EB's Subaru journal - 2005 LegacyGT wagon & 2014 Forester FB25 (08 specB - RIP)

[BoozeRS05]

SS3 LED fogs from Diode Dynamics installed earlier today and appears to be a ton more light, but potentially obnoxious. This is their lowest output option too and maybe wishing I'd gone with a white light instead of yellow.

Edited July 18, 2021 by BoozeRS05

[BoozeRS05]

Sent an oil sample to Blackstone for my FB25 Forester. Pretty happy with the results at 155k miles.

 

Been a great little DD over the last year, although a little vanilla even after some subtle mods.

[BoozeRS05]

Couple wagon updates!

 

Swapped out the yellow Diode Dynamics LED fog light assemblies for white light. The yellow looked great, but just wasn't my taste.

 

Also started a permanent BtSsm and oil pressure display. Plan is to relocate my clock/trip computer to the ashtray location and run a charging cord or USB port through the opening under the phone, before patch and paint. All of the oil pressure gauge parts are ordered, just waiting for the last couple bits to arrive.

 

Using an 2008 specB cubby with navigation for this, not my 2005.

-Found a heavy piece of plastic from an old printer tray and cut it to size.

-Got some brackets at the hardware store that fit very nicely, everything lined up great. No glue and very sturdy.

-Used the black screws from my old cubby so you can't see the hardware inside the vents, fit perfectly and doesn't touch the vents.

-Took some wood from a broken decoration to fab the phone mount that's literally screwed into the phone case. Also very sturdy.

Lots of work to go, but pretty excited to see it all done done.

 

Couple other pics I took recently.

Edited August 31, 2021 by BoozeRS05

[BoozeRS05]

And that's that.. On to the trip/clock computer relocation next

 

Don't know if I love it, but I'll try some different things I'm sure and once it's finished, it'll be good enough for the time being

Edited September 4, 2021 by BoozeRS05

[BoozeRS05]

Got all the collars free and tried raising my coilovers a bit to make my new wheels fit. Still rubbing in the front though.

 

Once I set the final height and get a good alignment, I think I'll be able to run a 245/40/18 without much issue. Fingers crossed

[BoozeRS05]

Got the Whiteline rear arms finished up and a good alignment. I'll need to raise the coilovers another .25-.5" to fit a 245/40/18, bc it's still rubbing and I'd rather not size down in tire.

 

Can't believe I didn't roll the front fenders BEFORE painting them..

Edited October 22, 2021 by BoozeRS05

[KevinEdgar]

That's the beauty of the obxt body, nobody can see my cracked fenders hahaha.

[BoozeRS05]

Probably only a handful of drives left until it goes away for the bulk of winter

[BoozeRS05]

Little shout out to my daily also, all setup for winter with STi wheels and snow tires. LGT front brake setup bolted right in recently, which was a nice upgrade.

 

Been a solid car for over 1.5 years and with nearly 160k miles. Lots of mod and maintenance too.

Edited November 24, 2021 by BoozeRS05

[SoobyDoobyDoo]

Damn that’s a nice looking car. What kind of wheels are on it now? Not usually a fan of black with RBP but yours pulls it of nicely…

[BoozeRS05]

Thanks buddy. They're - OZ Racing, Alleggerita HLT, 17x8, +48

 

I actually don't love the styling and have been searching for new summer wheels, but it's hard to beat these wheels.. 17's, fit Brembo calipers and sooo light, ~15.5lbs!

[BoozeRS05]

Mostly done with the interior project.

 

Everything is pretty much in place just some fitment issues, like to fill the gap by the cubby and some sanding/paint touch ups to go.

 

And I'm talking to SoA about a new dash. Hopefully they help out, mines looking pretty shabby.

[BoozeRS05]

Couple new pieces to my cabin, still lots to do.

 

Spring is breaking, can't wait to drive it more.

Edited March 10, 2022 by BoozeRS05

[SoobyDoobyDoo]

Is that Torque you’re running on the phone? How do you like it?

[BoozeRS05]

BtSsm, it's an LGT homebrew app. Not able to tune using it, but it's the best for monitoring things.

[BoozeRS05]

Couple updated pics 

[BoozeRS05]

I know it’s out of place, but I wanted to document the work I’ve done to my daily driver 2014 Forester.

6/20 with 138k miles 

6/21 with 150k miles

6/22 with 164k miles

 

Mods:

-Perrin steering lockdown

-Luxeon LED fog lights

-eBay hatch spoiler - black

-MY05 LegacyGT new Centric front calipers, rotors and stoptech pads

-New Duralast rear calipers, rotors and Brembo pads

-Grimmspeed MCB

-MY15 STi steering wheel

-Rokblokz Mud guards - black/black

-Weathertech mats - front, rear and cargo

-Soltech rear window shades

-OEM roof crossbars

Wheels:

-17x9 +42 Rota Titan, flat black with custom Subaru center caps (~18lbs) - 245/50/17 Kenda kr400 UHP A/S

-18x8.5 +55 MY17 STi OEM (too heavy ~24lbs) with 15mm spacer - 235/55/18 Nexen Winterguard Sport2

 

Maintenance:

Timing cover reseal @ 138k

PCV replaced @ 142k

CVT flush and fill @ 164k

Rear wheel bearings @ 168k

Future Plans:

KYB struts and Mann Engineering lowering springs

 

[BoozeRS05]

New JDM mirrors installed and really happy with them. Paint’s not pitted like my OEM mirrors and they fit with my facelift nicely.

Also they appear to be OEM glass, but are more convex than my USDM mirrors. Seems like a much larger field of vision behind me then before, which I was not expecting and really like.

[Febreze Mee]

I think you can swap the black surrounding trim so that you can maximize visibility for the glass. I've been waiting for a facelift Leggy/OB to hit the parts yard so I could try swap the JDM surround for the USDM surround. 
 

I'm embarrassed to say, that I'm probably going to PM you about wiring, since you and one other guy are the only ones on here (that I know of) who have put post-face mirrors on a pre-face car. Yours are just fresh on the brain, so you're my victim —sorry, not sorry!

[BoozeRS05]

That’s crazy. I’d guess it’s 15% more view behind me now then with my OE mirrors. If I can increase that, great, but I still can’t get over how much more there is already.

But yeah, send me a PM. I didn’t want or need folding mirrors, and the setup without it is extremely simple. First time I ever re pinned a connector too, so that was cool. 

[BoozeRS05]

Extra nice day today, intake temps below 60 for the first time in a looong time. Go fast juice!

[BoozeRS05]

Haven’t been doing much with it, probably only driving once a week these days.

Grabbed some RBP front and rear spats though. Interested to see how those turn out. In the meantime.. 

[BoozeRS05]

Grabbed a full set of MY18 WRX premium seats for my Forester today, installed fronts in about an hour. I’ll finish up the rear tomorrow, but couldn’t be happier so far.

I don’t know if these will fit in my wagon, but I may eventually try to figure it out. 

[Febreze Mee]

Oof, those Forester seats were looking lackluster. Good move!

[Infosecdad]

I have 2011 STI seats in my 2005 and they still use the same bolt pattern (plugs are a little different due to airbag and such).

If I remember correctly, 2012 or 2015, the bolt pattern changed, at least for the front seats.

I was looking at 2018-2019 seats, but learned they wouldn't directly bolt in, so that's why I went with 2011 (by far my favorite mod, so comfortable).