Subaru Crew - Modifications

pdubois

Thanks for the info. I contacted the guy (Hubert) by email. I'll let you know how it goes.

Pat.

hciaffa

I've picked up on the name listed in some post and I beleive its a place to order parts wholesale, is this correct and how does one get information on what they have to offer. Do they have a catalog. Thanks for any info.

ateixeira

It's a dealership that sells accessories and parts at wholesale prices, with free shipping.

Prices are hard to beat. Unfortunately, their web site still isn't set up, and they don't have a catalog.

However, I have gotten dozens of quotes from her (Darlene) and even ordered on a few occassions, and have been more than satisfied.

-juice

mccrair

Drew says (in response to Ash in post 156):

'Xpel sells a die-cut headlamp protection film for
the Legacy/Outback; Cost is $53+. Have a look:
http://www.xpel.com/lite/headlight/subaru.html'

Has anyone actually used these? Do they work? Are they worth the money?

Mike

aling1

A few people on our M-class mailing list have tried the Xpel film and have been pleased with the results. I think that the film is probably relatively cheap protection versus damaged headlamps.

bigelm

Don't these headlamp films mentioned in prior posts, have the tendency of turning yellow in time?? I was looking into it not too long ago, but I was told that these films turn to go yellow in time. Has anyone had it long enough to disagree??? What's your experience???

brownstone1

For those of you that are downhill skiers you might remember a product that was released about ten years ago that was called "Ski Saver", I think they still sell it. It is basically a clear film that is used on the topsheet of skis to prevent them from getting scratched. I've had the stuff on a pair of my skis for the past 7 years and it hasn't turned yellow but it hasn't seen that much exposure to UV rays as a pair of headlights would. Ski Saver comes in rolls that are about 7 feet long (2.1 meters) and 3 inches (7.5 centimeters wide) . Next time I see the stuff I'm going to try it on my headlights.

Good Luck

Stephen

francophile

Stromung for my '00 Legacy - cool! Thanks for that information dzartman.

Thanks also to all the folks posting lighting information. I have to admit you got my attention. I'm not one to spend money on poseur doodads, so I don't care what the replacement bulbs might do to the look of my car; however I care very much how they help me SEE where I'm going. I hear the "whiter light" spiel, and I understand it well enough; what I'd like to know is if there is a definitive difference in how much, and how far, one can see at night with the PIAA bulbs. If the better visibility is mostly a matter of opinion I'll probably go for the exhaust ;-)

Cheers,
WDB

kens

WDB -- I've put in Hella Premium Xenon replacement bulbs in my Forester and I will vouch that they are brighter than the stock H4 bulbs. I bought these bulbs not because I wanted the HID look, but rather because I was interested in an inexpensive way to improve night visibility. These bulbs are not colored -- they simply contain some amounts of xenon in their gas mixture that allows the filament to burn brighter. Based on my observations, it appears that these bulbs are slightly brighter and the color temperature is higher. For $20 a pair, I'm happy. Don't know about PIAAs however.

Drew -- Installed the Hella Optilux Xenon Whites in my Jetta last night. The bulbs look almost like the Sylvania CBs, except that the quartz has a very faint purplish color to it. The resulting light output is whiter (no duh) and the intensity seems to be slightly greater when compared side-to-side with the stock bulb.

aling1

A slight purplish hue is totally normal and it is caused by the bulbs and the reflectors. Even the H4 PIAAs that I had in my Camry had this very faint purplish colour around the middle. But since it doesn't tint the light output in anyway, it's a non issue.

Are the Optilux bulbs brighter or whiter than the Hella Premium bulbs that you have? I guess it's not really fair to compare since one is a H4 and the other is a H7, but there should be at least some difference in colour temperature.

Drew

kens

Drew,

I would think there is a difference in color temp between the two since the Xenon White is basically the Xenon Premium with a blue quartz bulb. At the same time, the Xenon Premium itself had a whiter light to begin with. Some day, I'll take a photo of my Forester and Jetta side by side. I'd like to try some PIAAs someday, but I just can't justify the $70 price tag.

Ken

francophile

Thanks to all for the straight poop on the lights. I'm totally convinced at this point that some kind of the upgraded bulbs will be going into my car. Can anyone speak directly to the difference between the $20/pr bulbs and the $70/pr PIAA's? I'm willing to pony up the bucks if they're noticeably better. I notice that PIAA advertises things like 55/80 for wattage; I'm assuming the first number is actual watts consumed and the second is effective wattage.

