Another Forester... Different Country

[NOM]

Hi All,

 

I owned a 2005 Forester X in Sydney about 8 years ago. The car was great and never missed a beat in 18 months. To be fair I wish I never sold it.

 

Anyway, we have moved back to the UK recently, and I am on the hunt for another Forester. I think this time I would like to go for an XT (even though it will be mainly used by the wife), and have started looking at a few. Ideally in 3-4k price range, as seems like you can get quite good cars for your money at this price point.

 

One question I have upfront is about remapping. I have never owned a car that has had a re-map, and was wondering what the real world implications of such a thing are? Other than the obvious performance improvements do they need any additional or special care? Would it be considered a riskier proposition in terms of reliability? I am sure it depends a lot on who did it, and what they actually did, but any guidance or advice would be very welcome.

 

Also any other XT specific things to look out for? I think at my price point I would be looking at the 2.0 XT?

 

Thanks in advance.

[stants]

Hello welcome !

There a loads of cars around the price bracket your looking at so I'd go look at as many as you can, one thing to take into account is that in may 2006 the foz was grouped into the high tax bracket £450 !

Cars with a remap shouldn't be a worry as long as they have paperwork to prove whats been done and it sits with the rest of the car, no point buying one thats been done but may blow up at any time as the other supporting modifications havent been done.

If your looking at foresters with a ppp package dont worry as it was a dealer option so you get stainless prodrive back sections to the exhaust plus a remap done by prodrive taking it to circa 250-260 if my memory's correct.

Reliability should be ok, they prefer in interim oil change and maybe different oil if it's been modded significantly.

I can't speak for the xt as I have a first gen car but I'm sure others will be along soon enough

[NOM]

thanks stants, thats useful info.. especially the tax bracket leap! Ouch.

I have a few lined up to look at over the coming week/weekend, so will see how we go!

[stants]

Yeah mate it's criminal, the state of our roads,

Did your foz have the self leveling suspension ? One thing to look out for that goes wrong on potential purchases.

[NOM]

I had heard that... is expensive to replace the SLS set up?

[Snoop-y]

...If your looking at foresters with a ppp package dont worry as it was a dealer option so you get stainless prodrive back sections to the exhaust plus a remap done by prodrive taking it to circa 250-260 if my memory's correct.

I can't speak for the xt as I have a first gen car but I'm sure others will be along soon enough

The 03 Prodrive pack on XT forester is including the following:

• Recalibrated enginemanagement system

• High flow intercooler hose

• Stainless steel sports exhaust silencers

• Certificate of fitment to enhance resale values

Power rises 20% from 177ps to 213ps @ 6000rpm but more significantly torque is raised by nearly 30% from 245Nm to 316Nm at 3-3500rpm. Combined with the Forester XT's slightly shorter gearing, the package delivers excellent allweather acceleration, with 0 - 60mph being achieved in just 6.6seconds.

 

05MY Forester:

Mods are the same

Power rises by over 20% from 211ps to 255ps @ 5600rpm and torque increases from 320Nm to 370Nm at3-4000rpm.

The package delivers excellent all-weather acceleration, with 0 - 60mph being achieved in just 5.5 seconds.

 

06MY Forester

Mods are the same

Power rises by nearly 15 percent from 230 ps to 260 ps at 5,600 rpm and torque increases from 320 Nm to 407 Nm at 3,000 rpm

the package delivers excellent all-weather acceleration, with 0 - 60 mph being achieved in just 5.3 seconds

 

 

 

Best regards

Snoopy

[stants]

For some reason my last post never arrived, the sls units are extortionate quite a lot of people swap them out for normal ones, you can getva pedders kit that bolts straight in for around 300 or there are other shocks and spring combos available for around the same price

[david1972]

Tax change takes effect from 23 March 2006

Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk

[NOM]

Thanks snoop and stants.. all good info. appreciated.

 

re replacing the sls units, is that something that could be a good idea as a preventative thing, or is it fine to just wait until the sls ones give up the ghost? or does it cause bigger issues when they fail?

 

I am going to look at this car later in the week:

 

http://www.mrbidcars.co.uk/used-cars/subaru-forester-hindhead-201408186686839

 

Getting excited about getting back in a Subaru, even our bog standard X model use to be fun to drive!

 

Cheers

[NOM]

Thanks David1972... I think my budget will ensure I am pre 2006.

[david1972]

Should be able to get a 55 plate facelifted 2.5xt with history for under 4k now if you have time to do the leg work [emoji106]

0-60 in 6 secs [emoji41]

Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk

[NOM]

more hours on auto trader and eBay me thinks!!

[Gambit]

Hi Nom welcome to S.O.C and back to the UK :( had to be a sad face I'm sure the UK even though cheaper living than Australia doesn't have the same feel to it :) 

[NOM]

Cheers Gambit... It's different. Was there for a long time! Cars are certainly cheaper here!!

[NOM]

Ended up looking a 4 Foresters today... Two that looked nice. One of the owners mentioned the forums a lot, so may be a member on here!

One had a rear seat that wouldn't lock into place? The base part of the seat. Even with the central clip "hooked" it still wasn't secure at either end (I.e the door ends of the seats). Has anyone experienced this before?

Cheers

[stants]

Not sure about the seat but mine only fold the rest is bolted down

[Gambit]

I'd say the same as Stants should be just bolts maybe needs some washers or bigger bolts. 

[david1972]

When I first viewed a 2003 Foz, the rear bench was the same....a little pressure applied and it just 'clipped' back in

Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk

[bitman]

cool, we lived in Waterloo. where did you live in Sydney?

 

i had an 2003 XS and indeed feel the same as we sold her before we went back to the UK. wish i never sold her. an 2.5 N/A is just cool :) 

[NOM]

Strange re rear seat... Definitely was not right, guessing not a tough thing to fix either way though.

Bitman, we lived in the east too, Most suburbs north of Bronte at one time or another!

[NOM]

Another question if I may...

 

On another Forester I have looked at the electric sunroof kept stopping (every 3-4 inches) when trying to close it. Each time I had to take my finger off the button and press again, and then it would do another few inches. Is this normal behaviour, because it seems somewhat abnormal to me?

 

Getting close to finding one I like, but keep getting the nervous nellies, and panicking about gremlins that will cost me an arm and a leg once I get it home!

 

Thanks for any info re sunroof if you have any.

[Gambit]

I would have said thats a fault. Either motor or a bad wire , would need looking at for sure :( 

[NOM]

oh bgger.... was hoping I was just being daft and shouldn't have been holding the button down or something. 

[Gambit]

oh bgger.... was hoping I was just being daft and shouldn't have been holding the button down or something. 

possible I've not had a sunroof in a scoob but the others I've had you just held it and would open or close smooth without a problem. 

[Snoop-y]

No it is not normal and could be one of them that Gambit mentioned above or could be a track problem as well that a glass is sitting on.