Author Topic: Teh Fonz - Givin it some head (Read 45894 times)

snackers · « **on:** September 27, 2011, 07:02:25 pm »

The time has come to move on...

...on to my 5th subaru in 3 years.

I moved from a reliable (read: stock) car to a modded car that I didn't care to drive daily due to the inherent rattles and changes that happen from modding a car, as well as a large increase in miles I needed to travel to work.
I tried, oh how I tried, to have a "beater" that I didn't care about.

The first beater turned into a swap. It has moved on to an owner whom I demanded treat it like it deserved to be treated. No car washes, constant bounces off redline, and as much ghetto as possible if/when it needed repairs.
The second beater turned into a never ending nightmare of discovery thanks to AllMakes. It seems to be treating its new owner with much more respect than it gave me.
The third beater is such a pain in the assay to drive around town because it has too many uckfaying gears.

So I've had to compromise.
I've found myself a "beater" that I can half-assed care about, and have some fun with, only partially care if I stuff it into a snowbank, and hopefully not have to work on it just to keep it running.

Introducing:
Teh Fonz

2005 Forester 2.5XT MT
Obsidian Black Pearl
Always serviced at Subaru by the older gentleman that owned it since new (see? I learn from past mistakes)
All standard options as specified here: http://www.cars101.com/subaru/forester/forester2005.html
No mods (or nothing of consequence)
It had HID headlights when I picked up, which I have since removed because the FXT does not have projectors.

I will not claim that this will be a no-mod vehicle.
It will be a daily driver, and as such I will make it as comfortable, luxurious, and functional as possible.

Hopefully my collection is complete for a while.

snackers · « **Reply #1 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:02:39 pm »

Mods when purchased
NONE! (mostly)
HID headlights (now removed)
HID 3k Foglights

Current mods
Engine
Catless uppipe
Custom 3" catback exhaust, Magnaflow muffler and tip
Intake silencer delete

Interior
~~Aux In mod for mp3 player - http://www.scoobymods.com/aux-input-ipod-solution-fxt-t3357.html?t=3357~~
Pioneer DEH-X3500UI
JL Audio TR800 CXi 6" front speakers
Generic 6x9 woofer in stock location
PhoenixGold 500W amp

Exterior
HID Foglights, 3k
Morimoto Mini HID retrofit headlight projectors
Winter Wheels - 16" BBS with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 studded winters
Summer Wheels - 16" stockers, BBS Gold, Sumimoto no-seasons
RA mudflaps
RA Motorsports skid plate

Drivetrain
Kartboy "Comfort" outrigger bushings
Group N 5mt Trans Mount
TiC Trans Crossmember Bushings
Napa blank rotors
Akebono street pads

Suspension and Steering
Moog front endlinks
Moog rear endlinks
Whiteline KBR16 rear endlink support brace
Whiteline KCA313 Roll Center Adjust kit
KYB tophats
KYB GR2 WRX struts
07 WRX wagon springs

Wishlist
Catted downpipe
Bugeye sti scoop - JDM, Kakumei, Seibon, or otherwise
Navi
~~05-07 wrx struts/springs~~
04 sti rear swaybar, endlinks, bushings, mounts, and lateral link supports ( http://www.scoobymods.com/lateral-link-weldment-supports-mo-t6842.html?t=6842 or http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_detail4.php?part_number=KBR16 )
~~Gold wheels~~
STI tmic, bpv, turbo

snackers · « **Reply #2 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:02:49 pm »

Not more than an hour after picking Fonz up, it ended up here somehow:

This happened:

When I first test drove this thing, I thought there was something seriously wrong. It's not just that boost was delayed or minimal... it seemed like it wasn't even there. I was warned of this before I picked it up, and really put all my eggs in Airboy's basket hoping that he could fix the problem.

After putting in a wrx restrictor pill and a few hours worth of dyno tuning, the difference was absolutely amazing. It brought back some memories of the failhatch, except just a bit more due to the shorter gearing of the forester.

snackers · « **Reply #3 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:03:00 pm »

Unfortunately, the 04/05 foresters have the results of Subarus amazoring decision to stick a cat in the exhaust system pre-turbo, even though it is a 2.5L. That needed to be fixed.

This was the general area where work was to be done.

I started by breaking the very first thing I touched.

That was later replaced with

All the related bits came off.

Which resulted in:

And the point of this ungodly exercise:

The new junk went in

And a slight modification was made just in case this needs to happen again for some reason.

So that the front o2 sensor doesn't have to be mangled all the time just to fix a gasket leak.

At the same time, since everything was out of the way, I took the opportunity to prevent another catastrophe.
The turbo oil supply banjo bolt screen was removed.

