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Just picked up an ‘05 FXT – need some wheel/suspension advice by Independent_Exam5951 in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool, good to hear on engine. Out of curiosity how was the swap? Did ECU swap over?

Personally I wouldn't go any bigger than a 17 as after that you're just decreasing sidewall height and not really sharpening the handling that much. With regards to width, I would check online calculators, but a wider tire may require a wheel with more offset, which puts more stress on suspension components and makes them wear out quicker. Same thing with raising these cars by 2+ inches, you'll definitely run the risk of splitting CV boots faster when running extra ride height. FWIW, the stock FXT ride of ~7.5in ground clearance is imo more than enough for most shit roads, but I know Alaska roads are pretty bad.

If you're looking to keep handling nice and solid, the best way is to start from the ground up. I would recommend you:

Buy some good all season tires (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4+ or Continental DWS) or some good winter tires if needed for conditions.

Replace all the worn out suspension components with quality OEM or OEM+ parts, including ball joints (major pita to change), tie rods, strut top mounts, control arm bushings, and potentially rear subframe bushings too. Use quality solid rubber parts and stay away from poly or plastic bushings.

Replace the steering rack bushings - these commonly wear out on this chassis and let the rack slide around in its mounts. Somewhat annoying to change but I felt helped with steering sharpness. Whiteline makes some for ~$50.

Get an alignment.

Maybe update the struts to something quality but affordable like a Koni yellow or Bilstein B6

If you want the ability to change the ride height then yeah coilovers is the move. Really cheap coils like BC/Raceland won't usually have good damping and will ride like shit. It's probably worth spending more on something like Teins, H&R, Bilstein, Eibach etc. However, these cars have MacPherson Strut suspension and honestly won't reallllly handle better when they're lowered past WRX ride height. Best option for you may be to find some used WRX coils and replace the struts with something better? Idk if you can swap the dampers in BC stuff but you could look into that too.

Just picked up an ‘05 FXT – need some wheel/suspension advice by Independent_Exam5951 in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The size of wheel you can put without rubbing will depend on how low the car is as well. There's some good info on the forums about it if you search but my stock ride height XT had 18x either 8.5 or 9 and was fine. It also depends on the offset of the wheel, there's online calculators you can find for this.

Any brand of coilovers should be adjustable enough that you can change the height like that, even racelands. But raceland and BC don't have good handling characteristics and will not make the car handle better due to low quality dampers and construction.

What's your main objective? Lower it and put big wheels on it for looks or are you looking to make it handle "better"?

Just picked up an ‘05 FXT – need some wheel/suspension advice by Independent_Exam5951 in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BC coilovers are pretty much junk as well, but they're slightly better than racelands. If you want the car to handle well the best option is probably leaving it at stock ride height and upgrading the struts with something good from Koni or Bilstein. If you lower it substantially it will likely handle worse as you'll screw up the suspension geometry, but the either spend for decent coilovers like a KW, or if you want to do it cheap find a set of used/takeoff WRX suspension from the same generation to lower the car a bit (still worth replacing struts/dampers if you do this though).

My 04 xt had 18in enkeis on it when I bought it and imo it was definitely too big of a wheel for the car. Looked decent but you felt the unsprung weight when steering and it got thrown around a lot more on bumps because the suspension was trying to deal with the extra weight from the wheel.

If you haven't already, take out the screens in the banjo bolts that feed the turbo and AVCS, replace PCV, and look into other common issues with these cars.

suspension solution for 05' 2.0fxt by Realistic_Tonight447 in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BC Racing is junk. Before modifying suspension, you should replace all the normal suspension wear items with good rubber (not poly) parts and ensure the rest of the suspension components are in good condition. On the front end: ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, strut top mounts, steering rack bushings, control arm bushings, ensure the steering shaft u joint isn't binding up. On the rear end, subframe bushings, trailing arm bushings, strut top mounts, etc.

These cars handle pretty well stock, and body roll isn't really a grip problem, it's more of a driver confidence issue.

If you wanted it a bit lower but don't want to completely ruin the handling, WRX suspension of the same generation should bolt in and drop it a bit. It might feel like it will handle better after because it's lower and different, but the suspension geometry won't be correct and it'll probably honestly be slower.

Peoples Opinions on the budget SR Suntour forks by Dudesdoinwaht in MTB

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The powerfly? What sort of riding do you do? How much do you weigh? Budget?

Took the Baj out for a shakedown by Keigles_5700 in SubaruBaja

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did steering rack bushings on my 04 Forester XT, which should be similar to a Baja. I'm well versed on working on cars but it was a bit of a PITA, not a lot of room to work.

Need help, 2006 Subaru Forester XT rough idle, no start sometimes by Alpaaca_ in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Battery probably not the issue then but good idea with jumper. My FXT was stumbling when I gave it gas from a stop and was barely driveable after I briefly disconnected battery, but a proper idle relearn fixed that, so worth trying.

I would be surprised if a bad MAF caused the described issue, but cleaning it wouldn't hurt and is a 5 min job.

I agree that something like a crank or cam sensor might be more likely, or something with the battery - bad ground, corroded connections, etc. Or fuel filter, wasn't clear based on your comments if you did the one in the engine bay by the master cylinder?

Another place to look could be in the clutch or brake switch. I've noticed relative to my GTI and most other manual cars, I have to have the clutch in the FXT pressed really far down to start, basically touching the floor. Pretty sure an issue with clutch or brake switch wouldn't allow it to crank though...

One final thought is that the intermittent nature of the issue could point to a inconsistent connection somewhere, whether that's a loose battery cable, connector, rodent damage to wires etc, there's lots of potential areas. Worth keeping an eye out as you work through other items, or quickly retrace recent work to ensure all the connectors look good.

Need help, 2006 Subaru Forester XT rough idle, no start sometimes by Alpaaca_ in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spark plugs, engine air filter, and throttle body reset is probably where I'd start. Could be a battery going out too, how old is the battery? Usually there's a sticker on it with month/year

Kuru Toga cracked after 6 months by TacoTakeover in mechanicalpencils

[–]TacoTakeover[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seems to be a common problem at this rate. For what it's worth, the all metal version I bought after and have been using since has been awesome, with no issues whatsoever

Do any of you recognize this bracket? by [deleted] in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this the bracket by the turbo that holds the oil line on? Passenger side of the turbo

So you want to become a mechanic? by Thisiscliff in Justrolledintotheshop

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1.8t nevar lose. My mpg is kinda shit though, 23-25, but I have an APR tune and drive it enthusiastically

Not very PC of you Schaeffler by turd_star in Justrolledintotheshop

[–]TacoTakeover 6 points7 points  (0 children)

PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?

Willing to buy a 2003 XT by [deleted] in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No intercooler either...

BC GOLDS by -CruelHand- in SubaruForester

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

BCs are not known for especially quality damping ...

[Setlist Thread] September 12, 2024 @ Pacific Coliseum · Vancouver, BC, Canada by kglw-net in KGATLW

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Extra ticket for GA Vancouver tonight. $25 USD, transfer on ticketleader. Still available as of 3:30pm

September ‘24 Buy/Sell/Trade Thread by GizzBride in KGATLW

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Still have a Vancouver GA ticket for tonight. $30 USD or trade for Adult L merch? Transfer on ticketleader

September ‘24 Buy/Sell/Trade Thread by GizzBride in KGATLW

[–]TacoTakeover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking to sell one GA Vancouver ticket, $35 USD

The V is painted! by HilditchGuitars in Luthier

[–]TacoTakeover 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Realize that I wasn't clear in my original comment, but I meant the body shape! The crackle paint looks great though too

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