Author Topic: Bigdark's 2008 Subaru Forester Sports 2.5 XT - Sound Dampening Part 2 (Read 18347 times)

bigdark · « **Reply #25 on:** January 24, 2016, 12:23:44 am »

Quote from: BrebSTi on January 22, 2016, 10:19:45 am

Wow, just wow. I love the FXT, really nice work on it. I was in Edmonton this past weekend, I was staying with a buddy in butteworth area. I think it was parked outside a house just around the corner. Looks even better in person if it was yours, if not there is another WRB FXT that looks good in Edmonton.

Thanks for the kind words.
Yes, that was me parked outside in Butterworth that weekend. You're lucky, picked the coldest weekend to visit Edmonton this year

bigdark · « **Reply #26 on:** February 10, 2016, 10:21:25 am »

Had been thinking about getting some interior LED's for a few weeks ago as the interior lighting looked a little too dim for my linking. Especially looking for things in the cargo area at night time, or my passengers in the rear looking for something they've dropped. I ended up purchasing the Forester LED Package kit from Prolightz about a week or so ago and it arrived in the mail in about 5 business days.

The kit includes: 2 Map light bulbs, 1 Dome light bulb, 2 License plate bulbs, 1 Trunk / cargo area bulb, 2 Front parking light bulbs and I swapped the bulbs in yesterday afternoon.

Here are some photos with my cellphone to compare the stock lighting to the LED lighting.

*Please note that all photos are original and are not edited or enhanced in any way.

STOCK BULBS Vs. PROLIGHTZ LEDs

Exterior shot from the front with both map lights, dome and cargo lights on

Both map lights on

Dome light

Cargo light

Photo shot from the rear with hatch open with both map lights, dome and cargo lights on

License plate bulbs

HIDs with Park light

Overall I'm pretty happy with the Prolightz LEDs so far. Interior lighting is way better than stock and the cargo area is light up much better now. I'm really happy with the park light bulbs as it makes the headlights look a lot better IMO. Instead of the warm, yellow bulb color lighting up the "eyelids" I think the LED compliments the HID's really nicely.

10secdream · « **Reply #27 on:** February 10, 2016, 10:41:42 am »

Great choice on the kit. Looks a lot better.

Player One · « **Reply #28 on:** February 10, 2016, 10:59:29 am »

Damn this is clean. Makes me really want to buy a FXT now.

bigdark · « **Reply #29 on:** February 13, 2016, 07:46:33 pm »

Quote from: 10secdream on February 10, 2016, 10:41:42 am

Great choice on the kit. Looks a lot better.

Thank you for the recommendation

bigdark · « **Reply #30 on:** February 24, 2016, 11:02:41 am »

A few months ago I was contemplating about a roof top cargo box to carry snow gear for the mountains. There were a few fantastic suggestions on the low profile boxes, but after giving it more thought, and given how expensive they are, it did not make sense for me to invest in one at the moment. Luckily, two weeks ago I was able to pick up a Thule Universal Flat Top 6 Snowboard/Ski carrier at a local shop. The carrier was open box and I was able to get a good deal on it. It was a no brainer to pick it up especially as it is able to hold up to 6 pairs of skis or 4 boards, or a combination of both.

I threw the Thule up onto the Forester this past weekend for most likely the final 2 day weekend board/ski trip out to the mountains this season and it was very efficient. We took 3 vehicles for a group of 12 people for our trip to Lake Louise, and had the Forester carry the majority of the gear with one passenger. The 2 other vehicles (GTI and Pathfinder) carried 5 people each with food, bins, bags, food, etc.

The Forester easily held 8 boards and 3 pairs of skis, (a member had injured herself last minute so her snow gear was left behind), along with sleeping bags, and a few miscellaneous items. The Thule carried 2 boards and a pair of skis for the majority of the trip and we still had room to carry more items between the 3 vehicles.

Generally, the Thule performed really well. There wasn’t much noticeable wind noise on the highway and it fit perfectly on the OEM Forester Crossbars. I could notice some noise with the moon roof cover opened inside the vehicle but if it was closed it was barely noticeable in cabin. You could hear wind some noise faintly behind the exhaust sounds but again, it was very minimal.

Most people would ask for “gas mileage” with the Thule on top but I wasn’t able to specifically keep note of how much gear was in the car, combination of skis/boards on top between the drives from Calgary to Canmore to Louise.

*EDIT*
With the gear in the Forester, a driver, passenger and the board/Ski’s on the Thule, the Drive from Calgary -> Canmore -> Louise -> Banff -> Canmore -> Louise -> Canmore -> Calgary, rounded out to ~~581.5 Km for an average of 9.0369 L/100 Km as per fuelly. The entire trip rounded out to 1290.4 Km for an average of 9.3738 L/100Km.~~ 552.43 Km (581.5*0.95) for an average of 9.506 L/100Km as per fuelly. The entire trip rounded out to 1225.9 Km (1290.4*0.95) for an average of 9.867 L/100Km.