Next question: any recommendations on really good, small flood-type driving lights? I'm specifically thinking of something I can mount down low in the cooling nacelles in the front of my '00 GT. The combination of improved bulbs for normal/fog conditions and a pair of small suns for those long lonely open stretches should just about cover the lighting situation for me. Any suggestions gratefully accepted.

TIA,
WDB

ateixeira

All I see is the old Outback. How 'bout a Forester, an RS (where the buyers would be), and the new Legacy GT and Outback?

-juice

kens

MDB,

I don't know of any test so far that compares the PIAAs vs. Sylvania Cool Blues or Hella Optilux Whites -- maybe Drew does. I'd be interested in something like that too. Drew?

My guess is that the difference between the PIAA and Cool Blues would not be nearly as big a difference as when comparing them against a standard halogen bulb. Both PIAA, Sylvania & Hella use similar technologies to achieve better performance. From what I've heard, the PIAAs do perform better but whether it's worth the extra $50 is up to you.

You may want to take the PIAA claim of 55=80W with a grain of salt. While I do belive PIAA bulbs are brighter than stock 12V 55W bulbs, I'm not sure if it really is that more.

aling1

No, I don't know of a test that compares all of those three bulbs together. I've seen a review of the PIAA Super Plasma bulbs in a British Auto magazine and they were most impressed with it (their 1st choice, I recall).

A while back, I stumbled across a Nissan Maxima site where the car's owner had a number of pictures comparing the Cool Blues and the PIAAs to each other, as well as the stock halogen bulbs. Unfortunately, I've lost that URL and hence can't refer you to it. In any case, this Maxima owner went from the stock bulbs to the Sylvanias, and then to the PIAA Superwhites. He was so impressed with the difference that he also switched his foglamp bulbs to the PIAAs.

I believe that the Optilux bulbs are at least as good as the Cool Blues. If you're unwilling to spend the money on the PIAAs, the C.Bs and the Hella Optilux bulbs are good choices as well (for much less money).

The PIAA Superwhites are indeed brighter than the stock bulbs, but as Ken said, take the ratings with a grain of salt. They're bright but not THAT (i.e. 1.5X) much brighter.

Drew

ramon

Man, what happened to this Mods topic?! Enuf of lights already! Just get and get over it!!! daggamit!

nvy

..the lights.
The party's over
they say that all
good thing must end

Call it a Night
the party's over
Whom am I kidding
for tomorrow they shall
be shining on us again.

Don't punch out my lights Buds.
I'm just messing with Ya'll.

Actually, I've learned some things from
this bulb talk.

Ya'll have a safe 3 day weekend out there, K.
I'm out of here.

Later YA'll

ramon

that now that this lighting issue is put off (pun intended), no one posts here anymore. C'monguys, I'm sure there's more to modding your scoobys than just installing some light bulbs? OK light bulb jokes is conjuring up in my mind....
Later y'all.

ateixeira

I saw the door edge guards at a KMart and didn't get the name down (oops!). The only package they had was ripped open, and I couldn't find a price.

Blue light special in the auto dept...

What if SoA offered the ST-X's supercharger as a dealer installed option, like Toyota does for TRD parts? You guys think they'd sell? Mostly to RS owners, or what?

For the right price, I'd want one. $3k or less?

-juice

dzartman

I'd have one installed in my OB in a second!!

locke2c

What would be critical is for SPT to continue the factory warranty just like TRD does when a TRD supercharger is installed. And Subaru knows that.

-Colin

ateixeira

Marzo sent me pics of his aftermarket stereo. Here's what a Sony looks like in a Forester's dash:

http://thejuiceman.homepage.com/pals.html

-juice

dzartman

I've ordered a Stromung exhaust for my 2000 Legacy
Outback wagon: dual 3" chrome plated tips, 2.25"
mandrel tubing. Dyno tests show 6hp gained. Will
post photos on my Subaru site when installed.

http://www.wave.net/diveguy/Dave

dzartman

Went for Stromung due to web sites that show that
2.5" tubing plus huge tips actually cause loss of
low end torque. Since I do most of my Offroading at
low speeds, up and down hills etc, decided the
Stromung is a better choice. But for high speed,
the Tanabe G-Power Wagon and AX Wagon systems are
the ULTIMATE.

http://www.rd-tanabe.com
http://www.stromung.com

Dave

locke2c

I hope you're after loud, because that 2.25" Stromung with dual 3" is going to roar a bit. Not that the boxer sound isn't a joy to the ear, but you're going to have lots of it.

