I started off with a few interior mods... Usually I am pretty pragmatic about mods costing more than a few bucks, but as I got the base model and wanted a few niceities, I did a couple of the STI trim pieces that I just liked and "gifted" myself.

Outback Leather Steering Wheel Swap - 34312AL03AVH
This was an easy and affordable way to get a leather steering wheel without getting the Crosstrek specific version with the orange stitching (Base models are black and silver only)

5sp STI Leather and Aluminum Shift Knob - C1010FG000

Mostly aesthetic, but lovely to hold over the functional but bland original rubber one on there​

STI pedal set - C8110FG010

purely aesthetic​

3d MAXPider Floor mats - Amazon

Awesome mats. Not quite as full coverage as a weatherteck or a husky liker, but they stick to the floor better, and the texture Isn't as slippery​

Auto Dimming Mirror with Compass - H501SFJ101

I commute a lot and my truck has one and I like the hands off approach as well as the quality of the reflection vs flipping the little tab which seems to render the mirror useless for me.​

Upgraded Door Speakers - H631SFJ001, Upgraded Tweeters - H631SFJ101

The factory speakers are quite a joke. The base trim also does not come with Tweeters, though it is wired for them. The tweeters made a huge difference in sound quality so you can start there, but I do listen to a lot of music, and generally louder than I should, so I got the upgraded set. Usually I do all my own speakers, but A set of 4 kickers arent much less, and to have it so easy plug and play make it well worth it. Seriously a 15-minute job and no hacking a new car up.​

Cargo Mat and Back Seat protectors. I think most dealers add this automatically, and I'd say they are all worth it. The most practical things you will use. Easy clean, nothing fancy and for dealer stuff, pretty cheap.

 

And then there are the Exterior Mods...

Window tint kit - DIY front kit

Fortunately all Crosstreks stateside at least come with 20% shaded glass and a front solar tinted glass. I wanted to match the back and went with a 35%kit. Slightly lighter than back, but I did not want the fronts to be darker than the rears.​

Hood Deflector - E231SFJ000

I ordered this right after I got the car, but while waiting for shipping, I of course I got one rock chip on the hood leading edge...​

Sport Mesh Grille - J1010FJ050

I really like this grille. Its not as Sporty as the other finer mesh screen ones that are body colored, but its really smooth and clean, and the touch of chrome adds nicely to the schnoz of the 'Roo, as the 16's have the chrome fog surrounds. The whole grille is the weave that's on the lower half of the stock grille, but this is painted gloss black as opposed to the original Matte Charcoal. Really pleased with how cleans up and livens up the front.​

Roof Aero Crossbars - E361SFJ100

Headlight LED "style" lights and licence plate lights

 

Sport Mesh Grille - J1010FJ050

I really like this grille. Its not as Sporty as the other finer mesh screen ones that are body colored, but its really smooth and clean, and the touch of chrome adds nicely to the schnoz of the 'Roo, as the 16's have the chrome fog surrounds. The whole grille is the weave that's on the lower half of the stock grille, but this is painted gloss black as opposed to the original Matte Charcoal. Really pleased with how cleans up and livens up the front.​

Do you know how the emblem is attached to the grill? Is there a 'blank' spot behind the emblem or is the triangle pattern carried through?

 

A few Adventures


Old Durr Road - Ellensburg, WA to Yakima, WA

Wenatchee National Forest -

 

A few Adventures


Old Durr Road - Ellensburg, WA to Yakima, WA
View attachment 193705 View attachment 193713

Wenatchee National Forest -
View attachment 193721 View attachment 193729 View attachment 193737

Isn't that Old Durr Road the Old Stagecoach Road? The other part of it goes north, from Ellensburg to Wenatchee, on the north end of the valley.

 

great photos!

 

Looks awesome! It's a little thing, but that shift knob is perfect. If I had a M/T that photo would make me order one.
Anyway keep up the good work.

 

Thanks! You know it was funny, I was a little bummed that I was getting the base trim with the rubber pieces, but as I sighed, the dealer was like, you know we can swap that out with the one from the STI... And I remembered subies share a ton of DNA and I got a huge grin and happily signed on the dotted line and have been quite pleased with what I have.



