Would you just look at it? No really, just look at it! Seriously though, the first time we saw this car on our forums a couple of months ago, we instantly fell in love! While everyone was busy working on their STI’s John Gartland took a different approach and started working on his Forester. He bought the car two years ago while he was a lot attendant at a dealership (which he happens to be a tech at now). It was traded in by a couple from Philly with only about 44k miles on the clock. Since then, it’s taken a turn from a “functional” family hauler to the current “not so functional” look where he can’t even park at his work due to all the speed bumps. With that said, allow us to introduce you to one of only a handful of Foresters that ever came over to the “fitment” scene and absolutely did everything right.
Photos By: Joe Dantone exclusively for StanceNation.com
Two years, 30,000 miles, and a partial sponsorship from Mishimoto later, this is what John ended up with. He tells us that he is confident that he’ll keep the car for a long time. When the stock motor blows, it will be time for a six speed swap so that he can stop babying the stock transmission. Along with that will come a fully built motor, and most likely a GT30R & supporting mods. His goal is to shoot for the 400WHP range on a conservative tune, but we’ll see how that goes. What we love about John’s ride even more is that he actually puts in the work himself. He even says that everything on the car has been, and will be done by him. Whether it be a long night after work, or sneaking in the Brembo swap during his hour lunch break. The benefits of working as a tech at a huge car dealership are endless!
The full spec list can be found at the bottom of the post, so we’ll just pick out those that most of you want to know. For example, the wheels are 18×10 +30 Rota SVN-R’s in Titanium Chrome with 245/35/18 Yokohama S-Drives. The list of suspension modification is extremely long but it’s pretty much dropped on Megan Racing coilovers with every link, arm, bolt pretty much changed or upgraded. You know the drill, hit the Read More button below for a lot more awesome photos by Joe Dantone.
John says that working on these cars 8 hours a day, 6 days a week has its benefits.He knows all the ins and outs of his Forester, and this is just the beginning! You can expect big things in the very near future. We would like to give a huge shout out to the photographer Joe Dantone as well as John himself for making this feature happen. We hope that this right here inspired you to get out there and work on whatever car you have! Wagon, minivan, coupe, sedan, whatever it is that you have, know that it can look awesome as long as you have the passion and a few bucks to spare.
Engine:
2007 STi VF-43 turbo
Grimmspeed external up pipe/dump tube (external wastegate; ceramic coated black)
Grimmspeed internal wastegate block off plate
Walbro 255lph fuel pump, stock injectors
SS Autochrome front mount intercooler
Grimmspeed manual boost controller
Kartboy light weight crank pulley
eBay oil catch can (modified with filter)
Mishimoto Subaru Forester XT Turbo Aluminum Performance Radiator
Mishimoto Subaru WRX and STI Aluminum Fan Shroud
Protuned by John Shafer at Akuma Motorsports LLC (260whp, 265wtq)
Kartboy short throw shifter with full bushing kit
Turnin Concepts trans crossmember bushings
OEM stock clutch
50/50 mix of Motul 75/90 gear 300 and Redline Shockproof (smurfsblood) in the stock 5mt trans
75w90 gear 300 rear diff fluid
3″ bellmouth ERZ downpipe with wideband bung
3″ custom welded cat-back exhaust to a Magnaflow muffler
SPT short ram intake
2006 STi bypass valve
NGK iridium one step colder spark plugs
best time at the track 13.2 @108mph, ATCO, NJ. all seasons = bad 60′ = no 12s
Exterior:
Importology Forester front lip
5% tint on the rear 5 windows
N/A Forester hood primer grey (painting soon)
Forester sports rear wing
Stock grill painted black
OEM Forester splash guards
Debadged
‘Garage XTI’ XTi badge on rear gate
2007 STi rear diffuser under bumper
rolled and pulled fenders
Wheels & Tires
18×10 +30 Rota SVN-R’s in Titanium Chrome with 245/35/18 Yokohama S-Drives (summer)
17×8 Enkei RPF1’s in gold with 225/45/17 Kumho ecsta xs (race); 225/45/17 Dunlop SP sport 01’s (winter)
Interior
2005 STi seats
2006 STi steering wheel
Pioneer AVH-P23000DVD double din touch screen headunit
AEM Wideband AFR gauge custom mounted in front of shifter
Prosport boost gauge
2009 Legacy key (single key/fob instead of separate two)
Kartboy brushed aluminum shift knob
Aftermarket sunroof
Little-Trees Cotton Candy air fresheners (worth mentioning hahah)
Suspension
2004 STi Brembo front calipers and rotors
Hawk HPS front brake pads
OEM SPT Stainless steel brake lines, both front and rear
Megan Racing coilovers: 6k front/8k rear (dampening at hardest setting)
Whiteline 24mm front and rear sway bars
Kartboy front and rear end links
2005 STi front lower control arms
2005 STi rear lateral links
Kartboy rear subframe lockdown bolts
Kartboy rear differential outrigger bushings
Whiteline roll center adjust kit
Subaru Pink trailing arms
Front strut tower brace
Whiteline steering rack bushings