By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Next time I rotate 'em I'll grab one of the unmounted o.e. RE92's and post some comparison pics. It's pretty comical.
-Colin
That's a Borla turbo muffler, 2.25" inlet and offset outlet (get the center outlet, don't be like me) and the tip is a piece of 3" aluminized "School Bus" exhaust pipe. From the 2nd catalyst to the muffler is 2.25" pipe-- stock is 50mm (just under 2").
It sounds like this, if you are a laptop in my open trunk, and in my garage with the door open.
(430kb .wav)
http://home.kscable.com/lockes/sounds/borla1.wav
It further sounds like this, if you are a laptop in my closed trunk, and ripping down my court and then down the cross street.
(714kb .wav)
http://home.kscable.com/lockes/sounds/borla2.wav
-Colin
-Colin
feedback@autosupermart.com
They mention that they have a rapid response e-mail team, so you should receive a reply soon, I think. If you like, you can also post a message on their bulletin board section.
Good Luck!
Drew
Nice pictures! Aren't digital cameras great?
Question on the intake mod -- Did you need to do anything special to allow outside air to flow into your fender? Also, what's the chance of water getting into the intake?
I've seen some Forester owners in Japan post the same modification so I'm pretty sure it can be done.
Ken
Hey, the tires are S1s right? How many miles do u think it will last with say autoX and summer driving? How many autoX do u do per year?
Nothing like photos.
Out of curiosity, why plug that hole? Does air escape to the fenders? Guess you get a slight ram air effect, eh?
Anyone else think the little resonator whattcha-ma-callit thingy under the hood looks like a Jesus bar?
Ken: the only holes are for the fog lights, I think. Where did they route the air from?
That tire looks pretty darn well broken in! Let me guess, the right side is mounted towards the outside? Look more worn from cornering, but still the tire holds up well and wear pretty evenly, MUCH more so than my old 70 series 'stones.
I love aftermarket exhausts. Who cares if you get 5 or 10 horses, it just SOUNDS cool. I'll have to ask Darlene if the SPT exhaust will fit the Forester. Anyone know if they use 2.25" piping?
Colin - yours even looks cleaner underneath, for a better departure angle.
-juice
Tried their bulletin board as well, couldn't post on their lighting board so posted my question on their general topics board instead. I noticed that the five most recent posts there (dating back to June) have not had replies either, so I'm not terribly optimistic.
By the way, I checked the bulbs again and I'm reasonably sure they're both Super Plasmas (i.e. that one is not a Superwhite that made it into my box by mistake). When looking at the light produced against a light colored wall, the high beams are similar in color to regular halogens, but the low beams are bluish/purple. This fits the description of the Super Plasmas, correct? But the beams simply look like they're produced by bulbs of different wattages.
Anyway, I hope to hear back from autosupermart by the end of the day. Will keep you posted. Thanks again for the help.
Theresa
I'll take a close look and see where air could come from in my Forester.
One more question, then - how did you seal the section from the intake to that fender well? Is it already built that way, once you remove the silencer? Duct tape?
I can't tell from the photo.
-juice
-Colin
http://www.terra.dti.ne.jp/~mjg/repo/f00.html
http://www.pluto.dti.ne.jp/~hiroshik/impreza/chanber.html
All the owners who have done the silencer removal seem to complain about the plastic clips and screws that hold the wheel well cover in place.
Also, many of them take the mod a step further by adding a duct to create a direct connection from the fender to airbox.
http://www.amy.hi-ho.ne.jp/bigstone/page1.htm
Click on the second link from the bottom of the page to go forward. The next page should be .../page2.htm
The third link shows the enemy-- all those little fasteners. The first one on the left has a phillips head and the center is easy to remove IF it actually turns. If not, have fun. The ones in the middle have no head and my method for removing them was sticking a small flat screwdriver into the inner peg / outer washer crack and prying the peg outwards. If either of these types won't budge you have to get something small and pry behind it. (Think of a claw hammer, but smaller and less curved.)
