I picked up my FXT up last weekend with just over 99k on it so my first step is changing the timing belt/water pump. Duluth was a bit of a hike but I asked a bunch of questions and it was as clean as the guy said (drove perfect and couldn't find any rust). I don't want to get too crazy because it is my daily driver but defiantly want to wake it up a little bit.
Yeah, it is pretty aggressive but the kid I bought the exhaust from threw it in. I might see what it looks like painted or trade it for something smaller....I really don't like the carbon look though.
Won't I need a bigger intercooler and fuel pump with the vf39? I just don't want to get on the dyno and run into problems....been there before and it is not fun! I found a vf22 locally for 200 that I may pick up.
Nope. Is the Forester stock as of now? A Walboro fuel pump, bigger injectors(7-800 cc), and a VF39 will be moar better than a VF22. You should grab an aftermarket boost control selenoid also. If the car is stock...the TBE, injectors, fuel pump, BCS, and then tune for an aggressive stage 2. Stage 2+ is an approximate 50-60whp increase. I paid $650 total for my stage 2+ setup. You will not be dissapointed! GrimmSpeed BCS($80-100) Modded injectors($150-200) Walboro 255L($80-90) VF39($200-400) SPT turbo back exhaust($200-400) ^Used prices of course! Welcome to MnSubaru!
nice forester! I'll assume you'll check out idlers while doing timing belt change to make sure they are in good shape.
You can run a VF-39 on the stock pump and injectors (they are the 550's same as 04-06 sti), your tune will be a little less aggressive though. Keep your eyes out for an STI intercooler on the cheap, it is significantly bigger than your stocker. Definitely get the boost control solenoid
Idlers water pump and tensioner will be replaced when I do the timing belt. Are there any brands to stay away from or is the timing stuff all pretty much the same? That is the route I was planning on...I thought the FXT pump was smaller than the sti (130lph vs 190lph). I was going to just grab a walboro because they are cheap.
Welcome to the unofficial mnsubaruforester club. You have a nice platform to work off of. [flame suit on] Best thing about buying a used FXT is that most in the used car market weren't owned by someone who beat on it every other day [flame suit off] But then again... [flame suit back on] buying anything with a potential for massive amounts of HP will cost you a lot of money you could have used for beer or a new couch [I guess I'll just leave the dang flame suit on]
Nice to see another Forester on the boards. I would definitely look at another scoop. if you want the aggressive look go with the 04-05 style sti scoop, if you want more low key but added function pick up the 02-03 JDM STI scoop. Congrats on the purchase
Sweet ride!! Another fozzy owner reporting in...you will love it! Like idget said, downpipe, vf39, and a tune and you will be very happy!!
Oh...hewwow... Suggestion on starting point: - drop in Swift FXT Sport springs and an oem STI rear sway bar. The car will ride a ton better that way. It will feel very much like stock (still soft) but places the suspension more in the middle of the strut travel so it actually rides better than stock over uneven terrain. The rear sway helps neutral out the balance a bit when cornering and helps reduce body roll.
Paul, since you have the "official" count, I vote you leader of the pack! Anyway, nice XT and welcome!
Just picked up the intercooler....Is $110+my carbon scoop that I got for free cheap for the sti intercooler and bov Have you guys had any issues with the vf39's on your cars? This is my daily driver and I don't want to lose my reliability. This has been very well maintained and I would like to keep it that way....I also want to squeeze a little bit more out of it.
I have about 80 k on my vf39 and I do not have any issues with the turbo, and further, this turbo mates up to your long block just fine. I have run mine on pump gas and e85, again no issues. It is my opinion that, subject to how you maintain and drive your Forester that you are unlikely to have any issues related to running this turbo, unless you got some other funk going on in there somewhere. I am almost religious about warm ups and cool downs, so I would advise letting your car warm up to full temp before boost...cooling down, just a couple minutes and the convective properties of your turbo will do the rest...after normal driving. Spirited driving merits more cool down in my opinion, so egts can get back to normal.
What kind of power are you making and who did your tuning? I have been letting it idle before/after I drive and don't get into boost until warm up. The guy I bought it from said he did the same thing and I truly believe him....when his girlfriend picked him up she went on a rant on how much he babied it.
I did a road tune last time and never drive enough to do logging, but some where in the 300 neighbirhood....LOTS of other supporting mods though. I am currently tuned by Nuke, but have gotten tuned by Ron at RS motors too. Bith are great, talk to both and make your own decision. depends on if you like road vs. dyno tuning also.
Just a quick question. What do most of you guys run in terms of struts and springs? How is the handling, and how do you do in snow?
As much as I love MNSubaru, on your question above I would point you to subaruforester.org as an extremely useful reference for all things Forester. I run swift springs on gr2s in myfoz, but my wifes has 02 bugeye takeouts...funny her foz is lower than mine. IIRC, anything 02-04 either wrx or sti will bolt right up suspension wise, whether thats takeouts from a wrx or sti or you but coils overs or some other fun setup. I like the lower foz for handling, and have not had any snow clearance issues to date...oh wait, we don't get snow anymore!!
I have WRX take offs on one of mine, the other is the stock forester suspension. The difference in body roll is night and day, and with a sticky set of summer tires it handles pretty well without being as stiff as my old sti on tokico d-specs. I think it strikes a good balance of decent ride comfort and good (but not amazing) handling. Snow has been fine with snow tires, but I never had any real issues with clearance in the sti either, except maybe one of the huge (20+ inch) blizzards of two winters back.
Already a part of SF.org . I'm Loscaldazar on there, and rather active. It's just I wanted to know what Minnesota guys were running-especially for the winter.
I'm running 06 WRX takeoffs and haven't had any issues. However, like yusef said, we don't seem to get snow anymore.
I ran 02/03 suspension on my 04.. loved it.. STi rear sway.. just watch the endlink mounts as they tend to break after the upgrade.. so I hear.. but I had mine on for a few years adn never an issue
Welcome aboard! I put this kit on my rear sway bar setup while putting on the STI bar - http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_detail4.php?part_number=KBR16&sans_vehicle=1. I know someone on here broke theirs so it does happen. Since I got the bar for $15 the $40 extra seemed like cheap insurance.
