Jump to content

2015 Forester 2.0


subarudreamer
 Share

Recommended Posts

On 10/20/2021 at 5:44 PM, commonjunks said:

1.4k is like 170% from your value.
I hope admin open a thread with all cautionary tails to keep informed those stupid like me 😂.

Ok like heart pain but lesson learned, never again anything change from Subaru.

As we on this note, anyone knows if someone do upholstery of Subaru. My ride is only 4.5years and one side of back seat is kena  thorn in middle. Subaru charging 998$ (basic) for entire  ride and somehow including steering wheel push price to 1,188$. Not sure if it is expensive?

Not all (even though mostly) things by MI is expensive. It's a good practice to check with the various workshops and compare with MI before deciding.

Stock parts look for BKS. Aftermarket look for BMS. 

The leather that MI provide is not very good quality, but i find it a good deal to change when purchasing the car at $500. But if you are doing aftermarket, i suggest  to find other WS to do. Might be more expensive but at least the quality will be better. Most of us rewrap the steering wheel leather outside. I've asked before and it cost less than 200. But i decided to change the wheel to CF type for shiokness. 😂

↡ Advertisement
  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello All!

I am looking at a couple of used Forester XT (I am 1st time buyer) and I am wondering is it advisable to have car inspected by a reputable workshop instead of going to Vicom or STA? 

In term of workshop, I have read some people prefer BKS (AMK/WL) some prefer BMS (AMK/WL) and I have a friend recommending Foo Brothers @ Tampines. My plan is to also send my car to the same workshop for servicing one I confirm on the choice of purchase.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, 5ub23r0 said:

Hello All!

I am looking at a couple of used Forester XT (I am 1st time buyer) and I am wondering is it advisable to have car inspected by a reputable workshop instead of going to Vicom or STA? 

In term of workshop, I have read some people prefer BKS (AMK/WL) some prefer BMS (AMK/WL) and I have a friend recommending Foo Brothers @ Tampines. My plan is to also send my car to the same workshop for servicing one I confirm on the choice of purchase.

I am very new to FXT, just took over a 2nd hand 2016 in June-2021. (have drove used car from Lada-Russian, KIA/Hyundai - Korean in 1998, Honda, Merc, WV) 

I made a mistake to go to one so claimed "used to work in Subaru" workshop as I do not wish to travel all the way to woodland when I took the FXT-2016 and I paid thru my nose for something very simple and straight forward. 

trust me, BKS or BMS is your best bet and no matter what go to woodland side.

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

@knnbeh wah like that ah... ok ok point noted. Since its only pre purchase inspection I think it is fine and moreover I called both and they ask me to AMK branch for inspection. Just curious, what did you pay for through your nose?

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 11/1/2021 at 1:31 PM, 5ub23r0 said:

Hello All!

I am looking at a couple of used Forester XT (I am 1st time buyer) and I am wondering is it advisable to have car inspected by a reputable workshop instead of going to Vicom or STA? 

In term of workshop, I have read some people prefer BKS (AMK/WL) some prefer BMS (AMK/WL) and I have a friend recommending Foo Brothers @ Tampines. My plan is to also send my car to the same workshop for servicing one I confirm on the choice of purchase.

Hi,

Not sure if Ah Keong at BKS Woodlands will do it but do call to enquire.

Still believe he is the go-to guy if I am to choose ... BMS AMK is fine but actual work is primarily done by workers while Ah Keong is always at shop to supervise and he test drive customers' cars after repair for added assurance.

Nevertheless, such check can only highlight major work done from major accident e.g. chassis welding/realignment etc. and some obvious visual ones especially undercarriage ... limited short test drive may not surface all issues. 

Cheers.

Richard

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 11/1/2021 at 1:31 PM, 5ub23r0 said:

Hello All!

I am looking at a couple of used Forester XT (I am 1st time buyer) and I am wondering is it advisable to have car inspected by a reputable workshop instead of going to Vicom or STA? 

In term of workshop, I have read some people prefer BKS (AMK/WL) some prefer BMS (AMK/WL) and I have a friend recommending Foo Brothers @ Tampines. My plan is to also send my car to the same workshop for servicing one I confirm on the choice of purchase.