I think I broke two of the smaller ones and mostly toasted one of the bigger ones. (It wouldn't turn!) Fender still holds together... but if Darlene can get some of those fasteners it might be smart to buy them in advance just in case.
-Colin
Colin - I'll have a close look at the bumper this weekend. The only holes I recall are for the fog lights.
The Forester's fascia is significantly different. Even the ones pictured seem to look like the Turbo, not mine.
Is it possible to use the snorkus thingy and maybe cut it short, instead of adding ducting to pull air from the fender well?
Those are the same fasteners we have for the engine bottom cover. My
oil change page details that. Indeed, a flat head works wonders, see Figure 2.
I'll have to take a day off and get creative.
-juice
Measure the dimensions so I know how many you'll need, and then e-mail me.
-juice
..Mike
..Mike
juice : yeah I want those stickers. I want to rice up my engine. hehehe. will let u know the measure ments. it will go nice with my K&N stickers, Warning it's hot, put rice here ---> sticker, pokemon character stickers all over the tubes stickerettes etc.... whoo hoo.
..Mike
Actually, Ken is onto something. A clean car, particularly with a slippery waxed finish, creates less drag. That has to help at the very top end. I'm sure you'll get at least, say 0.005 mph in top speed.
If I do the cold air intake, I'd probably slap some on too! In fact, they might look good on the strut tower brace. I'll just keep them under the hood, so Officer Bob doesn't get suspicious.
-juice
Ross (Dave)
Years ago I had a silver Saab 9000 with a burgundy interior. It was gorgeous!
Bob
Ross: both stripes and stickers add hp to rice. Yellow means the increase is doubled!
Holy Cow! Dale may even have me beat on the accessories! Let me know how you like that compass.
Silverthorn looks sweet. I'd go with grey on the leather, is that the interior color? Leather is fine as long as the seats are heated, and yours are.
-juice
rack was the straps which were supposed to clamp
the tires...well, if the strap is in the middle of
one tire, it is on the edge of the other tire.<<
The tire straps are infinitely adjustable along the entire length of the rack, you just grab them underneath and slide them forward or back!
As for the Steelhead fork mount racks, yeah, I would have loved those, but I couldn't see paying all that extra money for towers and round bars when I already had the flat ones. If I had known, I would have ordered the round bars from Subaru to start with.
Dave B
I think I'll also buy the trailer hitch and bike hitch from QSubaru; prices seem cheap enough. If I can't install it myself, I'll bring it to Subaru.
I got the measurements yesterday for the Rhode Gear shuttle - E-8. But, I'd rather not potentially scrape the paint with those tabs....so the rear hitch seems safer.
I returned from an out of state seminar yesterday, hoping to hear from Subaru about my new S. I called today and discovered my salesman is out until weds. So, I ask the woman who answered the phone to look into the whereabouts of my vehicle. " Oh Subahroo doesn't tell us anything" she naseled. "well" I said, "Ray promised a second week of August delivery, I am returning my leased vehicle on Friday, and I need to know when you expect my Forester." a delay and then "Puhlease hold".........
"We really have no way of knowing where your cah is can yoo cawl on wednesday?"
Sorry for the play by play folks:) My question is:
Does anyone know what mechanisims SoA has for tracking orders? I need to know if it's on a container ship or maybe in Boston having the port ooptions installed. This is going to be a major pain in the a@# if I have to scare up an alternate means of transportation!
-james
I believe your dealer should be able to get a pretty decent estimate of when your vehicle will arrive. They first get a confirmation that your order made it into the monthly allocation. After that, they receive confirmation, I believe, of when it makes it into the port. Based on these two points of data, most experienced dealers can give a pretty decent estimate.
Ken
Time for a suspension upgrade.
Ken
-Frank P.
Ken: fat rear sway bar, eh? Sweet...I didn't think they were OE. The track is wider than the Impreza, right? I doubt that one would fit.