Up next is a Napa leather perforated shift boot and e-brake boot. It will match the shifter leather and liven up the interor.

 

Boots from Readline Goods has been installed! Black perforated Napa leather with medium grey stitching.

It's really nice leather. Soft and thick. Went on pretty straightforward. Needs to be glued and some cuts to fit it to the factory pieces, but the overall fit is really good and lined up well. As it's much thicker than the stock boots, needed some massaging to get it in nicely.

Overall I'm quite pleased with it. Looks good, feels good, and was well priced.

One note, I did notice that the stitching on one part of the shifter boot ended short. It's a little noticeable, but I didn't notice it until I had the knob placed in there. A bit bummed as it was otherwise way better than I was thinking it would be. Straight stitching, solid fit, and it wasn't sloppy. Aside from that bit. Oh well. It isn't noticeable and I don't want a return.

And other updates, laid down a nice coat of wax, got a new butt plug and did the 3k break in oil change and added a Fumoto drain valve.

 

New update!

Well I'm bummed to say that the heel pad for the driver Maxspider mat is peeling up and separating from the mat. Going to lodge a complaint with the manufacturer and see if I can get a replacement.

Otherwise lots of new lighting upgrades. LED's for the interior, marker lights and reverse and fog lights.

I left the turn signals stock as that just raises hell with the turn signals and I don't want to adding resistors. Ideally, I just wanted less draw on the parking lights as I'll leave them on for a bit at night when I'm out walking the dog or something.

Also, really happy that I got some cool Subaroo decals for the doors and some little accents.

 

Sorry to hear the mat is peeling. I have the same ones, and really like them. I was initially set to buy Weathertech, but didn't like how they looked worn out after a while on some cars I've seen. Hopefully they will warranty them for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Recent additions:

Method 502's and BFG K02's in a 215/75 15

And Modded up some puddle lights leveraging the Dome Supervision circuit so they come on automatically with the key fob or the door opening. Really love this mod!

Up next will be a set of 1" Mann Lift Springs, Anderson Design 1" Spacers and 2" subframe drop, along with some lift accessories from Primitve (Brake line extension bracket as well as a shock extension.

Just over 7500 miles now! Averaging 25.4mpg and its been pretty smooth sailing.

 

Never get tired of seeing that rim/tire combo.

Mod look great. Keep up the good work!

 

Car is looking great, keep up the good work.

 

The Mod list
Anderson Design Fabrication 1" Strut Spacers and 2" Subframe Drop Kit - $370
Mann Engineering 1" Lift Coil Springs - $260
Primitive Racing 2" Brake line spacer extensions -$25
Primitive Racing 1" Rear shock extensions - $90
Total cost (approx) - $745
Total Install time - 8 hrs (done by myself with basic tools in my garage including some time for research and waiting for tool batteries to re-charge)

Install was pretty straight forward. Jack up car and remove wheels.
For the rear - Remove plastic gas tank covers, drop rear subframe, remove existing 4 spacers, and add/replace with the Spacers in the kit. While the rear subframe was dropped (giving some additional clearance to squeeze in the extended shock units), I dropped the rear shocks/springs and replaced with the Mann springs and mounted the ADF plastic spacers and shock extensions.
For the Front - It was pretty easy, remove struts, and replace the springs and add the spacers. I didn't use the camber bolts supplied with the kit, as it seemed like the alignment was able to get in range with the original units. (havent gotten alignment yet, but used a camber gauge to get it close)

Overall Impressions
Solid kits. The ADF spacers are all really nice units and all the hardware worked great. The powdercoated pieces look great and are quite burly. I don't expect any problems with those at all. The springs are also exceptional. I've done about 40 miles so far on dirt, gravel and highways. No squeeks or rattles or anything unsettling. The springs ride exceptionally well. They feel firmer than stock and transfer a bit more of the road surface feel through the chassis, but they are not hash or uncompliant. They also really reduce the body roll, and with the 75 series tires I have on the car, the handling is as good or better than it was when I drove it off the lot. Solidly impressed.
I decided to go this route, piecing together my own kit from suppliers as I wanted to split the lift between springs and spacers. I feel as if I got better ride and body control with the springs, and the spacers for that extra bit of "love"

