Foglights Behind Limited Grille

-LED Eyebrows

-Smoked 06-08 Tail Lamps --> 03-05 Tail Lamps --> Painted Stock Chrome 06-08 Tails to Resemble 08 Sports Tails

-DIY Door Sealer Front Lip

-Blacked Out Head Lamps

-Dealer Debadge

-Custom License Plate


Plastidip:

Plastidipped Stock Wheels

-Plastidipped Limited Grille

-Plastidipped Foglight Fender Area

-Plastidipped Lower Bumper Trim

-Plastidipped C Pillar





Mods Pending Install:

-Eaton M62 Supercharger @ 6psi

-Sport JDM front mount intercooler + custom aluminum FMIC piping + custom supercharger intake manifold

-Full 04 WRX 5MT swap + R160

-Sunpro boost gauge

-STi swaybar mounts



Future Mods:

-Custom open source tune by NF Performance in St. Paul, MN

-Exedy clutch kit

-Turn In Concepts shifter lever bushings

-Gates timing belt kit

-Modified UEL WRX header (per this NASIOC thread: WRX Header on 2.5i! - NASIOC)

-Magnaflow axleback (sick of the muffler delete drone )

-02 WRX seats

-Yellow Lamin-X fog light film

-3M Di-noc center console (deds to Wessneroo)

-WRX takeoffs + custom saggy butt spacers (deds to Wessneroo & FXTSPORTS08)

-STi Rear swaybar

Personal Maintenance Log:

87K- Purchased car from neighbors, brakes were seized- brake pad material was fused to the rotors.

87K- Oil Change with Pennzoil 5W-30 and Fram Extra Guard Filter.

87K- Brake Job with Duralast rotors, pads, drums, and drum pads, and Prestone brake fluid flushed + bled.

87K- New Duralast Gold battery.

92K- Oil Change with Mobil 1 Super 5000 and STP S6607 Filter

92K- Spark Plug Change with NGK Iridium IX spark plugs

92K- SeaFoam Upper Engine Cleaner Treatment

92K- Accessory & Idler Belt Change + New A/C Belt Tensioner Adjuster

93K- Cleaned MAF Sensor

93K- 3x ATF Drain & Fill + new Genuine Subaru ATF filter + Front Differential Fluids Changed
__________________________________________________ ____

Thanks for looking!

-Matt

forester06x

Thread Starter

First mod= DRL Kill. This is the hardest one so far.

1. Open hood.

2. See the circled thing in the picture? Unplug that wire from it.



Done. I wrapped the ends in electrical tape to sorta preserve them in case I wanted to plug it back in in the future.

forester06x

Thread Starter

I then did a Snorkus delete.
I didn't have to jack it up or remove the wheel.

1. Turn the wheel all the way to the RIGHT.

2. Remove the fender liner by removing those darned pop-its. I must have broke 3 of them easily.



Don't forget the ones under the wheel spats.



There's one hidden directly under one of the spats, you have to bend the wheel spat to get to it.



3. Unbolt the air scoop part inside the engine compartment and take it off (it comes off easily), and undo a couple of bolts inside holding the snorkus in place. It was sort of a blind job for me, fumbling around inside the fender without being able to see. Sorry no pics.

4. Wiggle and cuss the snorkus to get the big thing out of the fender.

5. Reinstall the fender liner, wheel spats, and all their pop-its.

6. You might want to plug up the hole in the engine compartment that the snorkus had used to take air from the engine compartment, just so the intake won't be sucking hot air through that hole. Subaru also makes a fender plug for this, I don't remember the part number.

You're done!


Impressions: Not really a significant change in sound or performance, but I actually felt a gain in torque around 1500-1750 RPM, it seemed to be able to hold a high gear longer on a hill around this RPM.

Worth it to do this mod? It doesn't change much of anything according to the butt dyno, but according to science makes the engine more efficient with colder air than the hot air in the engine compartment.

forester06x

Thread Starter

I then removed the "Jim Keras Subaru" badge from underneath the SUBARU letters. It was a raised, 3D badge:



Yes I know I had delicate baby hands in that picture, hush y'all. The cure for baby hands is to work harder.

Materials: WD-40, Dental Floss, Goo Gone, Paper Towels

1. Soak the badge in WD-40 for a short time. It did not harm the paint.

2. Take a strand of dental floss and slip it under the badge. Gently pull or "saw" it back and forth. On my badge, it slipped under the glued foam strip like butter and the badge was off in less than a minute.

This is what I was left with: residue of foam and sticky glue compound.



3. Lightly wet the end of a folded paper towel in Goo Gone and press it into the adhesive on the paint. Don't rub it really hard or you'll just rub the glue all over the car and make more of a mess for yourself.

4. Scrape it off with a rag or something and keep "Goo Gonning" and keep at it until no more adhesive is left.

5. Wash the entire area clean of any remaining WD-40 or Goo Gone.

You're done! Enjoy the cleanliness, and smirk knowing that particular stealership can't advertise on your car anymore. If I ever grow older ( ) and get to buy a new car I'm making sure they don't put any advertising badges on there.


EDIT:

Debadged the "SUBARU" letters on the left side of the hatch door.



-Matt

Wessneroo

Nice start to your journal from a fellow Matt. Nice foz! Plastidipping that front grille would be a nice inexpensive mod to do. You can check out my mod here.

__________________
-Matt
'06 FXT Limited 4EAT CGM - "Roo II"

forester06x

Thread Starter

So I decided I wanted a true cold air intake instead of the snorkus delete just sucking in warm-ish air from the fenders surrounding the engine. Sort of based off of Abacall's Fog light CAI, but I made it my own.

