[pigboat_2]

Alright, alright. I guess it's finally time. I have too much to log and too many questions to ask to keep stealing threads. Gotta get my own. I got my Forester October of 2009 and it's been the most reliable car I've ever owned, hands down.

Mod List

I really should have reserved some early post for this but oh well, it's a little too late now. I'll put mods up as I do them.

Engine Performance

AEM cold air intake
Lightweight crank pulley
Area 1320 throttle body spacer
2006 wrx fuel pump

Exhaust

eBay Borla replica header, 2
Cobb replica 3" midpipe
STi axleback

Drivetrain

Exedy stage 1 clutch kit
XTR lightweight flywheel
Stainless steel braided clutch line
ATE Superblue dot 4 fluid
SPT 5 speed short throw shifter
Kartboy f/r shifter stay bushings

Suspension

Rallitek 22mm front sway bar & bushings
Rallitek 22-24mm rear sway bar, bushings, HD brackets
Whiteline front and rear heavy duty endlinks
2007 wrx struts
Tanabe GF210 springs
STi Pink rear trailing arms w/ pillow ball bushings
Whiteline adjustable rear lateral links
Whiteline rear subframe bolts
Whiteline reversed front strut tower brace
Whiteline front endlinks
Whiteline RCA kit
JDM GC STi aluminum front control arms
04 STi steering rack
Whiteline steering rack bushings
Custom L&E Fabrications GD/SF u-joint

Wheels/Tires

Rota G-Force 17x8 et48 Gunmetal wheels
Continental 225/45/17 Extreme Contact DW tires

5x114.3 ASA JH3 silver 17x7.5 winter wheels
215/45-17 Yokohama Guardex K2 F721 snow tires
eBay 25mm 5x100 to 5x114.3 spacer adapters
Front rolled fenders
Rear rolled/pulled fenders

Extra:

4x STi center caps

Brakes

07 STi Brembo front brakes
-eBay rotors
-Stoptech pads
05 LGT rear brakes
-Centric rotors
-Stoptech pads
Goodridge G-stop stainless lines
ATE Superblue dot 4 fluid
STi brake booster/master cylinder
Grimmspeed master cylinder brace
Speed Bleeders

Exterior Dress Up

JDM SF grille
"f" grille emblem
Hella Supertone horns
Carbon fiber hood/scoop
Subtle hood struts
Ikea cutting board mudflaps
JDM Forester STi SF wing

Interior Dress Up

07 Wrx shift knob
02 Wrx front seats
02 Wrx Momo steering wheel/airbag
STi red pedal covers

Sound System

Sony Xplod Mex-Bt3800U head unit
Alpine Type-X Pro separates
2 Digital Designs 500b 12" woofers
3 cu ft Bassworx box
Audison SR1D 640 watt sub amp
Rockford Fosgate P300X2 speaker amp
Complete interior layered with butyl MegaMat

To Come

Installation of EManage Blue piggyback ECU
Installation of Eaton M62 Supercharger

Issues/To Fix

Sunroof needs to be fixed
Serious PDR
Another buff via Kerwin

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

Alright! Glad to see you decided to claim your piece of the forum!

As to posting pictures. The first thing you need to do, unless you have one already, is to find hosting service for your pictures. I used to use the one here on the forum, but I soon found it can be used up... as in running out of allowed image storage. :frown: I now use Photobucket, which is a free hosting service. Once you get an account, you upload the pictures you want to link to. There are size options for the image uploads. I use medium (240x320) for the side by side pictures & 15" screen (800x600) for my large pictures. This is my preference, so pick what you like. I could go way larger, but I personally don't like having to scroll right/left to see the entire image. To link to your hosted (uploaded image), copy the "IMG code" & past that into your post. Very simple! It won't take you long to get the hang of it. :wink:

One last thing. The free hosting accounts will give you plenty of storage but there's tons of ads, which are suppose to get you to upgrade to a paid account. It's annoying, but that's the cost for "free". :biggrin:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[Rob]

Pics!

 

[Rippin508]

Pics!

+1

 

[smitch]

So to me, it's worth keeping to make my own.

Its worth keeping and making it your own. Its worth taking some photos to show us what your working with:Banane02:.

Theres lots of very helpful/knowledgeable people on this forum that can help you along the way.

 

[pigboat_2]

Just made an account on PB...now it's all about stealing somebody's camera and getting to it.

The salvaged fender that I purchased didn't come with the inner fender piece, or the rubber shroud type housing that protects the wheel well. So...if it's possible, I'll try to return the fender and/or find an inner fender piece.

 

[pigboat_2]

update--

A lot of things have happened over the last week with my car. I finally convinced my dad to let me use his garage, so it was then up to me to get every other part found and put this car back together!

Tuesday--

Got the inner fender and the 'hardware' for it from the local dealer.

Wednesday--

Started with installation of the bumper. I had to figure out by eye how it is installed because again, I didn't disassemble the car and I don't have a manual (yet). After finding out that I was missing all of the clips needed to attach the bumper cover to to the reinforcement, I moved on to the engine. I have done what MudRunner has done with the PVC 'cold air' intake except I took it a step further and put a k&n filter element in. I've decided to call it a cold air. It draws from the fender and filters through a high performance grid, so it shouldn't matter whether the filter is at the fender or the intake manifold.