Some Pics -
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View attachment 206730
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View attachment 206746
View attachment 206754

 

The Mod list
Anderson Design Fabrication 1" Strut Spacers and 2" Subframe Drop Kit - $370
Mann Engineering 1" Lift Coil Springs - $260
Primitive Racing 2" Brake line spacer extensions -$25
Primitive Racing 1" Rear shock extensions - $90
Total cost (approx) - $745
Total Install time - 8 hrs (done by myself with basic tools in my garage including some time for research and waiting for tool batteries to re-charge)

Install was pretty straight forward. Jack up car and remove wheels.
For the rear - Remove plastic gas tank covers, drop rear subframe, remove existing 4 spacers, and add/replace with the Spacers in the kit. While the rear subframe was dropped (giving some additional clearance to squeeze in the extended shock units), I dropped the rear shocks/springs and replaced with the Mann springs and mounted the ADF plastic spacers and shock extensions.
For the Front - It was pretty easy, remove struts, and replace the springs and add the spacers. I didn't use the camber bolts supplied with the kit, as it seemed like the alignment was able to get in range with the original units. (havent gotten alignment yet, but used a camber gauge to get it close)

Overall Impressions
Solid kits. The ADF spacers are all really nice units and all the hardware worked great. The powdercoated pieces look great and are quite burly. I don't expect any problems with those at all. The springs are also exceptional. I've done about 40 miles so far on dirt, gravel and highways. No squeeks or rattles or anything unsettling. The springs ride exceptionally well. They feel firmer than stock and transfer a bit more of the road surface feel through the chassis, but they are not hash or uncompliant. They also really reduce the body roll, and with the 75 series tires I have on the car, the handling is as good or better than it was when I drove it off the lot. Solidly impressed.
I decided to go this route, piecing together my own kit from suppliers as I wanted to split the lift between springs and spacers. I feel as if I got better ride and body control with the springs, and the spacers for that extra bit of "love"

Some Pics -
View attachment 206722
View attachment 206730
View attachment 206738
View attachment 206746
View attachment 206754

This looks great, if I may, what size tires did you get and why? They look like 215/75/15's am I correct? I also have a hybrid, so how does the drive feel now?

 

That looks fantastic!

 

Well I was really happy with my GE Nighthawk halogens, supremely bright, great color...but short life. burnt out after a couple months. So, decided to go with an LED set. I tried the OPT 7 kit and it was okay. Definitely not as grand as the specs made them out to be. So i did a little research and theres a new one out recently that i thought I would give a try.

Morimoto 2Stroke LED kit - H11 low beams
Plug and play with a small inline voltage regulator.
Its probably pumping 3000 lumens per bulb, which is double that of the halogens it replaces. Its a perfect daylight white color. The aim isn't perfect, not as concentrated a hot spot as the halogens, but that's a function of the LED board all LED bulbs need. However, there is more light thrown in the same patch so while its not as focused, there is more light available in the same spot and beyond.
Very pleased with the kit. Nice hardware and 3 year warranty, and as I got it from a local shop, if I have any issues with it, they will happily remedy it, which is big on these types of things.

The Kit

The Original Halogens

The new LED's

Night Shot - This is with the fogs (yellow on the edges), LED low beams (bright white spread), Halogen Highbeams (soft white off in the distance)
As you can see great spread and lots of light available.

 

Over the last few weeks added a few things and farkles

Added a rooftop Rola Vortex roof basket. I'll be keeping this off unless I really need it. It's a 2mpg hit with my drive, so not really economical to dive full time with it.

Added a Curt Hitch and wiring harness. I'm looking to throw on a rear tire carrier, but will need to weld something up that a swing away, otherwise I lose access to the hatch, and thats not cool. I also got a couple small quads that I would like to take out, so I am hoping that this will be a reasonably efficint hauler to get me to some cool riding spots.

