Differences in TMIC sizes. The Perrin is almost twice the size and is said to increase airflow by 40% over the stock intercooler. She was a very snug fit and required some slight modifications to a bracket that was sitting right underneath the top of the intercooler.
NOTE:
- The AVO throttle body hose that I picked up to replace the stock hose did NOT fit even after making some modifications to the hose. I have heard of a few guys getting these to work, but I don't know what magic wand they used to do so.
- The Danco #73 o-ring (can be found at Ace Hardware - $1) is a perfect fit for the intercooler to turbo seal. Special thanks to Scott! It worked great.
- I also picked up a Mr Gasket reusable thermostat gasket (AutoZone - $19) for a 305/350 Chevy to use between the intercooler and turbo (pretty much a perfect fit), but in the end I decided not to use it as I don't think I'll be removing the intercooler very often.
I know it! :banana: I've had this build planned out for at least 6 months before I bought the FXT. Being that this is the 3rd Subaru I've owned & modded I feel like I've almost got this down to a science, but I still learn something new almost every day. Suspension should be next, followed by winter tires before the snow hits, maybe a Primitive skid plate and maybe light bar before then too. Summer wheels and tires next year and maybe a VF52, injectors, fuel pump, and some E85 and call her good.
Nice to see you finally got the journal up and going! You're doing great so far. You have a lot of the same mods installed in 2-3 weeks that took me 2-3 years to get! Graham may be a little high on your hp estimate. I'd say you're more like 230+/- based on your mods and having a very similar set-up. You need to bring it out to Cordova and see what it can do sometime.
Thanks! With these upgrades I was shooting for at least 240awhp based on the dyno charts I've seen in the Cobb dyno database. I think she's at at least that, but only the dyno will tell. :icon_biggrin: I'd love to bring her over to Cordova sometime! I'll probably be running a few passes at the Cedar Falls Raceway the next time I'm there. Anxious to see what this boat can do.
Nice start man looks like a lot of fun. I am a firm believer in track times and trap speeds doing the talking not the dyno, dynos are tuning tools and can be too different from place to place as far as numbers go.
Nice! After suspension and newly ordered Whiteline 22mm adjustable rear sway and endlinks I'm hoping to run 13.99 on stock tires. Gotta set your goals high. :icon_surprised: Just curious... what rpm are you launching at and how long are you holding that RPM/brake boosting before the green light?
I ran a 14.0 on the protuned td04 and must say it was not a easy feat. I pretty much just put it 1st slam the brake and floor it until it wont go any higher and let it rip.
What was your setup for this run, Nate? PSI, suspension, tires, etc. Looking at some of your comments and your journal it sounds like you're well past the td04 now.
The Lamin-x yellow fog light covers showed up today. These sell for like $22 on Lamin-x's website. Not only do I think they look good, but yellow light is also said to reflect less than white light hence being better for seeing through rain, fog, snow, etc. The pictures really don't do 'em justice.
Rally Sport Direct should really just give me a frequent buyer discount. A Whiteline 22mm rear adjustable sway bar is on the way along with some Kartboy rear endlinks. I'm hoping these are here and installed before 2013 Scoobapalooza in St Louis, MO so I can give them a proper test on the 4.5hr drive down. :Banane36:
When I first started going to the track I had to ask Mikey Bobby how to launch an automatic. Basically just have one foot on the brake (hard), hit the gas to rev until you can feel the car start to want to go like it's going to overtake the brakes. It was usually around 3500ish maybe a little more. The trick is to stage first because they flip the lights fast when the second car gets staged. Obviously use your head, don't rev it like that for more than a second or two and don't go to 6k or anything. You don't want to destroy your torque converter. It's been a while since I've been to the track, but I think that's about it. I'm thinking I'd probably get a 13.8 or 13.9 right now. I may not be back until I go VF52 though.
It was turboback exhaust, 3port bcs and turbosmart bpv and grimmspeed heatshield at 19psi tapering to what ever the td04 did I think 9psi lol. Suspension was swift springs and sti rsb.
Today we replaced the OEM 16mm rear sway bar with a Whiteline 22mm adjustable rear sway bar, rear sway support brace, and Kartboy endlinks! We used the middle hole which is effectively the 22mm setting. There is a huge difference in handling and body roll! Very happy so far. It's starting to feel like more of a car than SUV!
