Nate's Car Log

Call me crazy, but I think most of that money should go into the suspension. Big front and rear swaybars, endlinks, bushings, sti springs, etc... Youll will be way more satisfied with these then an intake or a full exhuast (maybe just a wrx catback, Im sure gabe has one). Intake(I have one) doesn't really make much a difference other then sound, being able to corner like a champ and scare the sheet out of your friends is way more fun. And get snowtires... and some effin pics up!

 
An exhaust would make it sound real nice, and maybe even an intake. As far as wheels go, maybe find some nice 16" Alloys? A set of RS six spokes would look awesome, or another set of factory Subaru wheels
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I was thinking maybe gabe's gold forester wheels with the snows on them. They wouldn't look as good as RS wheels though...

I took pics before I mowed the lawn (mew the lawn?). I'll upload them after lunch (I skipped breakfast to get a head start on mowing). Anyway, I don't think I want to mess with the struts/springs too much. I do want sways, but I don't know what endlinks or bushings are. I definitely want the car to sound different, and exhaust is something I definitely want to do. The car already corners very well (at least I think so
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). If I get tired of it this way I'll start playing with the suspension.

 
I thought my car handled well, but then you go push it more and more. And suddenly you start pushing it to the point where you need to upgrade... I don't think it ever ends. haha.

 
I agree with Garrett...suspension mods are a great first step. He sold me some STi springs for my 2.5 and it is much more fun to drive and it was pretty inexpensive! RSBs are cheap if you want to go the route like I am and get used/new wrx gear. Snows are great and if you want some new rims, I think that Gabe (Subarude) has a set of 16" Forester rims, maybe with rubber on them?? Gabe just sold and installed a wrx axle back, sounds a little better and looks cool! There are all sorts of good used bits on this site, its pretty easy to make a list of things you want for your ride and everyone I have dealt with with selling and buying have been great. Good luck with your car and enjoy it!!!

 
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I agree with Garrett...suspension mods are a great first step. He sold me some STi springs for my 2.5 and it is much more fun to drive and it was pretty inexpensive! RSBs are cheap if you want to go the route like I am and get used/new wrx gear. Snows are great and if you want some new rims, I think that Gabe (Subarude) has a set of 16" Forester rims, maybe with rubber on them?? Gabe just sold and installed a wrx axle back, sounds a little better and looks cool! There are all sorts of good used bits on this site, its pretty easy to make a list of things you want for your ride and everyone I have dealth with with selling and buying have been great. Good luck with your car and enjoy it!!!
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Thanks Mike
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. Yeah, Gabe's wheels have snow tires on them. I'm tempted to go that route. Maybe I'll try bringing up the "snow tires are for safety" idea with my mom again...
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.

I'm going to wait until after winter at least to get any exhaust bits. Just in case the snow/salt is bad on it.

Without furthur ado, I present you: insertnameofcarhere













This is it's resting place.



And again



Here's the worst of the window scratches.



Here is on the same window. You can't really see the scratches because they're right in front of the window seal.



Wait, what's this? Lawn-art you say?



 
I'd hold off on an exhaust. Only get one if you want a different sound. If you're throwing money at an NA 2.2 or 2.5 to try and make it faster off the line, you bought the wrong car. That doesn't mean there isn't a whole ton of other things you can do to make them funner.

Garrett's pretty much hit the nail on the head. Tires + suspension bits. Snows + rims are fun, and in the summer you can get better tires over whatever all-seasons came with it.

Rear sway bar is stupid easy to change out, front you've gotta do a little bit more work, but they'll make difference. Springs help too, and certain ones can adjust the height if that's what your into.

My 2 cents is tires and call it a day. Once you've got more experience with the car and know what you like and don't like about the handling and ride, along with getting more experience driving in general; then go start tweaking it.

Tighten the nut behind the wheel before you go messing with the other ones on your car.
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Most importantly, have fun with the new car, it looks good.

 
Thanks guys
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. I only want the exhaust to sound different. I'm not going for performance/speed, but handling would be nice down the line if I outgrow the abilities of the car
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.

 
I'm thinking of putting the hubcaps back on because my friends say it looks trashy with them off
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. Thoughts?

 
I was thinking of painting them gold with that spraypaint that was for sale here a while ago. I don't think it would look good though.

 
Yeah, that might make it look like you're trying a little too hard. Why not some matte black?

 
I'm going to head out now and put the hubcaps back on and then snap some pictures.

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-----Added 10/12/2009 at 09:40:41-----

I like it better with them on
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.

 
Pretty sure I saw this car when I was bummin' around at Norms before I hit up Wiscasset Ford and used all the gas in one of their Mustang GTs. Nice car, have fun with it. I'm going to echo what everyone else has said.

Go buy good winter tires for it. Just stick them on the steelies you have now. You're not going to want to wear teh steeliez all the time. Keep whatever is on there now in your basement, garage, or front lawn.

Don't bother with suspension yet. Save the money. You'll have a lot of fun just driving the car and learning it on stock suspension. Once you've really got a feel for the car (this doesn't happen overnight) then think about suspension. If you go that route you'll be able to appreciate the improvements more. And if you want an exhaust, I'm gonna have my MIG running soon. If you wanna hook me up with metal, and copious amounts of Bruce's Burritos Chilorio Burritos I could do something.

 
Pretty sure I saw this car when I was bummin' around at Norms before I hit up Wiscasset Ford and used all the gas in one of their Mustang GTs. Nice car, have fun with it. I'm going to echo what everyone else has said.Go buy good winter tires for it. Just stick them on the steelies you have now. You're not going to want to wear teh steeliez all the time. Keep whatever is on there now in your basement, garage, or front lawn.

Don't bother with suspension yet. Save the money. You'll have a lot of fun just driving the car and learning it on stock suspension. Once you've really got a feel for the car (this doesn't happen overnight) then think about suspension. If you go that route you'll be able to appreciate the improvements more. And if you want an exhaust, I'm gonna have my MIG running soon. If you wanna hook me up with metal, and copious amounts of Bruce's Burritos Chilorio Burritos I could do something.
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Thank you
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.

Would you just need pipes? I would love to make my own exhaust.

I haven't been to Bruce's in forever! Do you live close to it?

Does anybody know how hard it is to dismount tires? I could buy Gabe's winter wheels/tires and just switch the tires (I would have to see if they fit though).

edit: I also need to clean my battery. One of the terminals (it's under a rubber isolator thingy) is all nastied and I forgot to mention it when we were inside buying the car. The corrosive stuff spread to the two things holding the battery in. Is this something I should have the dealer do so I don't mess anything up?

 
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Thank you
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.Would you just need pipes? I would love to make my own exhaust.

I haven't been to Bruce's in forever! Do you live close to it?

Does anybody know how hard it is to dismount tires? I could buy Gabe's winter wheels/tires and just switch the tires (I would have to see if they fit though).

edit: I also need to clean my battery. One of the terminals (it's under a rubber isolator thingy) is all nastied and I forgot to mention it when we were inside buying the car. The corrosive stuff spread to the two things holding the battery in. Is this something I should have the dealer do so I don't mess anything up?
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VIP will swap out tires for $40. I'm putting my snows on October 30.

 
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