[bakcn]

Hi y'all,

I have a 2015 Forester 2.0 XT Touring that I am interested in upgrading the air flow on. With most vehicles I have owned (primarily trucks such as a F-150) I have upgraded the cold air to an AEM or K&N and upgraded the exhaust. I was reviewing subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f207/2015-forester-xt-info-mods-473682 and I keep seeing it mentioned that any modifications may not be recommended due to the CVT.

I was wondering if anyone has upgraded the exhaust/intake components (or anything for that matter) and what differences were seen, if any? I am not looking to heavily modify the FXT and do not expect/need 300 hp or anything like that. Just wanting to ensure the engine can breathe well and it'd be nice to have a slightly more aggressive sounding exhaust. I apologize if this question is redundant as this is my first turbo charged vehicle and Subaru. Please feel free to correct me or point me in the right direction.

Regards from Texas,
bakcn

 

[Raz007]

The exhaust is pretty simple. You can do anything you want to the catback portion without needing any tuning, so the sky is the limit back there.

On the intake side, the simplest answer is to leave the stock system alone. These FA motors, and even the EJ before it, are pretty finicky when it comes to changing the airflow. The stock system is well designed, keeps the temps as cool as possible, and will support to 400whp without it being the limiting factor.

If you want to make an SJ XT more fun, I'd recommend the catback of your choice, an STI 20mm rear sway bar, an Accessport, and perhaps a set of STI Pink Springs if you want her to handle a bit better. Now, there is a lot more you CAN do, and I speak from experience that a 300whp XT is a lot of fun, but there is the CVT to think about. I ran a CVT cooler and had no issues. A simple pro tune using the Accessport will wake her up quite a bit, without delving deep into the toolbox to swap and/or remove parts.

 

[bakcn]

Awesome thank you for the info @Raz007. I got some research to do.

 

[MNTNDRMNGFXT]

Good advice from @Raz007 ! Agreed with the points outlined.

 

[asujosh1]

I would also recommend the Perrin Steering Dampner Lockdown, adding that to ours made a HUGE difference in the way it felt driving, especially on the highway. Couple that with the STI swaybar and the car really feels like it should have from the factory.

I added the STI midpipe to get a little more rumble, but it's completely unnoticeable. I'm looking at the Nameless 5" axleback to get a bit more noise from it.