Subaru Roundup!

edited July 2015 in General
So here's a thread for Subaru owners, or really anyone who wants to put up pictures or stuff about your rides.

Here's mine, a 2012 WRX. It's been an awesome rig to drive! This was the first time I saw it as I had to order it in.

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Unfortunately for me, I bought it in February in Edmonton the day after a foot of snow fell. Needless to say I had a very interesting drive to the tire shop on the summer tires in the snow through the steep river valley. Lots of cars were stuck, but I managed to make it with my summer slicks on. It was a very white knuckle drive!

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It's been on many winter road trips from Fort McMurray to Saskatchewan, to the Rockies, and most recently to Chilliwack BC to get Rollo. That was a trip that saw some horrible road conditions. I was very happy to be driving the rally car in it. I even did a couple of ice rallies this winter on a lake here. The guy parked beside me came in 6th place in the Canadian Rally championship!

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Here's me out on the track

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Since then I've put some red rallyarmour mudflaps on, and tweaked the motor a bit. This thing is such a blast to drive, especially when it's nasty outside. The tweaks have brought the motor to life and it sounds great now.

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As a dog car this gets 4 paws, only problem is that the trunk could be a little deeper. Most of our adventures are near a main road or trailhead if we are in the mountains, so accessing remote locations isn't needed for us. Though the car is plenty good bombing down an old dirt road, it can't handle much mud or really rough stuff as it would just bottom out.

I bought a kurgo bench seat cover for the rear seats, which is waterproof. It works great for any time that Rollo gets sick or spills water in the back seat. That is a must buy if you have a dog that has a sensitive stomach!


Comments

  • Nice photos.

    I have a 2015 Subaru Forester

    Note to the mods: I think there is already a "dog car" thread.
  • Mod speaking- I encouraged Yeti's idea for a Subaru thread, since I sought out the old thread (being a few years old) and found it has mostly broken photos and links...
  • @wrylybrindle_ Thanks for the suggestion. Couldn't recall how old the previous thread was...

    As I recall, there are lots of Subaru owners among the NK Forum membership. I'm on my third Subie, second Forester. Held on to my 2002 Forester for 12 years. Got the 2015 when it first came out last year. I've replaced the tires. (Went with something better than the stock Yokohama Geolanders -- which got so-so reviews. Car now handles better. No longer so "bouncy".)
  • I have a 2011 Subaru Outback and I LOVE it. Maybe this evening I will take some photos, but my Subaru is a working Subaru: it is dusty, scratched up, and the inside is covered in fur and dirty mountain bike parts. :-P
  • Mine is a 2004 Forester, 180K miles- lots of dog hair, hay, bark, mud and my mechanic is forever picking rocks out of the undercarriage. When I switch my tires to/from my winter tires, he hands me a screwdriver and a wire brush to scrape caked dirt out of the wheel rims. It has been through a hailstorm and was hit by a snowplow, so it has a salvaged hood from a turbo with a scoop making it look sportier than it is. My husband calls it The Crudmobile, lovingly (I hope?). I love that it is a mountain goat in the snow and ice, and its gotten me safely to my job at the ski resort and to many far away hockey rinks - a goalie has GOT to get there- and back again through eleven New England winters. It's hauled firewood, four dogs, 12 bales of hay, or the canoe through logging roads, Vermont mud season (no paved roads in my town) and only been stuck once on the way to maple sugaring. It doesn't love climbing up the mountains that much anymore, and I have to downshift, and the a/c hasn't worked in many years- but who needs a/c in Vermont? I'd buy this car again, except I like a smaller car than the current Foresters, (plus my dog dimensions are downsizing from 70-pounders to 30/40-pounders) and my daughter will be off to college in only 2 years, so I will probably look at the XV Crosstrek next. I will miss all the 'tupperware' on the lower parts of the doors- XV doesn't have that. I have no qualms about driving the Forester into a scratchy field or forest road with the plastic panels in place.
  • Those things are tough as nails and take one heck of a beating. A friend of mine just retired his 1992 legacy wagon that he had 700k km on it. The crazy part is with about $3,000 in work he could have ran it for another 200k easily.

    I love that 'it was hit by a snowplow' is just kind of thrown in there mid-sentence. It's certainly had a rough go! My wife's daily is a fiat 500, and has had some suspension issues due to our lovely roads. We're probably replacing that with the XV crosstrek too. They don't really plow the roads here aside from the highway, so she has been stuck a few times in the winter. Something with more ground clearance and AWD would be much better for around here.
  • Haven't posted much on the forum in awhile but I saw this post and it struck a sweet spot for my love of fast subies.

    I currently own a 02 WRX with a JDM STI conversion. I also have a 22B STI that I'm working on getting a show and display exemption to keep in California. In the past I had the opportunity to own a ver 2 STI which taught me how to drive. My wife has a 09 Forester and pretty much my family has had Imprezas, Legacy's, and foresters all our lives. It helped that I worked as a Subaru tech when I was living in Japan.
  • I wondered if I needed the slightly larger 2015 Forester. Then I wound up hauling a 6 ft tree sapling in the cargo area. Put one seat down and set it in diagonally. Fit in perfectly when I closed the hatch!
  • edited July 2015
    If I had a 22B I would be a very happy man. That is a great car. Good luck with the process! I don't think I'll be driving anything other than a Subaru for a long time. I'm looking into modifying mine further but there appears to be large amounts of insurance related red tape ahead. I may hold off and trade up to an STI if they drop the FA20 or even the rumoured FA25 motor into a future model. Id love to see an STI with around 350hp from the factory. But those are just rumours for now.

    The hatch/crossover shape is really useful. That is an impressive feat with a 6 foot tall sapling, I doubt I could manage that length of a tree. I have jammed a ridiculous amount of stuff into mine as well though. I managed an entire dining room set with 4 chairs, plus coffee table and end tables into the back of my WRX. Those were from the furniture store still in their original flat-packed boxes, but I was still pretty happy to do it all in one trip. I would have a hard time going to a sedan from here unless I bought a roof rack with cargo box.

  • The first thing we did with our forester was go to the lumber yard and fill it with 2x4s and other supplies, Jeff jammed one of the long 2x4s right into the front dash over the glove box- thus the working Subaru was christened...

    A few years ago i filled it with 4 big rolls of welded wire fence, a dozen wooden fence posts, 20 metal posts, 2 farm gates (we put some things on the roof rails)- the guy at Tractor Supply said "I will NEVER underestimate a subaru again...." :)
  • The FA motor is a much more superior motor to the EJ. I really hope a better performing turbo variant is offered soon.

    @the yeti, you have a decent platform to start. Start with small mods like exhaust, better flowing catted down pipe, ex manifold and up pipe, and a good tune. You can easily achieve the mid 300 range in power with simple bolt on upgrades and a tune. The biggest problem with the 2.5L is that Subaru tried to mesh and match parts to make it work on the 2.5L. In my opinion, Subaru should have just stuck with the tried and true 2.0L which makes more power and torque.
  • @shishiinu I demand pics of the 22b!!!!

    Here's my turd. 2000 2.5RS. Originally, I planned on building it into a time attack car. Have a garage full of STI parts that were ready to go. However I'm starting school this fall, and I have loans I'd like to pay off before I start... So sadly I'm selling it and every part I have :(

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    I love my jdm tails. First thing I bought when I picked the car up

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  • @drifty, how much for your RS? And where?
  • Asking 3600, in Milwaukee, WI. I have over 6k invested :( unfinished cars aren't worth sh*t
  • I wish i had a WRX.
  • edited July 2015
    Here's a pic of my RS.

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  • My fiance has a 2012 WRX as well, it's exactly the same as @TheYeti

    We both love it, I get to drive it when it snows and he stays home and I end up having to work. Handles like a champ and is so fun to drive! If my Honda wasn't already paid off and reliable as hell, I'd have a Subie.
  • It's definitely a great rig. It will go almost anywhere in any weather. When I went to get Rollo from Chilliwack, I spent about 7 hours driving on roads where I could only see the shoulders due to the blizzards (I hit more than one). It was the most fun I've ever had on a long road trip in the winter. It felt like I was in Finland on a closed road for a rally stage!
  • On the way to the Rockies with Rollo, my brother had to drop some stuff off at his work. He just bought the dark grey beaut next to mine. It looks awesome, he's a huge fan. So am I! Mine is loaded to the gills with camping gear, with my bike on the back for getting back to the start of the hike from where I'd leave the car.

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  • For the Forester folks, link to the Subaru Forester Owners Forum
    http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/

    Good forum, useful information
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