Importing Forester STI

[Cpt Flashhard]

Final post from me now that the journey is complete (ish).



Sailed through its MOT and the V5 arrived along with the paperwork for plates. Had them made up and did some drilling for fitting. Worked out afterwards that the mounting holes in the boot aren't in the middle of the plate...

Sold the DD and so it's been pressed into daily service, mostly just pootling to the station and back apart from a trip to Newcastle.

What with all the dry weather it had gotten pretty dusty but was amazed at the effect of Poorboys Wash and Wax, followed by an application of some White Diamond and then wax paste over the top. Need to sort a couple more coats out for the wheels though.

The latest part of the fettling was a trip to HDC Subaru in Hebden Bridge (thanks for the recommendations). Overall they're impressed with the condition, oil service and filter change remarkably reasonable.

Going to be booked in soon for the rear ARB (whiteline?), a full waxoyl and get the cambelt done at the same time.

Still looking for someone to swap the stereo over, stuck with Japanese FM frequency (70-91 ish MHZ).

On reflection this is much faster, cheaper, noisier (in a good and bad way) than former DD. I'm thinking maybe a grey metallic for the alloys in due course and perhaps some mudflaps but we'll see.

[lemmingjames]

Youll have to work out your final costs now ;-)

Regarding the stereo, it takes a minute or two to remove the panels and get to the stereo to change it over. Theres a good Android double din unit for £300, so can use torque pro on the move, plus it has screen in screen

[vxr2010]

The rear arb makes a bit of difference , a much better route is a set of coilovers on a soft setting it makes a lot of difference , i wished i had gone coilovers a long time ago , if you do coilovers the arb in my opinion is not needed

[Cpt Flashhard]

lemmingjames said:

Youll have to work out your final costs now ;-)

Regarding the stereo, it takes a minute or two to remove the panels and get to the stereo to change it over. Theres a good Android double din unit for £300, so can use torque pro on the move, plus it has screen in screen

Hmm only issue I foresee is that the current unit is mounted in the "pod" on top of the dash. Plus it's DAB and satnav combined, so think I need to wire in DAB aerial and satnav aerial too. Although it already has satnav so presumably it's just a case of swapping the leads?

Final costs are a matter of utmost secrecy including from SWMBO. Bottom line is that we are no longer paying £400+ per month for the old DD

[Cpt Flashhard]

vxr2010 said:

The rear arb makes a bit of difference , a much better route is a set of coilovers on a soft setting it makes a lot of difference , i wished i had gone coilovers a long time ago , if you do coilovers the arb in my opinion is not needed

Thanks VXR, approx cost of coilovers?

[lemmingjames]

Cpt Flashhard said:

Thanks VXR, approx cost of coilovers?

How much do you want to spend is the question? lol

Regarding final costs, ok, compared to potentially an equivalent mileage car, how much did you save? or im guessing it came in at around £8k?

[lemmingjames]

Cpt Flashhard said:

Hmm only issue I foresee is that the current unit is mounted in the "pod" on top of the dash. Plus it's DAB and satnav combined, so think I need to wire in DAB aerial and satnav aerial too. Although it already has satnav so presumably it's just a case of swapping the leads?

Final costs are a matter of utmost secrecy including from SWMBO. Bottom line is that we are no longer paying £400+ per month for the old DD

SO what do you have in the dash?

If you want to relocate it back into the centre console, ive got a spare top pocket. Youll also be able to get money for the double din top pod should you want to sell that

[Cpt Flashhard]

lemmingjames said:

SO what do you have in the dash?

If you want to relocate it back into the centre console, ive got a spare top pocket. Youll also be able to get money for the double din top pod should you want to sell that

Probably easier to explain with a photo, but in the dash itself is a silver flap with nothing behind it and an empty slot above fitted with a plastic liner.

The combined DVD/Satnav/radio sits in the pod on the top. By the looks of things dimension-wise they should be a pretty close fit. Any tips on removal? Is there a specific tool which is not a screwdriver?

[Cpt Flashhard]

lemmingjames said:

SO what do you have in the dash?

If you want to relocate it back into the centre console, ive got a spare top pocket. Youll also be able to get money for the double din top pod should you want to sell that

PS I may also take you up on those offers should things not work out so well...!

Seats giving me backache, considering swapping to something like a Recaro Pole Position with a 3-point fitting harness?

[Cpt Flashhard]

lemmingjames said:

How much do you want to spend is the question? lol

Regarding final costs, ok, compared to potentially an equivalent mileage car, how much did you save? or im guessing it came in at around £8k?

Saving vs. best equivalent I could find (try finding one with 44k miles) is £2600...

[lemmingjames]

Cpt Flashhard said:

Probably easier to explain with a photo, but in the dash itself is a silver flap with nothing behind it and an empty slot above fitted with a plastic liner.

