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I have an all but stock 5th gen (2010) legacy gt. I want to upgrade performance. I am looking for advice on where to spend the money.

I also have a wrx, so I am looking for a little better handling out of my Legacy.

Does replacing a 3" exhaust with an aftermarket 3" exhaust really boost performance that much?

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Take your time man, do lots of research, and take more time, there's no rush. Its all about planning and purpose. I guarantee you'll change the top mod on your list the more you research.

 

You can do 10 mods that make the car more enjoyable for less than the cost of a cat back exhaust, which isnt necessary to make more power.

 

1. Perrin Shift Bushing

2. Perrin, Boomba or Kartboy Short Shift adapter.

3. Clutch Damper Delete

4. 22mm Whiteline RSB

5. Carbotech Panther (AX6) front pads

6. Perrin Steering Damper Lockdown

7. Goodridge Ss braided brake lines

8. Perrin Shifter Stop

9. Perrin Throttle Body Coupler

10. LED interior, license plate, etc bulbs.

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I have an all but stock 5th gen (2010) legacy gt. I want to upgrade performance. I am looking for advice on where to spend the money.

 

Accessport.

 

I also have a wrx, so I am looking for a little better handling out of my Legacy.

 

Rear Sway Bar

 

Does replacing a 3" exhaust with an aftermarket 3" exhaust really boost performance that much?

 

Probably not but what car are you referring to? The 5th gen LGT doesn't have an OEM 3" exhaust.

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I have a 2010 subaru liberty/legacy gt (Aus spec) and in terms of performance I've done the following things:

 

Handling: Cusco front rear sway bars and also tower brace, 18 X 8.5 + 44 wheels wrapped 245 45 18 tyres, slight camber, no fener rolling/pulling. (sedan)

 

Performance: 3 port ebcs, bov, full 3" tbe and tune. Tune and exhaust alone gets decent numbers, anything after that will be a bit of work, just ask many of the experienced guys who running way more mods than me, plus there is a few threads deciated to peoples own personal builds posted up here on the forums as well to give you some examples of. Plenty of knowledgeable people on this forum that's for sure.

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Yep, all you have to do is plug it in to the OBDII port in the car, push a couple buttons, and try not to grin like a four-year-old in a cake factory. Uninstalling is just as easy, should you need to do that at some point, although since you're out of powertrain warranty, you shouldn't have to worry about trying to be sneaky at the dealership or anything.
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Thanks cww516. I had to come to Milwaukee in 2014 to get my 2010 LGT. It was what I was looking for and it had on 8k miles. Have been driving my wrx mainly, but new to this whole diy modification thing.

I need a second resource to look up all of the abbreviations. Haha

I'm stoked with all the ideas. Thanks to all!

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Whereabouts are you located, if you don't mind my asking? Seems like we have a pretty good collection of folks in the Chicagoland / SE Wisconsin area, just wondering how far you had to travel to pick up your car.
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yeah no problem I am from Ohio. Near the 9th oldest Subaru dealership in the US, Wagner Subaru. So I guess you could say I cherry picked it from a couple of states away. I was searching for quite some time if it makes seem less wicked. kidding. I bought it bc I had another child and was looking for something bigger than my WRX.

Now I am looking to make my LGT into what I have seen some people on here call a true "performance touring sedan".

Im excited to get started, but Im just starting, so its overwhelming right now and a lot of reading, and reading and trying to decide my first move?

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yeah no problem I am from Ohio. Near the 9th oldest Subaru dealership in the US, Wagner Subaru. So I guess you could say I cherry picked it from a couple of states away. I was searching for quite some time if it makes seem less wicked. kidding. I bought it bc I had another child and was looking for something bigger than my WRX.

Now I am looking to make my LGT into what I have seen some people on here call a true "performance touring sedan".

Im excited to get started, but Im just starting, so its overwhelming right now and a lot of reading, and reading and trying to decide my first move?

 

 

 

I would keep it simple, do the things you use everyday first:

 

Shifter-short shift adapter, shifter bushing

Clutch-damper delete

Suspension-struts/springs (I am loving the Koni-Eibach combo), sway bars

 

Then drive for a bit to reassess what needs attention, I agree there are tons of mods we have all put together here. We all have different priorities though. I am just now addressing the suspension, mainly because I didn't drive that much before so I didn't notice it. Now I am putting almost 200 miles a week on my GT, and the swaying on the freeway was not much fun.

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Yes I am really feeling the upgrade of more precise shifting and clutch pedal feel and engagement. like I mentioned earlier, it really is starting to feel like a chore, now that I am driving my LGT daily.

and yes again, it feels like it could be much stronger in the handling department.

Would you guys say that most of the people here on this site are doing a good majority of these mods on their own?

thank you all for your patience with me being a newb, and totally lost

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Those that have time and inclination do them. I won't lie and tell you they are all easy, most require time and patience so you don't mess anything up. The worst I can remember is that dam pin in the shift adapter, it is a royal pain to get out, but super easy otherwise, lol.

