Japanese Specification Subaru Forester S/tb, 2 litre turbo

AUTO/TIPTRONIC TO MANUAL GEARBOX
CAN SOME BODY PLEASE ADVICE IF IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONVERT A JAP SF5(S/TB) OR SG5(XT/CROSS SPORT)AUTO/TIPTRONIC FORESTER TURBO TO MANUAL GEARBOX AND WHAT IS INVOLVED PLEASE AS WE SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF JAP AUTOS HERE(KENYA)AND NOT TOO MANY MANUALS.

VERY GOOD FORUM I THINK.

MANY THANKS.

mykp says:
yes its possible but it would be more expsnsive than buying a new car. For a start the gearbox would need to be changed as would the prop and front drive shafts. Next would be the ECU and all the wiring as the auto uses a seperate ECU and TCU units. Also the Manual uses different mounting brackets to hold the gearbox in the car. Not really worth it IMHO

Subaru Forester Cross Sports Vs S/tb
i have been reading about the subaru forester cross sports which appears to be a turbo version as well...how does it compare to the s/tb and what are the major differences in terms of fuel consumption and overall maintenance costs? I m still in the search for a good forester turbo that s powerful but not a guzzler (at least 10km/liter), which is sadly, what I get on my 89 legacy s/wagon 2.0l vz.

John

mykp says:
on a run my forester does around 33mpg, round town its around 20mpg. I only do about 5000 miles a year so dont care too much about fuel consumption. As for the cross sports, no idea, sont own one- never owned one.

Consumption of the s/tb vs xt forester
I am interested in knowing the fuel consumption of the s/tb forester vs the foresterXT? Also there are claims of an s/tb forester with an engine capacity of 1800cc...do u know anything about this?

mykp says:
no idea on XT fuel consumption. but the S/tb will do 20mpg round town and about 30mpg+ on a run. S/tb only came in 2 litre.

Gearboxs swop
I Been Looking to buy a stb or ttb but all of the got one have Auto gearbox in them.

Can i swop it to MT Gearbox and Would the spec of gearbox change the BHP on it?

mykp says:
no, the drive shafts would also have to be changed and the diffs

exhaust upgrade
yo, anyone.i ve got a 2002 jap spec forester xt and thinking of upgrading my downpipe(exhaust sys) for more hp.thinking more or less of a decatted polished system.wat would you recomend?And wat would be the advantages and or disadvantages?

mykp says:
I wouldnt recommend a decat as it wont pass an mot and you will get sick off with changing it over at every mot. Get a Hayward and scott sports cat downpipe or similair. releases the horsepower but is still legal

stb´s gear box
Hello again I solved the problem with the exhaust just got one to put on for mots off an sti, works great am tempted to to put it back on cause the decat system if very loud but my new problem is my gear box just passed away (r i p) it lived a good life but I am now needing a new one does anyone know what version gearboxes will fit my 97 stb. I have also seen a couple of things on here about lowering your fozzy. I have just perchased some coil overs from Zero Sports and was just about to fit them so when I take out my gearbox I will fit them then and let you know how it goes and handles being that the kit is ment for a impreza!! thanks guys and girls   

Excellent choice in motors
I find if you fit a vf35 turbo, an apexi power fc, an apexi avcr, decat and get a remap you can go much faster

mykp says:
Wish I could do that nick, but alas the aut cannot be remapped as it has a seperate ECU for the gearbox. Besides mines setup to handle and brake better, so 260bhp is enough! for now!

Towing
Hi

Im looking at importing a s/tb 1999/2000 to replace my Legnum Vr4. Is this a good towing vehicle for my caravan? The van weighs about 1300kg loaded. Would there be any long term problems or should i stick with the Legnum?

Thanks in advance!

mykp says:
the forester should be fine, dont personally have any experience of shed dragging but there is information on the subaru forester forums

Jap Forester?
Hi I am currently looking to buy a 2.0 s turbo in Ireland and came across a guy how has a 2.0 SF5 turbo Forester 99 basic imported from Singapore. He tells me it has about 260bhp. Would this be about right? Would these cars be better than the average European Forester? The guy dosent seam to know alot about the engine but it has blow off valve, turbo boost gauge and is very quick. Alot quicker than tha s turbo.

mykp says:
Always and I mean Always ask for proof of how powerful a seller claims there car is. I can prove how powerful mine is as its been on a rolling road who have checked the engine power. If the seller claims 260bhp what is this assumption based on? Is it the manufacturers quoted figures plus a few for the mods added? The Japanese SF5 is officially quoted at 240bhp however this is on Japanese octane rating and quoted to japanese standards. To UK standards I have been told its about 220bhp. The power of the S/tb is more than the s-turbo due to different turbo and cams.

Fozzie S/tb/ STI
Please note that S/tb and STI variants of SF5 fozzies are basically the same. They have the same engine EJ205 and a TD04L charger. They both produce around 240-260Ps stock on 0.8Bar boost. STI can be identified by the fog lamps (or lack of), 17"" BBS rims, subtle bodykit (not as large as the s/tb one) and interior stitching...

mykp says:
cheers for that, I know the STI had different seats patterns as they have the letters STI stiched into them. They are still the same seats as the ST/B though.

Lowering?
Hi   I have just imported a cheap low mileage 1999 Forester S/tb Type-A manual. Very nicely specked including electric glass roof, gold spoke alloys & so on! However after driving many Impreza Type-R s, EVO s etc I find it soft and wallow ee. Is it possible to obtain and change the springs for lower ones rather then change all suspension? I have found the Forester forum.org but they talk mostly about newer models and changing all the suspension, nothing about springs only. Any clues please? Regards Simon

mykp says:
You can just change the springs as the struts are the same as the classic impretza however most of the forester lads probably said change the lot as its gonna be cheaper. If you can get a set of struts of Scoobynet or fleabay then as long as there of a <2004 Imprezta they will fit. I ve got 2003 WR1 struts and prodrive springs on mine and they cost me the grand sum of £150!