My wife would probably disapprove. She didn't like my Borla when I first got it, now she thinks it's fine. I notice that she stomps it quite a bit when she's driving too.

-Colin

ateixeira

Probably because you need some back pressure, right?

I'm with you on that decision. I don't race so any improvement I'd want would come in under 4000rpm.

-juice

dzartman

Right, it needs sufficient back pressure for decent torque and low end. Still, when I get rich (haha) I'll just have to buy another OB and toss a G-Power Tanabe on there and see how it works. Hopefully the sound won't be too intrusive. I saw a review on a site, i think it was http://www.impreza-rs.com that said the Stromung was noticable but tolerable. Let's hope the much-touted quiet cabin comes into play here, but I wouldn't mind a bit more exhaust note!

On to a recurring theme for me: I'm still struggling with a decision to put a Weapon-R intake on my 2000. (http://www.spomotorsports.com)I figure there's a couple of options to give it some cooler air. One is to install hood vents, like the ones seen at http://www.writerguy.com/primitive (Subaru specialist in Oregon). They would allow some heat to rise up out of the engine bay, plus, IMHO, just look cool and unique. Or, I could put in a SYMS hood scoop like the one seen on the home page of SPO Motorsports (URL above), to jam some outside cool air in as I drive. It also would be a unique look, that's for sure! I'd keep the first section of the stock air funnel too, to bring in yet more air. What do you think, Colin, Juice, Ramon and everyone? Will those mods let in enough cool air to let me gain power?

Dave

dzartman

http://www.spomotorsports.com

dzartman

There was a post about converting an Impreza to WRX-specs. Check out http://www.subysports.com and see how they did it! Wow!

Dave

lucien2

I think any of those would work fine, Dave. Additionally, you might want to fit a peice of cut metal or heat resistant plastic to separate the intake from the rest of the engine bay so the hot and cold air doesn't mix. An acquaintance of mine who races his 633CSi has done that. Of course it is a pretty fast, powerful car, but it is interesting to me that, while he has made suspension mods and has added an intake, he has left the drivetrain alone.

I was hoping to have some meaningful mods done by now (read: perfomance enhancing), especially suspension, but I just can't find the cash. Now I need a new computer, too. Maybe the fall...
I am also thinking about that pulley, but am not convinced it won't really compromise A/C. My local mechanic's mantra is: "performance mods=destruction. Leave your car alone! the aftermarket people are suckering you!" I don't know if I entirely believe that, but it does give me pause.

buchignani

The folk at SPD Tuning (who concentrate on Subarus, see www.spdusa.com) are unambiguous: both intake and exhaust mods for Subarus are a waste of time and money. There's no reason to take their claim at face value, but it is well-reasoned, and comes from a very experienced source. Their technical discussion is work reading.

Norman

ateixeira

Dave: my guess is that intake/exhaust mods could yield another 10-15 horses or so. But it's a lot of money for relatively small gains.

The pulley is cheap and is supposed to give you an easy 5 horses. If you race, you probably won't care about the A/C (which works, just a bit weaker).

One of the RS's at the i Club meet I attended had a free flowing muffler, and it sounded way kewl. Deeper, with some burbling to go with it. Kind of begs you to rev it up.

Personally, though, I'd do mods in this order: chassis bracing, suspension, wheels & tires, brakes, intake, exhaust, and only then forced induction.

Balance first. I'd rather have too much handling than too much power.

-juice

p0926

Anybody checked out Cobb Tuning's Web page for engine performance modifications at www.cobbtuning.com/forester/engine-packages.html I'm interested but read Norman's post #199 and he's right that SPD Tuning contradicts Cobb's performance claims (up to 18-20% more HP). Anyone have any personal experience with these type mods?

Of course I realize that these type of mods would void the manufacture's warranty.

Frank P.

ateixeira

It's at least optimistic. Give 5 horses for the pulley, another 5 for the muffler, and maybe 2 for the K&N. That's 12 horses at best, really, not 16.5.

For Stage II it's harder to say. It's expensive, though. I'd expect maybe 20 horses or so.

-juice

locke2c

Cobb Tuning's Stage 1 is almost straight out of Sport Compact Car. That's where the power claims come from, I'm sure. They dyno tested and found that the Subaru 2.5L does respond to bolt-ons fairly well.

