RE: Subaru Forester STI: PH Fleet
Discussion
Matty322 said:
More than happy to, but someone has messaged me yesterday, so his waiting to see what his bank manager says this week.
only fair i offer him first refusal (his already a FSTI owner)
If he does not come up with the funds, then i can do.
No problem. I would be interestedin knowing the usual ie. Miles, condition, price etc. Have a pile of cash waiting for the right car.. only fair i offer him first refusal (his already a FSTI owner)
If he does not come up with the funds, then i can do.
t to be honest. Yes it could be fast but it's a lovely car. Stereos crap though.When we moved from our Forester, for exactly the same space reasons as you, we ended up with a 3.0R Outback. A very different car but extremely capable and makes a terrific noise too. The wheelbase made the most difference as we could get in rear facing seats without having to move the front passenger forward too much. Worth a look for sure when the time comes.
...or a Legacy turbo of the same generation. Same engine as the Forester STI, give or take, and a much larger boot.
...or a Legacy turbo of the same generation. Same engine as the Forester STI, give or take, and a much larger boot.
I looked at the FSTI as on paper it looked perfect for me **, but once in the driving seat I found it too much of a compromise. The FSTI didn't really feel 'sporty 'to drive into the corners and loosing the standard forester toys like cruse control and heater seats made me realise the juice wasn't worth the squeeze of the STI seats and trim.
In the end I bought a Xten Forester with all the factory extras that I retrofitted a set of low miles FSTI suspension to. And a Seven-esque car that I also regretted buying.
Interestingly, both of my old Foresters that i sold in 2009 and 2014 are still owned by the people I sold them to.
- This was in 2008 and coming from a previous Forester Turbo and a modified 2004 Impreza Twin Scroll running T25 suspension. To be fair, that combination is unusual as it the FSTI sits squarely between the two in terms of power and practicality.
In the end I bought a Xten Forester with all the factory extras that I retrofitted a set of low miles FSTI suspension to. And a Seven-esque car that I also regretted buying.
Interestingly, both of my old Foresters that i sold in 2009 and 2014 are still owned by the people I sold them to.
Matty322 said:
Great cars.
we shipped ours from japan around 6 years ago now, having had it's loyal service there for various jobs. Probably cover 3k miles a year in this car, but its a hoot to drive.
No problems with it what so ever in anytime of ownership.
Happy to share a specification list if of interest.
One thing i dont like about the OEM interior is the "sticky" vents / centre unit which nearly all of them have. so had a company in japan, create ours from carbon and do the steering wheel at the same time.
Absolutely gorgeous car that; consider me inspired to keep hold of mine just a little bit longer. Was looking at fab those pictures thinking 'why would I want to get rid of mine' and also 'can I justify getting some of those wheels' as well as 'I really must give mine a clean'. Hear you on the sticky centre unit too, was laughing when I read that. we shipped ours from japan around 6 years ago now, having had it's loyal service there for various jobs. Probably cover 3k miles a year in this car, but its a hoot to drive.
No problems with it what so ever in anytime of ownership.
Happy to share a specification list if of interest.
One thing i dont like about the OEM interior is the "sticky" vents / centre unit which nearly all of them have. so had a company in japan, create ours from carbon and do the steering wheel at the same time.
Top stuff!
Dan
I went from a UK 2.5xt Forester to a JDM Legacy Spec B two years ago.
The Legacy is quicker and handles better, of that there is no doubt whatsoever.
But I do miss the sheer rugged versatility of the Forester - especially as we head to the Lakes at least twice a year. The extra ride height helps a lot when you're peering over/round the next corner, not to mention when you need to get out of a tight spot with an oncoming bus/van/rubbish driver, etc. Very much miss being able to take a more relaxed approach to where the edge of the paved road actually is in those situations.
The Legacy is quicker and handles better, of that there is no doubt whatsoever.
But I do miss the sheer rugged versatility of the Forester - especially as we head to the Lakes at least twice a year. The extra ride height helps a lot when you're peering over/round the next corner, not to mention when you need to get out of a tight spot with an oncoming bus/van/rubbish driver, etc. Very much miss being able to take a more relaxed approach to where the edge of the paved road actually is in those situations.