Dropped the ride height as well if that’s what your after. If you change the springs youre going to have to get the Geometry setup as you would just springs!

For me changing the struts was a doddle, much easier than changing springs as the struts have to come off for this anyway.

Also to strengthen things up you might want to look at replacing the anti roll bar on the back & front as well as the drop links. This will reduce roll. (I did this first and it does make a difference)

Also look at sub frame locking bolts for the rear as this locks the separate sub carriage and stops that rolling as much.

On the Subaru forums did you goto the Europe section as that’s where I and other with s/tbs hand out.

Hope that helps.
mike

0-60 times
whats the difference in 0-60 times between the UK and JDM models

mykp says:
Turbo
S-turbo - 8.9 seconds
S/tb & T/tb - 6.6 seconds
XT - 6.3 seconds
STI - 4.9 seconds

N/A
GLS - 11.4 seconds
X - 9.7 seconds

** Figures are appoximate.

turbos and ecu
hello every one i own a stb import and by gags she will eat s turbos for breakfast but to the point i have a full 3 inch straight from my turbo exhaust by apex all good untill you need a mot wich i now need so on the stb import does it have the td o5 or the td 04 turbo and will a classic impreza exhaust from either the wrx or sti fit or will evan a s turbo forester exhaust fit my stb and were the hell is my ecu cant find it under my capets please any knolege will be apreciated

mykp says:
The s/tb, s-turbo (upto 2001) and Impreza Classic have the same exhaust system with the exception of the back box which is longer on the Forester. I take it you have a full decat, which is why your asking. My advice is to spend in the short term and save in the long term. Get a Sports Cat Down Pipe, you ll lose a few BHP over the decat down pipe, but this is more than made up for in the long term saving of not having to have it swapped over, time and time again. However if the price of this is too much, a second hand s-turbo or impreza downpipe will do. You just have to fanny about swapping it over. The ECU is under a plate under the carpets in the passenger footwell

Lowering TTB
Hi there I recently bought a TTB from the same people you did. (advice - stay clear of them!)

they sold me the car with lowered suspension on the rear (possibly off an impreza) so the car is 2.5 inches lower at the back end but very high at the front.

what kit did you use to lower your car? is it possible to use impreza suspension on the front to bring the car level?

Thanks

mykp says:
Okay, the Subaru range has many parts which are interchangable between models and suspension is one of them. Suspension from all Classic, Newage, Blobeye and Hawkeye imprezas will fit on a SF and SG Forester, most with little or no changes, some however may require the top mounts to be changed on the suspension strut.

This is not the entire story and if you want more information than I can type here look at this thread on the Subaru Forester Forums - Ultimate SF5 suspension thread

Forester-Engine
The best just glides
Am looking for EJ20 engine mine had un accident which affected the engine block.Any help?

mykp says:
which country are you in?

Try Ebay or do a search for Breakers.

STI?
Hi mykp, I want to buy an ""sti"" Forester and my question is this: Whats the diffrence betwen an ""s/tb"" engine with an ""s/tb STI"" engine. In Kenya we havent got alot of Foresters thus my quagmire.

mykp says:
the two cars are basically the same. I am unsure about any engine tweaks, but the STI has extra bits like a different interior, body kit and Alloys

rally tuned
is it possible to get a forester version 6 ecu tuned without the engine being present? if so how do i get it?

mykp says:
No! you need the engine to tune the ECU, otherwise there is no point doing it as the engine and ECU work together. I dont think there is a tuner in the land who would entertain such an idea.

re confused
Hi actually st b jap spec foresters come with 250hp there is also a st b type a which has an uprated interior..and you can also get from jap a sti 2 type m forester which is rated 280-300 bhp 800 made there are plenty of all these vaients in new zealand...and as for the legacy twin turbo i have owned 2 pre 96 are rated 250hp aprox 184kw after 96 gt b onwards are rated 280hp and they all have the 4 cylinder ej20 motor..it is only in the latest shape they drop the twin turbo for a single twin scroll titanium turbo still rated at 280hp

Forester S/tb BHP?
Hi Mark, According to British ´Car´ magazine (May 2000) the 2000 ´S/turbo´ Forester (manuel) is rated at 165 BHP - is it possible that the Jap Spec 2001 models are THAT much more powerful (220HP +) as you´ve stated!? I have recently bought a Jap spec one (2001 model) which looks identical to the Car Mag report as quoted above, and wonder about its BHP. Thanks, Kevin.

mykp says:
Kevin Don’t confuse the S/tb with the s-turbo, they are a different beast. The engines are different, different ECU and most importantly different Turbo. My advice is join the Subaru Forester website and then take a look in the Europe section where all the other s/tb owners live. As for whats printed in UK magazines, the words "dont know, arse from elbow" spring to mind. All Foresters werent created equal, thats why I bought a Japanese Import. More power, better car!

confused
I´ve been looking at a t/tb which I am told is a twin turbo producing 280bhp? Is this right?

mykp says:
no, and whoever told you that knows nowt about Subarus! The 280bhp twin turbo engine was only fitted to the Legacy, a simple look under the bonnet would show you one turbo. The t/tb designation on the Forester stands for "Touring" not "Twin". A common misconception also thinking the "S" in s/tb is "Single". Its not its "Sport". The s/tb and t/tb are identical mechanically but there are a few cosmetic differences in the trim and interior materials only. There are other inport Foresters out there but they are few and far between, there is an STI which has 280bhp and also there was an s/tb with an uprated interior.