 

Clutch damper is awkward because of the location, but besides that not bad. Tightening the bolts back up is the worst part just because the damper is bolted to a bracket so there is very little room to turn the wrench. Again, time and patience, and once its done you never have to do it again, lol.

 

I would be tempted to say more than half of the modders on here are DIYers, but remember that some people just don't have the resources to do the big stuff on their own. Whether that is tools, working space (driveway/garage), or time/downtime for the really big stuff.

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I was under and around the car today doing oil change and detailing etc, so I was able to get eyes on the sway bars. I have noticed that many of the upgrade/mods have multiple positions, often thee, so... advice as to which to select front and rear? I suppose its personal preference so I guess what I am asking is top position = weakest or stiffest?

Or the lowest position on the bar ends = stiffest?

thanks again all

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Changing the front sway bar on the GT requires lifting the motor and is very labor intensive. Put on a Whiteline 22mm rear sway bar set to the stiffest setting which is equivalent to to 23mm and you'll love how the car feels.
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For swaybar setup on adjustable sways ... most street cars are setup from the factory to understeer or push. This is safer because when you lose grip at the tires, the car tends to continue in the direction it was already heading, which is bad if you're heading towards a collision or off the road ... but at least it's in control. When the car is setup to oversteer, it becomes tail-happy when you cross the grip threshold and then the car wags it's ass and ends up pointing in any direction it likes and you basically lose control of the car and end up heading in a random direction, which is not even necessarily the same direction as the car is pointing. Both are not great results, but you can see how the oversteer is significantly more dangerous.

 

It's worth noting that in addition to being intentionally set up to understeer, AWD cars also have an inherent tendency to understeer under power, similarly to the way front wheel drive cars do (RWD has more inherent oversteer). There's also a difference between understeer/oversteer under power or under coasting and under braking conditions, but that is beyond the scope of my explanation here.

 

So when folks are getting bigger swaybars, they are looking to decrease understeer and increase oversteer. They want the car to be able to rotate better and turn better. That equals quicker better handling, though it requires a bit more driver skill to be safely taken advantage of. Which is why the factory sets it up with so much understeer.

 

So the same thing is true on the adjustable settings as well. You are trying to dial in more oversteer without putting in more oversteer than is safe (i.e. controlled). So more stiffness in the front will make the car understeer more. More stiffness in the rear will make the car oversteer more.

 

If you go firm on the front and soft on the rear that will behave more like the factory setup and understeer a bit more.

 

If you go soft on the front and soft on the rear or hard on the front and hard on the rear, that's like being on the middle of the understeer/oversteer setting for those given set of swaybars. Soft and soft will have more body roll. Hard and hard will have less.

 

If you go soft on the front and hard on the rear, that will maximize oversteer and minimize understeer to the extent that a swaybar of a given torsional rigidity can manipulate the handling (there are many other factors in handling besides just the sways, but that's what we're discussing right now).

 

Personally, when I first upgraded my sways, I went hard front, soft rear, which is closer to factory setup. This past spring, I replaced my front end links and went soft. Have not replaced the rears yet, so I am soft/soft right now. Looking to go to hard in the rear soon. Basically, I am looking for a bit of progression from similar to factory handling to dialing in as much additional oversteer as possible.

 

One last bit ... the hole closest to the axis of rotation of the bar is the firmer one. The one farthest away is the soft setting. Think about it this way ... the longer the lever, the more force that can be applied. A sway bar is all about resisting body sway through torsional rigidity. The longer lever allows more force to be applied by the chassis on the sway, so the body rolls more. When it's shorter, the chassis has less leverage on the bar and so the body rolls less. Good luck. Enjoy. Welcome to LGT.com!

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So is that why the front strut tower seems to be so prominent?

And thanks again.

 

Pretty much. Adding a strut tower bar is a 5-minute job if even, and a much easier way to add front end rigidity to the GT. The 3.6R has a much easier time swapping the front sway bar, but as mentioned, the GT requires having the engine lifted. The rear sway bar is much easier in general and will give a much more noticeable improvement off the bat for the GT.

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^ I.e. (rear sway upgrade only) you are increasing rear sway stiffness, but not front sway stiffness, thus decreasing understeer and increasing oversteer so the car rotates better. (We're talking yaw rotation here).
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Thanks Dujo. My first car was a Z28. This would explain why when I got my first Subaru, years ago, why I could not "break it loose". Haha.

You all have been great in helping with my questions. I think I would like the rear sway bar option. However when I went to cobb mobile app, they showed a package deal that included the accessport as well as a cold air intake. I called tech to ask some questions and was informed that they dont make a cold air intake for 2010 LGT. OK the app was wrong. Then the guy proceeded to tell me that even running a K/N air filter is an issue? And I would need to get a stock airfilter to match the accessport maps? Now I am confused AGAIN.

So I am on rear sway bar... I like the idea of giving the car a little more rear wheel drive feel.

Just not sure about the accessport now.

Anyone drop in a Subaru short throw shifter?

or clutch mods? someone mentioned earlier?

thanks again for all the advice. I have been reading everything I can on this site for the last week now. very cool

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