You can also see in the pic, I added the LED reflector tails. They are not functional when driving, I instead wired them up to my LED parking lights, so I get a nice glow at night when approaching the car. Its both for looks as well as being FUN-ctional.

No Pictures but I also tinted the clear parts in the tails. Had some leftover 20% tint, that I just applied real quick. It came out reasonably well for an idea I had at a whim, but easily done over which I might. Will be curious to see how it holds up.

I found a deal on a wing, but I'm looikg to spend the money on building up a trailer to take my toys with me. I'm keen to see about getting the Original Wheels and tires on the trailer, as I think it would be pretty trick.... We shall see.

 

Well with winter approaching, and my penchant for going off the beaten path, I wanted to make sure that I had some gear to help me or a fellow motorist should I get stuck or in need of a roadside repair. Figure I’d share as its good to have some essentials, and perhaps learn and add in some things I never thought to add. It’s also nice to have some confidence in your travels to be well prepared.
I was looking at getting one of those rather affordable all in one kits you see, but between my truck/RV and the car, I wanted to make sure it was a little more durable, and I had several pieces collected over the years, but just not conveniently organized as an all in one kit. So, I decided to fix that corral my stuff and pick up some pieces on Amazon/Ebay to round it out.

Cargo Nets – Purchased the one main trunk/Cargo net, and then the two side nets. While I love the rubber floor liner, nothing stays put, so the nets are helpful to keep things planted. I also have a rather large dog, so wanted to make sure everything was as tucked away and secure for him to have space when he is back there.

Side nets –
The side nets don’t carry a lot of critical gear. But convenient for knickknacks
- Snow brush/Ice Scraper
- Bungee Cords
- Sport Backpack
- Stadium Blanket/Picnic throw
- Water
- Doggie poop bags
- Leash

Rear net –
The rear net is what holds all the goodies. It’s also attached to the back of the rear dog cage so it’s attached more securely than the OEM buttons which popped out, and better for the light duty of the side nets. They hold some gear, and the snow chains and gear bag fit in the between the seat back and held forward with the net elastic
- Snow Chains
- Qt of oil
- Extendable snow shovel
- Gear bag

The contents of the gear bag will likely be added to, but it’s a 16” bag so *just* fits the gear I put in there. I probably should have gotten the 18” bag, but the 16” has a solid bottom so wont soak up water and dirt, and frankly the bigger the bag, the more crap that will get placed in there, which is not the point of an emergency bag.
- Air Compressor
- Tow Strap
- Jumper cables
- Ratchet set
- 7 in 1 Screwdriver
- Slip joint pliers
- First aid kit
- Tire plug kit
- Rag
- Winter gloves
- Latex gloves
- Flashlight
- Lighter
- Electrical tape
- Electronics pack – with bulbs, fuses
- Zip ties
- Razor blades
- Spare hitch pin

Hope that inspires you to make a kit of your own, or add to your existing kits. Anything useful that you have needed on a roadside repair or recovery that might be considered?

 

And Earlier this week I installed a set of Hawk HPS 5.0 Pads as well as the Mann Stainless steel brake lines. Havent gotten pics yet, but pretty pleased with both. I was hoping that the Rear brake lines would be just a little bit longer, as they seem to be as long as or just shorter than the OEM ones, so there is not much play there. Although, it seems to be within the full limit of Articulation without binding.

The pads perform great. They don't seem to offer the same level of pad bite as the Hawk HPS pads, but as you can see from the chart, They perform and bite a good deal better than stock, but without the initial "cold" pad that you would get from the HPS pads. As most of my driving is highway commuting, that first bite is important as there can be a long stretch between uses of the brakes. Also they have been completely noise free which is a great plus.

Overall, its a really nice improvement. The pad has a firmer bite, and the pedal has a great firmer feel to it, with a nice feel to modulate the force.

 

To combat the massive amount of door dings I was getting with the stones chucked at my door by my tires, I added some protection film. Its a black textured plastic/vinyl that sticks on. Its thicker than your typical vinyl wrap, and its also a lot harder, almost like clear clamshell plastic is the best way I can describe it. It goes on well enough, but I'm terrible at applying large swatches of vinyl so there are a fair number of air bubbles. I tried poking what I could out, but its not terribly noticeable.

