Subaru Crew - Modifications II

ateixeira

Yes, there was an i Club thread that asked if anyone ever autoXed a Forester. They actually had rallyXed one, and there was a cool photo.

Check by topic, search for "Forester".

-juice

rsholland

I would think this would be the next logical area for Subaru to venture into, from a competition standpoint.

I think the Forester could be made Dakar-ready or Baja-ready, by just adding some of the goodies from their Rally-ready racing Imprezas.

I was just watching the Paris-to-Dakar Rally on Speedvision the other day. Didn't see any Subes, which is a shame. I think they would do well there.

Bob

paisan

I think they used foresters to map/pre-run the Paris-Dakar. I remember reading it somewhere.

-mike

kens

logger2:

An 18mm rear sway bar is a simple and cost-effective modification for your Forester. The Forester uses the same bar as the Impreza and installation simple -- especially with the added ground clearance.

I've found the 18mm rear sway bar does make my Forester feel more solid through turns. This past weekend, I had the chance to drive in the snow and yes, the rear end does come around quite a bit quicker than before. I'd turn in, let off the gas, let the tail ride out a little, get back on the gas and drift right back into line -- sweet!

I've found the Amsoil filter doesn't do much for gas milage. Think of it as an earth friendly alternative to paper filters.

One other mod I've done that's quite popular is removing the intake silencer before the airbox. The instructions are well documented on juice's webapge. This mod not only adds a nice growl to your H4 at WOT, but it also seems to allow the engine to rev more freely and pull harder at high RPMs without low-end loss.

You can find some of the mods listed here at a webpage I set up for my Forester.

Ken

locke2c

The closest thing to that Bob was this past year at the Alcon 5000. It is a 5000 mile "rally" that starts in Seattle, crosses the Artic Circle, and ends in Anchorage and is run once every four years.

Paul Eklund was part of a team that won first overall in a 1998 Impreza 2.5RS. (read about it here) Subaru of America brought two then-new 2000 Legacys. Isuzu had a factory team too, but both lost to the independents in the very lightly modified 2.5RS. ;-)

Strange thing is that Subaru never used this impressive achievement for marketing purposes. Perhaps at that point they didn't care to spend the money for an Impreza that would soon be old news, and would have rather had their Legacys on the headlines. (They did get 3rd & 4th.)

-Colin

rsholland

for competition too? With its better approach/departure angles, and wagon-like body; I would think it would be well-suited for the Baja 1000, Alcon 5000, and Paris-Dakar races.

Bob

lark6

juice: I saw that "autoXing a Forester?" thread on i-club and posted to it as well. I'm not sure if that's the one referenced in the Car blurb. I've also seen pix of a modified Forester wearing car #37 linked to the Syms site. Maybe that's it.

paisan: I don't know if Foresters were used to recce the Paris-Dakar, but they WERE used to recce the 2000 Safari Rally. That was part of the Car blurb and Subaru UK has gotten advertising mileage out of it. I downloaded a pic of that and if I can figure out how to post it here, I will if that's okay w/the moderators.

Ken: Your description of Forester handling w/18mm rear bar is just as I interpret it. Squirt on the gas, lift, rear comes around, squirt again and off you go. Reminds me a lot of making turns in my kayak. There's an alternate route home from work that has a 90-degree right hander, go 50 feet, 90-degree left. Sometimes I go out of my way to take that route.

I'd have to go look in the archive but I'm pretty sure that one of my earlier posts here (maybe in "Future Models") was to the effect that SoA wasn't taking advantage of its rallying heritage in marketing to the US. Looks like that's finally changing. Way to go, SoA!

Ed

bluesubie

Here's a link on Sube of NZ's web site about the Forester recce car. About 3/4 of the way down.
http://www.subaru.co.nz/rally_content.html

And here's something about a Forester setting a 24 hour speed record at Indy.
http://www.fhi.co.jp/subaru/bode27.htm

Dennis

locke2c

Bob,

It seems pretty obvious to me that Subaru's factory interest in the event was promoting the new 2000 Legacy. Otherwise it shouldn't have taken a genious to realize that the nearly 500lb lighter Impreza 2.5RS with the same powertrain would make a much better racer. ;-)

Don't see how the Forester would enter into the equation, personally. One car is the best for the task at hand, the other is (was) spanking-new and ripe for positive press.

