[markyh]

I bought my Forester Jan 25, 2010 so I figured it's about time I made a journal. When I got the car the only option was the front underspoiler.

Here's a couple of pics of the first couple of days

My first mods were to hurry up and get an alarm with a remote start a Clifford Matrix 50.7X, and to get the front windows tinted. A local shop that's been around many years did that for me all at once.
I soon realized I was going to need a new stereo asap. The 6-disc in the dash is a good idea for some people maybe, but it's no match for a usb drive or an iPod. So the next thing I did was order my new stereo and put it in myself. It's a very easy install in the new Forester. I've done dozens of stereo installs over the years and have always had Kenwoods. So I got a Kenwood DDX516 head unit and a PAC SWI-jack to maintain the steering wheel controls. I have never had steering wheel controls, but the install wasn't to hard thankfully.

Here's a pic of the stereo in the dash

In this pic you can see my 2way remote for the alarm and remote start

Then I quickly changed the start up screen and the background of my new Kenwood.

The more I looked at the stereo the more I hated that spacer trim piece around it to make it fit the wider opening.
I then ordered the JDM trim from Japanparts.com

 

[dpkilty]

Nice, do you by chance have the part number of the JDM trim piece (or a link) so I can add it to the sound better than an sti for cheap thread.

 

[markyh]

Now I had to do something about the extremely ugly stock grill. I mean really Subaru? It looked like they had Chrysler make the grill!

I got the sport grill from a store on eBay and as soon as the temp hit 50 degrees, I was out putting it in. About this same time I got the splash guards for a birthday present.

Now that I had a much better stereo, I needed it to sound better so I added Polk db651 speakers in all 4 doors. I used Fatmat and Dynamat on the doors, but somehow I can't find my pics for that.
Then I put an old amp I had laying around in, a Kenwood KAC-7202 460 Watt amp and got an MTX Audio TR5512-04 12" sub and put it in a small sealed box. I put the amp under the driver's seat and ran some heavy gauge speaker wire to the back and used a banana clip on the sub box for easy removal. This way I can still used the back of my Forester for utility for hauling. That's when I put the mat in and haul my lawn mower, or whatever.

Here's a pic of the amp under the driver's seat

Here's the sub and box in back

 

[markyh]

Nice, do you by chance have the part number of the JDM trim piece (or a link) so I can add it to the sound better than an sti for cheap thread.

You can find it here:
JDM Japanese Auto Parts specialists | japanparts.com

 

[markyh]

Next it was time for new wheels and tires.

I got 18" Rota Tarmac 3's from Wheeldude.com and Yokohama Avid Envigor's 245/45 18's. I wanted to keep my wheel/tire combo as close to the stock diameter as possible and this is it.

About the same time I switched the springs to WRX '07's in the front, and '08's in the back since the top hats are different. This way I could use the stock Forester struts with no modifications and drop about 2". I don't want any scraping and I think negative camber is for ricers so please do not tell me to "slam it" or talk about wheel/fender gap. It's a Forester and it's going to stay that way. I did add 1/4" saggy butt spacers by Subtle to even it out perfectly though.

I instantly got betting handling, but to make it even better I added a Perrin 22mm rear sway bar and Perrin endlinks. It's a world of difference now!

Here's a couple of pics

You can also see in that last pic that my exhaust is no longer stock. I got the SPT exhaust and a Cobb downpipe for some added performance. I also purchased a Cobb Access Port for tuning to stage 2 with 93 Octane. The SPT exhaust was rattling so I got longer hangers from Kartboy.

exhaust tip

 

[markyh]

Almost forgot about my TurboXS hybrid bov. Just a little modification to the plastic engine cover and here it is! It's sounds perfect too, not to loud. I think Foresters should be a little quieter than rally cars!

About this time I was thinking something didn't look quite right. I didn't like the headlights and wanted to paint them black, but I didn't have the guts to rip them apart. Luckily, my friend Alex (Subaru and all-around car GOD) said he's done it before and it's no problem. Now I trust him with my car since he's done almost all the mods so far anyway, so I helped him with the headlights.