Suggest to check a reputable workshop. 2 parts to the inspection, 1 is check for any major accident, the other is wear and tear. Forester XT (FXT) is an heavy car, quite a few wear and tear after a certain mileage. A good condition FXT should be very smooth and no sound during test drive.

Check with Keong at BKS Woodlands whether he does pre-purchase checks. Just be prepared to pay a little bit of service fees.

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 10/8/2021 at 8:41 AM, Tohto said:

Just buy want and change yourself lah. CR2032.

 

 

This battery can be bought at $2 for 8 of them at Value$.

Can use until COE expire in total.

I heard some other AD charging $10 for battery change.

  • Praise 2
  • Haha! 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello All!

gonna be receiving the FXT by end of this month. As there will be works needed to be done on the car, I was wondering what do you all think about some of the changes I am planning to do as below?

Priority on changes from top to bottom

Engine/Transmission

  • TMIC (optional)
  • Air Oil Separator
  • Transmission Cooler
  • Oil Cooler

Suspension

  • BC Racing BR Coilovers
  • Front Sway Bar
  • Rear Sway Bar
  • Steering dampener

Brakes

  • 4/2 AP Racing?
  • SS brake lines

Exhaust

  • Downpipe and Catback Change

Engine/Transmission

  • If exhaust change, then will change intake, BOV, Boost controller, Accessport (for tuning)

Suspension

  • Lower control arms
  • Front endlinks
  • Rear endlinks and braces

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

@5ub23r0 

Hi,

I will try and ymmv as usual .. other more learned bros can share further. 

For me, suspension of xt is most painful with many "fixes" making ride harsh and yet jittery but I will chose dynamic suspension of tein edfc with spring/dampers and not coilover for compliant ride and not outright sepang standard which I can appreciates. 

Do consider ok priced magic collars not mentioned as it does stabilises the xt quite a bit.

Cheers.

Engine/Transmission

TMIC (optional) - indeed optional

Air Oil Separator - optional unless you intend to pay 2nd coe like me.

Transmission Cooler - newer model already has it but if not, indeed good to take care of transmission but do flush every 50k km .. especially since it seems you are planning a fully performance oriented xt.

Oil Cooler - unsure what this is for .. engine or already mentioned transmission cooler. If radiator for engine like koyorad full aluminium one, I highly recommend it.

Suspension

BC Racing BR Coilover .. no no no .. will be like lorry or float like mad at least on those I tried.

Front Sway Bar - sure, cheap options available but much more positive effects of front bottom arb and does not make ride harsh e.g. cusco's ... steering feel is great with pull that snap back straight after cornering

Rear Sway Bar - yes, quite a bit of effect and more than front but dun get carry away with big thick ones .. other links will be stressed and also make harsh lorry ride.

Steering dampener - optional .. hardly have any effect .. front arb much better

Brakes

4/2 AP Racing? - AP bbk will be nice but I go 6/4 ... rear 2 looks like stock especially if open view rims. I went for Taiwanese Ksports 6/4 instead since branded one are too much .. almost 50% for brakes of our low 17k omv I cannot accept 🤣

SS brake lines - comes with bbk oreli

Exhaust

Downpipe and Catback Change - fierce .. did not do this and doubt legal to pass MOT inspection but if you dun care, you dun care but inspection time means more efforts.

Engine/Transmission

If exhaust change, then will change intake, BOV, Boost controller, Accessport (for tuning) - did not do this since power from stock xt fine with me at 58+ yrs old but yes, it makes sense for front end to be flowing for rear exhaust to work at its best but a lot of $ and hope not pushed beyond even high torque cvt of xt .. heard of many stories of damage liao.

Suspension

Lower control arms - no experience except sti front stiffeners, sti flexible front strut, front cusco arb. No issue for last 4 yrs on thickened cusco arb but typical bushing changed twice liao 😒

Front endlinks - no experience except sti front stiffeners, sti flexible front strut, front cusco arb. But if going for thick thick arb e.g. whiteline, you need since also seen breakage.