-Colin

drew_

Thanks for the links! Those are the exact scout Foresters shown in a Speedvision's WRC coverage. I know juice will love it! It is a stock 2.5L B4 Forester except for the roll cage, underbody protection, heavy (mirrored) tint job, and communications equipment. FWIW, I know that Ford uses Explorers as their scout vehicles. In many situations, the Explorers have been used to tow back the (retired) WRC Focus.



juice, I think the shifter in the picture was a prototype, so hopefully it will look better in person or the font will be altered. There will, of course, will be an in-dash gear position indicator. I've also heard that there will probably be steering mounted shift buttons.


Drew
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paisan

I'm considering doing the next Alcan 5000 with my Trooper... Anyone interested in joining me?

Perhaps Juice can take his Forester with Hutch and we can get Edmunds to sponsor us! Are you listening Edmunds?

-mike

seamus3

i thought the alcan 5000 started in portland. i was visiting my parents in olympia, half way between seattle and portland, and i saw rally cars. i pulled to a stop light and next to me pulled up a soob impreza RS. i look inside and am looking right at the driver, he was on the right hand side. it seemed weird to me so i looked the car over. it was from south africa. i also saw a saab, it had to be from the 70's. two door coupe deal with a homemade exhaust. it was funny because both of the guys inside were wearing ear protection, like the guys at the airport that direct planes, on the ground.

i have checked out tirerack, i actually bought my current tires there. i will ask around and see if i can get them locally.

what is the differece between the amsoil filter and the k&n filter?

barresa11

Seamus:

I used to live in Oly back in the 83'/84' and the early 90's. My folks still live there in the Steamboat Island area. When I was there in the 80's I had imported a US spec Renault LeCar that had the engine rebuilt as an Alpine5 (about 101 hp moving 1800 lbs). It was lowered to the specs of an Alpine5 and had the same 3-lug nut alloy wheels and 185/60x13" Pirelli tires. It was considered tight competition w/the GTI. I remember coming home in the wee hours from a jaunt to Seattle only to find myself in the middle of a pack of rally cars near the Capital Forest in West Oly! I thought I had died and gone to heaven (or still groggy from the drive)! They were as surprised to see me as I them. Anyhow, your post took me back to that time and thought I'd share.

Stephen in Seattle

bluesubie

I'm currently using the Amsoil in my OB Sport and the K&N in my wife's OB (both stock airbox). The K&N is a cotton gauze filter with a 10 yr. million mile warranty and the Amsoil is a 2 stage foam filter with an unlimited warranty. The K&N can go from 30-50,000 miles before cleaning and the Amsoil needs to be cleaned around once a year. Flow-wise they're supposed to be about the same. Amsoil says theirs is better at filtering dirt. The Amsoil was around $32 shipped from Amsoil and the K&N was around $50 from a performance shop.
Dennis

ateixeira

Yeah, I had been looking for a link like that for a loooong time! Thanks, Dennis.

Just skid plates and a roll bar, eh? Though the wheels aren't stock for a 2.5l model. Wonder if they swapped the springs, too.

paisan: all my racing experience and skills can be summarized right here -> ()

Seriously, I need some instruction first, then I plan on easing slowly into a bit of recreational autoXing or rallyXing. The Alcan 5000 sounds like a bit much!

-juice

ateixeira

PS That looks like a 1998-2000 L model, oddly enough. Black grille tells all. But that would mean rear drum brakes!

paisan

I've only auto-xed a 1/2 dozen times.

Driven in NYC traffic for 10 years.

And the Alcan isn't til 2004! So you have plenty of practice time!

I'm actually planning on doing some auto-xs down in MD with the XT6 this spring, so we'll have to drag you out to em with the forester or the miata.

-mike

ateixeira

Definitely let me know. I'd like to watch one or two before I hop in.

Hey - NYC driving is a rally! ;-)

-juice

kens

I'll second that. Between the potholes and cabbies, you definetly gain certain skills. Even better is driving stick in the city.

I know. I'm from NYC.

