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C

· Registered
05 Forester Manual
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2 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Hi All,

I'm a new member on here thats looking to get in to a Forester soon (Very soon).
We currently have a Zafira that plods along as the usual family run around by we have decided that with the better half not confident in bad weather and me fancying a slightly nippier car that we would look for a change.

I have always had a soft sport for Subarus since my uncle bought a turbo many moons agao, now as a dad with 3 kids im thinking that unfortunately an impreza is too small for our needs and so we are looking at a forester.

I have been admiring Fsti's for a while also as ultimate sleepers and am currently on the lookout for one and thought i would ask around in here for possible sellers and other information that i could learn.

I went to a very nice dealership today to have a look and while i was there had a go in a Xten that was tuned to around 300hp it ticked all the boxes but unfortunately it was auto which quite threw me for a powerful car. Is there a lot of difference between a modded Xten or a STI?

Now on to the questions:-

  • Is 80k miles on a well looked after 2.5 engine a lot?
  • Do all FSTI have to run on 98/99 ron?
  • What are rust issues like on fsti's?
  • What are spares like to get hold of for fsti's?
  • I have seen a well priced Fsti that has had a cosworth headgasket, would this indicate that the head gasket had previously blown?
  • Are there any downpoints you guys can advise of ownershipp for foresters?
  • Are there any particular weak spots around the vehicle? ie for my old st they used to eat alternators for breakfast

Other than that hopefully I can join the members club shortly. I'm just looking for the right car that myself and the family can enjoy.

Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for any help i get.
 
C8DHC

· Registered
2005 FSTI 'The Limo' Manual
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287 Posts
#2 ·
Hello an welcome.

I also had a zafira before purchasing my forester XT 4 years ago. The forester is much more exciting to drive than the dreary old zafira and comfortably seats 3 kids (now 8,6 and 4) in the back (though I do miss the versatility of the zafira load space/7 seats)

I also have a 2004 impreza saloon which I have owned from new, but it is not really practical as a day-to-day family car.The forester however is a great all rounder and seems to take everything that we throw at it!

Only downside really is the fuel economy - our XT does 25mpg pretty much everywhere we go, so not good if you do lots of miles, however we only did 6k last year.

Both of my Subaru's have the 2.0 engines, which seem to be slightly more robust than the 2.5's (although I sure that comment may come under fire later!) Apart from an alternator belt snapping (it had done 140k miles!) they have been very reliable.

Rust doesn't seem to be a problem - none on my car anyway!

I have always run both cars on super unleaded.

Can't really comment of STi specific questions but Im sure others can help
 
Scratch

· Premium Member
MY05 Legacy Tuned by STI; MY05 Impreza Spec C WR Ltd
Joined
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981 Posts
#3 ·
A lot of the STI parts are the same, but not all. There is some cross over to Impreza STI.

Parts can be obtained through Japanparts.com, or through the Subaru dealer, but you have to wait for them to be shipped form Japan as there's never anything in stock.

Run of the mill parts are IMpreza STI though, such as brake pads, and other consumables.
 
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C

· Registered
05 Forester Manual
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2 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Thanks for the responses so far :)

I also thought i would ask, is there any major diferences between the 05 forester sti compared to the 06 apart from the visual changes? 1 thing i have noticed is that the 05 ones are only 260 odd quid a year tax while the newer ones are 475 a year!
 
cocobongo

· Registered
2004 looking 6 MT
Joined
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247 Posts
#5 ·
There are the 2 models known on here as pre facelift and facelift. The prefacelift is 2004 and 2005 and the facelift is late 2005 and 2006,there were if i am correct 700 of each model made.to my knowledge the only difference is the revised grill and lights on front and reat tail lights.don't think there is any significant mechanical difference,but don't quote me on this.the higher tax band came in on cars registerd after 23rd march 2006 which is a bit of a kicker.I think you can find a few facelift models that fall in the cheaper tax band pre 03/2006 but not many around.It's a personal preference thing which shape you prefer maybe view both and then make your choice!I like the pre facelift look myself but i would.:catfight:
Mine has 76k on the clock and the bodywork is great and no issues have come to light since i got mine but every car is different. just look at a few to get a better overview and use the same rules when viewing a car as you would with any car.said it before but just because it's JDM does'nt change the rules!
 
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fpan

· Registered
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6,175 Posts
#6 ·
Hi and welcome.
As Paul said, the majority of consumables (air, oil, fuel filters), brake discs/pads are Impreza ones.
There is some useful info about the pre-facelift/facelift differences in this thread:
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f75/04-54-over-55-06-vice-versa-201714/
The cut off date for the more expensive tax is the first registration of the car (not in UK but wherever ot was firstly registered) if I am not mistaken to be later than March 2006.
 
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