I'm a Subie guy now
 

The GTI tried to die on me while driving home for xmas last week, so I decided to get rid of it and get an early present.

2006 Subaru Forester 2.5 XT Limited

Attachment 192017

As the rest of the Subaru guys here already know, it's basically similar to a detuned '04 STi. Planning on turbo-back exhaust and a reflash, as well as springs and a rear sway once I get some disposable income again. Should be a pretty fun car, as it will just be a daily driver and tow vehicle for taking bikes to the track.

I like it, is it a 6 speed

5 speed was the only manual offered that year

nice. congrats.

I saw one converted to STI spec, it was sick.

Broken VW??? Never.

Nice car.

I like you.

Nice. Run romraider. I'm $20 into it (for usa sourced ebay vagcom cable) on my 5speed '05 outback XT, basically the same engine as yours. Much fun. Good luck with it!!!!

Do want. Id like to eventually have one of these built to sti spec, or a swapped 2dr Impreza 2.5rs.

bellmouth dp+cat back+tactrix cable+OS tune = +30-50whp and +40-60wtq.

If you buy used it will cost less than 600;)
And you won't believe how much better it will feel, cause those gains will be from 3-5k rpm.

My Legacy GT still puts a smile on my face everyday. Good choice on the XT - very easy to mod and it will be a really fun sleeper.

I'm pretty sure I am getting one of these, but the XT in an manual is so damn hard to find around here. We get a lot fewer people driving AWD cars down here, so the rarity of the manual XT is compounded.

That's bad ass. Not too crazy about the wheels, but still good lookin

Good choice Sam and also nice pic Hustler. I much prefer the '04-05 front end on the FXTs but its hard not to like any of the Subie 2.5 turbo derivatives.

Thanks Trey! I showed this to Meg and now she may have chosen what she wants to replace the cooper :)

Badass.

Other than the spokes that poke out, thats balla.

Yeah pretty simple upgrades are available cheap. Most of it is STI takeoffs
start with the turboback exhaust, some form of EM either opensource or accessport.
You can easily pick up an STI top mount intercooler, sti exhaust manifold(or a cheap header but they will crack eventually) and uppipe cheap.
STI takeoff struts are cheap and bolt right up-add some sway bars and kartboy endlinks
want more power-VF39 or VF43 STI turbos are bolt on and cheap. Walbro and some sti injectors also cheap for a little more power.
Find some 04 STI Brembos(since they are 5x100) and you are good to go.
STI steering rack bolts right up(I have one-pm me)
The transmission is the weak point just like the miata 5 speeds. Above 300whp they can be time bomb if you are hard on them. Unfortunately STI 6 speeds while bomb proof are quite pricey.

-cobb accessport is for women and gays. complete and utter waste of money.
-sti manifold and up pipe are EXACTLY the same as the ones on his car already.
-sti struts WILL NOT fit his car unless he gets specifically the 04 sti struts. any other year will not work.
-sti injectors are the same size that he has already.
-walbro pump won't do shit unless he's going bigger than vf series turbos.
-:laugh: at the cheap retarded plug for STi steering rack: it won't do SHIT for him and is a waste of money. nice try though.

You should learn a thing or two about scoobs before handing out advice. You're clearly a noob.

I've got a thread around here somewhere when I was looking at these guys. In the end, they just weren't big enough and I ended up with a 4Runner. Be sure to hit the subaruforester.com for all the specifics you need. They're not the hard-core performance group like we've got here... more of an m.net approach to stuff, but all the info is there.

On the other hand, the new Outback's are freaking huge inside... but only automatics in XT trim and a bit heavy. I still kick myself in the ass all the time for buying my Mazdaspeed6 over a Legacy GT.

Woot I have a FXT '04 myself. We should start our own turbo miata and turbo forester owners forum.

Yes sf.com is like m.net but they do have a passable e-z upgrade guide.



Wait. Where is your miata? I see not one in your signature.

