Dulagarl: the Lifted H6 Forester

Well, I bought it, and I have to say that what SKT has done is truly inspired.

It’s a freaking rocket on the bitumen, and it has an enormous amount of grunt offroad.

Engine transplant thread is here:

https://www.ausubaru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16564

Here’s a little log of bring it home, and it’s first offroad trip once home.

Jan 29th I flew to Coolangatta. Scott picked me up at the airport and we went for a drive. It didn’t take long for me to be convinced that I should buy this. Sure, it had a couple of issues, for example some worn out bushes in the front end, and a cooling issue, but I could tell that this was a VERY serious vehicle.

Brought it home via Lismore and Casino and then to Tamworth for the night. Next day was Tamworth to Narrandera. Narrandera to Melbourne on the Minday was relatively easy after all of that.

Saw some amazing country in the process. Didn’t have time for many snaps, but here are a few…

Some of the country just into NSW after casino…

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Took a detour via the outer solar system…

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Actually, that virtual solar system drive from siding spring observatory is a good idea. That pic was taken in Gilgandra.

While on the space bent, couldn’t resist a couple of pics with the Parkes Radio Telescope…

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It was 38 degrees Celsius when those shots were taken, and it didn’t get cooler for hours. Unsurprisingly, the vehicle got a bit hot just south of Forbes.

004southofforbes.jpg



A bit further south past West Wyalong, and there was still water around from December. Ridiculously flat country with paddocks turned to lakes…

005southofforbes.jpg


So, when I got home, I went straight to the mechanic and got an aircon service. I also consulted about improving airflow to the radiator. I looked at pics of offroad bars on Outbacks on the Subaxtreme site, and also the bar on the latest Forester. Armed with that info I decided to cut some holes in the bulbar, and this is the result…

001grille.jpg


002front.jpg


Gotta love the grille mesh from supacheap auto!

So, I then set up the GPS on the dash with some adhesive Velcro…

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and connected the ECU to the laptop to monitor engine performance and temperatures.

004ecudata.jpg


(BTW: I think I might have resolved the “cooling issues”!)

... part two to follow
 
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To be honest when you said you were putting air vents in I thougt it would wreck the car but now seeing them in and matching with the grille I like them :biggrin: Do they make much difference?
 
Friday: Improved the operation of the vents by adding some pinchweld to the edges of the backing plates, thus creating a larger gap for air circulation. I love Clark Rubber!

Today, I went to an exhaust place that was recommended to me so I could get a quote on modifying the H6 headers. Basically, they hang down too far for my liking, and I want an inch chopped off them near the mounting plate so that I can remount the bash plate an inch higher. This would give me 25 cm clearance for the bash plate.

Work will get done next week, but I looked at some of their work and their welding is immaculate. Looking forward to getting the job done.

Also, yesterday I restored the paintwork on the roof rails: it was crappy and dull, so I just got into it with some cutting compound. Looks like new now.
 
Also, yesterday I restored the paintwork on the roof rails: it was crappy and dull, so I just got into it with some cutting compound. Looks like new now.
Sounds like a top job well done :)
Do you have some before & after pics ? I'm sure others would like to see them, as too would I :raz:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Sounds like a top job well done :)
Do you have some before & after pics ? I'm sure others would like to see them, as too would I :raz:

Regards
Mr Turbo

nah, sorry. Didn't think it was that important.

the roof rails on the SF are quite different to on a SG. I wouldn't do that with an SG becuase I think the paint would completely disappear.
 
Ok

Pretty bloody stoked right now.

Took the vehicle to Exhaust Brothers in Footscray, to get the headers cut down by an inch to give me more clearance. They did a fantastic job. they were recommended to me by someone I trust, and I would happily recommend them to anyone.

the job was really tricky, becuase inside what looks like the exhaust manifold there are three pipes which come together, so it was a very tricky job to cut them off and re-attach.

It means I now have heaps more clearance, and have test fitted the bash plate and am now back to more then 25 cm minimum clearance! :cool:

I will be changing the way the bash plate is mounted. In this pic you can see a piece of quad mounted on the jacking plate, onto which the bash plate is then mounted. I do not like this because it restricts airflow underneath the motor, and whenever I cop a hit the jacking plate bends. You can see in the pic below that it is bent.

headersraised.jpg


You can also see that I have mounted some heatshield on top of the header, to protect the steering boot. heat shield material; was provided free of charge by Exhaust Brothers. It looks kinda like this:

heatshield.jpg


I only needed short sections like that to mount in position, as follows:

heatshieldmounted.jpg


of course, I have since trimmed the excess off the hose clamps.

To get the bash plate mounted flush against the jacking plate, I will mount spacers between the jacking plate and cross members, and bend the bash plate so that it sits higher in the centre. This will in turn help prevent bolts from shearing off.

This little mod will make a lot of difference, and maximise the benefit of the body lift and strut lift.

Cannot speak highly enough of Exhaust Brothers Footscray. Excellent work.
 
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Thats great to hear. Looks like a job that was very well done :discomonkey:

+1 Looks great and thats good to hear you gained about an inch more clearance :lildevil:

Quick question Dulagarl; how do you keep your foz in such good condition when it goes offroad? aren't there scratches down the sides of her from bushes, sticks flicking up, etc...?
How do you protect the paint work? Also do you polish it often?
My paint work (same colour) looks shocking, I haven't polished her all year and it is all dull and scratches running all the way down from the front headlights to the tailgate from bushes. Any tips?
 