If I have one criticism of the STI it's that you can't really treat it that way. That was what attracted me to the Forester in general and is attractive about the 'civilian' green wellies versions like the XT. But the STI is stiff and more normal road car like and I wouldn't (and don't) feel like it's the kind of vehicle I'd happily drop outside wheels into the verge in the way that makes the standard car such a brilliant rural runabout.
That's as close to objective as you'll get from me too. In all other respects it's absolutely fabulous! I'd happily add a beaten-up standard one to the fleet to use in the way you describe too - memories of a farmer friend of ours up here literally driving his Subarus through hedges to access fields made a lasting impression on me as a kid and I think explains a lot about why I love them so much.
Dan
That's as close to objective as you'll get from me too. In all other respects it's absolutely fabulous! I'd happily add a beaten-up standard one to the fleet to use in the way you describe too - memories of a farmer friend of ours up here literally driving his Subarus through hedges to access fields made a lasting impression on me as a kid and I think explains a lot about why I love them so much.
Dan
Great piece Dan, cracking car. And Matty's folks' car is awesome!
Does make me chuckle when we say about space though - I'm as bad as anyone, having run a 6 estate, a CRV, a Tiguan and now a Disco Sport since the kids arrived - but when I was a kid my parents both ran Novas.
Having said that, it made for an interesting run back from a gite holiday in Brittany when I was 14 and my brother 10 - my parents couldn't resist a stop at a hypermarche to stock up on booze before we got on the return ferry so that ended up stacked on us!
Does make me chuckle when we say about space though - I'm as bad as anyone, having run a 6 estate, a CRV, a Tiguan and now a Disco Sport since the kids arrived - but when I was a kid my parents both ran Novas.
Having said that, it made for an interesting run back from a gite holiday in Brittany when I was 14 and my brother 10 - my parents couldn't resist a stop at a hypermarche to stock up on booze before we got on the return ferry so that ended up stacked on us!
Damn you Dan 
Long time JDM fan and always love something a little quirky. I'd just started thinking about these when you bought yours and wrote the first article and was completely sold. I manage to forget about them for a bit as either not quite what I was after at the time or couldn't afford it (as per now, yay houses!), but I still have a very big itch to scratch with them. Especially with little ones on the horizon. The only thing that does worry me is the HG reports and the lack of cruise as I have come to use it so much.
I'm not sure I would be in a position to buy it but if you did make the (terrible!) decision in the future, I'd be very interested in a PM to see if I could make my own man maths stack up
Long time JDM fan and always love something a little quirky. I'd just started thinking about these when you bought yours and wrote the first article and was completely sold. I manage to forget about them for a bit as either not quite what I was after at the time or couldn't afford it (as per now, yay houses!), but I still have a very big itch to scratch with them. Especially with little ones on the horizon. The only thing that does worry me is the HG reports and the lack of cruise as I have come to use it so much.
I'm not sure I would be in a position to buy it but if you did make the (terrible!) decision in the future, I'd be very interested in a PM to see if I could make my own man maths stack up
SidewaysSi said:
Good timing - I have just put a deposit down on one! I couldn't think of a better and more fun practical family car sub £15k. I will get the H&S exhaust and probably a remap too.
Surely a head gasket can't be too much at a specialist?
If the HG fails, it will overheat. If it overheats, it will need a new crank. Surely a head gasket can't be too much at a specialist?
£5k+ for a forged rebuild.
Or you can try and do it on the cheap by replacing as few parts as possible. Then wait for it to fail again shortly afterwards.
It's not just HGs anyway.
TEKNOPUG said:
If the HG fails, it will overheat. If it overheats, it will need a new crank.
£5k+ for a forged rebuild.
Or you can try and do it on the cheap by replacing as few parts as possible. Then wait for it to fail again shortly afterwards.
It's not just HGs anyway.
More Importantly, done correctly, a forged build is capable of very impressive power output. And will still be cheaper than a replacement FSTi. What more justification do you need? There is almost a man maths case for a pre-emptive build...£5k+ for a forged rebuild.
