First Congrat's! I didn't see this thread sooner, but I guess better late than never. Makes me want to upgrade my Forester as well. But she's still doing well. This is probably the best looking Forester they've come out with, its more aero dynmic and doesn't have that box feel. Here is a fun fact when I use to do a lot of tire changes every season; I once loaded my wagon with 16 tires and took them to the shop for dismount and remount. LOL So what's she like, tell me what you like and dislike so far.
How do these handle compared to a lightly mod'd STI (bars, springs, tophats)? Is it possible to get them in the ballpark without getting too parts happy?
The old Foresters are Impreza chassis, so STI handling is pretty much as easy as sticky tires and STI take-offs or equivalent. The new Forester is bigger though. Low and firm will give good handling, but I'm curious how it compares at that point. It's just bigger, and you can't fix big.
Grill looks awesome! I'm really liking the new foresters. Which tires are they? I am curious to how you like those tires. I may be in the market for some new ones this summer.
Thanks everyone. I need to pick up the rims next so I can get the tires on, then it will probably be front and rear anti-roll bars. I would like to get a a couple of thousand miles on it before I really start ripping into it. As of now, there is only 1 cat-back that fits, and the rumor is that the sedan exhaust is supposed to fit. So I kinda want to wait it out a bit to see what comes out for exhaust for it. I have a few other things that need to get done before I am worried about try to gain some more power. Russ
That is a nice unit - the Alpine I mean. The IC is glowing like Christmas lights! Do you have them on the brightest setting?
Not yet. They will, I just have to pick up the adapter. I have to pull everything apart 1 more time to get some more "future" cables installed, so I will get the control adapter for the wheel controls. I think they are a click or 2 lower than full bright. Its not to bad really. Still one of those things that I am messing with. Yep, they do the full sweep. I read that you can turn of the sweep if that it too fancy for you. Russ
So over the weekend I hit up Tintmasters in Fargo for a few new items. Picked up my summer tires, got some tint and a new alarm/remote start. Yes, it needs a drop and yes, my swift springs will be here this week. Tires - Potenza re-o1r 245/45/18 Rims - Rota P1 in Gunmetal 18x8 et48 Tint is 35% all around (and over the factory tint), with a 5% windshield strip and 5% on the sun roof. hella flush?? Looks like it is time to step up to some wider flaps....:biggrin: Guess the stockers can't cover 9.5 inches of tread. Russ
I heart t3h Fonzies. Great looking vehicle Russ. I regret not getting an 07 Foz XT Sport when I got my wagon.
looks awesome. I would not have guessed that those were 18s! they look perfect. love the dinky mud flaps :biggrin:
Thanks a lot everyone. I finally have it in a "livable" condition. So really everything from here on out it just making it better than it needs to be. The tint on the sun roof made such a HUGE improvement in keeping the heat out. Thanks again to Shane for the sweet deals and to the guys back in the shop for making everything look good. Russ
Swift spring install. And the finished project. And the before. Thanks to Nate for letting me into the kitchen to use the lift and the tools. And sorry about the pic. After the BS'n started, I totally forgot about doing it. Next time I can grab my good lens and we can take those pics. Russ
The drop was about 3/4 of a inch, but it has settled a bit more. Those pics were all of 12 hours after the install. It looks like it will be about a 1 inch drop when it finally settles. As for what is next, probably front and rear anti-roll bars, endlinks, and supports. Then on to a stg1 tune. I have house projects that I need to start working on and thses mods have brought the handling up 10000% over stock. I don't get the "I am going to flip over" feeling anymore if I do a aggressive lane change. Thanks for the comments. Russ
when the 09's first came out I was not a huge fan, but when you put the new grille on it helped the look of the car alot, then I went to the auto show and sat in one and fell in love with it and wanted to trade my 04 in on one. now that I see it lowered and tinted it makes me want one even more. what I am saying is... It looks great, and I am slightly jealous.
Yep, it is only a 18x8. I think I could probably stuff a 18x10 under there though. I still have a easy inch or more between the wheel and strut/spring. I am just not young enough to get into the hellaflush BS. I go with what works. Russ
there is a new STI over on NASIOC with 18x10s it looks pretty insane. the new rear suspension sure does leave a lot of rom in there. if you went 2 inches wider would you need to roll the fender lips?
Probably not. I don't think you can get it low enough to tuck the wheel inside the fender. The upper control arm on the rear will hit in the rear. Russ
Ok, so a lot has happened since the last bump. Some flaps. And stg1 on my light bar. I have to go pick up a couple of pieces of steel and then I can finish off stg2 of the light bar. :banana: and somewhere along the way I went stg2. Russ
Not too bad. Nate did some pretty good work on the throttle map to really help smooth things out. It pulls better, drives better, now I just need a bit more rumbles. I am still using the stock catback, so I might hit ya up for a hack and slash on the stock midpipe. Russ