Rear endlinks and braces - no experience except (i) cusco's camber arms cos lowered and needing it from Swift springs/tein endura pro active/edfc for compliant ride, sti flexible subframe, sti flexible rear stiffeners to replace stock rigid ones

Edited by richard_crl032
  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 11/16/2021 at 4:36 PM, 5ub23r0 said:

Hello All!

gonna be receiving the FXT by end of this month. As there will be works needed to be done on the car, I was wondering what do you all think about some of the changes I am planning to do as below?

Priority on changes from top to bottom

Engine/Transmission

  • TMIC (optional)
  • Air Oil Separator
  • Transmission Cooler
  • Oil Cooler

Suspension

  • BC Racing BR Coilovers
  • Front Sway Bar
  • Rear Sway Bar
  • Steering dampener

Brakes

  • 4/2 AP Racing?
  • SS brake lines

Exhaust

  • Downpipe and Catback Change

Engine/Transmission

  • If exhaust change, then will change intake, BOV, Boost controller, Accessport (for tuning)

Suspension

  • Lower control arms
  • Front endlinks
  • Rear endlinks and braces

 

Congrats on your ride!

Seems like you want to change alot of things. lol. You looking at boosting the hp and torque?

if yours is stock i suggest go with the brakes first then F/R ARB. If you are going for stage 2 then go for downpipe and intake. But you need to include a new turbo as well, aka not LTA friendly. TMIC will not benefit if you are keeping the engine stock unless you are going for looks. 

  • Praise 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 11/19/2021 at 2:20 PM, richard_crl032 said:

@5ub23r0 

Hi,

I will try and ymmv as usual .. other more learned bros can share further. 

For me, suspension of xt is most painful with many "fixes" making ride harsh and yet jittery but I will chose dynamic suspension of tein edfc with spring/dampers and not coilover for compliant ride and not outright sepang standard which I can appreciates. 

Do consider ok priced magic collars not mentioned as it does stabilises the xt quite a bit.

Cheers.

Engine/Transmission

TMIC (optional) - indeed optional

Air Oil Separator - optional unless you intend to pay 2nd coe like me.

Transmission Cooler - newer model already has it but if not, indeed good to take care of transmission but do flush every 50k km .. especially since it seems you are planning a fully performance oriented xt.

Oil Cooler - unsure what this is for .. engine or already mentioned transmission cooler. If radiator for engine like koyorad full aluminium one, I highly recommend it.

Suspension

BC Racing BR Coilover .. no no no .. will be like lorry or float like mad at least on those I tried.

Front Sway Bar - sure, cheap options available but much more positive effects of front bottom arb and does not make ride harsh e.g. cusco's ... steering feel is great with pull that snap back straight after cornering

Rear Sway Bar - yes, quite a bit of effect and more than front but dun get carry away with big thick ones .. other links will be stressed and also make harsh lorry ride.

Steering dampener - optional .. hardly have any effect .. front arb much better

Brakes

4/2 AP Racing? - AP bbk will be nice but I go 6/4 ... rear 2 looks like stock especially if open view rims. I went for Taiwanese Ksports 6/4 instead since branded one are too much .. almost 50% for brakes of our low 17k omv I cannot accept 🤣

SS brake lines - comes with bbk oreli

Exhaust

Downpipe and Catback Change - fierce .. did not do this and doubt legal to pass MOT inspection but if you dun care, you dun care but inspection time means more efforts.

Engine/Transmission

If exhaust change, then will change intake, BOV, Boost controller, Accessport (for tuning) - did not do this since power from stock xt fine with me at 58+ yrs old but yes, it makes sense for front end to be flowing for rear exhaust to work at its best but a lot of $ and hope not pushed beyond even high torque cvt of xt .. heard of many stories of damage liao.

Suspension

Lower control arms - no experience except sti front stiffeners, sti flexible front strut, front cusco arb. No issue for last 4 yrs on thickened cusco arb but typical bushing changed twice liao 😒

Front endlinks - no experience except sti front stiffeners, sti flexible front strut, front cusco arb. But if going for thick thick arb e.g. whiteline, you need since also seen breakage.

