When I was just getting involved in the whole import "tuner" scene, machines like the Nissan Skyline GT-R, Mitsubishi Evolution and Subaru Impreza STI were as legendary as they were unobtainable. But Japan has been much more willing to share its best cars with the American market in recent years-from the R35 GT-R to the Evolution X and Impreza STI. In many ways these are the golden years of Japanese performance car ownership in America, but what if you want to drive something with more passenger and cargo capacity while flying a little (OK, a lot) lower under the radar than any of these angry-looking, all-wheeldrive monsters? In Japan you could opt for a Subaru Forester STI, perhaps the ultimate utilitarian wolf in sheep's clothing, but unfortunately for us Yanks, this hot version wagon never made an appearance at the local Subie dealership.
All is not lost, however, since those of us who crave an "angry toaster" of our own (see www.topscoob.com for inspiration from the original Angry Toaster, an amazing SF5 Forester given a thorough STI conversion and suitably cool nickname to match), there's a surprisingly easy conversion that was recently brought to my attention by Doug Nelson, the education manager at UTI's Norwood, Massachusetts, campus. Doug's a genuine Subaru fanatic whose GC8 Impreza build was so impressive we had to feature it on the cover of our January 2008 issue, and before settling in at UTI he was an Acura technician for almost a decade. Doug is the very definition of a "car guy" and as passionate a tuner as you'll ever find. But like all of us, Doug is getting a little older and maybe even a little wiser, and with a wife and kids at home he decided he needed a practicl daily driver.
A younger man might have opted for a first-generation SF5 Forester as the starting point for an epic STI conversion that requires a challenging engine swap, because the SF5 is a very affordable platform as a starting point (a '00 Forester has a Blue Book value of $7,700 to $8,700, depending on the trim level). That being said, by the time you add up all the costs associated with converting one to STI power-especially if you include the 6-speed transmission and DCCD, as well as the suspension and brakes-what started out as a budget build will inevitably turn into a big-dollar affair. So much so in fact that you can, as Doug Nelson's second-generation SG Forester XT project proves, start with a much newer machine (an '04 Forester XT has a Blue Book value of $13,000 to $13,500, depending on the trim level) and convert it to STI power for a similar (if not smaller) overall investment.
How's that possible? Just this once, you won't have to enroll at UTI to tap into Doug's Subie vault of knowledge. The "secret" lies in the fact that the '04-08 XT model Forester like Doug's came from the factory with a turbocharged 2.5-liter engine very similar to the STI's. According to Doug, "The '04-08 Forester is basically a box-shaped WRX/ STI on stilts. Basically, if a part fits an '04 WRX/STI it fits on a XT Forester. The main differences performance-wise between the WRX/STI and the Forester XT are the use of a small TD04 turbo (same one found on the WRX), a top-mount intercooler that's smaller than a WRX's, a catted up-pipe like those found on a WRX, different ECU tuning (boost tops out around 11 psi on the Forester, whereas a WRX will hit 13 psi and a STI will hit 14.7 psi), and a fuel pump the same size/ flow rate as a WRX (130-lph rating compared to the 190-lph STI pump)." So as you can see, a Forester XT isn't exactly on par with a STI straight out of the box, as indicated by its factory rated 210 hp and 235 ft-lbs of torque, but with a few upgrades its 2.5-liter boxer can pump out STI-equivalent power and the Forester is actually 15 lbs lighter than a STI (according to motortrend.com, the '04 Forester XT has a curb weight of 3,250 lbs and the '04 Impreza WRX STI has a curb weight of 3,265 lbs).
...
>>next page