**0.95 figure applied for a 5% smaller diameter in tire size from stock 215/55/17 to 225/45/17.

Overall I’m very happy with the Thule and I can’t wait to use it again next time we head out to the mountains. The only downside of the entire trip was when my driver side HID went out on me just outside of Red Deer on our way down to Calgary on the first night. So the majority of the trip I only had the passenger side HID light up the way. It looks like (or I have a feeling) it might be the driver side ballast and not the HID bulb that is the issue. The HID flickers for a few seconds upon turning on the headlights and then it fails to completely turn on. I’ll most likely take a look into it this week when the weather is warmer. Anyone had this happen to their HID's as well?

Stay tuned for an update if you so please.

10secdream · « **Reply #31 on:** February 24, 2016, 11:34:17 am »

This just happened to me. When I turned on the headlights one side would stay lift for 1 second and then turn off immediately. I suspected the ballast was the problem so I swapped the suspect ballast to working side and the problem followed the ballast.

In my case the Morimoto ballasts have a 2 year warranty so William at Prolightz sent me a replacement and it arrived in under a week.

You can buy a used 4th generation ballast for $60 at Prolightz.

http://www.prolightz.com/index.php/hid-components/ballasts/matsushita-gen-4-ballasts.html

bigdark · « **Reply #32 on:** February 26, 2016, 09:13:57 pm »

Tonight I decided to tackle the HID issue that started earlier last weekend. I really thought the ballast was the issue so I decided to pull apart the front bumper to take a look at it. I've heard you can easily access the headlight assembly without taking apart the bumper, but I said "screw it," and took it off anyway as I like the extra room to work with.

Anyway, I was able to take a look at the headlight assembly and I decided to check the bulb first, and thank goodness I did as once I removed the HID bulb from the driver side, I noticed it was cracked. Went over to the passenger side and took the HID bulb out as well, but it looks healthy. Swapped bulbs on either side, plugged everything back in and turned on the headlights to "diagnose" and yay... issue is still present but is now on the passenger side. Confirmed that bulb is the issue. Thank goodness it wasn't the ballast as the bulb is a way cheaper fix.

Not sure how it cracked... maybe heat? Maybe vibrations? Would have thought that if the bulb goes it would be something else than the glass cracking...

OEM HID Bulb is the PHILIPS 85126, D2R and I've been happy with the light output it provides. I'm not too familiar with the other types of HID bulbs there are, but are there any particular brands/Bulbs I should purchase for a replacement, or are they all pretty much the same? Otherwise, I'll probably stick with the Phillips one and be done with it. Anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks,

Blue_Subie · « **Reply #33 on:** February 26, 2016, 09:21:10 pm »

The Hella HID bulbs from rockauto are better than the stock Phillips for the Forester

Jay89 · « **Reply #34 on:** February 26, 2016, 11:22:50 pm »

I have osram bulbs in both my cars. Love them both. I have used Phillips before as well but honestly I prefer osram. Provides what seems to be a nicer light output.

10secdream · « **Reply #35 on:** February 27, 2016, 12:12:06 am »

Whatever you decide make sure you replace both bulbs. Hids lose there intensity quick so you might as well wear them out as a set.

Jay89 · « **Reply #36 on:** February 27, 2016, 02:52:53 pm »

His "good" one looks about done as well. Not quite last legs but getting close

Roadwarrior · « **Reply #37 on:** February 29, 2016, 08:01:55 am »

I have a set of OEM D2R bulbs that came out of my STI headlights when I did the retrofit if you want just a set of stock bulbs again.

bigdark · « **Reply #38 on:** February 29, 2016, 10:11:45 am »

Thanks for the recommendations/suggestions all.

Quote from: Roadwarrior on February 29, 2016, 08:01:55 am

I have a set of OEM D2R bulbs that came out of my STI headlights when I did the retrofit if you want just a set of stock bulbs again.

Thank you for the offer, but I had just put in new bulbs over the weekend.

Will be posting up some photos of a photo shoot that was done earlier last year.

bigdark · « **Reply #39 on:** February 29, 2016, 08:17:04 pm »

Last summer we had done a photo shoot with the Forester and my friends awesome 2003 WRB WRX. A very big thanks to Andre Ng for the photo shoot and his fantastic work. His attention to detail and passion for photos are second to none.

I have added a few more to the once was reserved post: http://www.westernsubaruclub.com/smf/index.php?topic=49757.msg602202#msg602202

If anyone is looking for some photos done with their vehicles or portraits, Andre is the guy to reach out to. For more info about the photographer, please visit http://www.andrengphoto.com/ or contact http://www.andrengphoto.com/contact/

RockThePylon · « **Reply #40 on:** February 29, 2016, 11:17:07 pm »

Quote from: bigdark on February 24, 2016, 11:02:41 am

With the gear in the Forester, a driver, passenger and the board/Ski’s on the Thule, the Drive from Calgary -> Canmore -> Louise -> Banff -> Canmore -> Louise -> Canmore -> Calgary, rounded out to 581.5 Km for an average of 9.0369 L/100Km as per fuelly. The entire trip rounded out to 1290.4Km for an average of 9.3738 L/100Km.