Rear endlinks and braces - no experience except (i) cusco's camber arms cos lowered and needing it from Swift springs/tein endura pro active/edfc for compliant ride, sti flexible subframe, sti flexible rear stiffeners to replace stock rigid ones

pardon for the long post, still trying to figure out how to do this best... ymmv is good for me, appreciate the different view of points as a form of learning too!

Air Oil Separator - optional unless you intend to pay 2nd coe like me. 5ub23r0: i do infact wanna extend COE hence i am thinking on also trying to protect/lessen wear and tear on engine/trans as and where I can.

Transmission Cooler - newer model already has it but if not, indeed good to take care of transmission but do flush every 50k km .. especially since it seems you are planning a fully performance oriented xt. 5ub23r0: well thing is i am ok with the current car but as things wears down and requires replacement I will go for a performance replacement instead of an OEM replacement. kinda like a slowly build it towards a performance side of a daily ride.

Oil Cooler - unsure what this is for .. engine or already mentioned transmission cooler. If radiator for engine like koyorad full aluminium one, I highly recommend it. 5ub23r0: my bad as i did not elaborate. I was planning on having 1 cooler just for transmission and 1 just for engine oil. i have only read this thread till page 832 and have not caught up with everything so there is much to learn for me. Back in Msia i had a fully modded diesel truck and i had trans and engine oil cooler kept separate to manage the heat during hill runs (i like cameron and fraser's hill runs but it will smash your engine/trans real good without heat management). This is my 1st turbo petrol transport and i think by having engine oil cooling should help preserve a turbo petrol engine. Not that I will push the car hard now (wife and kid in tow) but as when when I travel into Msia to visit my relatives one cannot but help open the taps right? (hopefully land border restrictions lift la before CNY, 2 years i no see my dad d)

BC Racing BR Coilover .. no no no .. will be like lorry or float like mad at least on those I tried. 5ub23r0: noted on this and your comment on Tein above. in that case, yes I do not see going all ham Sepang track setup but do you know where can I go to to look at Tein here?

Front Sway Bar - sure, cheap options available but much more positive effects of front bottom arb and does not make ride harsh e.g. cusco's ... steering feel is great with pull that snap back straight after cornering 5ub23r0: I will be sending my car to BMS for 1st service after I have take delivery and I do notice they market a lot of the Hardrace brand...  Anyone using Hardrace?

Rear Sway Bar - yes, quite a bit of effect and more than front but dun get carry away with big thick ones .. other links will be stressed and also make harsh lorry ride. 5ub23r0: roger that. Had full Ultra Racing setup back in Msia and yea overnight the car turned into a go-kart LOL! 

4/2 AP Racing? - AP bbk will be nice but I go 6/4 ... rear 2 looks like stock especially if open view rims. I went for Taiwanese Ksports 6/4 instead since branded one are too much .. almost 50% for brakes of our low 17k omv I cannot accept 🤣 5ub23r0: got it on the OMV vs brake spending side. What about the rotors you using? any warping/cracking concern?

Downpipe and Catback Change - fierce .. did not do this and doubt legal to pass MOT inspection but if you dun care, you dun care but inspection time means more efforts. 5ub23r0:  legally can do but involve a ton of paperwork but yea this is more of a if something break I will change to a performance part and only if I had manage to change all the above already haha.

Roger on your points on the suspension part as well. yea will give it some thought as daily rider + wife driving sometimes cannot make too stiff.

On 11/19/2021 at 2:30 PM, Stratovarius said:

Congrats on your ride!

Seems like you want to change alot of things. lol. You looking at boosting the hp and torque?

if yours is stock i suggest go with the brakes first then F/R ARB. If you are going for stage 2 then go for downpipe and intake. But you need to include a new turbo as well, aka not LTA friendly. TMIC will not benefit if you are keeping the engine stock unless you are going for looks. 

Congrats on your ride!

Seems like you want to change alot of things. lol. You looking at boosting the hp and torque?