Jesus I forget what asshats people on this forum are.
While I am certainly no forester expert, I was just trying to be helpful
As for the accessport, I know people on this forum are cheap to a fault(chinachargers etc.) but it certainly is one option if you want a supported product. I suppose the large number of subaru owners who have accessports are all old women or gays right?
On the exhaust manifold/uppipe. Sorry misread the year of his FXT I thought it said 05. prior to 06 the uppipes were catted and so a STI item was a very slight upgrade. The exhaust manifold I don't know about. On the earlier year Foresters some people claimed they were exactly the same others claimed dyno gains when they replaced the stock item with the STI item. either way a moot point
Sorry I didn't specify that he needed 04 struts(as I did for the brakes). still not a bad option. I think there is a company Feal? that now does revalves on the STI struts although I doubt they have anything specific for the forester.
The injectors. here I was wrong, I didn't know that the FXT came with yellow tops.
The fuel pump. While it is true that the FXT pump probably would be able to handle a VF upgrade there have been cases where it hasn't. Some people have done 650 injectors as well, not even factoring in if you wanted run e85.
The steering rack. Seems like this is a pretty common mod for foresters given the stock rack is like 19 to 1 in the center compared to a fixed 15 to 1 for the STi rack. It sure felt better in my friend's forester anyway. Yes an 04 rack is easier to swap than later years but later years have been done too. I would have probably just given him my steering rack as I have a Qrack, not trying to make any money. I guess we'll have to disagree about this one.

There is nothing wrong with the Accessport. My good friend is running one on his 09 STI with a full turbo back and the stage 2 map from COBB. On the dyno he gained 35ft/lbs of torque and 40whp. Not bad for a "bolt on" universal item. That, and his car has a warranty and he wanted something that was easy to remove without trace. Try that with a stand alone.

No one said anything about stand alone. Opensource is everything the penisport is and more.
Your friend paid 700 bux (if he bought new) for a piece of crap little gadget to flash maps he can't alter in any way when he could have spent 100 on a tactrix cable and done EXACTLY the same thing and would have been able to fine tune said maps to his car and have a MUCH more efficiently running car making more power and eating less fuel (the shitty ots maps run something ridic like 10.5:1 afr and shitty timing curves. barely any improvement over stock)

Run along noob.
Its good that you're trying to be helpful (and I probably came off way more "flamey" than I intended to :giggle:) but it was mis-information. If I post mis information feel free to correct me right away too, I expect nothing less.
I've seen people follow this sort of advice and buy shit that doesn't work on their car. It truly sucks.

This is a bit of simplication don't you think? If you want to tune your car yourself then OS is the way to go, BUT you then need at least a wideband and probably boost and EGT so factor in the cost of those gauges(you should have them anyway but it's a fair point). If you are getting a dyno tune then go with what your tuner likes. The accessport does some things the OS doesn't. You don't need to keep a laptop in the car to switch maps on the fly for different types of fuel. It can read and reset codes. It's pretty idiot proof. Some people like convenience and are willing to pay for it. It hardly makes then stupid. I use an accessport because my shop is a Cobb shop, but Tim Bailey is a excellent tuner and I wouldn't go somewhere else for a couple of hundred bucks, maybe someone else would.


I have no problem with having any errors highlighted. I get a little testy when there are lots of capital letters, and phrases like cheap and retarded thrown around(OTOH I did use asshat). Of course that's just the internet in general-SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Either way I would hope someone looking at an upgrade path would take the time to check out any and all claims made on a car forum.

Since we are arguing over silly stuff, why use a $100 tactrix cable for opensource tuning when you can use a $10 ebay cable? I spent $20 on one because it shipped from within the usa, but if you have weeks to wait for one to ship from chingdong you can get 'em for $10.

Link?
I searched "tactrix cable" on ebay and got nothing.

+1 on link, are you referring to vag com cables? Also which version of ecuflash do you use?

The accessport is a big waste of money. As 18psi said the ots maps are pig rich and some people get 16-18 mpg with these. For the $600 you spend for the accessport you can have a pefectly tailored opensource tune from a good tunner. My tune in my STI gets 27 mpg at a nice 75-80 mph cruise. Drop your foot and the touqe is nasty. No need for differnt maps.

Yeah you have to search for vag com cables. Here's the second on the list...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/USB-O...motiveQ5fTools

Word on the legacy forums is that the blue wired versions don't work as well as the silver wire versions (I run the silver wired like the above link but sourced from within the usa cause I have no patience for China shipment times). I got my info on how to use this off legacygt.com 'cause I have an outback but obviously the same applies to the forester, and nasioc seems to be way too big to find any good info quickly.