The combined DVD/Satnav/radio sits in the pod on the top. By the looks of things dimension-wise they should be a pretty close fit. Any tips on removal? Is there a specific tool which is not a screwdriver?

Yeah the top pod is a double din so is the same size as the dash double din.

Sounds like someone took the flap off of the pocket and put it over the open blank - you can get a single din pocket should you switch to a single din head unit (which is what ive done). I think a pocket is something like £20 from ICP.


I forgot your mileage is so low, i kinda wish i imported one for myself now but needed something quicker than the 3 month wait you had to suffer.

And yep, the bolster on the drivers side has gone on mine (to be expected i guess at 108K) and tempted by folding buckets. I had Recaro Speeds in my DC5 = super comfy but £600 a seat now though. Or i could just spend a day and £50 on material and repair the foam.

You know you can get small back cushions?

[vxr2010]

In answer to your suspension question , the mrs fsti has BC coilovers a lucky buy on ebay for virtually new items 300£ , mine came with BC already fitted , they are both set to a softer setting , I had Tein basics on my jdm sti wagon , they were good for 505£ delivered , i put the uprated roll bar on mine in its mid setting i did not notice any thing as i already had coilovers fitted , so coilovers are a very good route to go yes slightly firmer but handling is so much better , i also went from 225/45/18 to 225/40/18 , cheaper for same tyre plus slightly less roll

[Sa Calobra]

I want some new front seats if anyone comes across any decent ones

[yellowstreak]

Love my FSTI and I would love to buy something equivalent and younger, but what else is there with a proper AWD system in this size?

[vxr2010]

Same for me ive always liked the fsti , preferably sg9 model , i don’t know if i’m a new shape or old shape but there is little interior difference other than cup holders , my older one is knocking on 160k plus miles now

[corvus]

lemmingjames said:

And yep, the bolster on the drivers side has gone on mine (to be expected i guess at 108K) and tempted by folding buckets. I had Recaro Speeds in my DC5 = super comfy but £600 a seat now though. Or i could just spend a day and £50 on material and repair the foam.

You know you can get small back cushions?

I bought a couple of 2002 WRX seats and fitted them to my Forester XT. Luckily the material unzips at the back so I could fit an inflatable lumbar support. Comfort is good but not perfect because the foam base in the drivers seat is compressed due to age and use. An upholstery firm reinforced the base but to be honest it's not much better. The passenger seat is perfect, hardly been sat in. I also had to get the subframes modified because the seats sit a lot lower than the Forester ones when bolted in directly. I would love a pair of Recaros but they would be worth as much as the car.

[Cpt Flashhard]

Further update now that I'm 4k kms in to ownership. FSTI pressed into use as a daily driver, although I spent 9 weeks working in Bristol over the summer so I was limited to the odd trip at weekends to remind myself of noise, handling etc.

No problems at all to report. First service was in July at HDC Subaru in Huddersfield, who gave it a clean bill of health and implored me not to ruin it! Very reasonable for fluids and filters. Although it's a little distance from me, the journey is improved by the stretch of road from Oxenhope to Hebden coming from Otley way: left-right switchback uphill to a long-ish climb past a pub and then the road opens up with good sight lines and the dreaded 20mph limits are left behind. When you really stretch its legs the thing just shrinks horizons, but relatively light steering compared to what you'd find in something "premium" from Germany makes it feel so nimble in the twisties. Grip is prodigious with no hint that there is a limit. Although having said that it was a bit chilly round here this morning and as I followed a Corsa through a flowing set of bends it sailed straight on at one point over some black ice, leading to much slowing down.

Had a trip down to the parents-in-law in Herefordshire last weekend so we braved Friday-night motorway madness. Coped okay, although I've taken out the Japanese head unit and tried to fit the new one ordered, until I discovered that the specially ordered harness didn't fit. So at least you get to listen to the engine...We arrived pretty late but fortunately diverted through Malvern and out along Jubilee Drive where the Foz just flew. Lots of tight turns, corner cuts in the dark, full beam razzing, until Mrs M pointed out that the dogs were looking a little ill.

Had another trip to HDC last week for winter prep: cambelt and water pump, whiteline ARB fitted and full underseal carried out. Howard really knows his stuff! Left Hebden and travelled back across the moors and the difference is noticeable-it now feels like a proper point-to-point weapon and I enjoyed blasting past a few dawdlers at full chat-it just feels so nailed down at high speed, even more so getting on the power out of corners. No fuss, no drama, just squats and goes.

There is a slight fly in the ointment on the horizon-about 6 months in the horizon-that involves the necessity for sufficient room for another child seat however (yes, it was a surprise to me too)...

[Sa Calobra]

Howard's good isn't he and his dog is super friendly

[Cpt Flashhard]

Sa Calobra said:

Howard's good isn't he and his dog is super friendly

Top man. Even let me have a poke around the hero car....! True about the dog, each visit is about 15 mins longer because of all the fussing!