5ub23r0: Thanks mate. yea the change part is swap wear and tear for performance parts when it happens but I will start with the engine/transmission preservation mods as once border opens I will be making frequent Msia trips.... which means more open tap opportunity.... ultimately if I can uprate the HP and torque I will try to do it but it will not be a wham bam 1 single go ham kinda thing....

if yours is stock i suggest go with the brakes first then F/R ARB. If you are going for stage 2 then go for downpipe and intake. But you need to include a new turbo as well, aka not LTA friendly. TMIC will not benefit if you are keeping the engine stock unless you are going for looks. 5ub23r0: once i take delivery I will have to stock take on the mods done already. When i sent for inspection i note that previous owner had uprated the radiator, change charge pipe, had front struts installed as well as a non-stock brake servo la. I did ask dealer to send me a list of mods previous owner had but guess I'll know this weekend.

not outright going stage 2 yet as I am going to change out wear and tear for performance parts where it doesn't require LTA approval. after which I will slowly looking into uprating the vehicle since I am planning to extend COE la.

 

Edited by 5ub23r0
amend spelling
  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

So here is a question for the collective wisdom in this group.

I have a non turbo Forester that will be reaching 5 years old in January. I am the original owner and the car has done below 60k mileage and is entirely original condition (other than upgrading the speakers, but even that was done using Subaru parts so direct plug and play with no cutting or wiring mods involved) its never been in any accidents, never had any respray or touch up etc... 

I am expecting to be overseas 95% of the time for the next 2 or 3 years and I am considering selling the car rather than paying road tax and insurance just to have it deteriorating and depreciating downstairs in the car park. The thing is, we have all read the horror stories in this forum about mileage "adjustments" and how rampant it is. If i sell the car to a dealer, then any potential buyers will probably be suspicious of the relatively low mileage whereas I know its actually genuine. Other than selling it privately which would usually involve a buyer that then has to try and arrange his own finance, does anyone have any bright ideas or suggestions on the beat way to proceed with selling the car... 

Link to post
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, 5ub23r0 said:

pardon for the long post, still trying to figure out how to do this best... ymmv is good for me, appreciate the different view of points as a form of learning too!

Air Oil Separator - optional unless you intend to pay 2nd coe like me. 5ub23r0: i do infact wanna extend COE hence i am thinking on also trying to protect/lessen wear and tear on engine/trans as and where I can.  Richard👍 scrap $ at 7-8k really can consider 2nd coe especially since no more reasonable turbo performance ones but petrol may be sgd5/l.

Transmission Cooler - newer model already has it but if not, indeed good to take care of transmission but do flush every 50k km .. especially since it seems you are planning a fully performance oriented xt. 5ub23r0: well thing is i am ok with the current car but as things wears down and requires replacement I will go for a performance replacement instead of an OEM replacement. kinda like a slowly build it towards a performance side of a daily ride.  Richard:  Understand

Oil Cooler - unsure what this is for .. engine or already mentioned transmission cooler. If radiator for engine like koyorad full aluminium one, I highly recommend it. 5ub23r0: my bad as i did not elaborate. I was planning on having 1 cooler just for transmission and 1 just for engine oil. i have only read this thread till page 832 and have not caught up with everything so there is much to learn for me. Back in Msia i had a fully modded diesel truck and i had trans and engine oil cooler kept separate to manage the heat during hill runs (i like cameron and fraser's hill runs but it will smash your engine/trans real good without heat management). This is my 1st turbo petrol transport and i think by having engine oil cooling should help preserve a turbo petrol engine. Not that I will push the car hard now (wife and kid in tow) but as when when I travel into Msia to visit my relatives one cannot but help open the taps right? (hopefully land border restrictions lift la before CNY, 2 years i no see my dad d)  Richard: Roger that

BC Racing BR Coilover .. no no no .. will be like lorry or float like mad at least on those I tried. 5ub23r0: noted on this and your comment on Tein above. in that case, yes I do not see going all ham Sepang track setup but do you know where can I go to to look at Tein here? Richard: ST power but I go BKS woodlands c/o Ah Keong for the dampers and BMS Amk to fit self import edfc.

