A-Rod

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This is documented in various blogs, YouTube, home DIY on forums; Perrin and a company in Netherlands who specialise in supplying H6 turbos (forgot their name) with dyno results of every step, etc. Obviously forged pistons and a manual box is an advantage IMO, however there are people who have ran their supercharged and turbocharged H6 on low boost for years in the US without anything else doing to it but a simple fuel map to match the new output. A lot of the bloggers, including Perrin, state that an STI with 400whp is a norm nowadays and is classed as a safe thing for a stock STI engine. Bear in mind that an STI engine is 4 cylinders, so when they compared their H6 dyno test to a 4 cylinder STI, they note that, and I quote Perrin: "With 6 cylinders, and 440 WHP, that is only 73WHP per cylinder. That is almost 300WHP on an STI. Which is very safe, and this is with non forged pistons. This is just showing that the engine isn't under much stress to get this power". I hope this helps ;)

Taken a few snaps a few moments ago.

Hello all, I'm selling my 09 3.0R Spec B Si Drive. It is an immaculate vehicle with 65k miles. I bought it in early July 2020 as my new Golf GTi Performance has packed up and went back to the dealer for a full refund. I was left without any means of transport and decided to buy one as a temporary car (owned 2x 2.0i models years ago). Found the only 3.0 Spec B in the country and travelled 180 miles to pick it up - it was everything that I expected it to be. It has only covered 65k miles and has full service history: 9569 miles 17459 miles 27273 miles 33541 miles 36615 miles 39538 miles 44091 miles 49190 miles 51855 miles 64276 miles - this was carried out in August during my ownership and included full major service by Tim Farmer at SUBBUS: all fluids changed (brake fluid, differential, gearbox, engine, spark plugs) and also new Brembos on the back, front ARB links, Billet battery clamp, new wheel nuts, etc. It is fully stock and has all the options including: - Front and rear parking sensors - Electric heated leather memory seats - Sunroof - All the Spec B goodies such as front grille, lip, Bilstein suspension, etc. - Touchscreen Satnav - Bluetooth - Si Drive with Paddleshifts (shifts as fast as manual and gets the same 6.4s to 60). The car obviously drives spot on without any issues. Just a few age related dints here and there. Drives better than my new Golf ever did! Changes gears smoothly and is knock free. Will need new rear tyres, exhaust Y piece and an MOT in October - I'm planning to carry these out at the end of October. Would lower the price if someone is willing to pick it up now before I carry all of the above - other than these things, SUBBUS has checked and confirmed that everything is spot on so it should pass the MOT without any issues once the above matters are looked into. I'm planning to advertise the car elsewhere after I carry out the above late in October and slapped a new MOT on it, but posting here to see if anyone is interested. Looking at £6k with new Y piece and tyres or £5.5k to buy it now without it. The exhaust is £150 for the Y piece (already have a quote at a place in Walsall) or £420 from catback all the way to the end with boxes - both options are custom made stainless steel. Tyres are £120 a corner for Potenzas. This is the only example in the UK. Whenever I have seen a facelift H6 Spec B (I'm talking about a few years ago when I bought a 2.0i) on eBay or Autottader, it was gone within a day or two. Located in Cambridgeshire. The picture was taken this morning at 6am:

My 5 pence here. I've previously owned a 2004 2.0i saloon and it was a very good / reliable car. It was super basic though in terms of options (no park sensors and so on). The 2.0i was gutless and returned the same MPG as my 3.0 flat 6. As mentioned above, the tax band is cheaper if you go for an earlier reg, however you'd miss out on refinement, more power and so on - of course, this all depends on what you want. I bought mine in July after my new Golf GTi broke down and went back to the dealer for a refund. I bought (then only example in the UK) an 09 3.0r Spec B. It is more powerful than earlier models, it shifts exactly as quick as the manual - thanks to Si Drive. It packs all the options. Yes, I pay £520 tax but who cares? If you're buying a petrol car with such a big engine then the last of your worries should be tax and MPG. I could never understand people asking what's the MPG on a 3.0 litre and how economical it is - if these are the kind of questions to ask then it clearly isn't the car for you (IMO). Service wise, it isn't as cheap as Toyota or Honda, but reliability of the 3 litre is the best when comparing to 2.0 or 2.5 litre variants. Cutbacks are amazing cars. I've owned another 06 Legacy estate which was also a 2.0 litre and it was a great car, but again, gutless. If you live in the countryside then overtaking may prove to be difficult. I'm selling my legacy now as I've placed an order for an SUV and this was a temporary car so that I'm not left without wheels in the interim. But in my short ownership, it is one of the best cars I've ever owned! The only big downside is that you can't place child seats at the front and this was a deal breaker for me when I found out about it a week ago.