+1 Looks great and thats good to hear you gained about an inch more clearance :lildevil:

Quick question Dulagarl; how do you keep your foz in such good condition when it goes offroad? aren't there scratches down the sides of her from bushes, sticks flicking up, etc...?
How do you protect the paint work? Also do you polish it often?
My paint work (same colour) looks shocking, I haven't polished her all year and it is all dull and scratches running all the way down from the front headlights to the tailgate from bushes. Any tips?

yes. One tip.

Do not hit any tree hard enough to give you a scratch.....








hit it hard enough for it to give you dent. Insurance has just paid for the whole of the left side to be resprayed, because the panel beater had to match the panels that were repaired.

Seriously though, the right side is scratched, the left side is pristine at the moment because of the re-spray. It will not be this way forever.
 
haha. How did you get the dents? My drivers door is pushed in :eek: got snatched around a small sand dune and pushed the whole thing in :(

Also have you heard of 3m clear protective film, its like a thin plastic sheet (like what stickers are made of) that covers your paint work. I think I might try it to see if it stops bush sctratches. might just try on one of the fenders.

Ok I will try your method of hitting the trees hard. lol :lol: Not too hard though, will wait till I get the bullbar :iconwink:

Taza
 
haha. How did you get the dents? My drivers door is pushed in :eek: got snatched around a small sand dune and pushed the whole thing in :(

Also have you heard of 3m clear protective film, its like a thin plastic sheet (like what stickers are made of) that covers your paint work. I think I might try it to see if it stops bush sctratches. might just try on one of the fenders.

Ok I will try your method of hitting the trees hard. lol :lol: Not too hard though, will wait till I get the bullbar :iconwink:

Taza


Cobaw state forest with some of the lads a few months back. Muddy section, rear end slid, glanced a tree. It's mentioned in the trip reports.

I have heard of that 3m stuff. I wouldn't bother myself: scratches come out with a cut and polish, but I don't bother doing that until it gets really bad. My view is that it's an off road vehicle, so a few scratches are to be expected.

on the other hand, I have used some of that adhesive headlight protection stuff, and it is really good.
 
Cobaw state forest with some of the lads a few months back. Muddy section, rear end slid, glanced a tree. It's mentioned in the trip reports.

I have heard of that 3m stuff. I wouldn't bother myself: scratches come out with a cut and polish, but I don't bother doing that until it gets really bad. My view is that it's an off road vehicle, so a few scratches are to be expected.

on the other hand, I have used some of that adhesive headlight protection stuff, and it is really good.

I know what you mean about the scratches, I have basically given up, but it does still look nice when the cars all shiny :ebiggrin:
My left sides missing about 1/6th of the paint, took out half a tree on christmas day but better that than nearly rolling the car :biggrin:

Your right there it is an offroad vehicle and if your going to have it whynot use it properly, if you worry about scratches then don't go offroad or get a road car :iconwink:

Ive nearly his a tree when mudding too, the back end came out and I just knew it was gonna hit but suprisingly it just stopped about 10mm away :rotfl:

Taza
 
I hear those headlight stickers do well protecting against rocks & whatnot. Are they a gel type film?How long do they last & do you get a bunch of crud left over when it's time to replace? Do you lose any brightness to your lights? Sorry for all the q's! I've been curious about them for some time.
 
I hear those headlight stickers do well protecting against rocks & whatnot. Are they a gel type film?How long do they last & do you get a bunch of crud left over when it's time to replace? Do you lose any brightness to your lights? Sorry for all the q's! I've been curious about them for some time.

Are they a gel type film?
Yes. Kinda like contact adhestive

How long do they last & do you get a bunch of crud left over when it's time to replace?
very good question. I have no idea. I assume that they would be a pita to clean off, given how hard the adhesive seems to set.

Do you lose any brightness to your lights?
I didn't notice any loss, but I have HID's and they are bloody bright.
 
How do the HID's compare to the Narva 175's on your old Forester?

I reckon that the 175's in conjunction with the high beams were brighter, but the HID's on high beam are definitely brighter than the old high beams.

By how much? Enough to wish I had some driving lights as well as the HID's. The issue is airflow.
 
I reckon that the 175's in conjunction with the high beams were brighter, but the HID's on high beam are definitely brighter than the old high beams.

By how much? Enough to wish I had some driving lights as well as the HID's. The issue is airflow.

Ok, fair flow would defernatly be an issue considering he overheats without any there :( You could always put some on your roof basket, I think your basket is the same as mine.
I just bought some Narva 175's from ebay for $100 used :biggrin: I have them on the front of my Forester and my small hella's on the roof. All running including my headlights Halgeon 6000K blue/white globes. All up puts out an ok light but I wouldn't mind HID'ing the lot :raspberry:
 
I... Your right there it is an offroad vehicle and if your going to have it whynot use it properly, if you worry about scratches then don't go offroad or get a road car :iconwink: ... aza

Don't even take it to the supermarket, cos that is where you get dinged without fail.

Totally agree, use it for what you modded it for! :biggrin:
 
Are they a gel type film?
Yes. Kinda like contact adhestive

How long do they last & do you get a bunch of crud left over when it's time to replace?
very good question. I have no idea. I assume that they would be a pita to clean off, given how hard the adhesive seems to set.

Do you lose any brightness to your lights?
I didn't notice any loss, but I have HID's and they are bloody bright.

I've got them on my subi and have been meaning to remove them, I've got enough spares now not to worry about cracking one, and I've lost some lighting - low beam sucks balls!!

Hopefully the film thing will come off easily then some metho will get rid of the remaining glue.

Cheers

Bennie
 
^ I've had it on the headlights since the car was new (9 years). I had previously used the thin film on the bonnet leading edge of my Outback and thicker stuff on the headlights. I also have the sections covered where the front seatbelt buckles hits the trim when you release the belt.
 
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