Front Sway Bar - sure, cheap options available but much more positive effects of front bottom arb and does not make ride harsh e.g. cusco's ... steering feel is great with pull that snap back straight after cornering 5ub23r0: I will be sending my car to BMS for 1st service after I have take delivery and I do notice they market a lot of the Hardrace brand...  Anyone using Hardrace?  Richard: Many hardrace users since BMS together with BKS are popular subaru ws.

Rear Sway Bar - yes, quite a bit of effect and more than front but dun get carry away with big thick ones .. other links will be stressed and also make harsh lorry ride. 5ub23r0: roger that. Had full Ultra Racing setup back in Msia and yea overnight the car turned into a go-kart LOL! Richard: Indeed .. dekitted UR and Cusco from Estima before scrap and wondered why I suffered for all the years .. lol !

4/2 AP Racing? - AP bbk will be nice but I go 6/4 ... rear 2 looks like stock especially if open view rims. I went for Taiwanese Ksports 6/4 instead since branded one are too much .. almost 50% for brakes of our low 17k omv I cannot accept 🤣 5ub23r0: got it on the OMV vs brake spending side. What about the rotors you using? any warping/cracking concern? Richard: Ksport is arguably best tested Taiwanese bbk also in USA track .. rotors are stock from Ksport and no warp/cracking in last 4 yrs but I dun Sepang.

Downpipe and Catback Change - fierce .. did not do this and doubt legal to pass MOT inspection but if you dun care, you dun care but inspection time means more efforts. 5ub23r0:  legally can do but involve a ton of paperwork but yea this is more of a if something break I will change to a performance part and only if I had manage to change all the above already haha. Richard: Roger that.

Roger on your points on the suspension part as well. yea will give it some thought as daily rider + wife driving sometimes cannot make too stiff. Richard: 👌👌👍🙏

Enjoy !

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, cmdsea said:

So here is a question for the collective wisdom in this group.

I have a non turbo Forester that will be reaching 5 years old in January. I am the original owner and the car has done below 60k mileage and is entirely original condition (other than upgrading the speakers, but even that was done using Subaru parts so direct plug and play with no cutting or wiring mods involved) its never been in any accidents, never had any respray or touch up etc... 

I am expecting to be overseas 95% of the time for the next 2 or 3 years and I am considering selling the car rather than paying road tax and insurance just to have it deteriorating and depreciating downstairs in the car park. The thing is, we have all read the horror stories in this forum about mileage "adjustments" and how rampant it is. If i sell the car to a dealer, then any potential buyers will probably be suspicious of the relatively low mileage whereas I know its actually genuine. Other than selling it privately which would usually involve a buyer that then has to try and arrange his own finance, does anyone have any bright ideas or suggestions on the beat way to proceed with selling the car... 

i think you dont have to worry about potential buyers will be suspicious or not since you already sold your car. If you want to get a good price for your ride by selling direct, i think you can try the sgcarmart service. i had a few friends sold their ride this way and from what i heard, is pretty straight forward as they will help to settle all the admin. Not sure of the details though. 

  • Praise 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 11/23/2021 at 12:41 PM, cmdsea said:

So here is a question for the collective wisdom in this group.

I have a non turbo Forester that will be reaching 5 years old in January. I am the original owner and the car has done below 60k mileage and is entirely original condition (other than upgrading the speakers, but even that was done using Subaru parts so direct plug and play with no cutting or wiring mods involved) its never been in any accidents, never had any respray or touch up etc... 

I am expecting to be overseas 95% of the time for the next 2 or 3 years and I am considering selling the car rather than paying road tax and insurance just to have it deteriorating and depreciating downstairs in the car park. The thing is, we have all read the horror stories in this forum about mileage "adjustments" and how rampant it is. If i sell the car to a dealer, then any potential buyers will probably be suspicious of the relatively low mileage whereas I know its actually genuine. Other than selling it privately which would usually involve a buyer that then has to try and arrange his own finance, does anyone have any bright ideas or suggestions on the beat way to proceed with selling the car... 

Agree that you should try the sgcarmart's quotz service. You can check the past bidded prices but note the dates of the transactions as the COE (at the time of transactions) does affect the quoted prices. I tracked the auction price of an equivalent model when I was considering selling my car and I found the quotes then was quite reasonable. 

  • Praise 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...