Gen5 Legacy GT S pack, the l-o-n-g wait

[trails]

I brought this for £1100 on 130k in 2018 to transport big bikes around after finally accepting my aching body had had enough of BMX.



A reliable bargain...well it was after many curse words and a few grand later. Now sporting alloy sti front wishbones, sti rear alloy arms, new bushes everywhere, '02 Impreza sti 'rack, new front calipers, new Pedders front suspension, Zero Sports rear ARB, resonated Hayward & Scott center section (straight through was far too loud), new clutch, cam-belt and tensioner change, new wheels and tyres (correct size and offset). It has had the up-pipe cat removed so goes well and with the obligatory speaker upgrade and Android head unit, it's not the worse place to be. However, I have been getting a new car itch, and I want to keep my other cars so decided this is the one that's getting swapped.

Looked at S Edition Foresters, but then this thread caught my eye, thanks to Simon for the advice

So after the surprisingly mature decision that this was a workhorse and an expensive tS wasn't the answer I found this and paid for it this morning. It's a 2009 Gen5 Legacy GT with the S pack, 60k miles, and grade 4 inside and out. Auction sheet is pretty clean, with only the very obvious misted lamps in the comment sheet. It will be interesting to see how loud the exhaust is, as it looks pretty fruity






Currently looking at a significant wait of between 2 and 4 months for space on a ship, then the transport time. I'm hoping it will be here by September for a drive\ride trip to the Alps...I suspect not though

Edited by trails on Monday 28th March 17:39

Edited by trails on Tuesday 29th March 22:41

[S100HP]

I trust you've told your significant other.....

[ChrisCh86]

Looks nice, why this Legacy over more local Legacies?

Is the JDM spec for this one different?

[S100HP]

ChrisCh86 said:

Looks nice, why this Legacy over more local Legacies?

Is the JDM spec for this one different?

The UK ones only come with a 1.6 petrol with a CVT or a 2.0 diesel, both of which are a bit rubbish. The JDM version comes with a 2.5 boxer and 260bhp, and a normal 5 speed auto (or manual @ 280bhp)

[trails]

S100HP said:

I trust you've told your significant other.....

she is sick of listening to me deciding which one to buy, so she is just glad it’s all over with

[trails]

S100HP said:

ChrisCh86 said:

Looks nice, why this Legacy over more local Legacies?

Is the JDM spec for this one different?

The UK ones only come with a 1.6 petrol with a CVT or a 2.0 diesel, both of which are a bit rubbish. The JDM version comes with a 2.5 boxer and 260bhp, and a normal 5 speed auto (or manual @ 280bhp)

JDM Manuals are pretty rare and command a decent premium of autos too.

The diesel also has a scoop, only external difference is an additional tail pipe…so pretty discreet

[trails]

It's not even left Japan yet and I've started buying stuff already

After reading this, it seems all I need for cruise control to work are the steering wheel buttons and possibly a new brake switch, so I've purchased a whole wheel from ebay for the princely sum of £30.



It will be interesting to see if any ECU work is required to address the JDM cruise control speed limit, or if the UK controls just work. I suspect the former.

[random_username]

trails said:

It will be interesting to see if any ECU work is required to address the JDM cruise control speed limit, or if the UK controls just work. I suspect the former.

I had an imported Gen4 Legacy Twinscroll and did the same swap - added the UK steering controls (but just the switches, not the entire wheel) and the brake light switch. Everything detected and worked perfectly, but the cruise was limited to JDM speeds so basically useless.

I had a tactrix openport cable, dumped the rom and posted on the romraider forums, someone helpfully located the cruise limits for me as they weren't defined for my version of the firmware and removed them for me. Reflashed and everything worked perfectly.

I had a Foz XT before the Twinscroll, and now have a Gen 4 Outback 3.6R (same shape as the Gen 5 Leggy) - each really is a step up over each other in terms of refinement - the Outback really is quite a nice place to travel in

[Somerset Jim]

Looks like a great car. It’s a long long wait now! Once you know the ship it is transported by, you car track this using the marine traffic app. Hopefully you’ll find a space on a ship soon.

[trails]

random_username said:

I had an imported Gen4 Legacy Twinscroll and did the same swap - added the UK steering controls (but just the switches, not the entire wheel) and the brake light switch. Everything detected and worked perfectly, but the cruise was limited to JDM speeds so basically useless.

I had a tactrix openport cable, dumped the rom and posted on the romraider forums, someone helpfully located the cruise limits for me as they weren't defined for my version of the firmware and removed them for me. Reflashed and everything worked perfectly.

