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Subaru XT Turbo Forester
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Comments
Alas, Subaru Australia do not sell the upgrade kit, or the subwoofer, or the mirror trims to put the tweeters behind, so I will have to go with another brand, hopefully using the factory placements.
BTW, does the subwoofer have it's own amplifier? If it does, where is it placed? (if the wiring is already there, I may as well use it.)
This break in period is going to break me. My foot is getting sore holding it up all the time, trying not to press the throttle too hard. :-)
I did manage to drag off an unmarked police car the other day (46 hours after I picked up the car), and while he flashed his lights at me, he must have been really impressed, as he just cruised on past me and did not stop. :-)
Rob.
Before this sound you can hear the turbine spin up and after the engine is making too much noise of it's own to hear the turbo!
Les.
The engine management ECU certainly does store & "learn" signal input patterns and adjust it's outputs accordingly. Not so sure about the Auto transmission TCM(Transmission Control Module) though, don't remember ever hearing these one's can.
Les.
It does not lock the doors however.
HTH
Larry
Not sure what the shipping costs would be but you can order the tweeter from a US Subaru parts supplier (there are several that have a web presence).
The subwoofer has an integrated amp and I'd be surprised if the wiring wasn't already there in your wheel well.
Good luck maintaining your sanity during the break in period :-)
-Frank P.
Roof: Pro - Racks and carriers look cool.
Con: Wind noise, blocking the sunroof, and reaching up there to load. Plus it makes the car top heavy.
Hitch mount: Pro: Easy to load.
Con: Constantly getting the thing in and out of the hitch, or driving around with an extension that can be hit or can make parking hard. I also understand that these can upset the balance of the car.
I believe the cargo trays weigh 40 - 50 pounds. With garbage or other stuff, I doubt I would ever add more than another 40-50 pounds carrying garbage or anything else. Typically it would just be me, my wife, my 60 lb dog and other typical random stuff we carry for the weekend.
Any thoughts? How much additional wind noise can I expect with additional roof racks and a roof carrier? Note that I have already chosen to move my bar back behind the sunroof for the view and to lessen the noise just the standard bars make on the highway.
Thanks,
George
The catch? Most are made for 2" receivers. I've never even seen one for 1.25" class I receivers, but you might be able to find an adaptor.
Do you want trash-water dribbling onto your roof? Or behind you? Easy answer.
-juice
-Frank P.
George
Tks. for all your educational Posts. Deadeye
I am a soon to be 350Z owner (getting my car this month), and I saw one of you guys post on the 350Z forum.
I must say, I have to give kudos to Subaru for producing such a quick SUV. I am really impressed. The only time I will eventually overtake the Forester in the Z is at 100MPH or greater, however its a moot point because the maximum legal freeway speed in most states is 60-65 MPH
That was a clever ad of Subaru in the WSJ, Nissan will definitely have to step up to the plate and increase the HP to remain competitive. Yeah the Z is faster overall ... but who really drives at 100MPH? They really need to boost power at the low-end.
I also happen to own a 1999 Subaru Legacy, so as a fellow Subaru owner I come here with no animosity, and extend my hand in peace.
Of course, if it was my daily driver perhaps I would not have as big a need to wind it out everytime I drive it.
Live Long and Prosper,
Deadeye, congrats on your new arrival. I know you have been waiting for it to arrive. Enjoy your trip up North. Snow is starting to settle in around here, so you will have the right ride for this area.
Don
I agree, practicality and fun all wrapped into one, the XT is definitely all of that. Who would have thought a Mini-SUV could be so fast. Gotta hand it to Subaru for breaking the mold.
I wonder how Honda, Toyota and Nissan will respond to the XT? The CR-V, RAV-4, XTerra ... err nothing holds a candle to the XT. These manufacturers don't have a single turbo-charged vehicle in their current line-up. Toyota and Nissan have had some experience in the past with turbos, but Honda refuses to add turbos to any of their cars.
The way I see it, the XT is going stay on top performance wise in the car-based/Mini SUV category for quite a long time.
Although I have not yet purchased a Forester, I was browsing one of the parts sites Juice gave.
Liberty Subaru lists "w/LEV 2.5 XS Model Strut" for $372.87, and "w/o LEV 2.5 XS Model Strut" for
$129.95 under rear suspension. So maybe it is available.
BT
http://www.tmcclient.com/subaru/turbo1/
I'll grant that the parts for many of the really nifty Forester features that overseas buyers get can probably be bought (or imported, at even greater expense) and installed on our North American versions, but why should we have to jump through those hoops? I wouldn't throw away the new struts that are already on my XT and pay upwards of $400 plus labor to install the self-leveling units. But I certainly would have opted for them if they'd been offered as an extra-cost option for maybe $100 extra, or whatever add-on price would be appropriate.
Same goes for the dual-range transmission, the HID headlamps, headlight washers, and so forth. All are either standard or available on Foresters elsewhere. It makes zero sense (IMO) to deny these desirable items to customers in your largest and most profitable market.
I bought my '02 S, after lots of research and investigation (thanks, Edmunds!). The other finalist was the Honda CR-V. A big factor in going with the Forester over the CR-V was that Honda had a nice package available in the Candian market, but not the US market.
There were many other reasons, of course.
