Mike's 2003 Forester 2.5x

[Shipman]

I picked this up about a month and a half ago. Its a 2003 forester 2.5x and is completely stock. Its my daily driver so its not going to see any super upgrades but as everyone knows you cant leave it stock. I wanted to make a journal for this because I think itll be too much to have it in the same one as my STi.
Plans for this are going to be simple and subtle but should make it much more fun. I already yellowed my fogs and am going to swap to yellow bulbs as well.
Soon to come:
RA Mudflaps
Coilovers
Front lip
Painted front grill
Clear haze off headlights/Possibly HID's but I dont like the ricey look
35% full tint
04 Silver BBS's
06 FXT 6 disc CD player
Sway bars/strut braces/End links

Only pic I took when I got it home:



Did my fogs at my buddies:

[Shipman]

Also gonna try that stuff thats supposed to shine up the plastic parts of the body and turn off the DRL's

[ambitiousCK]

Sounds like a solid plan.

[Shipman]

Thanks man, I also have to fix some small stuff that was messed up when I bought it, nothing serious like its missing the vanity mirror on the one visor and get the plug for the lighter, pick up some all weather fitted mats, trans flush, timing belt, fresh oil change and obviously once the coils and wheels are on a solid alignment.

[Brianb351]

Manual or auto?

[Shipman]

Auto but since its na and my daily Id prefer it that way. Im going to install my hellas on this now that my oil cooler is in the way on the STi

[schaffer]

i rolled a forrester once, ran for 10 minutes on the roof. Tow truck flipped it back over and my dad drove it to the garage.


this looks like a primo DD

[Brianb351]

I prefer auto in my DD as well. Lots of NE philly traffic in the legacy.

[Shipman]

Originally Posted by schaffer

i rolled a forrester once, ran for 10 minutes on the roof. Tow truck flipped it back over and my dad drove it to the garage.


this looks like a primo DD

Thanks man, thats so awesome

Originally Posted by Brianb351

I prefer auto in my DD as well. Lots of NE philly traffic in the legacy.

Cant beat it brah

[Shipman]

I need to take my crossbars off but I cant seem to find the tool. Im also going to paint my grill all black because it has rock chips and I dont like the chrome trim. Im not sure if I just have to undo the top 2 clips or if theres more, Im not trying to break them. Finally gave it a wash and cleaned the interior. The more I think about it, Im pretty sure Im going to swap a set of STi seats in here, I keep seeing them come up for pretty good deals.

[93rx7r1]

Nice looking fozzy!! They are great vehicles. Can't wait until mine is finished up & on the roads again.

[Shipman]

Originally Posted by 93rx7r1

Nice looking fozzy!! They are great vehicles. Can't wait until mine is finished up & on the roads again.

Thanks man, I couldnt be more happy picking this up

On another note, had some fun today...

DSCN1480 by mshipman89, on Flickr

DSCN1475 by mshipman89, on Flickr

DSCN1491 by mshipman89, on Flickr

DSCN1493 by mshipman89, on Flickr

DSCN1494 by mshipman89, on Flickr

[Shipman]

Dipped the girll black, there were some rock chips in the paint and I didnt like that the only chrome on the whole car was around the grill, Im very pleased with the result

[Shipman]

Im idling real low, at like 400rpm's when sitting still in park or in gear. Im not stalling but its feeling like its close and Im losing power. I assume its a vacuum leak somewhere but Im not sure. My CEL came on for an evap code related to the gas cap so it was replaced with an oem cap and cleared but came right back on. I wonder if this issue is related.

[xarchiex]

damn that sucks. I had same issue with the sti. It can be a number of things a common one is the charcoal canister thats under the back bumper on passenger side and then all the pvc lines in engine bay. I'll say one thing it took me over a year to finally figure out where my small leak was.

[Shipman]

Yeah its a pain in the ass, Im not sure if its fuel related or what. I think Im just going to drop it off at subaru this week. I really dont have the time to try and test a bunch of options, this is my daily and I need it on the road asap. Of course it happens right as my weekend passes and have the whole week to go before I see any free time.

[civichx97]

grille looks awesome in black!

[Shipman]

Thanks man

[satch_js]

That's a nice forester is getting better

[tristatesentra]

sweet forrester love those cars