I'm running the latest versions of romraider/defs, ecuflash & learning view on my netbook and my dad's old laptop, both with windows XP with no issues. This is good because the lastest ecuflash comes with Tactrix drivers which load automatically when you install the software, which worked for this cable and WinXP. No need to delete drivers after the fact/download old software versions/find drivers off random hosting sites/hope you didn't forget anything/etc. Some have issues with Win7 but I stopped following that thread once I got my stuff working.

I also input my AEM gauge type WBO2 into romraider's logger using DIYautotune's serial/USB adapter with no issue. Romraider has "external sensors" tab for the aem and innovative widebands, to log them along with whatever else you check off. :)

EDIT: I just turned on ECUflash, I'm running 1.42.2595. Romraider is 0.5.2 beta.

Pretty cool. I heard you talk about this before but never saw a link to actual product.
My tactrix is still near new condition but if I need one in the future that looks like an insanely good deal. Thanx for the link:)

PS: this helps OP too quite a bit. If you don't have one of these, GET IT:D

No problem :) I'm sure you can help me out someday with my subie.

I have used my "setup" to scan (oh yeah, learning view shows CEL codes) and deactivate a cat inefficiency CEL on a '04 or '05 FXT. Hell, $10 for just a CEL reader is dirt cheap if that's all you use it for, assuming you already have a laptop.

And for me, I downloaded a "stage 2.5" map off romraider's forum, copied the tables I thought looked good, and away I went. It's still pig rich (off the WBO2 scale) but no where near as bad as some accessport maps I've dealt with, with their diesel like black exhaust at WOT. I was getting 26mpg max, highway in the summer but this cold weather is really hitting my MPG bad, down to 21.6 average now :( but holy shitznit winter torque!!

I got excited and hoped that it would work on my moms/brothers 02 legacy and I could have fun with it on leave... oh well.

While Accessport can show great gains and is probably the simplest to use, knock correction is not as aggressive enough to prevent detonation. A lot of stage 1 and 2 motors that were blown b/c of EM are due to Accessport (especially newer 2.5 l blocks) and Open Source. This is based on info from 1 shop, so can be taken with a grain of salt. However, they're well known in the Subie community, especially for trannies (not the kind that Hustler bangs).

Ideally, go Open Source + UTEC with a good tuner and WB02.

Why in the everliving FUCK would anyone EVER want to slap a POS Utec on top of a fully programmed Opensource ecu?
Do you know what either one of them even is?
That's like saying "USE MEGASQUIRT + POWER CARD + good tuner + wb02"

feedback and fine learning knock correction as well as knock advance/retard are used to get to MBT and back off just like you would with det cans on a miata. They work. The factory knock sensors are well calibrated and very accurate.

Utec is old as shit, and a piggyback, comparable to a Link..
so basically crap

I think he meant DTEC

Yes, I do know what UTEC is. And no, it's not even close to that retarded statement you made.

It's not just a piggyback. It offers a lot more functionality than just a piggyback.

Either way, he's just bitter and and not a fan.

Then explain to me what a UTEC does that a stock ecu wouldn't be able to do?

I'm bitter?
I wrench on these cars on the side. So basically every weekend and when I have free time from working on my own car/house I wrench on subarus/evos. Our shop specializes in them.

When I see retarded shit posted I call it out.

Map switch selection for pre-programmed maps, launch control, spare solenoid driver that can be used to trigger something like meth injection, shift light output (not sure if the last 2 items are available via OpenSource).

Just curious why you're so bitter?

I'm not bitter. You're just a pussy. I speak directly and it gets your panties in a bunch because its not rated G and I'm not licking your vagina.

I guess I should have been more specific:
What does any one of those features have anything to do with monitoring or preventing knock?
You suggested he get an opensource tune + Utec so his car runs safer.
Name one thing the Utec would be able to do to help the stock ECU do this?
Utec is old as hell. Its crap. Obsolete technology. Literally next to NO ONE uses them on subarus anymore.