Or you can try and do it on the cheap by replacing as few parts as possible. Then wait for it to fail again shortly afterwards.
It's not just HGs anyway.
Cambs_Stuart said:
TEKNOPUG said:
If the HG fails, it will overheat. If it overheats, it will need a new crank.
£5k+ for a forged rebuild.
Or you can try and do it on the cheap by replacing as few parts as possible. Then wait for it to fail again shortly afterwards.
It's not just HGs anyway.
More Importantly, done correctly, a forged build is capable of very impressive power output. And will still be cheaper than a replacement FSTi. What more justification do you need? There is almost a man maths case for a pre-emptive build...£5k+ for a forged rebuild.
Or you can try and do it on the cheap by replacing as few parts as possible. Then wait for it to fail again shortly afterwards.
It's not just HGs anyway.
I've been looking to replace my last (4th) Subaru with another one, and I think my issue is space as well. I'm around 6'4" and we also have 2 kids just around teen years, so I'm really curious to hear if people think the STI Foz would really work for us.
For what it's worth, we do a lot of trips to Italy and Spain, and normally drive a Lexus LS. I know the Subaru isn't a patch on the waftability of the Lexus, but I'm wondering if a decent cruise control setup is a comfortable way to mulch motorway miles?
And no, I don't give a crap about mpg either
For what it's worth, we do a lot of trips to Italy and Spain, and normally drive a Lexus LS. I know the Subaru isn't a patch on the waftability of the Lexus, but I'm wondering if a decent cruise control setup is a comfortable way to mulch motorway miles?
And no, I don't give a crap about mpg either
TEKNOPUG said:
Cambs_Stuart said:
TEKNOPUG said:
If the HG fails, it will overheat. If it overheats, it will need a new crank.
£5k+ for a forged rebuild.
Or you can try and do it on the cheap by replacing as few parts as possible. Then wait for it to fail again shortly afterwards.
It's not just HGs anyway.
More Importantly, done correctly, a forged build is capable of very impressive power output. And will still be cheaper than a replacement FSTi. What more justification do you need? There is almost a man maths case for a pre-emptive build...£5k+ for a forged rebuild.
Or you can try and do it on the cheap by replacing as few parts as possible. Then wait for it to fail again shortly afterwards.
It's not just HGs anyway.
Even if it becomes £16k or even £20k, what else is out there that can do what this car can? I am in the position where I genuinely can't think of anything else at all that meets my needs.
I want a big boot, decent reliability, fun, good performance, strong residuals, character, a manual gearbox. I don't want a Audi/BMW /Merc etc as I don't trust the reliability of the newer cars and I already have an old E36 for fun.
A tweaked Forester with biggish power, some handling tweaks, those Rays alloys and a few other niceties would surely be an absolute cracker.
What else is there for even sub £40k? Maybe a Golf R but I would prefer the Subaru even if they cost the same.
big_rob_sydney said:
I've been looking to replace my last (4th) Subaru with another one, and I think my issue is space as well. I'm around 6'4" and we also have 2 kids just around teen years, so I'm really curious to hear if people think the STI Foz would really work for us.
For what it's worth, we do a lot of trips to Italy and Spain, and normally drive a Lexus LS. I know the Subaru isn't a patch on the waftability of the Lexus, but I'm wondering if a decent cruise control setup is a comfortable way to mulch motorway miles?
And no, I don't give a crap about mpg either
I went from a Forester of this size to a Gen4 Liberty and the difference was noticeable and appreciated! From experience of having children (3) and Subarus (currently on no6) and doing long trips (family trips of 2000km not unusual) and being 6’2” I’d get a Liberty/Legacy. The Gen5 is usefully bigger again without being unduly heavy - mine has been on a weighbridge with just me and half a tank of fuel and registered 1660kg.For what it's worth, we do a lot of trips to Italy and Spain, and normally drive a Lexus LS. I know the Subaru isn't a patch on the waftability of the Lexus, but I'm wondering if a decent cruise control setup is a comfortable way to mulch motorway miles?
And no, I don't give a crap about mpg either
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff