I bought this car new, in 2003, so we have shared a lot of time and miles together, 146K as I'm writing this.
I knew from the first day I bought the car that it was meant, in my opinion, to be driven offroad. On my 24 hour test drive, I had to check it out. I kicked up some rocks and bent the dust cover on one of the rear brakes, while playing around in the first dirt I could find on my way home. I took it back to the dealership the next day to sign my paperwork and had them inspect the "squeeling" in the rear. That is the only "warranty work" my car has on record. That's not to say that I haven't broken anything on the car, to be honest, I've broken a few things.
The most notable incident was rallying in my parents horse pasture and finding out that ABS is worthless in mud with street tires. I hit a tree in my own backyard and that explains the front end conversion. Everyone has to start somewhere in their offroad endeavors, right?
My plans have changed way too many times with the car. It looked stock for almost 6 years because I couldn't make up my mind. I bought a set of Rota D2's with the idea of lowering it on coilovers, but I couldn't get myself to actually do it. The roads around Houston can be pretty brutal and I use to drive all around town for work.
One day, I was lurking on DirtyImpreza.com and I came across the thread for the "DirtyWagon." I was hooked on the idea of making the car big. My search began for the right way to raise the car.
I am currently working on building skidplates for both ends of the car. The front one will reach from each side of the bumper and run back to the transmission. The rear will cover up as much as possible in order to keep the car clean and safe. My plan is to make the rear a diffuser as well, with bolt-on fins that I will use when daily driving. I am also going to use the STi underbody panels to help cover up any spots that mud can reach.
I am undecided on a light bar, but the car will have lights soon. I plan on running 4 up front and 2 on the roof rack, that is why the front bar is longer than the rear.
Hopefully, sometime in the distant future of the car, I can meet up with Jackson Rally for a custom tube front bumper.
I also need to straighten my axles, I have the "wobble" from the axles being at an angle from the lift.
Vf23 turbo - deadbolt monster ported & polished and ceramic coated
TurboXS TMIC
Blitz induction box
Helix catless downpipe - ceramic coated by Polydyn
Invidia G-200 catback with an interchangeable straight pipe
modded stock injectors
walbro fuel pump
opensource tune by AWDTuning
Suspension:
05 Forester struts/springs and tophats
04-08 Forester trailing arm brackets
rear camber bolts
the car is aligned at -.5F and 0R to help conserve the tires
Wheels/Tires
WINRACE TA Safari - Gravel in 15x7 ET50
Super Swamper Radial/TSL in 27x9.5x15
The wheels and tires weigh 61.4 pounds each.
There were some modifications to the body for clearance issues.
