ScoobyDoobie's LGT

(chronological pics)
Completely stock














w/smoked light overlays F&R, de-badged,tint, and mesh grill:

(contd.)



minus mesh grill, + stock painted grill, Rota SDR's, and JDM rain visors:









+ RavSpec PU lip

2-1-2008: First mod: Replaced the stock 215/45/17 RE92's (crap) with 225/45/17 RE960 AS Pole Positions





As some of you know I used these same tires in 225/50/17 on my forester, they are excellent "ultra" high performance all seasons. I would have loved to just swap over the rotas from my forester wrapped in these (as they still have quite a bit of tread), but things are never easy are they? With a little research, I learned that the 50 series tire will not clear the strut perch on the LGT : ( . They work on Spec B's as they have different bilstein struts, but no go on the standard LGT. So had to grab a brand new set.:biggrin:

The RE92's which come stock on the LGT, are a horrible mismatch for such a fun and powerful car. They broke loose on me in the rain when barely giving it gas on an on ramp, and broke loose again going somewhat hard around a turn. As you know my friends, this is unacceptable. To be honest, my modded 99' forester out handles the stock LGT by a good shot. A bigger RSB is definitely in order for this one.

Another reason I had them replaced so soon after getting the car, is that I had noticed a weird warpage on the inside of the back right tire :huh:. Turns out, as the tech at the tire place told me, the tire was actually STRIPPING itself off the wheel!! :shake: I'm lucky the tire didn't just fall off while driving 70 on the interstate huh?

To sum it up, great first mod, I love these tires and reccomend them to anyone looking for a great all season. Next up: window tint and AVO high flow panel filter (I need to hear more turbo :biggrin. Look for the Bronze Rota SDR's from my forester to go on eventually too.

Thanks for looking!

Stay tuned (pun intended)

4-1-2008 Debadged everything but "GT" from the trunk. Trunk was looking a little cluttered with all the writing back there. Used the tried and true method of dental floss and hair dryer. A little goo gone and old credit card to clean the excess glue left on. Finally, a quick wash and good to go. Didn't realize that "LEGACY"'s letters were on individually, so the "L" went flying off to never-never land. Oh well.
Before:



After:



I was thinking about taking off the "GT" and just leaving the stars emblem, but I like the way it looks for now. What do you think?

Next thing I'm going to get to clean up the rear is these Jinsu-power stacked oval tail-light overlays.



Here's what they look like installed on another ABP legacy:


I think it'll look pretty sharp.

AVO highflow panel filter on its way. Stay tuned. :Banane35:

4-8-2008: Installed AVO highflow air filter. Some of you XT guys should look at this filter as a good alternative to K&N or Green filters. Very good construction, re-usable, and NON-oiled. So those of you looking to get a better filter but worried about oil in your MAF, here is your answer. Simply wash in warm soapy water and let air dry, and its as good as new.

Initial impressions: Obviously I don't expect any huge results from an air filter, but I'm loving this so far. It allows you to hear the turbo spool a little better and hear the stock BPV much better when letting off the gas. WHOOSH PISSSHH! It really is nice being able to hear the turbo now. It's not real loud or anything, just with the radio off and windows up or cracked a bit, you can really hear the BPV now when letting off the gas. I expect MPG to increase a bit, especially considering how freaking filthy the stock paper filter was. The fact that its re-usable is another big plus. Highly reccomend this filter.




v.s. dirty stock filter, my guess is that this was in for all 22K miles this car has been driven! I guess the previous owner never changed it : ( ?



Coming soon: window tint, jinsu power tail light overlays, Rallitek RSB...

Been getting a few things in the mail the past couple a' days. :biggrin: I got some Kartboy Endlinks and a Rallitek/IPD 19mm solid RSB made for the OBXT/LGT. Should be a good match for the solid 21mm front bar. The bar comes with heavy duty mounts and some blue lube to get the mounts on the bar! :Banane35:

Kartboy endlinks with hardware




IPD/Rallitek 19mm RSB w/mounts/hardware





Kartboy Endlinks w/hardware



and everything together



I'm really stoked to get everything on there. Should tighten the rear up a bit huh? :biggrin: A solid 18mm rear bar on my SF was probably my favorite mod (especially bang for buck), so I'm expecting some good results from this. I'll post my thought when I put everything on in a week or two.

Might be a dumb question, but there are four bolts and eight washers that came with the endlinks. One goes on either side of the bolt correct?

4-23-08: Installed Jinsu-power clear stacked oval smoked tail lights. Got them in the mail and had them on about 20 minutes later.

Before:



After:













Looks much better than stock IMHO. I like the fact that the reverse lights section is clear so as to not hinder ability to back up at night. I also opted for the "stacked ovals" rather than solid smoke because it will allow more light to escape at night.

Definitely need to get the windows tinted soon, and I'm thinking of ordering smoked front turn signal film from the same company. Hope to get the RSB/endlinks on soon!

5-27-08: finally had some time today to get the RSB/endlinks/mounts on. Took about 2 hrs. start to finish. It was a bit difficult to get to the bolts on the endlinks, but the real PITA was getting the old bar off once everything was disconnected. Ended up having to unbolt both mufflers from the Y-pipe in order to get the old bar out/new bar in. No PBlaster or WD40 necessary! The stock endlinks look like twigs compared to the kartboy endlinks BTW.

Initial driving impressions are great! Haven't driven much but was able to push a few turns/curves and it definitely feels better-planted. Feels more stable when going through curves. Body roll has been reduced significantly as well. Overall, a great mod, the 19mm rear bar is a much better match for the front 21mm. pics:

car in the air, tools out, ready to go




stock bar/endlinks/mounts out..



various pics of Rallitek/IPD 19mm rear sway, mounts, and kartboy endlinks installed











Just ordered Hawk HPS pads for all four corners last night. Also ordered jinsu-power smoked front corner films as well. Also, hoping to bring the car in for window tint sometime soon. Then I shall start saving for an AP (damn this mod bug)!

5-31-08: De-badged "GT" from the trunk. I had it on for a while, but I'm going to try to eliminate as much chrome on the car as possible. Looks cleaner with only the stars IMO. Done modding the rear of the car now. :biggrin:









Next DIY project: Painting the chrome wings and surround on the grill black

vtbimmer said:

Lookin good. Much better without the GT.

Click to expand...

Thanks man.

JackCO said:

I love the LGT's, have you thought about this BDII's DIY grill walk through (ton's of pics) - Subaru Legacy Forums
rather than painting, I think it looks great

Click to expand...

Personally I don't like the look of mesh style grills on 05'-06' LGT's. Something about the grill being rescessed and the empty look of just mesh in it makes it look like somethings missing to me. Like a toothless grin. With the subie logo they look alright but its not for me.

This is the car that gave me the idea of painting the stocker.



From here: my new look! - Subaru Legacy Forums

6-13-08: Installed Hawk HPS pads all around.

Nice improvement in stopping. Pedal feel is better. Replaced all 4 pads with only around 23K on the stockers. Pretty sure the previous owner drove this car pretty hard because the stock pads were pretty low for only having 23K miles on them, not to mention every wheel has some curbage on it. = (

Really liking the feel of the car now. IMO, this is how the LGT should've come from the factory (better pads, better rubber, bigger RSB).

Time to start saving for an AcessPort! = ) way to used to the stock power.

I'll add a few pics of the pads when I get em' off my camera.

Forgot to mention, I got them from The King Of Parts Home Page for $154 shipped for both sets. Pretty good deal, would reccomend them. They have lots of stuff for the Forester XT as well!

Edit: Heres da pics of da product