Ken

lucien2

juice, Paisan, gimme a holler when you go out. I'd like to come along.

logger2

Thanks for all you advice guys. I am going to take my first stab at modifying my forester. I am going to go with either a K&N or an amsoil filter and a dual cup holder. If anybody has any info on changing the wiring to increase the strength of the fog lights, i would appreciate it - costs, how to? etc. Also, if anybody knows where to get one of those black stickers with the white lettering for the windshield, i'd like to put that on too.

One thing i find very aggravating is to try and track this stuff down in Canada, it seems hard to find here. any ideas??

Thanks

kens

I think Susquehanna Motorsports offers wiring tips as well as wiring products. Check out:

http://www.rallylights.com/other/wiring.htm

Ken

seamus3

barresa11: i have some other autoX stories you would love. my friend and i were caught in the middle of a race out in the middle of the woods, near shelton, in his '87 toyota pick-up. it was pretty crazy. i have seen part of that race in the capitol forrest, it's cool.

i'll check out the amsoil filter.

logger2

Anybody know which K&N Filter fits in the forester? I finally found a supplier that's local!

Thanks

rplum

Your dealer should be able to do a quick search for you regarding the K&N air filter part number. I used to know the Impreza models #s, but my brain is getting foggy. If I find them before I see them here, I will post them. Way back when, I had an amsoil on my personal car (1998 Impreza) and I was quite happy with it.

Just got back from a trip to the U.P. Michigan where I got the chance to put some pretty cool cars through their paces at the test facility in Houghton.

I got to drive what is probably the only Audi RS4 in America, an Audi A6 4.2 Wagon, a Mitsubishi Legnum VR4 Estate, a Subaru Impreza GT Turbo, a Hummer, the new Audi MDX, BMW X-5 3.0, Lexus RX300 and some other GM cars. We were analyzing the different stability and AWD systems, and even though it lacks the fancy gadgets of the others, the Impreza was very highly rated by our test group, until it went into a snowbank a bit too hard. The RS4 also lost a bit of it's front fascia (big $$$$$!).

Subaru made a very strong showing, and I would say most of the engineers preferred our Impreza over the RS4 on most of the snow/ice surfaces.

I also came away from the trip certain that the next modification my personal car will get is a rear limited slip diff. no questions about it.

RP
-still catching up..........

locke2c

Ryan, please assure us that it was some other engineer and not you that had a hand in either stuffing.

;-)

-Colin

rplum

Colin,

nope, I stayed "clean". I put the Hummer somewhat into a bank, but just backed out and that was it. My test group half was on the other side of the facility and when we returned, the Impreza and the RS4 were both "dinged". The Impreza was eventually hacked (stretched) back together (minus the A/C), the Audi RS4 parts are all proprietary and will most likely cost GM big dollars to replace. It was still fully functional though.

I hope the guys that did it lost some sleep. I was sick seeing the RS4 fascia all bent up. what a lovely car. I'll have pics tomorrow, and I'll try to get them up on my photopoint account.

Ryan

ateixeira

Ryan: sounds like a fun time. Nice to have access to the press fleet, no?

I'd still love an RS4 Avant. Sweet power. Wow!

-juice

ramon

Yup, I have been thinking about this device. Think it's a good investment to get more hp out of my aged EJ22? Yeah 1999 was a good year ain't it Colin? ;-)
Anyhow, it's time for me to get more hp. I alreayd have Intake, catback and pulley. No headers yet. Wish i can. But not sure if I can stand any more noise! My passengers are afraid of my car. Babies cry when I drive by, alarms go off in the parking lot, city thinks that it was hit with an earthquake... =) So please share your view of Apexi's SAFC.

fjm1

Looking to buy a early to mid 90s Legacy turbo wagon. Currently own a Acura 92 GSR and 00 BMW 323 sport so I like my cars with rip/zip. The Integra just won't haul enough people/stuff so I figured wagon. BMW only hauls ^$$, no Home Depot potential. Researched the specs and found the 95 and up Legacy wagons to be slugs. The pre95 turbos at least have potential.

I enjoy aftermarket shadetree upgrades but haven't found much on the web for these wagons. Even without upgrading I would probably be happy with the power. But we can always use more power can't we? Suspension seems to be no problem, but a upgraded turbo is the ticket. I have checked Cobb, SPD, and Rallispec w/no luck. Any others?

Is there any major gremlins on these wagons? Models or years to avoid?