Note: The screen looks borked because I stuck a screwdriver through it trying to get it out of the bolt.
The screen itself looked clear, but it had just been replaced about 10k km previous when the turbo was replaced due to oil starvation.

The location, back of the block in front of the turbo.

snackers · « **Reply #4 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:03:15 pm »

The stock HU for the 05 does not have a dedicated aux-in port for mp3 players to be used.
However, this modification can be done to alleviate the problem.
http://www.scoobymods.com/aux-input-ipod-solution-fxt-t3357.html?t=3357

And I did so.

Acquired the 13pin DIN cable

Performed some ghetto soldering

Made it pretty

Put the cable into the port on the back of the HU, and made it invisible under the shifter and center console

Brought it up through the center console

Even found a grommet to make it pretty

All so that I can use my mp3 player and stream music through my phone.
This eliminates the need for me to wire in my sirius car receiver.

Unfortunately, a phone isn't meant to power a 7 speaker sound system, so a little help was needed.

snackers · « **Reply #5 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:03:30 pm »

A turbo subaru is not a subaru unless it sounds like a subaru.
Therefore, one of the first things I did was make it sound like a subaru.

It has been a year since I've owned an awesome sounding car. The failhatch sounded awesome after it was kicked in the nuts. The jerkmobile has headers and sounds castrated. My other beaters were NA and as such, only whistled a tune when they got above 4k.

To bring this back was music to my ears.

I did a light bit of research, and found out that the STI exhaust had some fitment issues, but that didn't matter because it was too quiet anyways. However, it did bring to light that no aftermarket GD exhaust would work either without modification to hangers and such.
Cobb makes a forester specific catback, as does turboXS and a few others. Buying new was not in the budget (owning 2 turbo cars is hard!) so the other options were used and custom.
There were no available used ones locally, and shipping an exhaust system is redonkulus.
So off I went to ABC Muffler for a custom Magnaflow system.

I brought it in and said "I'm not adverse to noise. Make it as loud as you want, but make it look sleek and "sleeper-ish" because that's what gets you pulled over."
I also specified 3" for future stage2.

This is what I got.

This thing fits my needs perfectly. It doesn't drone at all, which was a bit of a concern with the cavernous cargo area in a forester.
It sounds beautiful at idle, and lets you know what's going on when you put your foot down.

Another good point is that it was just a bit more than half the cost of a new cobb or turboXS catback.

snackers · « **Reply #6 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:05:21 pm »

Some small mods that I've done.

Intake silencer delete
Remove all the windy bits from the fender, plug hole, hear a PSHH when you let off throttle, giggle.

Fender plug.

Intake bits.

Trunk monkey
All cars need a trunk monkey. Fonz needed one to match the sleek look.

Cabin air filter
Part of new ownership of a used vehicle is replacing all the maintenance items.
Unfortunately, the foresters use those stupid preformed filters that are molded inside of the plastic.
Not to worry. After an afternoon of swearing and throwing things across the yard, I did the DIY furnace filter thing. All is good in the smelly world of Fonz.

Outside detail
Owning a black vehicle is probably one of the stupidest decisions a person can make.
But once you've made that decision, you have to deal with it as best you can.
I spent a couple days clay barring and waxing. It still needs a good polish, but that will wait until after winter.
It shines well enough for now.

Winters
Winter will come eventually, and winter shoes are a requirement.
Budget came into play, but I think I did nicely.
Firestone Winterforce. Not Nokians, but they'll do the job according to reviews.

Winters will need some wheels.
I had a set of OEM 16" steelies from a previous project that never got used.
The only concern was that they might not clear the brakes of the mighty Fonz.

Not a problem.
There will be further developments in this department. Stay tuned.

Claw · « **Reply #7 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:13:29 pm »

Quote from: snackers on September 27, 2011, 07:05:21 pm

I had a set of OEM 16" steelies from a previous project that never got used.
...
There will be further developments in this department. Stay tuned.

I'm waiting in eager anticipation of some cheesy or goofy (or both) hubcaps, painted pearlescent purple.

GrantC · « **Reply #8 on:** September 27, 2011, 07:25:52 pm »

Awesome, I'm glad this car finally gets a project thread!

That "ABC Special Exhaust" made with a Magnaflow muffler is possibly the best sounding Subaru exhaust I've heard. Deep, no drone, subtle (but still distinctive) idle, and looks stock enough to not get a second look from those handing out tickets...

Munky · « **Reply #9 on:** September 27, 2011, 09:06:04 pm »

Quote from: snackers on September 27, 2011, 07:02:49 pm

Damn you Snackers. Now you are making really regret not getting a FXT.