Ok cockgobbler, regarding the stock ECU, it's ok at detecting knock at stock levels. It's not great for modified vehicles. The sensitivity is not all that great at detecting detonation. The UTEC/Delta can adjust knock sensitivity and be a lot more aggressive in adjusting for knock.

Go ahead and bash away. You seem to know so much about EM and the Subie world.

Regarding the old technology, if you're referring to UTEC using hyperterminal to communicate w/ the ECU, it's effective and allows you to view multiple fields live and change parameters on the fly (not as slick as Megasquirt).

Jermaine at TurboXS has gotten STis running VF39s to put down 400+ tq (at the wheels on Dynapacks).

The resolution available in the recent software updates has doubled.

It's okay to squabble all you want, no need to get personal and act like a kid with diaper rash.

EDIT: and "Literally next to NO ONE uses them on subarus anymore..." comment is just silly. I know of several 600+whp Subarus locally running UTEC. Idiot.

:bowrofl:

Umad faggit?
Stock ecu can be adjusted to be more sensitive to knock.
It doesn't replace the stock knock sensors therefore it uses the SAME SHIT to monitor said knock.

Go on NAZIOC and browse the "proven power bragging" section. Show me who uses Utecs anymore.
Everyone uses full standalones like AEM/Hydra/Motec for the big power builds, and everything else is OS or AP.

You're mad cause you're using info you don't know shit about that you found out by just doing a search for it now.
Great logic btw: spend money on an OS tune then spend more money on a Utec to achieve the same shit. Then have them both circle jerk each other.

You should work for FFS and help them advertise the in line power cards.
I'll bet 5 utecs in line will achieve MAXIMUM RESOLUTION YO.

derp

No VladiWrX, I've hung out at Andrewtech and TurboXS a lot. True, the 600+whp guys use standalone. However, in many states, that won't pass emissions when they use OBDII or CAN BUS.

DugEFresh, MikAust are both local, use UTEC and were tuned by Jermaine.

I'm not mad, just don't understand how someone who claims to know so much, has less than 1000 posts on Nastycock, can sit here and talk so much trash. I'm sure you know a bit about the big hp Subarus. Just not as well-versed as you tout. You're very narrow minded.



And you have a tiny peepee.:giggle:

You found one of my screen names. Holy shit, I'm so honored:bowrofl:
Since you're e-stalking me, now just find the one I regularly use (from the shop) and maybe you'll see that I'm not exactly a newb like you think;)


Now then, back on topic:
You still haven't showed me how a POS utec will help OP monitor knock or run more safe.
you keep beating around the bush with irrelevant bullshit.


And what states are you referring to?
Cause I'm in Cali and we have the most strict inspections and I've had dozens of cars pass the sniffer/visual, and most importantly the obd2 scan part of a smog check/inspection.

I"m all ears.

Okay:

ECU - you can edit it to adjust knock correction, but not sensitivity (to the best of my knowledge).

UTEC - you can adjust knock sensitivity across multiple rpm ranges (IIRC, maybe 5 ranges?). AND, you can run different sensitivity levels (i.e., as the rpms go up, more noise....lower sensitivity).


The comment regarding emissions was directed towards standalones. Please show me a standalone that will pass OBDII scan.

There's a niche of cars that want a lot of power that something like the UTEC works perfect for their needs. Open Source is great to work in unison w/ UTEC.

Not everyone is willing and able to mod their car above 400whp. There are financial, drivability, reliability issues. There's the scare of bigger hp equals exponential spending and great chance of expensive maintenance and repairs, shorter lifespan of moving parts, etc.

So for the majority of Subaru owners that mod their car, something like the UTEC, Accessport, and Open Source are great for a car that can be registered for street use...not just a track/trailer queen.

If you can afford to dedicate a car to high hp and standalone, great! A small percentage of folks are willing to do so. They compromise and go for different solutions.

You're pulling this "info" completely out of your ass.

No one needs a Utec with an OS tune.
There are literally hundreds of 400+ setups out there tuned with opensource.
There is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED for a Utec with OS. At all. Everyone agrees to that. Find me some proof on any of the scoob forums (that aren't written by TurboXs employees) that a Utec will help jack shit and benefit the car making it run safer than a simple OS tune. Opensource will support 400whp just like it will support 800whp. The features offered by standalones that make them superior to OS are not found in the Utec.