Materials: 8 feet of 4" diameter dryer duct hose, a rubber 3" to 4" pipe coupling (which should include a pair of hose clamps) , a couple of nuts and bolts, GLOVES so you don't slice your fingers dealing with the aluminum dryer duct hose.

I also did this without removing the wheel, though I did jack the car up for convenience and ease of access.

1. Turn the wheels all the way to the RIGHT.

2. Remove the fender liner/splash guard and those darned pop-its.

3. Take off the entire front bumper, even more pop-its to undo. If you want to do headlights or paint the grille that would be a good time to do it as well.
My mom freaked when she saw the front of my car in pieces!



4. Remove the right foglight and its housing.

5. Remove the snorkus if you haven't already done so, and remove the random small metal bar between the car and fender.

6. Attach one end of the duct hose to the 4" part of the pipe coupling, using the included hose clamp to tighten it down in there.

7. Jam the 3" end of the pipe coupling into the hole in the fender that goes straight into the airbox. It's a lot of work, but it fits, and it's not going ANYWHERE. It's jammed tight in there. You have to crush a bit of the dryer vent tubing to get it to fit in the fender, but since it's 4" it's still plenty and once it's all in there, you put your hand through the airbox and push the crushed parts out as much as you can with your hand inside the dryer vent tube to give it as much space as possible.

I realize the duct tube looks crushed, but I assure you it's not, the bulk of the duct is behind that metal lip intruding in the pic.



8. Attach the other end of the dryer duct tube to the foglight hole. There's a bracket where the foglight housing normally attaches. Make a corresponding hole in the dryer duct tube and put a bolt through it and the foglight housing bracket. This isn't a rock solid connection but it doesn't have to be bulletproof, it will stay where it is as long as I need it to.

9. Reattach the bumper and splash guard, making sure everything is tucked in the dryer duct tube isn't getting smooshed or damaged by anything. Also make sure the intake isn't being blocked by anything. It should look like this from the bottom of the car:



10. Be sure to reinstall all the pop-its too, you don't want the splash guard getting ripped off by the wheel in motion because you forgot to redo the pop-its.

You're done! It looks cool from the front...



In the bottom right of the foglight hole you can see the bolt used to keep the duct hose in place.



Impressions: This does increase performance significantly, I've noticed. I get more torque especially at higher RPMs. I don't feel the low end torque loss the way others report, but then again I've only had it for a day, maybe it will be more pronounced as time goes on.

-Matt

Wessneroo

+1. Also applies to girlfriend...

__________________
-Matt
'06 FXT Limited 4EAT CGM - "Roo II"

forester06x

Thread Starter

Yep I did it yesterday!

onemanzu

is there any rain proofing to that intake mod? Looks cool, but I just fear one puddle would kill everything.

Also, shooting some black spray paint into that hose would stealth it out a bit, make it look real tight.

__________________
H-Stock #78 --- f --- Omz's Foz

forester06x

Thread Starter

I then Plastidipped my Limited Grille.

Materials- Painters tape, 1 can Plastidip.

1. Remove bumper in order to get to the grille. You have to remove all those darn pop-its.

2. Very carefully tape off the Subaru Logo if you wish.

3. Paint.



I forgot to weight down the edges of the tarp, and the wind blew the tarp on top of the drying Plastidip, consequently messing it up.

So I sprayed more over it and tried again. Looks a little better, still bad but it was my first time using Plastidip. I love this stuff. I want to cover everything in it. Imagine a completely Plastidipped Foz?



This picture really brings out the hail dents haha.

Wessneroo

Pro tip: You don't have to remove the entire bumper to get the grille out. Just the 6 smaller clips on top of the grille. Then pull it out!

__________________
-Matt
'06 FXT Limited 4EAT CGM - "Roo II"

forester06x

Thread Starter

No rainproofing other than the drain hole in the stock airbox, but I'm not too worried about it. For a really deep puddle I would be concerned, and sometime in the future I will be installing a little toilet flapper valve safety valve in case I drive through a massive puddle. I don't forsee it being an issue with normal driving, Abacall didn't report even a damp filter with his foglight CAI.

I thought about painting the inside black, but I like the shiny hose. Gets people asking questions and I'm always in the mood for Car Talk.

forester06x

Thread Starter

Oh, I read somewhere else that you needed to take the whole bumper out. There are little places on the bottom of the grille where it sorta slides into the bumper, I could see those being tricky to undo with the bumper still on. I had the bumper out anyway for the foglight CAI so I took the grille out anyway.

What's the point of that big foam insert behind the bumper?

forester06x

Thread Starter

I then wanted sort of a unique look on the bumper I hadn't seen on this forum yet. I'm sure someone has done it; maybe I just need to look more.

Materials: 1 can Plastidip, painters tape.

1. Tape around the area you want to paint.

2. Paint. I used a piece of cardboard to prevent the spray from landing beyond the painters tape.

Here it is. I need another coat on the right side but I will get to that tomorrow. The right foglight is still covered with painters tape for that reason. I'll get a side shot tomorrow; the Plastidip extends along that curved line all the way to the wheel well.



Here's some updated quick and dirty pics. Sorry for the awful photography, definitely not my best shots

Wessneroo

Nope, no need. The clips on the bottom of the bumper can be tricky but its really a breeze once you get the guts to just give it a tug and pull it out. After the clips are removed, pulling the grille out and down should do the trick. Do be careful though as those clips can break.

The foam piece behind the bumper is the energy absorber. In the case of an accident, that styrofoam can eat up a some of the energy and keep it from being transferred elsewhere.

__________________
-Matt
'06 FXT Limited 4EAT CGM - "Roo II"