I'm hoping that by the time I'm ready for my next Subaru (the only thing that would keep me from seeing 100,000 + miles in my '02 is the tought of an XT) that the dual-range transmission, self-levelling shocks, and more will at least be option here in the US. Leather with the MT would be nice, too.
I know Nissan has a small SUV but they haven't brought it here yet, not sure why! X-Trail IIRC?
JB: we'll be bringing up the availability of more JDM options in Detroit at the show.
-juice
Yeah Nissan does have the X-trail, but they refuse to bring it over here. It uses the QR25DE engine, the same one used in the Nissan Sentra SE-R, good for about 180HP.
Even if they did bring it over, we all know it will get smoked by the XT It is a good competitor against the regular Forester though.
With all these high performance vehicles, I am curious why Subaru does not have a 2 door sports car in their line-up! They should revive the SVX!
-juice
"Same goes for the dual-range transmission, the HID headlamps, headlight washers, and so forth. All are either standard or available on Foresters elsewhere. It makes zero sense (IMO) to deny these desirable items to customers in your largest and most profitable market."
As far as I'm aware, dual range transmission is not available on 2.5 XT anywhere in the world. At least not in Australia, South Africa or Canada. And I think that's pretty much a complete list of countries that get the 2.5l XT. The reason must be wider/stronger gears used, again to cope with 50% increase in torque.
Self leveling rear suspension is standard on Australian XT, but we miss on a better sound system, heated seats, heated mirrors and other niceties.
Bratislav
I never said it was. The dual-range manual transmission comes (standard!) on the naturally-aspirated base Forester versions elsewhere, but it's not even an extra-cost option here.
In case I didn't make it clear enough, I was writing in a broader sense to describe important features that are either standard or available on Foresters (I never said 'XT') in nearly all markets outside North America. I find that sort of discriminatory marketing objectionable.
Something strange is going on. Two or three people have agreed with me about one thing or another in just this past week.
Obviously, I've lost my touch.
K
If you put the pedal down too quick it will LURCH forward, but it handles fine. I seem to have a knack for buying novel cars just before they become popular (except for my first )
All were bought new:
1986 Ford Escort
1992 Saturn SC2 Coupe
1998 Volkswagen Passat (my first turbo)
2004 Subaru Forester XT.
Sorry, I didn't get it first time. I'm amazed that in US even base Foresters don't get dual range! Granted, it's almost academic (only 19% reduction, previous model had more than 40% reduction) but I do agree, it is at least very strange to omit it in the US.
I wish it was available on XT ! Also I wish we could get a moonroof without getting a leather interior ... Another marketing idiosyncrasy I suppose.
The sales manager gave me a due bill for additional parts (arm rest, rear diff protector, air filter) and told me I'd be called this week to arrange an appt. I called (after five business days) and they were clueless, then she said she'd leave a note for thh girl who writes the parts orders. No responsibility taken, no ownership of this issue taken by the sales manager.
And to top it off, I realized today that my sunroof rattles when it's open. Sounds like a loose wire above the rear passenger headliner. Anyone else have this problem?
I love my car, and feel I got a good deal, but this dealer's service sucks and the roof deal is just flat out annoying.
Are there any addresses at Subaru where a complaint can be filed that won't fall into a void? Thanks so much for your advice/opinions/knowledge.
You might also drop some hints as to which dealer so we don't have the same nasty experience--or just name 'em outright.
stuhall "Subaru Crew: Official SOA Presence (aka Patti)" Dec 5, 2003 10:58pm
Well, it arrived today. No change...same $451. That's a relief, at least for another six months.
Anyone else receive an insurance renewal bill yet for an XT?
Actually, my insurance stayed pretty reasonable, as well. Hopefully this will be the norm. Let's hope insurance continues to accentuate the many "safety" features of our Subarus over the minimal performance improvements.
;-)
In a preliminary business rate comparison between my SHO & new F-XT, my agent said that I will only suffer an increase of around $64 / year...
Steve, Host
"It obviously was put to the test against the bigger trucks, which makes me ask, why do we need truck-based SUVs when there are vehicles like the Forester XT to choose from?"
Just puts a smile on your face don't it?
-Frank P.
-juice
PS Didn't mean no disrespect...
My only (fairly major) complaint was a LOT of shimmy after driving through some deep snow and then some slush. This only occurred once throughout the weekend, and cleared up once I cleaned out the inside of the rims. However, I am wondering:
1.) has anyone else has had this problem? This is my first experience with this type of shimmy in 20 years of snow driving. I am more than a bit disappointed that this is the case, given that much of Subaru's reputation revolves around its winter weather competency; I am trying to get over the feeling that it's a great car for winter unless you actually DRIVE it in the snow. Not many driving situations in the middle of a major winter storm lend themselves to cleaning out the inside of your tire rims on the side of the road!
2. Tirerack has told me that there are NO 16" steel rims that will fit the Forester XT b/c of the size of the brakes, but Don/joyride4a, you mentioned that you did get a set of 16" steel wheels and some Graspics from tirerack. Would you mind sharing the Manufacturer and make of the steel wheels? Are they "hubcappable"? - ie, will they offer me some protection from what I went through this weekend?
Any insight provided on this would be greatly appreciated...
Jim S.
Seriously, clean them up and wax them. If they are slippery, slush won't stick to them.
This is not unique to Subaru, slush will stick to any dirty rim much more readily than a clean one. I had that problem with other cars I've owned.
-juice