Where a Redneck parks his SUV

[Nicad]

Wherever he wants! The neighbours will like this!



The Dog is still trying to get her head around it



I hope I can handle living with a Japanese car. The feel of the turn signal switch is already bugging me a bit. Anyway the plan is for this to be a WRX STI wearing Forester clothes that will get me in and out of snow country next winter so I can better deal with this:



The 325 IT might be for sale or I might store it long term for my Teenage Son or maybe store the Subaru till November?

The Forrester has an excellent forum with all kinds of people trying some pretty performance oriented things with their Hobby cars and a very active aftermarket making all sorts of parts. It is an interesting platform with the flat four and inter cooled Turbo wrapped in a light 3350 pound practical family car. If it bolts on an 04 STI ... it will fit a Forester
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/

 

[Nicad]

Here is my Ugly car update.

Been trying to figure out whether I should go down the mod bug route. The Forester is proving to be pretty reliable and a good buy. I had to replace the battery and the windshield wipers.

I have bought two sets of BBS forged wheels from the 1 year only 2004 STI. These are very hard to find and coveted by Subaru folks because they fit all the 5X100 Subarus and weigh 16 pounds vs the 25.5 pounds of my stock alloys. They come in two flavours. I have both (But might paint the Gold ones..or use them in the winter. Hopefully they appreciate like Golde sunroof parts. Might be better than money going forward. (At least that is what I should say to head shaking family members)





Next purchase I am in the process of finalizing through a Japanese American (Off a car forum) who has "Connections" In Japanese wrecking yards



These are from the Forester STI that was Japan only. They only made 3200 of these total over 4 years. It is the main missing ingredient to get to this type of Forester:
Dealer price for these parts (the wheels especially) is beyond crazy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uyPkavo66Y

Finally I am hopefully farming out the gearbox swap (if I go this route) to a mechanic I had my wife's old RX-7 serviced at in the old days. He gravitated to the Subaru world and has forged quite a reputation when it comes to these cars

http://www.canjammotorsports.com

That is all for now. Wallet suffering kids eating leftovers.

 

[CSteve]

A Redneck would not be caught dead or alive in a Subaru of any kind, especially a Forrester. Our 2001 has 192,000, going strong, only replaced the usuals, NO major or minor components replaced. As we like to say about our coupes - all original.

 

[Nicad]

Finally a comment!!! Toronto Rednecks are pretty Wimpy so this is as tough as they get! (I am not including Soccer Mom's in Tahoes.. no one would be smart to mess with them)
My first Subaru Legacy had around 300000KM before the next owner (A friend) let it run out of oil (negligent leak)

 

[CSteve]

Given the amount of summer and sun you get in one of my favorite cities, it must be difficult to cultivate the Redneck look. And where do you hang the Winchester Repeater in a Forrester?

 

[Nicad]

Most Foresters just hang the Rainbow flag on them in these parts. I was thinking of putting one on my Miata just to fit in.
My deal for the Japanese STI struts fell through so still looking. I did pick up my second set of BBS rims last night though and they are magnificent pieces. The Silver ones are in great shape but the Gold ones were neglected and one needs some straightening. These cost a jaw dropping $1600 per corner from Subaru Canada. While on the subject I bought a product called IronX to remove 5 year old imbedded brake dust. Seems to be quite a miracle product as it dissolves very stubborn iron particles that nothing seems to work on.

Glad you liked Toronto. It's not too popular in the rest of the Country.

 

[x_atlas0]

I think your Forrester uses the same drivetrain as my WRX. I picked up a 2013 WRX last year (first new-ish car) after an exhaustive search for my next ride. It let me retire the E34 540, which is still around, just pulls third car duties.

So far, the WRX has been great. Lot of fun for my commute, without being too harsh. I do with the gearing was a bit different, though, as I am usually rolling down the highway at about 3000 RPM, not exactly ideal for fuel economy. Is the Forrester gearing a bit different?

 

[Nicad]

My Forester has a small turbo with good low end torque and 4 speed automatic. Seems to burn a lot of gas around town and gets surprisingly good highway economy. Seems to be under 3K at 70 MPH but I am not sure what it is revving. I have mixed feelings about a tranny swap as this is the first automatic I have had in about 30 years and it is well suited to city driving.
The latest WRX is getting rave reviews about it's handling. (Typical for a Subaru it is a little odd looking)

 

[Stevehose]

Bob, I know you don't give a crap, and rightfully so, but I prefer silver wheels over gold, the latter reminds me of the '80s and to me that was auto no man's land.

 

[Nicad]

Bob, I know you don't give a crap, and rightfully so, but I prefer silver wheels over gold, the latter reminds me of the '80s and to me that was auto no man's land.

I am a little embarrassed by the Gold wheels as well (the photo posted is not of my car). I bought them with the intention of painting them Silver because the price was better than the Silver ones. Now that one needs to be straightened it is a wash. 16 pounds for an OE wheel is why I have invested heavily in these BBS wheels. I know on my Miata unsprung weight is critical to the car's feel through a bumpy corner (the Miata has 9.8 pound RPF1 Enkei's) Will also be buying some JDM Aluminum Lower control arms. My hope is that this vehicle will have the sportiest handling for the most ground clearance possible. The lightweight construction and Boxer engine help make this possible. Foresters also have very clean underbodies with not much in the way so getting through snow drifts should be fun. A limiting factor is that the platform could be a lot stiffer. Folks in Subaru forums claim very noticeable handling improvements with additional chassis bracing.
Fingers crossed it will be a great handling tall car.
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