![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:09 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
I was this close to giving up and buying a new 2014 WRX hatch or Focus ST. This has made me happier than either of those would for roughly half the price.
Edit: yes, I bought it.
Clean, low mileage, manual, OBXT 5MT.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:15 |
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So... you bought it right? Congrats if so!
![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:27 |
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AWESOME! the write up was a good read as well. I agree with you that this is pretty much the perfect all round vehicle. It's a shame they no longer make the turbo as I'm leaning heavily towards an outback for my next vehicle.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:43 |
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If you are getting it, Congrats.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:46 |
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That's so cool! I also regard these as basically perfect cars. Would buy one in a heartbeat if I had the chance.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:48 |
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Got over 100k on ours!! Lot's of off road miles. It just went about 4300 miles in 2 weeks to Colorado and AZ from Ca. Great great car. AT in this though. Same color combo but with brz rims now!
Ours has a custom tune from a great tuner, no other mods besides strut tower braces f/r as they don't take up any space. It rips all day long and will surprise a lot of people. The spool and low end is a joke compared to stock, so much torque.
If you want something that has almost 9 inches of ground clearance but you do a lot of road driving this is unbeatable. Also the awd system equip with proper tires in the snow will shit on anything. God forbid but they are truly INCREDIBLY safe cars in the event of an impact. Trucks are cool when you are in the dirty, but this will provide much more of a car experience.
My advice is get a brake kit if you can afford it!
![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:52 |
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LUC- They are showing a new outback tomorrow @ NY Auto show, I hope they bring back a turbo. That being said even if it was a turbo I still don't think it will have as much modularity between the other subarus and power mods.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 15:53 |
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Congrats, and welcome to the family! All I have done to my 05 LGT wagon is the Cobb stage 1 tune as well (previous owner did suspension upgrades and sway bars though), and I love it...I'd love to go further, but I'm not sure about the exhaust options out there (I don't want it to be too loud or droney).
Interesting what you said about the shift linkage...just yesterday while driving I was thinking how direct and mechanical mine felt - perhaps the previous owner did the bushing upgrade you mentioned as well (given how rare these things are I haven't driven another manual to compare).
Enjoy the new ride and please post updates on any enhancements you make to the car!
![]() 04/15/2014 at 16:06 |
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Just got a 2005 OBXT with 95k miles last year, I love it. How are you planning on addressing the rear suspension?
![]() 04/15/2014 at 16:09 |
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I had no idea. I hope it's good.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 18:01 |
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Quite possibly the best looking Subaru of the past 10-15 years. Congrats! Love that generation of Outback.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 19:37 |
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Nice! I'm afraid to take mine off road and chip the paint—I think I got most of that out of my system with my 2000 5MT, fortunately.
I'll be lowering this one as part of a comprehensive suspension tune with an eye on handling and ride quality, anyway, so bye bye ground clearance.
Safety is a big part of the reason I bought it, our first kid is on the way and suddenly such things are priorities.
Brake kit is also planned.
Curious, have you ever dyno'd it? Wondering what kind of gains I can expect with a good protune vs. the Cobb stage 1 map I'm currently running.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 19:38 |
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Thank you. I agree completely.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 19:38 |
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Congrats.
I link to a suspension write-up in the blog entry.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 19:41 |
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Thanks man, congrats on yours as well.
Sounds as if you may have already had the shift linkage upgraded by the PO—there's simply no way you'd be praising it otherwise, unless perhaps your only prior experience is on CDL class trucks and well used military equipment.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 19:41 |
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Thanks man.
The new one looks better than the 5th gen but is still CVT/auto only in the US.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 20:02 |
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In the great white north(Canada) we can still get it with a manual but only with the 4cyl. the 3.6L with a manual would be a pretty potent cruiser if it existed.
I'm ok with automatics but I hate CVT's
![]() 04/15/2014 at 20:18 |
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haha nope, I've played with quite a few sticks in my day (ha!), including an s2000 with that sweet sweet honda box- I would say this feels just minimally less accurate than that, so def must've been fixed.
![]() 04/15/2014 at 21:35 |
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I still really want a turbo this:
![]() 04/15/2014 at 23:11 |
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Wow that sounds really sweet. Honda make the best shifters on the planet. I have to get going on those bushings.