LilDrunkenSmurf · « **Reply #10 on:** September 27, 2011, 09:31:26 pm »

Nice! So maybe I missed it, but you're still keeping the STi, right?

teacherman · « **Reply #11 on:** September 28, 2011, 08:33:58 am »

Nice Fozzy man. Love the black!

Bandit · « **Reply #12 on:** September 29, 2011, 05:18:51 pm »

Good lord this is a informative and dangerous thread.

Dangerous to my wallet, that is.

ultimatt · « **Reply #13 on:** September 29, 2011, 06:19:42 pm »

You bored of the car yet?

Zac · « **Reply #14 on:** September 29, 2011, 07:37:54 pm »

I need to take out my banjo bolt too although I couldnt seem to find it, I require you assistance!!

snackers · « **Reply #15 on:** September 29, 2011, 08:11:36 pm »

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23022737&postcount=2

2nd and 3rd pic show you what you need to remove. The nut off the stud on the UP, and the bolt that holds the bracket to the block.
You won't be able to get to it until you remove that bracket.
Then you'll see it.

You need a stubby 17mm wrench. A regular wrench is too long and bends in such a way that it hits the strut tower.

Note: My pic has the stud missing.

snackers · « **Reply #16 on:** October 04, 2011, 09:41:02 pm »

Quote from: snackers on September 27, 2011, 07:05:21 pm

There will be further developments in this department. Stay tuned.

And further developments happened.
I wanted wheels that weren't yellow or orange or "LOOK AT ME CAUSE I THINK I'M AWESOME", but something that was different. Perhaps "sleek" was something I was trying for.

I had some colors in mind, but they weren't "off the shelf" colors.
One of my eventual goals for teh Fonz is to get some type of gold summer wheels. Possibly even BBSsssses.
So why not try for some of that awesomeness in a ghetto type fashion?

Started with regular steelies.

Painted them black.

Then for the fun part.
BBSs have 10 spokes. How do I accomplish this with any amount of symmetry?
Pie?

This started out as a good idea.
Made 40 template pies with tape lines to make it easy.

Turns out steelies aren't flat circles. The pies got curved, warped, and bent out of shape when I tried to tape them to the wheel.
Time to make custom pies.
This would be a very long and tedious process. Each section had to be done one by one.
10 times per wheel.
40 times.
I was really troubled on how to get them all properly spaced. Then a lightning bolt hit me.
5 of the spokes line up with the lugs, the other 5 fit in between.

Now for the curve on the center bit where the spokes meet.
I started by making curved bits of tape.

This was extremely tedious, and I had no patience for it.
So I drew the curve right on the pies I already made, and sliced them out with an exacto knife.

8 hours later...

First coat.
During the 8 hours it took me to tape the wheels, it was bright and sunny and delicious outside.
When I finally had time to paint, it became windy and gross.
I painted my pants gold, the grass gold, and part of my garage siding gold.
Some of the gold even got onto the wheels, so that's pretty awesome.

It turns out I've found something new that I have no skill in whatsoever!
Spray bombing is hard.
Luckily, this was the first coat and I could probably cover up most of the horrible mistakes with a 2nd coat.

And I was mostly right.

If you really REALLY want to look, you can tell that it was sprayed over tape.
But I challenge you to tell me that while I'm cruzing with my hat sidewayz at 50kph down whyte.

I think they're pretty decent for a winter wheel.

A few more days to dry, then some clearcoat.

LilDrunkenSmurf · « **Reply #17 on:** October 04, 2011, 10:12:58 pm »

That's teh awesome.

KennyB · « **Reply #18 on:** October 04, 2011, 10:17:59 pm »

No brembo caliper?? Lol
Awesome idea tho I cant wait for installed pics.

pistachoo · « **Reply #19 on:** October 04, 2011, 11:06:33 pm »

Too bad these don't fit on the jerkmobile. That would be funny.

flipincanadian · « **Reply #20 on:** October 04, 2011, 11:37:22 pm »

Quote from: LilDrunkenSmurf on October 04, 2011, 10:12:58 pm

Taht's teh awesomer.

I love how much effort you put into that, it made for the lulz.

YvanF · « **Reply #21 on:** October 05, 2011, 07:04:13 am »

Well done snackers, very original and I can see this is no 'good nuff project'. Lots of effort put into this. Good job.

Munky · « **Reply #22 on:** October 05, 2011, 10:41:14 am »

Where are the center caps for those BBSssssssssssssS?

And how did the steeleis turn out?

AdamMc · « **Reply #23 on:** October 05, 2011, 11:27:30 am »

oh my. I bet those spokes wont get jammed with snow so that is pretty bad assay right there!

Claw · « **Reply #24 on:** October 05, 2011, 11:53:37 am »

dats sum pure win right ther.