It was $20 for a roll, and while I got 2, I managed to do it with one roll, but it was *just* enough.

Time will tell how it holds up, but the next best thing i could find was $140 and much thicker, almost like stickon rhino liner. So seemed worth it to give this product a try first.

 

To combat the massive amount of door dings I was getting with the stones chucked at my door by my tires, I added some protection film. Its a black textured plastic/vinyl that sticks on.

Time will tell how it holds up, but the next best thing i could find was $140 and much thicker, almost like stickon rhino liner. So seemed worth it to give this product a try first.

Hey, thanks again for your help on the Amazon discussion about the Pioneer sub and head unit swap. Your build thread over here is AWESOME! Hoping my wife will let me spend enough on the Crosstrek to get her to this level haha. I've got the "mod bug" as well.

Anyway, this is another mod that intrigues me. Little over a year later, how's this vinyl siding stuff holding up??

 

why not get mudflaps? that should protect you from tire rocks

 

The bigger flaps cause some interference with the tire, and need to be trimmed some, and they still won't catch everything.
It's still an opinion however. I threw on a set of OEM knockoff splash guards as I liked the aesthetic, but they provide little protection.

 

Just bought my Crosstrek a couple days ago. Super excited to see what you have done. Looks great, giving me tons of ideas. One question about the wheels and tires, is there any rub with the Method/BFG AT's and the OEM suspension?

 

Awesome!! And congrats!
Nope! That tire combo fit just fine completely stock. Ran it for a few weeks like that.

 

Rolling shot from a drive the with the local subie group

http://i.imgur.com/sHrIeOR.jpg

 

Its been cold here the last few weeks. Its been dipping below zero on several occasions and hasn't been above freezing for any significant length of time for weeks. Scout hasn't been phased by it though. I park under a carport, but its open air so it's getting the full brunt of the cold spells here. Everything that gets left in the car is an icicle come morning. But starts right up without hesitation and drives right off. The gearbox feels terrible when its that cold and refuses to slide into gear smoothly until a few miles down the road. The heater is exceptional as well. After about 10-15 minutes its at peak temp sucking in single digit air and raising it up to the point where I am considering bringing a chicken with me for a hot roasted lunch on the go!

 

Things are looking great! I just picked up my Crosstrek on the 4th of January, but am going to be waiting a little while longer before I do anything with it......for now.

 

Awesome thread! Have you thought about any tuning yet?

 

No, haven't thought seriously about it yet. I drive a lot so don't want to lose the factory warranty, although that will likely be gone pretty quick as I'm averaging 3K miles a month.
Once the warranty is up, I'm thinking bolt-ons to free up the intake and exhaust flow, possibly with a tune to take advantage of that. With performance comes a loss in MPGs and while I have already done plenty to ruin that, the thought of premium fuel and another few mpg hit isn't making me jump just yet.
Once its paid off and some money freed up, then I'll really think serous about performance, be it a supercharger or a WRX swap should life be as so fortunate to allow me to do that. I'm a tinkerer, and I really want a hobby car so in a few years the stars might align for something like that.

 

On the way to work, it was pretty dark and empty out, and I flicked on my high beams and nothing happened. Weird, and then noticed my fogs were our as well. All the lights were working on the dash, but nothing was illuminating.

Popped the fuse box and saw the fog light fuse was out. Swapped it and it instantly popped. Bummer.
Got home later this evening and checked both fuse boxes and both fuses were blown. Figures as my DRL circuit was tapped into the fogs. Removed the DRL to fog wire tap and removed the eBay bought LED fogs and replaced with stock. Both now working just fine.

Lessons learned. No cheating and getting cheap. It just causes hassles and trouble. Even in non-critical parts, like I thought the fogs were, but when I needed them, it took out another circuit. So eyeing the Squadron Pro LED fog upgrade for down the road.

This weekend I have a full stereo install to do. Head unit, subwoofer and second amp to power the speakers. No corners shall be cut! I've been eagerly Putting the harness together. Looking forward to that coming together.