You need to speak with Tim Farmer at SUBBUS. He told me that he has done a gearbox swap for a legacy not long ago along with an engine swap. I think he has been noted around forums since 2008 (that's the earliest I've seen his name around Subaru forums). Check out my thread as I was looking for a local garage and stumbled upon him. He's a nice bloke and I'm sure he'll answer your questions. I have an 09 3.0R Spec B and in order to get the best out of a turbo bolt on, I'd need a manual box and I just didn't want to get involved.

Didn't know there was a 'for sale' section here, I'll have a look. I've already placed an order so don't need another car but would be looking at £5.5k considering the mileage and stuff that has been put into it during my short ownership. Would like to have kept this one for at least 2 years, but I've decided to sell it a week ago when I realised you can't put a child seat at the front - according to the manual and forums. It's a shame as it was a deal breaker for me, I now need to carry 2 kids and 2 adults and unfortunately the Legacy can't handle the task. My GTI Performance had a simple switch off button for the front airbags, so unsure why legacy struggled to accommodate this option. P.S. Tim has been amazing! I hope people can use this thread to find him. I found a good exhaust place for my legacy (someone recommended above) as the Y piece has corroded. Will book it up next week and tell you guys how it all went.

Just an FYI - if anyone has an issue with front end knocking. I had an issue where the front left would knock on my Spec B when going around 5-15mph and going on an uneven road / going over small pot hole or a speed bump. It would drive me crazy. After researching, I narrowed it down to the following: - ARB bushes - ARB droplinks - Bilstein bearings on the shocks - top hat (mount) - from caliper pins sliding / caliper slides When explaining the matter to Tim from Subbus, he told me that it would more than likely be the ARB droplinks. We changed those and the knocking has gone. By the way, I'm having to sell the car as we've placed an order for an SUV. Those who have read the post will note that I bought it in July as I needed something good for a short period of time whilst my GTI PP went back to the dealer for a full refund (engine failure) - only just got my refund back! If anyone is interested then let me know before it goes on sale. I've looked online and looks like I'm the only one with an 09 Si-Drive 3.0 Spec B with 65k miles in the country. The car drives spot on and has no issues. I've clocked a 0-60 time (borrowed specialist timing gear) in dry conditions at 6.2s to 60mph so was very impressed by the stock performance - this was in full auto with S# mode on. The car has full history and I've recently spent around £850 for full major service with SUBBUS, including fitting new Brembos with other bits too. The car drives spot on. Has all the extras: Leather heated memory seats Sunroof Front and rear sensors Bluetooth Satnav Factory xenon lights Spec B extras such as Bilstein and so on 5 speed auto with paddle shifts and Si Drive Has a few dints and small scratches. A few rims are a bit curbed but it was before my time.

Yes, it was suggested by Tim and he showed me a post by Perrin where they did the same thing to their H6, however I soon realised that I'd need a manual box and my car is automatic: https://www.perrin.com/blog/post/perrin-h6-build-up I've read on a few US forums where people have fitted (it's an easy bolt on) a turbo to their H6 without any other mods, just a map for low boost, etc. The engine (the same has been stated by Perrin) is under no stress what so ever after the turbo and they were pushing around 360whp / 420bhp with a 0-60 in low 4s.

I have an 09 H6 3.0R B Spec. Love the car! £500 sounds like an absolute bargain to me. Will post my experience after they've fitted the exhaust. Can't wait.

You're welcome. Leave a comment here once he does the job so that everyone else can see the recommendations. I'm booking him next month to fit a new rear bumper, auxiliary belt / pulleys and front brakes. I also want to use him to fit an exhaust and a new turbo in the near future. As I said, top bloke. In regards to the exhaust guys, I just gave them a call and they will fit a stainless steel exhaust on my legacy with lifetime guarantee, from centre all the way to the rear with back boxes for £445 or £500 as a worst case scenario if they can't reuse the catback. This is the price I was looking for right there! This is how much my stainless steel cost me on my 2.0i Legacy a few years ago. Once again, thanks for the recommendation! I hope this topic is going right to the top so that people know the right place to go.

Damn! Thanks mate, I'll give them a call now!

That was from catback all the way back. It is eye watering. I just gave the a call and they quoted £1050 fitted for a stainless steel. So that's a centre piece without silence, Y piece and the back boxes. That's still quite steep IMO. I'll look around and will post my findings here. About the mechanic, he is actually doing my brakes and front anti roll bar droplinks as we speak. I can't recommend this guy enough, top bloke.

Thank you so much for sharing! I'll be ringing these guys this week and if successful, will post my story here.

£1200 is simply eye watering! I remember having a stainless steel exhaust on a 4 pot (albeit single exhaust) and that was £420. I don't remember the name of the place now as it was on a receipt and I sold the car ages ago. The exhaust did sound a lot before though. I'll have to scout around and ask members around here what they did to their legacies when the time ca.e to change an exhaust.

Thought it be best to re-use this thread as I'm now looking for a place that provides an exhaust at a reasonable price. My Y piece has a small hole and the back boxes have seen better days. I rang a few places that offer stainless steel exhausts but I'm not in a position to pay £1200 - I'd rather spend this money on a low boost bolt on Turbo project. Can someone please share their experience? I know a lot of people bought some exhausts off eBay, but I have no clue what part(s) I require. I don't mind travelling half the country if the new exhaust is around £500 mark. Really looking forward to hearing from you guys.

Job done! He was on his own today so it took him around 5 hours to complete the job - I did pester him every other hour or so though as I had tons of questions about modifying my car (i.e. adding a turbo in the future - PERRIN Subaru H6 Project Build post on the internet). I'm extremely happy with the job. Tim knows his cars and was quite professional. He stamped my service book and provided a proper invoice. I can't recommend Tim Farmer enough! Here are his digits in case anyone needs him: 07880661866 Will use him again to change my discs, pads, anti roll bar droplinks and exhaust next month.

Tim (SUBBUS) came exactly at the specified time - I'm OCD about punctuality so this was a great start. Having spoken to him, he put me in confidence as, like everyone else states on forums, he really knows his cars; I can't say the same when I spoke to mechanics at Subaru Cambridge main dealer. Currently changing the diff oil, gearbox filter, gearbox oil, plugs (full service) and also checking on my brakes as I suspect the pins are seizing. Also managed to tell me exactly what the front left knock was all about, which turned out to be the anti roll bar drop links. So far he has been amazing! I will provide further info once he has finished the work.

Good thing I cancelled my appointment with Subaru as by the looks of it, all they do is take your money without having the slightest knowledge about cars. You'll probably get better experience at Kwik Fit. Very sad indeed. I've booked my car for a full service (including plugs and all the gearbox / off oil) with Subbus / Tim Farmer. I've researched and it looks like this guy has been looking after a lot of Scoobies across the East Anglia - well known in the community. I'll put my feedback here for everyone to see for future reference.

I gave Tim Farmer a call today and have booked him; apparently he used to work for Zen Performance and knows his Subarus in and out (also everyone seem to vouch for him) - Tim sounded like he knows his cars pretty well and I couldn't say the same about half the garages I rang today. I told him about my brakes squeaking and steering wheel shaking when I brake at around 60mph; he said it could just be the sliders as they are prone to seize. I've read tons of reviews on forums where people used him for years - so will give him a go. Works out cheaper and more convenient than the main dealer. Will post my experience afterwards.

Thought I'd post an update. I rang quite a few garages within 60 miles radius and most charge more than the main dealer - shocking! A few local garages charge considerably less at around £119 - £150 for a full service, however when asked what oil they'd be using, they told me it's anything they have in a barrel - I'd rather pay a bit more and have quality stuff in my engine TBH. I asked if I could bring my own oil and they said no because they have to make money on parts sold. Then I rang quite a few Subaru Specialists and they were pretty much on par with Cambridge main dealer so I don't see a point to take my car to them if it'll cost the same money + main dealer can lend me their car whilst mine is being serviced. I rang Subaru Norwich and other areas nearby which all seem to charge £100 more for a service than Cambridge garage. What remains a mystery is that when I owned an Audi and BMW, the specialists were considerably cheaper and better experienced than the main dealer; however with Subaru I'm a bit lost as it beats the purpose of taking your car to a specialist when main dealer works out closer and cheaper. Just an example, Subaru Cambridge wants £299 for a full service; add diff and gearbox oils and it is £520. Extreme Scoobies charge £510 for a full service with the above mentioned oils and are based further away from me. Why are specialists so expensive?

I found Extreme Scoobies on the net. They're down near Chelmsford and seem to have good reputation. I'll give them a call on Monday as want my brakes checked too.

Thanks, I've seen tons of posts about Tim Farmer but wasn't aware he was based around Cambridge. Will give him a call.

Thanks for the response. I've phoned a few garages up today (indies) and they told me they'd struggle with servicing a Subaru as they've never touched this kind of a car... oh dear. So the only thing most garages could do is a full service. A few garages were even more expensive than the main dealer (perks of living in a village). Damn... I didn't know it was so hard to find someone to look after a Scooby. I wouldn't want to travel 2 hours in order to service a car, but it looks like there is nobody out there that can help me with the gearbox / diff oil change other than the stealers.

That's exactly my aim. I've given Zen Performance a call as they're around the corner from me. Anyone have any experience with them? The guy told me they don't see many Legacies at all as most of them are donor cars and was surprised to hear my model is an auto and a 3.0 Spec B. Waiting to hear back from him now.