Bry's SH Build

14231 Views 44 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Quadraria10, Mar 8, 2021

bry90

Discussion Starter · Oct 12, 2018

I've already introduced myself in the New members thread but I'll do it again here.

My name is Bryan or Bry and I am from Charlotte, NC. I picked up my first Forester back in August. I'm not new to Subaru and this one makes number 5. My first one was a 2005 Legacy GT wagon, stage 2.5, tuned, and made 295ish hp and 315 tq. That's the one that I'd say really cemented me into the brand. After that I purchased a 2000 2.5RS sedan, a 2012 WRX hatchback, and then 2003 WRX wagon. I had a 2010 TSX 6MT in between the 2012 and 2003 but that was due to really crappy complications with the hatch. I sold my TSX this past February in hopes to find an FXT or decent NA. Im picky cause I wanted a low mileage, decent priced manual Forester and that almost never happens and I didnt find one but needed a car so I bought the bugeye wagon.

Fast forward to August, I sold the bugeye which gave me enough for a down payment on my current Foz plus a little extra cash for some fun mods. I ended finding a 2010 2.5X Premium with the 5MT at one of my sister dealerships up in Durham, NC. From what I was told the 5MT are rare to come by and sell pretty quick so I put a deposit the same day it was traded. The car is Sparkle Silver Metallic with black interior, 1 owner, and had 105k. The previous owner had also already done the timing belt, water pump, etc which was the most important selling point for me.

After checking out the car its pretty clean and very well maintained minus a few scratches and bumper chips. There was rust but on the exhaust only.

***WILL POST PICTURES WHEN I HIT THE POST COUNT***

2005 LGT Wagon Limited

2000 2.5RS Sedan

2012 WRX hatchback

2003 WRX wagon

2010 Forester 2.5X Premium

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #2 · Oct 12, 2018

No major mods were done from August through September but I did have an unfortunate windshield crack. The really crappy part was that it happened in the exact same part of the highway when I had my bugeye but this time in the other direction. I wanna say a tractor trailer with no mudflaps kicked up a rock and nailed the passenger side of the windshield. It wasn't a major blow and the car would've passed inspection but I'm pretty particular about having and driving a clean car. Ended up getting the glass replaced the same day without an appointment which almost never happens.

***WILL POST PICTURES WHEN I HIT THE POST COUNT***

bry90

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 12, 2018

A month ago I made my first major purchase for the Foz. On my 2.5RS I ran a set of Konig Hypergrams in 17 x 8. Those wheels were super lightweight and I ended up doing a photoshop mockup on the Forester and in my biased opinion they looked great. But, my overall goal for this car is light off-road / overlanding and the thought of running that wheel made me think it would'nt work (though im sure it would've been fine). I ended up doing some research on this forum, NASIOC, and instagram and found the Sparco Terra's. I am aware that everybody and their Subaru brother/sister runs these wheels but they honestly fit the style I am going for. I was asking for opinions on sizing from an old member on here Erik Lando, who ran 16's but i liked how well the 17's fit the wheel well and so I went with the 17 x 7.5 +48mm in matte bronze. Buying 17's also allowed me to keep my spare.

***WILL POST PICTURES WHEN I HIT THE POST COUNT***

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 12, 2018 (Edited by Moderator)

2005 LGT Wagon Limited

2000 2.5RS Sedan

2012 WRX hatchback

2003 WRX wagon

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 12, 2018 (Edited by Moderator)

Photoshopped with the Hypergrams and a random skybox

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 12, 2018

This past weekend 10-6-2018, I decided I needed to do something with my stock exhaust. Because of the rust, the muffler tips were resting on the bumper and the hangars were in such bad condition that the whole system would shake and rattle when shifting or making turns and it was annoyingly loud. I also had the cat heat shield rattle as well as the head shield over the header. I ended up finding a nameless 4" muffler delete for a WRX sedan but I can only imagine how terrible NA's sound straight piped so opted for a close friends 13 STi exhaust. The flanges from the mufflers to the Y-pipe were soo bad I was breaking pieces of rust off and the bolts were nearly impossible to take off without cutting. Came to find out there's not a huge difference between the two exhausts from y-pipe back. The major difference is a lone hangar in the middle of the y-pipe and the STi flows better. As far as muffler hangars everything is the same and I was able to reuse my gasket and spring bolts.

Upon completion of the swap, I couldn't be happier. The quad tips do touch the bumper on the outer inner edge but's the tips don't get hot enough to melt the bumper exits. The rumble is very noticeable in the 500 - 2500 rpm range and then tends to go back to almost a stock sounding tone. At 50 mph+ its quiet. The cat shields were removed as well as the header shields.

I will try and upload a cold start as well as a in/out car drive video.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 12, 2018

Fast forward to now. I went and picked up my tires yesterday. I have been doing a stupid amount of research on tire fitment for these cars and pulled the trigger on some 235/60/17 Cooper Discoverer AT3's. I have never seen these in person and when I finally did I honestly had many doubts about it fitting on the Foz. I put it next to the stock 225/55's and was like no way in hell these are gonna work. My biggest worry was the front tires rubbing the bottom of the perch and thought maybe running 3-5mm spacers would be beneficial.

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Got to work and had them mounted to do some test fitting. I opted out of putting TPM sensors in these. I wasnt sure if maybe Subaru has the ability to lower the psi threshold in the ECM for if and when I needed to lower the psi when trail driving. Went and mounted one of the wheels on the rear and it wasnt gonna come close to fitting with the liner still intact. Ended up removing both inner liners in the rear which allowed the wheel to fit but dang it is super close. I still might need to do some grinding/trimming to put my mind at ease but so far no rubbing back there.

