[GoHack]

A few Adventures


Old Durr Road - Ellensburg, WA to Yakima, WA
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Wenatchee National Forest -
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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.

 

[DK_XV]

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.

Yeah, I believe that to be the same road. Haven't tried the northern route yet.

 

[DK_XV]

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.

 

[bburkjr]

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

 

[DK_XV]

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.

 

[SHUZXV]

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?

 

[DK_XV]

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.

 

[DK_XV]

Rolling shot from a drive the with the local subie group

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

 

[DK_XV]

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!

 

[Darksyde]

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.

 

[trippme]

Awesome thread! Have you thought about any tuning yet?

 

[DK_XV]

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.

 

[DK_XV]

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.

 

[DK_XV]

Hardware Purchased and the harness made. Pioneer App Radio 4, compact 600 watt Kenwood amp for the door speakers and a compact powered Pioneer subwoofer. Total RMS power is 50w for each door and 50w for the sub. Looking for a good, clean powerful sound without a lot of distortion all in a discreet package.

Hardware list
Pioneer App Radio 4 - Capacitive flush glass screen, HDMI - Slick radio if you have an iPhone for Car play, unfortunately doesn't have android auto.
Kenwood KAC-M3004 4-channel Amp - Powers the door speakers with 50w RMS Power - I have the Kicker Upgrade which are rated for the power
Pioneer TS-WX102A Compact powered Sub - Compact underseat Sub and amp to help fill in some of the lows

Metra 40-LX11 Antenna Adaptor Cable - Required for Radio functionality
Metra 95-8907HG Double DIN Dash Kit - Required
Metra 70-1761 Radio Wiring Harness - Required
Axxess AX-CAM6V 12 Volt DC to 6 Volt DC Step-Down Converter for Backup Cameras - Optional - to keep OEM backup camera
Axxess AX-SUB28SWC Prewired Steering Wheel Control Harness - Optional - Retains factory AUX port as well as the backup camera wiring
Metra Axxess ASWC-1 Universal Steering Wheel Control Interface - Optional - Keeps Factory steering wheel buttons
Axxess AX-SUBUSB2 USB Retention Harness - Optional - Keeps factory USB port
MicroBypass Parking Brake Switch - Optional - Allows full radio functionality when not parked

Also added/wired in was a hardware kit for my radar detector

 

[Subierumble]

Hey I'm about to do an audio upgrade on my 14 and was initially just thinking of doing a speaker upgrade as you did earlier. Was that still not enough extra sound then the stock speakers? Just wondering if I should do a complete upgrade as you've now done.

 

[DK_XV]

Hey I'm about to do an audio upgrade on my 14 and was initially just thinking of doing a speaker upgrade as you did earlier. Was that still not enough extra sound then the stock speakers? Just wondering if I should do a complete upgrade as you've now done.

The Kicker upgrade Tweeters made the most positive difference, but my base '16 didn't have any Tweeters to start. The upgrade speakers made a moderate difference, but the stock head unit just doesn't put out much power. When you remove the factory speakers you will see just how laughably small the drivers are.

I've never ran an amp before, generally I've only ran the speakers off the head unit. In my F350 I put in a very similar pioneer head unit in and it drove the aftermarket kicker speakers very well and with decent bass from the 4-6.5" speakers in the cab, so overall a very comparable comparison.

But as this is my daily driver, I wanted to take it up a notch and go amplified. The Subaru kicker replacements have a top RMS of 50w which is pretty moderate, so the required amp didn't have to be gigantic, not would it strain the existing wiring in the car. That and with the small sub I added I didn't want to be drowning in bass, with insufficient mids and highs.

But to answer your question, go and get the OEM kicker replacements. They cost a bit more than the comparable generic fit Kickers, but makes it seriously a 5minute swap and perfect fit. From there, it may satisfy your needs, but I'm guessing you will want to go this route. It's not 18year old head banging loud, but a more "adult" sound with a good bass punch and plenty of sound at even low volume to drown out road noise without distortion. That was one of the most impressive things for me, it drowns out road noise at moderate levels, almost as if there was sound deadening mats put in. The factory head unit never had the power to do that.

 

[DK_XV]

Finally got around to taking some pics.

Overall it functions quite well, and I am still very pleased with the punch it added to my music. Everything is completely tucked away under the seats, and all the wiring was hidden under the carpets, so it has a very clean appearance. There is a couple "looms" of wire coiled up, but I preferred to have extra lengths of wire sop I can adjust and remove it from under the seats to tune it. But even with the extra wire, it all fits neatly under the seat, Velcroed to the carpets.

 

[DK_XV]

Had a great Snow Day today. So much fun rallying through snow. Had an absolute blast and could not be more impressed by its handling and performance mucking about. Almost buried it a couple times, but give it the beans and let out the clutch and the tires grab, and the engine pulls strong.

But lets get on with the pics!

Seat covers and floor lines doing the trick and keeping most of the mud and snow in check.

 

[DK_XV]

Lighting Mods!!

http://www.subaruxvforum.com/forum/...get-psx24-fog-light-swap-h11-drl-mod-using-ford-oem-fog-lights.html#post1527473

Also 23K miles so far
Upcoming Oil change - Cabin filter replaced with a Bosch HEPA model. Less airflow, but does filter out particulates exceptionally.

 

[DK_XV]

Summarized my mod list on the first post of the thread. I've not listed it out before. I did way more than I had thought. Clearly I got bitten by the mod bug.

Once the weather warms up some and quits raining, I plan on doing a commentary walkthrough video of my mods.

Mods to date. Will keep updated on 1st thread post

Interior
Outback Leather Steering Wheel Swap
5sp STI Leather and Aluminum Shift Knob
STI pedal set
3d MAXPider Floor mats
Auto Dimming Mirror with Compass
Dog grate for cargo area
Stereo Upgrade – Speakers, tweeters, Head unit, Amp, Subwoofer
LED Interior lights
RedLine Goods Leather shifter and e-brake boots
Cargo nets
STI Leather E-brake handle
STI brushed aluminum Door sills


Exterior
DIY Window tint kit
Hood Deflector
Roof Aero Crossbars
LED Headlights – Morimoto 2 Stroke
LED Reverse Lights
LED Exteror Lighting
Sport Mesh Grille
Rooftop Basket
Curt Hitch
Rocker Panel Paint Protection Film
OEM Knockpoff Splash Guards
H11 Fog Light upgrade
WRX "Butt plug"


Suspension/Driveline
Method 502 VT Spec
BFG KO2 - 215/75 15
Anderson Design Fabrication 1" Strut Spacers and 2" Subframe Drop Kit
Mann Engineering 1" Lift Coil Springs
Primitive Racing 2" Brake line spacer extensions
Primitive Racing 1" Rear shock extensions
Mann Engineering SS Brake lines
Hawk HPS 5.0 pads