Which SH should i buy?

Greeno

Greeno

Forum Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
32
Location
Brisbane Australia
Car Year
2004
Car Model
Forester XS
Transmission
5MT
Hi all. Basically i sold my SG forester 6 months ago and i miss it dearly :(



We are looking at all SH's of 2010+ vintage to replace it. We test drove a 2012 diesel and a 2010 petrol auto yesterday. I liked the diesel but the mrs liked the petrol, mostly because it was an auto.

I just want some advice from people that own a diesel, are they good for beach work? The petrol sg was great but lacked power at times even in its near useless low range.
 
the Diesel is great on the beach,

they have very severe " In-Gear torque limiters" that makes them very dull in respect to throttle response and pick-up, it feels like you're driving a car with a Huge turbo waiting for the power
but an ECU tune (About $800) will liven it right up, it's still not a sports-car, but in-gear acceleration is great.

As with all DPF equipped Diesels it needs regular highway running otherwise it's always triggering a DPF burn-off and chewing heaps of fuel.

they have a habit of failing the glow-plugs due to a poor engine cover design which allows water to flow into the scoop, down the engine cover and directly onto the glow-plugs.

SOOOOO much torque over 1500rpm once you've had it tuned though.

My last 200km round trip from Hobart down to Port Arthur and back netted me 6.6L/100km

2015-09-26%2015.08.49.jpg
 
Thanks for the reply, and very nice forester!

We are going to have a look at one in that colour tonight :)

I have done my research on the dpf with these and I'm also a mechanic so servicing costs and glow plugs etc are not a problem. Main reason for going diesel is it intrests me more than a petrol and the extra range to a tank will be handy on Morton and Fraser island.

A diesel with a decent low range would just be heaven
 
Remember to upgrade from the standard plastic 'splash guard' to a decent metal bash plate if going offroad (even to the beach) to protect the DPF that hangs down at the very front of the vehicle.

I agree with Robbks - lots of torque to keep you happy and mine is still standard and hasn't been tuned yet!!
 
Ideal solution is pull off the J-pipe out of the turbo and Delete the DPF
Call Chris Patzold from CrispMods, He;ll hook you up with a tune to suit the DPF delete and turn off the EGR error codes when you delete/ block that too.

You'll get a nice suprise that the glow plugs for these are about $200 a pop... :D
 
Yes would definitely look into deleting the dpf if it causes me any issues. Is the tune you got a dpf delete one?
 
Tigger said:
Remember to upgrade from the standard plastic 'splash guard' to a decent metal bash plate if going offroad (even to the beach) to protect the DPF that hangs down at the very front of the vehicle.
Click to expand...

Very good point. I had a home job bash gaurd on my sg but i should fork out the cash for a proper one for the new beast
 
So i just bought this beast. Picking it up during the week.
Next post it will be off road. Perhaps even on Fraser Island ☺

 
Congrats, Greeno. Looks terrific ... :biggrin:.

May it serve you very well.
 
Nice pickup mate, and a great price.
The local Stealership here has a 2010 Diesel listed at $24k
ot even the premo pack.
 
Thanks guys. It was a bargin, even talked them down a little from that price :)

Booked the barge to Fraser at the end of the month. Picking it up tonight, so keen.

I was going to search this but can the sh take a larger size tyre than the sg? I had 235/60r16 d697's on the sg and they fitted perfect. Just wondering if i can go a tad larger with this one seeing as its stock size is 215/65r16 which is only slightly smaller diameter than the 235/60's

Cheers
 
I'm running the 215/70 16 BFG's and they don't scrub at all on standard height suspension.
Since the 1" lift kit and custom king springs I get a light rubbing on the front of the rear wheel well under full droop
 
So after a couple weeks of ownership and a fraser island trip i have found the car great over all.

The diesel engine is awesome. Plenty of low down grunt and enough pull to overtake on highway. But the biggest bonus is the ecconomy! I filled up 200km before the barge to Fraser, drove around Fraser for about 2 days all up, then back on the barge and drove all the way back to brisbane from Harvey bay and still had 1/8th of a tank left. Amazing for an all wheel drive brick!

I'm not a huge fan of the 6 speed however. Firstly the cable shift feels rubbish, although i have stopped noticing it now im used to it. Secondly (and this is the worst bit) the gap between 1st and 2nd is way too big. Even on the street if you start on a hill you have to rev out 1st quite high before changing into 2nd to keep the revs even close to the torque window. This becomes much worse off road and found myself having to leave it in first and just go slower if on a steep incline.
If they beefed up the old duel range box and made it a 6 speed it would make this car sooo much better.

I also ripped the sump gaurd off within 20mins of being on the island, which i was half expecting to be honest. This normally wouldnt worry me too much as i did Morton island in my SG without a sump gaurd no worries but i was concerned a bit this time with the turbo and dpf being right at the front pretty low. No dramas in the end but had to take it easy.

First mod will be an alloy sump gaurd :)
 
Happy to see that generally all is going well
 
Nice Foz! I'm jealous we don't have the diesels or dual range over here in the USA. I can't wait to source a dual range and put it in my SG. I found a SF dual range for a good price over there and trying to figure out shipping. Did you have a lift with your SG? those tires looked nice on it and I'm planning on lifting mine before I buy my next set
 
The low range that the SH comes with isn't much to write home about. I dare say having an auto with no low range would be better crawling than manual and low range.

As for bash plate, looking at the second hand one I picked up (spur of the moment after reading it's a "must") don't go the cast alloy one from subaxtreme, bends and cracks way too easy
 
Seeing that DPF sitting there exposed like that made me cringe!! I am glad that there was no damage!!

I agree with bakerboy - go down the plate alloy path with a bash plate, the cast alloy ones look good but aren't very good once they cop a hit as they do crack very easily!

Glad to see you out and about and enjoying your new Forester :)
 
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