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The fronts bothered me a little more than anything but honestly I didnt have to touch anything up there. I have plenty of clearance at both left and right full lock and the top of the tire sits maybe 1/8" +/- from the bottom of the perch. I dont need to run a spacer but I think it wouldn't hurt, maybe a 10-15mm but not something that'll put a lot of strain on the wheel bearings.

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I do plan to lift the Foz maybe towards the end of this year into the beginning on next but not entirely sure which company to go with yet. Going with the 2" - 2, 3/8" lift spacers.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 16, 2018

Went and took a few pictures last weekend. It was kind of a last minute thing and I wish I would've waited for sunset because the sun was still a bit too bright.

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JJBTEXAS

· #9 · Oct 16, 2018

Have you had any issues with tire rub? I was thinking of getting a similar sized tire on my SH.

bry90

Discussion Starter · #10 · Oct 17, 2018 (Edited by Moderator)

I have experienced very minimal rubbing when making quick u-turns but other than that it perfect.

HeyChris

· #11 · Oct 17, 2018

You should only experience rubbing at full lock.... like the U-turns...

bry90

Discussion Starter · #12 · Nov 2, 2018

No real progress right now but I did cop a Curt extended roof basket from work. It was sitting on one of our 4Runners for sale at work and my GM just gave it to me.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 7, 2019

Making zero progress on the Foz since my last post. It would seem no matter how far away I park from people Im always finding damage on the car. 2 new dents in the door and driver fender and just before christmas my sister backed into the front bumper. It pushed in the top portion of the fog light area on the driver side but assuming the heat of the day popped it back out a few days later. Luckily the bumper can be saved and will be repainted.

As far as "modifications" I may be ditching the roof rack for a roof tent. With the start of race season it should come in real handy when I go photograph race events during a weekend saving me a lot of money annually instead of getting hotels. Im not too sure on with brand to get but Im in between the Smittybilt and Tepui tents.

Also heres some updated shots. Like I said nothing major just more stickers.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 27, 2019

2-26-2019 progress: Since my last post I've already had to replace a tire. The older Cooper Discoverer AT3's that I was running have been discontinued and they now have a new version that's honestly not that different (at least neither myself or the guy at Discount Tire could really find any REAL differences). Luckily, even after doing 5k on the tires I was still within tread spec to only need to buy one replacement. Somehow, I only paid $35 for the new tire when they sell for $165 ea...but Im not complaining.

My RTT also came in last week. I ended up going with the Tepui Kukenam 3 Baja Mesh Series. I got it off of Backcountry.com and got a hefty 40% off...not bad for a tent that retails for $1600. Sure I could've waited to search REI garage sales but I dont have the time. I've never ordered anything from Backcountry and I was a little skeptical about them using CEVA Logistics as their shipping method, especially after seeing a lot of negative reviews, but, they shipped my tents out in 3 days with zero issues.

I do plan on buying the 4 season canopy at some point mostly for those windy and rainy days where the rainfly just wont be enough. Installation wasnt terrible but it wouldve been nice to have a second person. Tent weighs 120 lbs and is super sturdy. Opening and closing the tent takes <5 minutes and so far I think its a great investment. Gas mileage hasnt been terrible. I have done 280 miles and averaging 19 mpg, slightly better than when I had the basket on top. Note to self: Install the rainfly on the ground before putting it on the car, unless you have a 8ft ladder handy its difficult to install by yourself.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #15 · Nov 1, 2019

Man it's really been 8 months since my last post?! I guess Facebook is really too convenient these days but anyway here's a recap of the past few months.

Back in June I became one of the officers for Mtnroo North Carolina and attended the Subaru Road to REI Tour up in Asheville, NC. While in the area, I met up with some other members and went to drive Heintooga Round Bottom Road - a 23 mile one way road that snakes around a mountain and eventually down past a white water river/stream. The road is mostly gravel and dirt and from what I gathered is maintained every few months and closes in the winter. Its also a very popular destination but luckily when we went it wasnt too crowded which gave us plenty of times to stop and grab some pictures. After numerous stops for photos and to stretch our legs and walk the dogs it took us about an hour to complete.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 12, 2019

So after this trip I at some point put a hole into one of the flex pipes on the manifold. Also my transmission mount completely separated causing the trans to move around a lot while driving. I went ahead and replaced the trash mount with the STi Group N 5MT mount. Although there is an additional amount of engine and transmission noise and whine, its a solid mount. I had also got a Torque Solution pitch stop mount even though nothing was wrong with the factory one, it couldn't hurt to go ahead and replace it.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #17 · Feb 4, 2020

About 3 weeks ago I sold my old wheels and tire setup. I was originally going to buy the Black Rhino Sandstorm's in 15" and had placed the order but the company I ordered through had them back ordered for 45-60 days and I wasnt gonna wait that long. So the company offered me wholesale pricing on a different set of wheels with free shipping. I ended up going with the KMC KM716 Nomad's in 15x7 +10mm in bronze of course and for tires settled on 215/75/15 General Grabber AT2's.

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bry90

Discussion Starter · #18 · Feb 4, 2020

Also picked up an ADF 2"/2.5" lift kit from a member on here for the low low. Never been installed but the plan is to get it done at work tomorrow. Hoping for a smooth installation.

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burela699

· #19 · Feb 5, 2020 (Edited by Moderator)

Update? GWLS beautiful ride bro I'm gonna upload my build soon! Very similar

bry90

Discussion Starter · #20 · Feb 10, 2020

@burela699

The lift is fantastic. Rides just like before only I knew day one that I was higher up. Took some shot the other day and it started snowing out of nowhere.

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