Frug's Forester XT 2005 Offroad-assissing project

mr turbo said:

Looks fantastic frug
I have both front & rear bars myself & yes, they were worth every cent (or should I say every dollar)

I have to say that the wheel on the back looks huge.

As a matter of interest, is the wheel carrier you had put on detachable ?

I know they were toying with that idea at one stage I think.

Regards
Mr Turbo

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Hey Mr Turbo.

The wheel carrier is detachable, however, it's not a quick process. You have to undo a few bolts and hide some wiring, but can be done. Car looks tough with it on though!!

Update

So, after the front and rear bars were installed, the exhaust pipe out the rear was hanging really really low, and looked quite ugly.

So, off to Classic & Custom Exhaust Factory in Coburg North. Super firendly guys and they really know what they are talking about. I went to a few exhaust places around Coburg, and the place I went to didn't faf me around or act like it was a job too hard. Brilliant guys and place.

Here's a pic of the exhaust before:




and after:





as you can see, the departure angle has increased lots and it's given her a bit more of a perrrrrrr!!


to be continued......

That looks heaps better

Regards
Mr Turbo

Nice

Very nice :biggrin:

You'll have to provide details of what they did

I think it was pretty simple what they did. They removed the old huge muffler and tip and replaced it with a oval shaped one and mounted it higher into the muffler well. I guess that's all they did, and that made her perrr a little better!!

Hey everyone.

Just installed a Subtle Solutions 1" lift kit to the car.

Here are some pics:
































All done. 1" lift gained. Haven't measured total lift including my BFG AT's.


Cheers!!

Nice job!

Dont forget a wheel alignment :iconwink:

Also, with the car on the ground, loosen the nut on the front control arm rear bush. A lift twists the bush which can cause premature wear. Loosening then re-tightening the nuts releases the twist on the bush :iconwink:

Frug that looks awesome mate. Look forward to catching up with you and checking it out. That bloke doing all the hard work looks mighty familiar !!

Nice work, but first and last pics are similar

Looking good mate & well done

Regards
Mr Turbo

Nice man!!
Well done with the car!!

Hi there everyone.

Due to my change in life (now work all weekends and have a business car), I am regretfully selling my pride and joy.

Yep, my Forester XT MY06 is for sale: https://www.offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=5614

Doug,
I am shocked, but I understand. Your Subi is well prepared and I can certainly recommend it to anyone looking for an off-roader.
You are my nearest neighbour from the Subaru 4wd Club and on this forum. So you will be missed
But do not fear I will still come over for a coffee !!

*****************Price Drop***************

$20,000

Back in my life again

Well, after selling my pride and joy back in 2014, it was time to get another Forry.

Life has changed a bit over the last year, with the arrival of our first child in Jan. This gave me perfect fodder to purchase another Forester!! Safety, reliability, comfort, familiarity.......you know how the hard sell goes!!

After much searching around I came across a Forester, XT Luxury, 2007, Auto with just 65k on the dial!! And for around the $14k mark too!! And the best thing, it was the exact same Champagne colour my old Forry was!! Classic!! It was meant to be.

And so began my Suby Lift quest.

Here's a pic of her when I took possession of her


The previous owner had plans to do the typical Suby thing - slam her on her donkey and soop her up with a crazy big-arse exhaust, but his situation changed and I rescued her before that botched surgery!!! He had already put an STi Intercooler scoop and STi grill on the front and Plasti Dipped the rims which is a nice touch.

After my last Suby, I had a fair idea on the lift setup I was looking for. Get some height, but nothing too silly, just enough to inspire for confidence.

So after purchasing some King 20mm lifted springs, KYB Struts and 1" body lift blocks from Subtle Solutions, it was off to the "chop shop" to get them installed. I also invested in some 1" Trailing Arm spacers too. After lifting my previous Suby and seeing how dicky the rear wheel looked in the wheel arch, I decided to get the spacers.

Before:


25cm (10") standard height


After:


Increase height to 31cm (12")


I also needed 2 new Camber bolts too to get the wheel alignment right.

Next was to get rid of that hideous rear muffler and to give her a little Suby purrrr. So, off to the "chop shop" again to get an oval "sports" exhaust fitted, night and tightly up in the muffler well.

Before........yuck!!!


After.......just right!


Getting the muffler sorted is a must for any Suby lift project, the old one is just crazy bad.

The final step was tyres. I'm not doing anything crazy in this car, however I'll be driving a bit in the snow, so I needed some AT tyres to inspire confidence.

I had BFG ATs on my old car and they were amazing tyres, but I was using the car heavily off road then. I also didn't want to spend the $300 per tyre!!

I searched for a while to come up with the perfect size that would give me more lift, but not rub too much as full lock. I had purchased a second hand set of 15" rims, which the intention of putting the off road tyres on them, but after comparing tyre sizes, tyre wall depths and overall lift, keeping the 17" rims on was the best solution for the job.

I finally came up with the Yokohama Geo-Lander ATs 225/60/17. Bob Jane had a special on to buy 3 and get the 4th free. Winner!!!

Before:







After......tough!!!





And a lift up to 33cm (13")!!


The ride is surprisingly softer now that there are some bigger and squisher tyres on her.

So my project lifter the car 8cm (3") and total spend inc labour was around the $2k mark, which I think is quite ok.

Learned anything? Next time I would get the 2" Trailing Arm spacers. The wheel still sits a little to the front of the arch. I'd also get the mid muffler removed from the exhaust under the car, to give her a little more purrrr.

What's next?? Well, a bash plate is needed as well as I might experiment with a bit of Plasti Dipping!!

Stay tuned!!

Looks great! The new BFG KO2s look very good but I'm still a fan of the Geolanders for any who wants decent grip onroad, esp in the wet. IMO, the best AT in that regard!

I was going to ask what size trailing arm spacers, yes with raised springs & 1" spacers, you need 2" TA spacers to keep the rear wheels centred. Let me know if you want some, I can help with that.

Glad you've gone with another Subie, & esp that model SG XT...my favourite!

Congratulations on your purchase!

I still see your old XT from time to time out on the tracks - she certainly is a beast!!!

Great to see you back in a Foz!

Tigger said:

Congratulations on your purchase!

I still see your old XT from time to time out on the tracks - she certainly is a beast!!!

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Really??!! I do miss her. we had some great times together. Glad to hear she is still getting dirty!!