Are you running undersized tires that might skew your results? That's really good for an EJ.

bigdark · « **Reply #41 on:** March 01, 2016, 01:18:03 am »

Quote from: RockThePylon on February 29, 2016, 11:17:07 pm

Are you running undersized tires that might skew your results? That's really good for an EJ.

Stock tires that were originally on the vehicle were 215/55/R17. I'm currently running on the winter's which are the Nitto SN2 225/45/R17. Sorry, I'm not too familiar in this realm but... what L/100Km should I be expecting? All I know is that my speed I'm travelling at is slower than what it really is...

RockThePylon · « **Reply #42 on:** March 01, 2016, 02:04:14 am »

Based on that image, you'd just multiply your tripometer by 0.95 to guesstimate your "actual" mileage. Ignore my itshay for the sake of "with roof rack" vs. "without roof rack" comparison. It's just if you wanted to compare your mileage between summer/winter/OEM sized tires, if the diameter were different.

cha0tik · « **Reply #43 on:** March 01, 2016, 11:56:39 am »

Definitely saw you cruising along 124 St last week, I believe on evening of the 24th. I was having a drink at North 53 and saw you go North and then back South.

Such a nice car and it sounds great!

bigdark · « **Reply #44 on:** March 01, 2016, 03:33:30 pm »

Quote from: RockThePylon on March 01, 2016, 02:04:14 am

Based on that image, you'd just multiply your tripometer by 0.95 to guesstimate your "actual" mileage. Ignore my itshay for the sake of "with roof rack" vs. "without roof rack" comparison. It's just if you wanted to compare your mileage between summer/winter/OEM sized tires, if the diameter were different.

Awesome, thank you! I've updated the original post with should be the correct figures. Hopefully the math is correct.
For those who are following, as the original "stats" are incorrect, I have also updated the stats per fuel-up on my Fuelly profile. All submitted fuel logs were edited to Track fuel-ups with trip Km (with the 0.95% factor on winters and 0.96% for summers) instead of odometer reading. Hopefully the stats will be a little more accurate going forward.

Quote from: cha0tik on March 01, 2016, 11:56:39 am

Definitely saw you cruising along 124 St last week, I believe on evening of the 24th. I was having a drink at North 53 and saw you go North and then back South.

Such a nice car and it sounds great!

I was on 124th Street that Wednesday around 4:00pm? But I believe it might have been someone else as I think I had taken the Honda out that day lol. Might be Dylan780's friend?

flipincanadian · « **Reply #45 on:** March 01, 2016, 07:13:20 pm »

The photos look amazing, I'd like to do a shoot this summer.

drewfuspx · « **Reply #46 on:** April 10, 2016, 01:26:31 am »

Gorgeous Fozzy. I love mine so far but that WRB is so good!

following this. Haha.

bigdark · « **Reply #47 on:** April 10, 2016, 01:36:22 am »

April 9, 2016
Minor news, but had put on the summer shoes earlier this afternoon to officially start the summer season. Looking forward to clean out the interior from the winter grime and start planning for a few minor projects, including a front speaker upgrade... and maybe a front lip?

Had the gold BBS' coated and cleaned by 10sec and as usual, his work is fantastic. It's very refreshing looking at the squeaky clean wheels and I can't wait to see the brake dust, road dirt, etc. wash off when I bring it to the car wash or spray it down with the garden hose.

Will definitely attempt to use the Forester more as a daily this summer season. Still impressed on how it performed for the Ski/Board trips that we had over the winter so it should be even better on the summer camping/hiking trips. Maybe I'll revisit looking at a roof cargo carrier or a basket of some sort. I'll think about it...

jakesubie · « **Reply #48 on:** April 10, 2016, 12:31:12 pm »

Looks Great!

bigdark · « **Reply #49 on:** June 02, 2016, 07:07:35 pm »

Since it was nice out today and I had some free time, I decided to swap out the stock front speakers for some Polk's.
I had purchased a set of Polk 6 1/2” High Performance Component Speaker System (DXI6501) for a pretty decent price and I thought that it'd be a good upgrade as it felt like the stock speakers were not holding enough juice when the volume gets a little higher. Purchased the Metra 72-8104 speaker connector for a quick plug and play and basically that's all the parts needed.

Install was pretty straight forward as it wasn't too hard to remove the door panels. Once those we're off I had lined up the included universal bracket (which isn't universal) to the existing location of where the stock bracket was screwed in and put it all in together. Right now I cheated a little bit in the install and did not make myself a spacer, but I'll probably look into it this weekend even though there is plenty of mounting Depth at about 2 inches.

As you can see, the stock front speakers look pretty weak... they're good for just regular tunes but not so much if you decide to push the volume lol. I plan to leave the rear speakers and front tweeters as-is and see out how these Polk's turn out for the front. There are still some vibrations from the plastic but spacer but I'll figure out a way to get rid of it.