Wow, the XT's should come like this! In the second pic you can see my Lamin-x fog light film. I think it looks better than clear.

Now more recently this Summer I went to work under the hood. I got an Optima Red Top battery since several of my Subie friends tell me the stock battery stinks and wont make it through another winter. I put Scosche Delta battery clamps on there to make it look good. Also you can see the SPT oil cap and battery tie down. Then to keep things looking good I added various chrome and black chrome bolts and washers (very expensive at the hardware store) and got some fancy gunmetal fender washers too!

 

[markyh]

I wanted some more to look at under that hood. More than just my little Forester model I put up on the cover at meets and shows. So I decided to get the Cobb intake since a Forester is really an Impreza at heart and the engine compartment it identical to the '08+ WRX. Now Cobb says they don't make an intake for the '09+ Forester XT, so my friend Alex had to call them and advise them that they do!

Cobb intake

Then I thought the box has to work then too and even though Cobb again said no, here it is! I wasn't crazy about the solid black cover that comes with the cold air box, so I had an idea. I bought some scrap smoke colored plexi from a local plastic place and used a scroll saw to cut it out. I think it looks great and like to see the filter! You can also see my STI radiator cap and DEI heat shroud around the coolant lines.

 

[markyh]

At one point along the way I added an led light strip to the hood scoop. I wasn't trying to be Knight Rider or anything, just add some flair I guess. They are just natural white in color and they don't flash, move, or change color. They are a weatherproof strip from Oznium, not the junk you get at Autozone. The leds are actually mounted up on top of the scoop and behind the lip of the scoop so you can not see the strip at all, only the reflections.

Then I thought the grill needed something so I added another strip on the top of the bumper. The metal part inside, not on the cover at all. It shined up nicely, but then it highlighted one of my whimpy stock horns. so then I had to fix that with some Hella Supertones. You know everyone with a Subaru gets Hellas, but not a lot of guys out there paint them. I always see a set of red horns behind the grill on whatever color car and think it doesn't match or look good. It's really easy to take them apart and paint.

The went from

sanded

Primer

to Duplicolor Black Metal Specks

behind the grill

So now that I fixed the horn problem I have pics with all the leds. It's hard to take good pics of them though since I suck with the camera! You can only see the bottom strip from a very specific angle, otherwise you just see the light reflection as you should.

Here's it's still light out

Here it's dark, but you can't really tell how they look in this pic. They aren't blinding at all and they are actually very subtle especially with my headlights on. My headlights are 5k HID's and they match nicely.

 

[markyh]

It's still a work in progress and there's a lot more to do. Like most people I have a lot more ideas than money! There's some little things like different bulbs and bolts here and there, some stickers, but nothing really worth listing. Oh, and yeah, my license plate shows in most of the pics, I don't care.

Here is my list of things done as of now, I think.
30% front window tint
5000k HID headlights
led parking lights
led lights in hood scoop and grill
blue led interior light kit
custom-painted inner headlights satin black
Lamin-x fog light film
Clifford Matrix 50.7X alarm/remote start
Kenwood DDX516 head unit
Kenwood KAC-7202 460 Watt amp
MTX Audio TR5512-04 12" sub sealed box
Polk db651 speakers - 4 doors Subaru tweeters - 2
dashcam/DVR
back up camera
Dynamat/Fatmat all 4 doors/rear hatch
VF52 turbo PnP ceramic coated by GrimmSpeed
Cobb catted downpipe
Cobb Access port
93 octane pro tune
Perrin top mount intercooler
Cobb SF intake/box
SPT catback exhaust
Kartboy 12mm Exhaust Hangers
TurboXS 50/50 bov
GrimmSpeed 3port EBCS
GrimmSpeed lightened main pulley
SPT turbo heat sheild
SPT oil cap/battery tie down
WRX springs, apprx. 2.5" drop
Subtle 1/4" saggy butt spacers
Subtle alternator cover
Hella Supertones
STi flexible strut tower brace
Perrin 22mm rear sway bar/endlinks
Rota Tarmac 3 18" wheels
Yokohama Avid Envigor tires
WRX TR front calipers with vented discs
WC Latheworks custom XTi shift knob
GrimmSpeed master cylinder brace
front underspoiler
sport grill
splash gaurds
cargo cover
rear bumper cover

Most of this would have either not happened or would have been tremendously more expensive if it hadn't been for my friend Alex. He and his wife have had numerous Subaru's and are just all around good people!

