forester06x

Thread Starter

No Wix sold at my local Autozone. I think I read somewhere that the OEM filters are pretty much rebadged Honeywell filters.

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

forester06x

Thread Starter

Also, I'm currently in the process of repainting my stock 06-08 tail lamps. I stripped the clearcoat and VHT Night shades paint off with gasoline and am embarking on a new look. I won't divulge it fully until the project's done and pics posted, but let's just say that the tails will look like the Sports tails...

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

forester06x

Thread Starter

I then removed the power steering feature. If I end up liking the raw, no-power-steering-feel, then I will completely delete the pump itself and loop the lines to the steering rack, but for now I've just bypassed the power steering pump. I used a 25", three-rib belt from Autozone (3-rib was the biggest they had in that length ). So my alternator still works of course, but the power steering pump is sitting in the engine bay as dead weight. In a way I'm actually working against the power steering pump as I turn the wheel. As I said, if I end up liking the lack of power steering, I'll delete the pump completely.


So how does it feel? While not moving, the wheel is terribly hard to turn. When moving in a straight line, it's only a bit more effort than with power steering. I can actually sorta feel bump steer and roll steer now, which is cool I guess. The power steering pump bypass freed up about 1-2 hp probably. Turning very hard requires a two-handed effort, so if your Forester has a manual transmission, don't do this mod.

Why would you do this mod? I like the raw feel, and I like to feel the bump and roll steer in the road. That's pretty much it. My parents think I'm crazy , but I like it. I don't think it's dangerous either, it's not like the wheel wants to snap out of your hands in a turn, it just wants to true itself straight again. I would NEVER do this mod for AutoX or RallyX, it would just be too much effort. But I still like this mod, and it'll get you buff if you parallel park often, and it's "passive exercise" if you will.

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

forester06x

Thread Starter

Also folks, don't forget to change your spark plugs! The difference in old vs. new spark plugs (NGK Iridium IX) is night and day, and I've got about 100 miles on the new plugs so far. Throttle response, acceleration, and overall power notably increased with the new plugs, and probably gas mileage as well though I haven't been able to calculate that yet, and I need a new upstream O2 sensor.

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Speaking of O2 sensors, I just ordered an "OEM Style" Denso upstream O2 sensor for $80 from Rockauto.com. That's a great price compared to around ~$100 at the dealership. I also ordered a replacement A/C idler belt tensioner adjuster.

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

Wessneroo

My "other car" doesn't have power steering and every second below 5 mph, I want nothing more in the world than to have power steering. Not sure I could do without it on my Forester. At least you're sure not to text and drive...

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

forester06x

Thread Starter

Good old manual steering racks. While traveling in a relatively straight line, one hand adjustments work fine. Now pulling in and out of parking spots, is another story. You also have to be more attentive because the car likes to drift with the pitch of the road much more without the power steering assistance keeping it relatively straight with minute hand adjustments.

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

forester06x

Thread Starter

4EAT is acting up on me again.... 4EAT Free Revving on 3-4 Upshift

I swear this stupid transmission will be the death of me. If it blows I'm doing a 5MT swap.

On a related note, hopefully this summer I will be able to ship myself off to my uncle's place in Minneapolis, MN where he has a hydraulic lift and welder and all sorts of wonderful tools (he is building a custom dune buggy with an STi motor ). If so I'll rip the engine out of my car and do a ton of gasket changes, timing belt et. al, phenolic spacers, hopefully 2.2l heads (Frankenstein motor), new valve springs and lifters, valve cover gaskets, some intake manifold mods (PnP?), custom Tactrix tuning, and maybe a 5MT swap. We can all dream.

On another note, I've successfully modded my stock tails to look like the 08 Sports tails , and they look great. Just need to find time to do a quick write-up, the IB program at my school is turning up the heat.

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

Subiciv

Pics and info of tails! Sad to hear the car is actin up. Mine is too, I have to dig at it tomorrow. I told my wife of the engine goes, ill get a h6 swap or something. Lol Good luck.

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07 GRP Foz
09 SWP Foz

forester06x

Thread Starter

Quick pics...






Not an exact look-alike, but didn't cost $300 either.

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

Wessneroo

Looks good. 5MT swap is a huge undertaking in time and money and you'll lose some features I know I couldn't be without.

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

Subiciv

My exact thought^ they look good! From a few feet I bet you'll fool a lot of people into thinking they are sports. I paid the $300 like a dummy but whatever, I had to have them and was torn on trying to mod the chromies. Budget friendly mods are awesome. I just plastidipped out sh's grill. Much better IMO. keep up the good work!

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07 GRP Foz
09 SWP Foz

AlkiSubaru

Ok those look the exact same as 08 sports. True art right there.

I paid the $300. But in my defense I have an 04 so the regular chrome ones I would have had to pay for as well.

Nice work though. They look so good.

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The Swagaru
For Sale

forester06x

Thread Starter

I would sell my car for a 5MT Subaru, but who is going to buy a car with hail damage for enough money to buy a 5MT Subaru in similar condition?

