2005 Subaru Forester XT

[bmwking]

Hello everybody!  (Hi Dr. Nick!)

 

Been a while since I had anything build log worthy, or at least that I've had a chance to do anything on my build.  I sold my old E39 wagon (from my last build log) and bought an 05 Forester XT cause I've wanted one for a long time.  It was February 2019 and being in MI and also hating cold weather, I put off doing any major work to it.  When nicer weather rolled around I decided to do some performance/appearance mods as well as general maintenance.  I installed a COBB accessport, and an ebay true cold air intake (pick up is in the front bumper).  After that I did a 3" bell mouth cat-less downpipe and full 3" exhaust to an ebay muffler to make it sound less like a fuckboi mobile.  Following that it was time for wheels and suspension, I went with 18" XXRs and some adjustable dampening coilovers for a wrx.  Total was about a 4.5" drop compared to stock.  I love it!  Currently have a VF39 sitting bnib in the garage that will be going on in the next week or two thanks to the 'rona shutdown.

 

Also went through some iterations with the head unit, beginning with my old Alpine 149BT, then to an android double din (which was absolute fucking garbage), sold the android for what I paid for it and got into a pioneer AVH 2300NEX which is awesome.

 

Also thanks to being off work due to the 'rona, I've finally been able to get around to doing my stereo! Which is really why we're all here, so lets get to it.

 

Headunit: Pioneer AVH-2300NEX

Processor:  Audiocontrol Matrix PLUS

RCAs:  KnuKnoceptz Krystal 2 & 4 channel

Interior Speaker wire:  Residential code approved 14g OFC from 4 channel amp in rear to behind head unit, then tied into stock wiring because I'm lazy.

Sound Deadener:  SecondSkin DampPro B stock on roof, entire floor, inner and outer door skins, and rear hatch inner and outer skin

Mids n highs:  CT Sounds Meso 5.25 component set which I split up, using the 5.25" midbass as the rear door fill and the tweeter and crossover in the front doors combined with 6.5" Lanzar OPTI Pro audio mids

Mids n Highs amp:  CT Sounds AT200.4 (200w rms x 4 @ 4 ohms) repaired by Shane Ekstrom on FB

Subs: 2 x American Bass XFL1244

Sub Amp:  Synergy Audio WFO45.1 5k

Sub box:  4.8cu ft slot ported to approx 35hz

Sub wiring: 8ga CT Sounds OFC

Power/Ground wiring:  GP Audio 'Merica 2/0 in white and black, 2 runs from alt to rear battery

Sub amp inputs:  Ill Customz powder coated dual 2/0 to 1/0 in white and black

Alternator:  Singer 270 amp

Front battery:  Northstar NSB-AGM35

Rear Battery:  CALB 73ah LiPo lithium 10C rated

Fuse holder:  SMD OctoXL w/ 5 200amp fuses

Shrink wrap:  'Shtnonm' 2/0 shrinks in white and black from Mr. Shtnonm himself

 

All tuned with a DD-1 @ -10dB for mids n highs and -5dB for subs (due to having a lot more power than necessary for 2 XFLs)

 

I think that about covers the audio?  I may have forgotten something but who the fuck cares, you're here for pictures!  Admittedly I didn't take many mainly due to the fact that I'm terrible at doing progress pics once I get in a zone.

 

I don't have any photo evidence of the front doors and what a nightmare it was to get the Lanzars to fit, but after making some MDF rings 1.5" tall and trimming out some door plastic, they finally fit lol.

 

But yeah so here's some pics!  I just finished today and am super happy with it so far, hell I haven't even taken her out to listen to her at full wang but a couple of driveway burps tell me I'm in for a good thing

 

PICS:

 

 

The car after putting wheels on, way too high in the air for my taste:

 

 

 

[bmwking]

Ahhh, a 4.5" drop makes everything better (I lowered the rear another 1-1.5" after this to almost match the front but leave room for sag due to added weight, I hated the rake):

[bmwking]

New shiny Singer 270!

 

[bmwking]

I wish I took a comparison shot of the Lanzar mids to the stock speakers, it was as if I was putting a 6.5 sub in my doors comparatively!

 

This is the mids I used:

 

Lanzar OPTI Pro audio mids:  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039QC6KE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

CT Sounds Meso Component set:  https://smile.amazon.com/Sounds-Meso-6-5-Component-Set/dp/B00TTMAOGU/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=ct%2Bsounds%2Bcomponent&qid=1586396611&s=electronics&sr=1-3&th=1

 

Again, wish I had pics but didn't think about it

 

 

[bmwking]

Being off due to the corona means I finally had a chance to take my time and do things right, like deadening the entire goddam car. woof, what a pain.

 

No pics of the doors or roof, only a post gut, floor shot

 

[bmwking]

Bonus - Entire 05 Forester interior:

 

[bmwking]

It took a minimum of 15 hours just to do the wiring for this car, over a few days.  2 runs of 2/0 on the right side, RCAs down the center, and speaker wire down the left side of the car.  Oh my god so much trimming and crimping, my hands are still cramped.  I wanted to have a sort of hideaway look to everything so i did the 4 channel, lithium and fusing in the spare tire well on a mounting board i made (obv). I then did a sub amp mounting board which you can barely see at the top of the pic.

 

This was after a lot of progress:

 

 

Closer up (don't mind that I ran out of white shinks for the fuse block to battery):

 

[bmwking]

While I was finishing up one night I decided to throw these on that I've had since xmas, really helps with the boy racer aesthetic lol

 

                  

 

[bmwking]

after getting the interior back in, waiting on the black paint on the sub amp mounting board to dry and before clean up, what a mess:

 

[bmwking]

and finished up today (or rather, for now), some final, cleaned up looks at it!