 

[markyh]

Here's a couple more pics:

On the Dyno at Kelly Moss Motorsports in June of this year. As far as performance parts I had everything except for the Cobb intake. It made 210 WHP and 296 ft lbs tq. Hopefully a Cobb pro-tune is coming soon.

other random pics:

fender washers

when I fist got the Optima battery.

I cut the rods for the battery tie down to length and finished it off with some little rubber caps.

My little Forester (it's all stock!):

Down by the Mississippi River

sf.org Calendar August 2012

 

[Wyldcat89]

one of the cleanest Foresters on the site! love everything you've done with it. Does the yellow fog light film make any difference at all or is it mainly for looks?

 

[JLittle0808]

Hey man that's really looking awesome. You got a lot of the same things that I'd like to do to mine sometime in the future. Thanks for the great journal! Keep it up!

 

[markyh]

one of the cleanest Foresters on the site! love everything you've done with it. Does the yellow fog light film make any difference at all or is it mainly for looks?

Thanks! To be totally honest, I could never tell if the fogs were on or not except for the light on the dash! I guess it's just for looks, I only ever even turn them on if it's raining.

Hey man that's really looking awesome. You got a lot of the same things that I'd like to do to mine sometime in the future. Thanks for the great journal! Keep it up!

Thanks a lot! There's tons more I want to do, but you know how that goes!

 

[jesusv]

Awesome journal, Amazing looking car! Keep up the fantastic work. How is the ride quality with the 18 wheel combo you have in comparison to stock 17's? I currently have swifts with stock struts and stock 17 wheels and I like the comfort of the ride. Would like your input as to the ride quality even though you're on a different suspension set up. Thanks.

 

[markyh]

Awesome journal, Amazing looking car! Keep up the fantastic work. How is the ride quality with the 18 wheel combo you have in comparison to stock 17's? I currently have swifts with stock struts and stock 17 wheels and I like the comfort of the ride. Would like your input as to the ride quality even though you're on a different suspension set up. Thanks.

Thanks.
Ride quality is perfect, just like stock! There's still plenty of rubber with the 45 sidewalls. I say go for it on your suspension and you'll be happy.

 

[jesusv]

Thanks.
Ride quality is perfect, just like stock! There's still plenty of rubber with the 45 sidewalls. I say go for it on your suspension and you'll be happy.

Great new, thanks! I'm in the middle of moving to Pittsburgh, but as soon as I'm done with the move, I jumping on the 18s. Thanks again.

 

[markyh]

Just wanted to put up a couple of pics my friends took at the Another Level Car Show in Chicago (Palatine). They take better pics than I do, but they are photographers, so they should!

It sucks there weren't more Foresters there. Only one other Forester, a 2000 with green wheels. I thought there were a lot more proud Forester owners in Chicagoland. There wasn't even that many Subaru's period. Everything else was just some form of Impreza. I only saw one RS, then a few WRX's and WRX STI"s.

 

[markyh]

Pro tune by AMS in West Chicago. Picked up 15 extra hp and 70lb ft tq!:Banane17:

 

[JohnnyC]

Gorgeous FXT! All-around superb looking vehicle Mark.

 

[pkthedreamer]

Mark are those tarmacs hyperblack? I'm on wheeldude.com and found 3 different hyperblack tarmac 3s.

18x8 Rota Tarmac 3 - Hyper Black(5x100/e48/56.1)
18x8 Rota Tarmac 3 - Hyper Black(5x114.3/e35/73)
18x8 Rota Tarmac 3 - Hyper Black(5x114.3/e48/73)

Have no idea what those differences mean. I know what they are I just don't know what it means. Which ones were the ones you went with? Thanks!