I had a Foz XT before the Twinscroll, and now have a Gen 4 Outback 3.6R (same shape as the Gen 5 Leggy) - each really is a step up over each other in terms of refinement - the Outback really is quite a nice place to travel in

Thanks for that, really helpful...I'm making a list of all the post-import tasks and the resources I need to make them work.

I love driving my Foz, but it's not exactly the best mile muncher so your feedback is reassuring, ta

[trails]

Somerset Jim said:

Looks like a great car. It’s a long long wait now! Once you know the ship it is transported by, you car track this using the marine traffic app. Hopefully you’ll find a space on a ship soon.

Thanks, Jim, Be Forward has been great so far, I've asked for a rough ETA for shipping space... let us see how that goes!

[random_username]

trails said:

Thanks for that, really helpful...I'm making a list of all the post-import tasks and the resources I need to make them work.

I love driving my Foz, but it's not exactly the best mile muncher so your feedback is reassuring, ta

I did a fair bit of soundproofing on my Foz to try and reduce the road noise, but the outback is much much quieter - both in terms of road noise and wind noise with the framed windows. The seats are also a lot more comfortable!

Other thing to investigate would be the radio - mine came with factory nav, which got replaced with a double DIN and a cubby box beneath the radio from a non-NAV model. The bits were readily available (radio surround etc), along with the wiring adaptors and steering interface. I couldn't get the reversing camera to work though, but others in the US have.

[ChocolateFrog]

Can you not get the importer to stick a new set of headlights in the boot, it looks like they're the only thing letting the car down.

[trails]

random_username said:

I did a fair bit of soundproofing on my Foz to try and reduce the road noise, but the outback is much much quieter - both in terms of road noise and wind noise with the framed windows. The seats are also a lot more comfortable!

Other thing to investigate would be the radio - mine came with factory nav, which got replaced with a double DIN and a cubby box beneath the radio from a non-NAV model. The bits were readily available (radio surround etc), along with the wiring adaptors and steering interface. I couldn't get the reversing camera to work though, but others in the US have.

The ten way leccy heated seats were a big draw for someone with as any self inflicted aches and pains as me

That’s exactly what I’m looking at, this one has the top end Macintosh kit so I need to find the right adapter leads. I’ve seen some expensive looking moulded things with tablets but they really aren’t my thing.

I have seen a rear view mirrror that supports reversing camera image, but I think they were only 2011 onwards.

[trails]

ChocolateFrog said:

Can you not get the importer to stick a new set of headlights in the boot, it looks like they're the only thing letting the car down.

Unlikely, but I will ask…it’s a good excuse to take them apart, paint the insides black and then polish the lenses though. Maybe.

[random_username]

I found a non-Nav model being broken and got the radio surround and cubby - think it came to about £50. Then a double DIN adaptor to fit a standard double DIN in. The wiring adaptor and steering wheel interface were available online, but I think the HU I used could actually have interfaced directly with the controls directly. I also need an adaptor for the FM aerial.

For the reversing camera, they are fed with +5v from the Subaru HU, not the typical +12v. I used a 5v step down power buck, but I couldn't get it to work, but I didn't spend a lot of time looking. At some point I'll try with a resistor rather than the buck and play around a bit more.

My headlights weren't great, even though they were HID. The reflectors within the projector units tarnish over time, as well as the lenses yellowing. I bought a kit to replace the projector units from Retrofitlab which helped massively - the lights are very very good now..

[trails]

I like the idea of the cubby hole, I’ll run the usb lead to the head unit through the back of it and my phone can live in it.

Thanks for the info, I’m not going to buy a rear view mirror until I can find out which one it has fitted now…I suspect I’ll just run the camera feed into the head unit if the correct loom isn’t in place and just use the auto dip/compass rear view mirror instead of the flash one.

The S package comes with the ‘special appearance’ black headlamps, so I’ll see how they come up after a polish and go from there.

It really sounds like you should have a RC thread

[trails]

I think I have identified the exhaust...

https://www.hks-power.co.jp/en/product_db/muffler/...

It doesn't seem too loud; a 6dB increase at idle. I will have to wait and see, I guess!

[S100HP]

trails said:

I think I have identified the exhaust...

https://www.hks-power.co.jp/en/product_db/muffler/...

It doesn't seem too loud; a 6dB increase at idle. I will have to wait and see, I guess!

I'll have it if you don't like it

[trails]

S100HP said:

I'll have it if you don't like it

First refusal is yours…I’ve listen to it a few times and quite like it.

Played it to my wife; “Oh. <long pause> I didn’t think it was going to be noisy like the others”