The funny thing is that Mike Shields from SPD was there at the Under Pressure Racing Development 4WD dyno when the testing was done. He was helping Shiv Pathak from SCC swap parts and provided the Stromung exhaust used in the test.

-Colin

ateixeira

In that case, a dyno tested vehicle sounds much more believable. I'm sure the gains are in net power, not break horse-power, but the percentages should be similar.

20% would be, let's see, 33 horses. 198 horses, sounds good to me!

When I get home tonight I'll have to check all the sofa cushions!

-juice

dzartman

Thanks for the CobbTuning link, it's a good one. I've been looking for headers, and the new SYMS headers are supposedly around $1200, which is way too much. What part of the power band does the header effect? Low, mid, high? I'm interested.

By the way, Colin, interesting note about Mike Shields. I respect his opinion, too. But even if it takes a new cam (which Paeco makes, BTW) I'm still going to put on the Stromung dual 3" exhaust I've ordered, if nothing else but to be a bit different from all the other Legacy OB owners out there. And I'm getting my Raceline wheels in WHITE! That should stand out!

Subaru speed!

dave

ramon

putting a muffler will do nothing other than make some sound. U need to up the piping as well. Colin, I believe you mislead some of these guys here about the power increase in Project Impreza found in SCC. THe power can only be attained if an AFC is present to keep the engine from running dangerously lean. ANd this is on an MY99. No idea what the power diff is for 2000. They run rich.
After asking some questions about dyno runs, I cannot help but wonder the acurracy of the intake power increase gven the fact that the car's hood is open and big fans blow into it.
When teh hood is open, obviously the heat will rise and dissipate away. And teh big turbo fans blowing cool air into the intake also aid in dumping more air into the intake. These conditions is hardly right for what you can get in the real world where the hood is closed and hot engine air are hovering at the top portion of the engien bay which is basically where the cone filter is in. Not to mention I doubt air consumption is is not as much as compared to the 2 big fans blowing onto the engine itself during dyno runs. So IMHO, the results should be taken with a grain of salt. it is not SCC's fault cus the fans has to be run to keep the engine cool. But claiming 20% increase is flawed thanks to the nature of how the dyno is being run. It's like saying "there is a noticeable increase on an X brand of Ram Air device on this car....proven by dyno!" Gimme a break!

ateixeira

ramon - I've seen RS's with the hood scoops made to be functional, i.e. the covers are removed to vent the engine compartment better.

Also, a moving car is going to have similar fresh air coming in. Heck, at the speeds they're likely to see, plenty of air would enter. Perhaps the fan just simulates that.

-juice

ramon

err the hood scoop does not let air our. U go forward, air scoops in. It's made for the intercooler not cooling the engine
As for your second comment. You forgot to mention that the radiator right at the air dam hording the air that comes in. The fan moves the air much more than a closed hood car moving at 60mph.

This brings me to an alternative that many don't think or care cus it's not cool looking. Make use of the cold air within the fender well. For the Imprezas, u have this vents by teh turn signals. Air rush in and fill into the fender walls. Now your stock MY99 air box can be modified to suck air via that area which the last Project Imprza issue did. Smart boie Shiv! You basically remove the snorkus and let the intake suck air from the fender. Works like a charm. They ended up replacing the cone filters back withte stock air box with a K&N panel filter. easy and cheap economical cold air induction kit. But it doesn't look as kewl tho. Oh well.... more go than show. That's me.

ateixeira

The one I saw also had the vents on the side of the hood open. They do let air in, not out, but fresh air ends up getting in somehow or other.

I guess a better simulation would have the fan at the front of the vehicle with the hood closed, running to simulate road speeds.

I hear you on that last one. One of the RS's at the iClub meet had the cone filter removed; he said it was a dog. Too bad I didn't have your suggestion for him.

Have you done this? Do you get two K&N filters? How's the intake noise after the mod?

Hmm, will that work on a Forester too?