Thursday--

In the morning I went out and grabbed the rest of the clips I figured I would be needing. In the afternoon I went to my dad's house and started working. I put the bumper cover on and attached it with the clips I had bought. Attached the inner fender and clipped it in along with the mudflap. Took some wood and a sledge to the hood latch to line it up (worked remarkably well). Installed and hooked up all the new lighting, and more or less, the car was done. I went inside, got on the computer, bought insurance, and took her for a drive.

Thoughts--

Drove pretty well; mechanically sound. It sounds A LOT louder due to the aftermarket hood not having any noise insulation and also from the intake system. You can definitely feel a very nice new pull in the low end and in the lower gears just from the intake. The car pulled to the right pretty heavily; good thing I had an alignment scheduled for the next morning. With the exception of the lack of a head unit, it ran great (more to come on the speaker mod).

Friday--

Got the alignment taken care of on the Air Force Academy, $55. Expensive?? It still pulls just a little to the right so I'll have to take it back there. I'll post a picture of the results for camber/toe.

As of now--

The car is more or less finished. I can drive it and everything, it just has the white hood and fender. As I go, I'll pick up red body panels when I can find them.

PICS TO COME WITH A CAMERA (potentially, of course).

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

Your Journal is coming along nicely.

As to a camera & pictures. Remember the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words!" Adding the appropriate picture can save a ton of writing! No need to invest in an expensive camera, even a cell phone camera with 4 to 8 megapixel, will do the job! :wink:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[pigboat_2]

Alright, I finally combined a beautiful day and a detail job with a camera, so let's see how this comes out...

I have pictures of my car with the damage (I think) but they will have to be sourced and uploaded.

Update--

I drove up to Greeley today and grabbed a red fender off a salvaged 98 and popped it on, so pics of that to come. Just need to source a hood...

Exterior--

 

[pigboat_2]

Interior--

MudRunner's Home Depot CAI--write up to come

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

Nice pictures! It looks like your Forester is coming together nicely.

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[thebeephaha]

Logitech sub? How are you powering it? 12v to 110v ?

 

[MudRunner]

Heeeeeeeyyyy! That looks familiar! :lol:


Looking good!

 

[pigboat_2]

Nice pictures! It looks like your Forester is coming together nicely.

Bobby...

'07 FSXT MODding Journal
'03 X MODding Journal

Thanks, it is! Just need that hood...

Logitech sub? How are you powering it? 12v to 110v ?

Let's see...

Heeeeeeeyyyy! That looks familiar! :lol:


Looking good!

Haha thanks for the idea! Do you have a k&n filter too cause I think that made all the difference.

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

Some thoughts...

If you're still thinking about a turbo upgrade, you might consider installing a hood scoop before you have the hood repainted. :wink:

Try some Mother's Back-to-Black on your rear bumper mat. I bet it'll make it look like new!

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[WNC Forester]

hey, looks like we are almost twins!:biggrin:
Notice the pipe that goes into your fender isnt that snug, I copied mud-runners intake also, but mine was tighter fitting going into the fender. I used the 3 inch piece on the end, it took some struggle but it is wedged in prefectly. You might pull better air if it was more snug, but it probably doesnt really matter.
Glad to see you got it back on the road

 

[pigboat_2]

Some thoughts...

If you're still thinking about a turbo upgrade, you might consider installing a hood scoop before you have the hood repainted. :wink:

Try some Mother's Back-to-Black on your rear bumper mat. I bet it'll make it look like new!

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

Yeah, I figured that I would just try to find a different hood that isn't aftermarket and that is already red instead painting my white one...the turbo upgrade would be down the road, probably at the end of the year if I do end up doing that instead of buying a WRX wagon. And thank you for that idea, because the off black has been bothering me...

hey, looks like we are almost twins!:biggrin:
Notice the pipe that goes into your fender isnt that snug, I copied mud-runners intake also, but mine was tighter fitting going into the fender. I used the 3 inch piece on the end, it took some struggle but it is wedged in prefectly. You might pull better air if it was more snug, but it probably doesnt really matter.
Glad to see you got it back on the road

I do have the 2 to 3 inch piece on the end into the fender...to be honest, it's not even glued right now but when I initially installed it, it all fit tight enough together to fit very snugly in the fender. This did however cause a rattle when the engine started and stopped because the engine does shake around a bit. I was thinking of maybe lining the fender opening with rubber or some sort of protectant?

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

... And thank you for that idea, because the off black has been bothering me...

We use Mother's Back-to-Black on everything that's not painted! Just remember apply it generously, then wipe off all that isn't absorbed. It won't hurt the paint, so a little sloppyness is okay. It will make tires look like new, without the gloss some products give you. The trick to Mother's is to treat the surfaces before it really need it & keep treating it to prevent UV caused fading. :smile:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[pigboat_2]

Day of purchase pic

 

[pigboat_2]

I have a question...

I bought the car with 155k miles on it and records of the timing belt being done at 98xxx miles, but not the head gaskets. Should I do them? The car already has upwards of 170 thousand miles on it. Bought some pretty platinum plugs for it today. Impulse buying at wally world . How hard is this job (replacing plugs)?

Opinions...my rear window isn't tinted, and I'm guessing it's because the rear gate has been replaced before. The paint is just a little off in really bright sunlight from the rest of the car. Should I get it tinted, because I like the privacy and all, but at night it's great to have the visibility...