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

forester06x

Thread Starter

Exam week is this week. Also, after another fill-up, I am getting about 21mpg all city driving with winter gas. I gotta get that upstream O2 sensor installed!

Quick photoshoot "Among the Luminaries":









Oh and the neighbors WRX:

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall

forester06x

Thread Starter

Finally writing this up. This will be my 4th tail lamp setup. Stock-->smoked stock tails-->lightly smoked 03-05 tails--> 08 Sports tails paint job.

Materials:

-Gasoline (if you're stripping Nightshade/clear coat off your tail lamps)

-Blue disposable shop rags; regular paper towels do not work, they are not strong enough and will easily rip and tear with the sticky clear coat residue.

-Meguiar's PlastX plastic polisher

-Soft, clean microfiber towel for polishing with the PlastX

-Wax paper

-Painter's tape

-Tape measure

-Compass for drawing circles

-Pencil

-Scissors or Exacto knife

-VHT Night Shades paint

-Acrylic/Clear coat (preferably UV resistant for UV protection)

Overview:

Basically I painted my stock chromed tail lamps to look like the 08 Sports tails, which, as you know, have blacked out interior bezels. While the adhesive on the 06-08 head lamps is soft enough to heat, open up, and paint the interior bezels yourself, the tail lamps use a hard adhesive that will not open up without cutting. Therefore making painting the interior bezels pretty much impossible unless you do plastic welding, in which case you're wasting your time and might as well fork over the $300 for genuine 08 Sports tails, IMO.

So I decided to paint the exterior of the stock 06-08 chromed tails so that it closely resembles the 08 Sports "blacked-out" look from a distance. Up close you can see that it's just an exterior paint job, but it looks completely genuine from a few feet away and further back.

Procedure:

I started with removing the 4 coats of clear coat and 2 coats of VHT Nightshade tint paint from my stock tails. Here's what I started with- 2 thick coats of VHT Night Shades spray-on tint paint and 4 coats of UV resistant clear coat on top of that:



1. Gather materials necessary to remove the clear coat and tint paint, and set aside about 1-2 hours depending on how thick your coats of clear coat and Night Shades are. You must use a strong solvent to remove the stuff. I recommend you use gasoline, it is strong and readily available and it's what I used and it works fine. Mineral spirits does not work, it is not strong enough. Goo Gone might work but it's not as plentiful as gasoline. Concentrated acetone (not ordinary nail polish remover, I'm talking acetone from the bottle that you use in chemistry class) might work but I didn't try it, acetone isn't as readily available as gasoline. Use blue shop rags, not paper towels as they are too weak and will rip with the sticky clear coat residue. Obviously, keep all possible ignition sources far away when you are doing this, and some proper ventilation is a good idea too as I got light-headed within a few minutes of doing this, even in an open garage.



Remember, blue disposable shop rags, not regular paper towels. I quickly learned my lesson on this one with a sticky mess.

2. Start removing the clear coat and Night Shades. Use plenty of gasoline- the solvent evaporates quickly so soak a folded disposable shop rag in it and go to town on that clear coat, using fresh gasoline when you feel the "stripping power" lessening. This is how they should look after the clear coat itself is stripped- a matte-like texture:



So the clear coat is stripped. That wasn't so long, but the Night Shades is a little bit more resilient.

3. Now keep stripping the Night Shades. Use plenty of gasoline and new shop rags as needed. You should see black splotches on the underside of the shop rags where you have rubbed on the tail lamp with gasoline, that black splotch is the Night Shades paint that has been stripped off the tail lamp. This is what they should look like when done, well one of them anyway:



Both done, you can see all the used shop rags with the black splotches on them too:



4. Now, use the Meguiar's PlastX and microfiber towel to polish the tail lamp lens.



5. So your tail lamps are all clean and shiny and pretty much back in their original condition after a lot of work, and now you want to paint them again, this time in the attractive 08 Sports black color scheme. What we're going to do is make some painter's tape "stickers" to cover the areas of the tail lamp where the bulb housings are. This way, the paint will cover the visible areas of the bezel, but not block any light whatsoever and it will look bright red like the 08 Sports tails. Go ahead and tape off the bottom red strip of the tail lamps.



6. Now we have to make these "stickers". What we're going to do is use wax paper as a sticker "backing" and the painter's tape will be the actual "sticker".



Carefully lay down a sheet of wax paper and cover it with strips of painter's tape, being sure that everything is flat and even. Measure the diameter of the "circles" of the red and white bulb housings for the turn signals, reverse signals, and brake lights. Then, use the compass to draw circles on your "sticker sheet". Cut out the circles with scissors or an Exacto knife, then gently peel them off the wax paper backing and carefully stick them on your tail lamps.



7. Paint your Night Shades and clear coat. I used 2 thick coats of Night Shades and 2 coats of UV resistant (protects from UV) clear coat.



8. Install them on the car.





Looks good!

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5MT Swapped & M62 Supercharged (WIP)-The GolfBall