I'd also look at the bushings, though - they're rubber and flex a LOT right now. Changing those first may even give more noticeable results.
-juice
I took a nice 3-day weekend and worked on the Forester most of the time
Did the 30k service, including these:
radiator flush and refill
oil and filter change
(used OE filter and drain plug gasket)
change PCV valve
change fuel filter
change air fitler
check all fluid levels (all were OK)
inspect belts/hoses (all look OK)
I recommend the OE filter. It's $4 at QSubaru, and I found my old gasket WAS there after all, it was just so crushed I didn't see it! Photos will follow in the next day or two.
Also put in the new Hella Xenons, and I will confirm they make a noticeable difference. I put one on the passenger side, and told the wife the opposite, just to make sure she wasn't just being nice. She said, "you wasted your money, my side is brighter". Those were actually the Hellas.
I then added fender flares, and I love them! They even covered up a door ding I had, and the rear doors now have something to prevent future dings. I'll have full instructions to share soon.
Finally, I installed the interior air filter kit. I have asthma, so this was something for me. It's actually pretty easy to do, and I recommend it for anyone with allergies or respiratory problems.
But, this wouldn't be a mods topic if it weren't about performance, so I rounded up the courage to create a home-made cold air intake!
That's right, following Colin and ramon's suggestions, I removed the snorkus and sealed the fender well from the engine compartment, which is home made (cardboard) but covered with SPT stickers to look good. I also created a home-made sponge to better seal the air box against the fender wall. It looks and sounds great.
At normal speeds, the noise is no greater, but at full throttle you definitely hear the difference. It sounds deeper and slightly louder, but not during relaxed cruising so the wife won't even notice
One small issue, though, I get a high pitched whine after all that service/mods. Sounds like a tuning fork, humming, very softly but noticeable to me (though not to my wife). It does not change with engine rpm or speed, it's the same even at idle, but it dies when the engine is off.
Is my seal TOO good? There are gaping holes in the bottom of that fender well. Could it be the fuel pump working over time? Or that I got air in the lines when I changed the fuel filter?
I have about 50 photos, so it'll take time to get my web site up, but trust me, the photos are extremely detailed and you guys will eat them up.
-juice
From what I've researched, the sway bars for the Impreza and Forester are interchangeable. Apparently FHI makes an 18mm bar.
Yeah, bushings are another option as well. I've seen some cool ones from Whiteline that I may consider later.
Sounds like you've been doing quite a bit of work! I'm glad you're convinced the Hellas are brighter. Also, I'm really interested in seeing your snorkus removal steps. Have you noticed any performance difference? Have you tried resetting your ECU?
Ken
Ken
Hmm, what fuse do I remove again? Is it under the hood, or under the steering wheel?
Could that cause the whining noise, though?
-juice
It's supposed to be fuse SBF-2 located under the hood, just behind the battery.
You can gently pry up the fuse using a flathead screwdriver. I tried removing it overnight but I'm not 100% certain it did anything. When I plugged it back in and started my Forester the next morning, nothing seemed different. My gas milage didn't really change afterwards.
In contrast, the unplugging the battery seemed to elicit some response. When I started my Forester the next morning (be ready with the remote because the alarm will go off), the revs shot up higher than normal. I also got pretty low milage afterwards which to me would indicate that the ECU was indeed reset and the engine was running "rich" until it finished recording all the settings.
Maybe the whining noise you hear is some air getting drawn into the fender through spaces in the cardboard.
Ken
I bought mine from Mike Shields @ SPD Tuning (http://www.spdusa.com). It looked used, but barely. Installed it on my '00 S in about 30 minutes - me with fat fingers. Improvement in handling and balance is noticeable.
Good luck,
Ed
Thanks for the info. Do you by any chance know what the part number was on that 18mm sway bar? I'm interested in finding out what Subaru's (not spdusa's) part number is.
Thanks,
Ken
Ed