-juice

ramon

Yep, did this a while back. Never looked back. For the price, this thing rocks! Also for some MY99 owners we have a 2nd filter box/plenum. I replaced that with a gasket instead. So less restrictions. However I cannot detect any noise as my Borla custom catback exhaust drowns out pretty much everything from the engine.
I dunno how the forester's (what MY?)layout is like. But if it is like the Imprezas. You would have to jack the front passenger side up and remove the wheel. Then take out the fender wall lining and remove the snorkus. It took me 45 minutes cus it was my first time and I didn't know what to look out for. On the engine bay you remove this curve plate via a bold on the front passenger side. Easy part. Then basically do your usual ecu reset procedure and off you go. Free cold air mod without spending big bux. Oh yes I replaced my stock fitler with teh K&N one.

Also the plenum stores air which improves low and midrange power. Without it, your car would mostlikely lose low end torque because it has to suck air from the first filter track and that takes a little bit more time compared to the air which is already in your 2nd air box/plenum.

Now this is what should be considered a modification! Buld changing doesn' count! hehehe.... just kidding. actually anyone knows how to replace the sidemarker bulbs? How to take those things off?!

ramon

K&N filter 69CDN, Gasket 50CDN ....bet it's less than 100US.

ateixeira

Mine's the '98, Phase I DOHC 2.5l. I'll have a closer look at the 30k service and then decide what to do.

At the next i Club meet, I'll know what to look for. It's great to learn from the experiences (and mistakes!) of others.

-juice

p0926

The following is an excerpt of an email exchange with Mike Shields of SPD Tuning Service. His response provides some very interesting and detailed information regarding "bolt-on" performance mods so I am sharing his remarks for the benefit of this forum.

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Patton
To: Mike Shields
Subject: Subaru Engine Mod Question

I have a Subaru Forester and am interested in increasing the engine output. I read your technical information notes with interest. However, it seems to contradict the claims of the Cobb Tuning web site http://www.cobbtuning.com/forester/engine-packages.html.
------------------------------------------------
Frank,

We do not deny the claims of power improvement. The point is a 20% power increase is only in the last 1500 rpm of engine operation, not down where you drive it. The actual average power increase is on the order of 12% through 4000-6000 rpm. If you consider that acceleration is a square root function of power the 20% is now looking like a 3%-4% increase in acceleration rate. The car sounds great, feels better, but is still rather slow. Unless we are going for 70-100 more horse power and preferably in the midrange power band, the nature of the way the car drives is not really going to change.

This is my point. Is the juice worth the squeeze? If I was selling this stuff I would feel uncomfortable, knowing what I know about cars. Would you buy a roughly 3%-4% acceleration improvement or would you rather tell people you have 20% more power to offer? I have actually sat at the bar with Trey discussing this point. I am quite comfortable in my position on this issue. On the other hand, many of my customers have intake kits and other items added to their cars, because they really want what ever they can get in the way of "better performance".

Given EPA and in our case, California state regulatory issues involved, SPD Tuning is just staying away this whole bolt-on kit area. We specialize very small quantities of //deleted// 240 to 320 hp WRX engine and transmission replacement units. These engines have about twice as much (read 100% more) power at 3000 rpm than a normally aspirated 2.5 engine. In stark contrast, at 3000 rpm the bolt on parts you are reading about can actually have less power than if you had left the engine alone.

We are not saying to stay away from bolt on engine modifications, per se. Just that we are not participating in this type of "market segment" for the reasons stated. We feel that similar dollars spent on the chassis and brakes will make the car much faster around the track and/or better prepared to deal with real world driving situations. One needs to stop and turn much more often than accelerate away from a problem. Providing these solutions is the strength of SPD Tuning Service.

Sincerely,
==m==
Mike Shields
SPD Tuning Service
Redondo Beach CA

ateixeira

Thanks for sharing that.

And, BTW, the "juice" is definitely worth squeezing.

My wife says so!

-juice

miksmi

LOL. You beat me to the punch, buddy.

Graham, Are you familiar with ECB? (apologies if this is old news). The ECB "47mm Nudge Bar" is the perfect mounting point for auxiliary lighting or aerials. Cool, a place to mount serious aux lights if you rally or live in a poorly-lit area. (Ramon, hope this qualifies as a mod in your book

..Mike

amishra

answer this tough trivia question:

what's juice's real name?

ateixeira

Ash, can I answer that one? %#>

Sorry, Friday burn-out.

How 'bout these, slightly easier: What country am I from? Where'd I go to college? How many Subarus have I owned?

Eric - how 'bout a home-made cold air induction mod? And send pics, please! My Forester has the same engine!

-juice

ewesson

Here's an interesting thought: How about an air conditioner to chill the intake air? Both chilling it and reducing its humidity would increase its density.