Its a garbage piggyback. Its neither here nor there.

DING DING DING
It finally dawned on me why you're such an ignorant fanboi riding the Utecs nutsack so hard. You're either friends with the employees or are brainwashed by their advertising. Totally understandable since you hung out there a lot.

Anyways, I'm done with this retarded bullshit: you've no experience with either platform, and are just regurgitating turboXs advertising. You most likely never even tuned with either one or even opened it up on a computer.

I've used a Utec to tune a couple WRX's.
Back in 2005-6.
It was a crude POS. Nothing compared to whats available nowadays. Even a Cobb accessport is more advanced than it.
I'll let OP sift through this bullshit and make the decision for himself (or whoever else is going to be reading this). They can go on the scoob sites and see for themselves lol

lol why are we fighting about Subarus on a miata turbo forum?

Tactrix is great. . . it does just about everything and if you arent a dipshit its pretty easy to use. I have mine sitting right next to me :) .

I still dont get why people pay tuners when there are so many sources out there to teach you how to tune. If you think 95% of the people working at these tuner shops are smart people with mechanical engineering degrees ( or even a mechanic certification for that matter) you are wrong. IK a lot of "shops" that are no more than a bunch of kids who took out a loan, started a business and wing it. One of those companies just so happens to be in CT and just so happens to work on subaru's .

I was too lazy to read all of this rambling back and forth u guys are doing, but I put my .02 in anyway.

Did this change in '06? I know for a fact that the '04 FXT and STI ex mans were different. I had both in my hands, posted pics at SF.com and NASIOC (I think) and had STI ported manifolds on my car. FXT manis had tighter bends and smaller port. Not to mention the gasket matching was horrendously poor.

Regardless, it wouldn't be worth the swap but a port match and new x-over pipe might be.

Frank

Sorry, you're right. I've PM'd 18psi (n00berator)

cause this is all Vlad has anymore.

the fuck is that supposed to mean?

Awwww, I forgive you. :makeout:

I'll reply to your PM propositioning cybersex when I get the chance. ;)

Bottom line: OP made a thread about getting a scoob and we're talking scoobs.
What is the point in having a forum if we can't have discussions/arguments?

Deal! We still asking Hustler to video tape us? I'll spring for the lube and protection.

Discussion - good.
Arguments - fine.
Bashing people that aren't <20 posts trolls - not so cool.
Not backing up your statements - weaksauce.

In any event, we all agree there's more than a handful of Subie owners here. Many of us drive modded Subarus (or have in the past). Our experiences run the whole spectrum. No biggie.

** on a lighter note**

I am going outside to test my Tactrix on my brother's new OEM ecu. He had to source a new ECU because the FAGS at ECUTek (tuning company 10 yrs ago) lock all subaru ecus after they load their tune on it. The car was back on a stock tune and was still fucking locked.

Let the OS tuning begin ! :)

There is an awesome e-tuner on Legacygt.com that goes by Infamous1. I have been running my LGT on his tune for over two years now. Nothing by praises for him. His prices are about half of what you would pay for other so called "pro" tunes and my LGT runs 10X better than it did when dyno tuned by others.

I realize this is mostly a DIY forum (and you can flame me for not doing my own tuning, lol). But, for those on the Subaru platform that do not need or want to tune themselves, you will not regret using him. I am running OS. He will tune with both OS and cobb ap.

The only reason I am recommending him is that I am simply amazed at how much better (both in terms of power AND safety) my LGT runs on his tune vs others (and that also includes the factory tuner from that POS ECUtek that locks you into their system).

I've been considering the Infamous1 tune for a while now as he gives a slight discount for those running the "itsme" FMIC which I'm doing. Everyone who uses him absolutely loves the results. I think it's normally $150 for 4 iterations via email/datalogs.

But the LGT basemaps by mickeyd2005 off romraider's forum seem pretty decent on my car (other than way rich...I guess that makes them not decent eh) and based off ~2008 posts there it seems infamous1 started with these maps/mickeyd back in the day.

In Soviet Russia, UTEC tune you!