The control arm nuts required a bit of convincing before they would come loose. Burn it with fire! :evilatyou:
A couple pics from this past weekend at the first annual Midwest Scoobapalooza in St Louis. Very fun time! Planning on going next year where I can only assume the turnout will be even greater. The FXT will probably look a lot different in another year. :icon_razz: (The LGT wagon pictured has the Enkei RPF1s off my old WRX.)
Just got my first FXT wish it was manual but when I see this stuff its sweet.. inspiring.. hey whats the part # for the USDM mesh grille? Perrin TMIC & DP you got.. Sounds great, any drone? or do you find just the rumble at take off?
No drone at all with the setup I have now and no rumble. In fact, it's barely louder than stock and I need to get a SPT catback soon! The only real difference was the turbo is now real easy to hear. Good amount of whistle. :icon_cool:
I haven't done any major upgrades lately, but wanted to share a few of the small ones I've done in the past month or two...
Made it out to the McLaughlin Subaru Show in Moline, IL recently. Very fun time and lots of nice cars! I wish I could say I got some good pictures, especially after spending 2+ hours washing the exterior of mine, but I can't. I picked up a gently used eBay front strut bar from a local club member while there. With the large Perrin TMIC the front strut bar options are very limited. The popular Cusco and Whiteline bars sit too low and won't fit. After talking to a few other local FXT owners who also have the Perrin TMIC we believe the only good strut bar that will fit is the Subaru STI "flexible strut tower brace". However, these are difficult to find under $300 so I decided to go with the cheap option to hold me over until/if I decide to go the expensive route. There is noticeable difference with this bar though. I'm pleased for spending $40.
I now have five '03-'07 16" Forester five spoke steel wheels. I'm going to powder coat these in semi-gloss black and wrap them in 215/70r16 General Grabber AT2s. I'll use these for my Winter and "adventure time" wheels. :icon_biggrin:
Installed a Fumoto (F105) oil drain valve to make oil changes a bit less messy and save some time. I've heard great things about these. One concern was clearance with this, but the general consensus with these seems to be that if you hit this valve hard enough to mess something up the valve will be the least of your concerns. I don't do any crazy rock crawling either, but I should have a skid plate on soon. Pics show a good comparison of height vs the OEM drain plug. Will report back after I've had a chance to use it.
Here's a crappy picture of it installed. The switch side sits on the top.
And here's an updated pic with the Yakima roof rack courtesy of Craigslist. For reference, the older style Yakima Lowrider feet will fit SH Foresters.
Installed a catback exhaust off a 2013 STi sedan today. I knew before buying that the quad tips would have issues fitting. The options seemed to be let them ride on the bumper which would possibly result in scratching, burning, and vibrations transferred into the vehicle... get long exhaust hangers (which looks stupid in my opinion)... or cut the bumper to fit. I opted for option #1 first, but didn't like the look or the slight vibrations coming from the bumper so we cut the bumper. It didn't turn out 100% perfect, but it looks pretty damn good if you ask me. Here are some pics and a comparison video.
Comparison video between stock, catless downpipe + stock catback, and finally catless downpipe + STi catback.
Dude, I just did the STI exhaust too but that drone at 1500 RPM was horrible.. I have a catted Invidia DP with HiFlow Cat... If you keep the exhaust on, I had a pretty cool idea about finding the bumper off an sti, cutting the silver exhaust flanges off the bumper and modding them up to the fxt bumper.. I had to take the STI exhaust off because I couldnt stand the drone.. anyone want the mufflers? theyre for sale
Yeah, the drone at 1500 RPM isn't great at all. I'm going to keep it on for a while and see how I like it. I think my only other 2 options would be sound deadening and/or swapping for new mufflers as I believe the mufflers are the cause. What catback are you running now?
That bumper idea sounds solid. Wonder how well they would fit.
Finally got around to powder coating the 16" Forester wheels and had the 215/70r16 General Grabber AT2s mounted. I went with Eastwood powder coat in their semi-gloss black. Turned out pretty well... we'll see how she holds up this Winter. Note: While some Grabber AT2 sizes are rated for severe snow this size is not.
There are a few threads/posts on here about how steel wool shoved into one of the exhaust tips [the outer ones, IIRC] will eliminate most of the drone.
Some folks say it worked well for them. Just an FYI
BTW nice looking Foz!
Plus, the idea of fitting an STI bumper to the XT is worth looking into....would be sweet if it fit.
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