by "thejustache" (thejustache)
Published 10/25/2017 at 17:10
by "thejustache" (thejustache)
Published 10/25/2017 at 17:10
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STARS: 4
Well I finally pushed “buy” on a bunch of parts today that will hopefully take my Outback XT a step up. I’ve worked on and modded all 6 cars I’ve owned so far, but have never made any real power related mods. That ends now.
When I bought the XT a year and a half ago it was completely rust free everywhere except the exhaust, which was welded and patched throughout. It’s finally cracked beyond repair and needs a complete replacement. I recently put a catless STI uppipe in and the gains from that were infections, so I figured why stop there?
I’m still doing this as a semi-budget thing, but since everything needed replacement anyways it was an easier time convincing my wife it was worth it. After talking to my mechanic (who is conveniently a longtime Subaru tech and rally team crew chief) I just purchased a CNT catted downpipe, an ebay Legacy GT catback (had to save some $$ somewhere), Grimmspeed gaskets, Kartboy XL hangers to try to get the legacy exhaust below the bumper and new O2 sensors to boot. My mechanic is going to do the tune, which will be on the milder side for now as I still have the stock intercooler. Still, I’m looking forward to some more go and more of that Subaru rumble. When life gives you lemons, right?
Combined with the upgraded shifter bushings and STI Group N mounts I’ve put in this makes my outback an STI, right? Ok fine, but I’m still excited. I think next up I’m going to do the rear swaybar and then look into larger brakes.as the current ones already feel woefully weak despite newish pads. Any other ideas for mods I should pursue?
"cmill189 - sans Volvo" (cmill189)
10/25/2017 at 18:51, STARS: 1
Neat. Do you have all 4 Group N mounts? The trans one was the only one I regretted but it was hard to tell if doing poly mounts on the transmission crossmember was the real culprit.
The XTs didn’t get the “big” brakes from the Legacy GTs, right? That would be the next affordable mod to me. Rear diff mounts/inserts are cheap and effective.
"CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)" (ccpbb)
10/26/2017 at 00:47, STARS: 0
Might cost a lot of money, but custom King coilovers for the Outback.
"thejustache" (thejustache)
10/26/2017 at 09:16, STARS: 0
No, in all honestly the trans mount is the only one I have in right now! I had to do some work on the trans last year and decided to upgrade it along with the shifter bushings after seeing how much I could move the trans by hand. The whole driveline would move back and clunk under a hard launch, which it no longer does just by replacing that one mount, and the throttle response improved dramatically. I do think for the price rear diff mounts are a good idea, and thinking about doing the other 3 group N mounts on the engine eventually.
The XT brkes are 2 pot in the front and 1 in the back, so I’m pretty sure they’re nothing great. Did the 06 LGTs get 4 pot front/2 rear brakes? If so I think I should look into that.
"thejustache" (thejustache)
10/26/2017 at 09:20, STARS: 0
I was looking into stiffer KYB dampers with King springs last year but due to a budget pinch ended up only replacing the rear dampers with OEM level stuff. Assuming I’ve still got the car next year I might try again, it’s definitely something on the list!
"cmill189 - sans Volvo" (cmill189)
10/26/2017 at 10:32, STARS: 1
If I was doing it over again, I’d skip the lower engine mounts unless you have a ton of miles. The upper pitch/dogbone mount along with the trans mount really helped reduce the driveline slop. I did Whiteline bushings in the diff crossmember and inserts in the upper diff mounts. That really stopped the diff slapping around with on/off throttle.
If I remember correctly, the GT still had traditional sliding calipers but had much larger rotors.