Tom's MY07 Liberty, after some advice

[Tommycee]

Hey guys,
This is my first post here!
I have been wanting to purchase a Subaru ever since I got the chance to drive a friend's impreza, and have been browsing these forums for a while.
I just purchased this 2007 Subaru Liberty 2.5i, brilliant condition, 100,000kms, manual and in my favourite colour, Diamond grey metallic.
At this stage I'm planning on keeping it stock for about 6 months to get a feel for the car and look for areas I can improve on. So far I know i'd like to modify:
Mufflers (something not much louder than stock, with a nice sound and a good look).
Springs (new to Subarus, I've heard STI pink springs are hard to find and i'm not really sure what else is good).
Wheels (I like the look of the Rota Gravel, this is purely for looks. I'm after something similar to the Enkei 12 spoke STI wheels but without the price tag!)

Also keen on changing the front grille from chrome to an OEM sports mesh grille or something similar.
Probably going to take the front stone guard off as well, unless everyone advises against it.

Could you guys offer any advice on those areas? and also any other areas that are easy to improve on with this car?
Cheers!

[weaslebee88]

hi!

sometimes you can pick up a set of bilstiens and pink springs inthe forsale section or on the fb page for around 300-450 and the same with the sti enks. ive seen a set go for as little as 700, all the way to 2k. have a look on japanparts.com, importmonster or yahoo japan. your wallet will hate you, but your car will love you haha.

[Tommycee]

Cheers Weaslebee! I'll keep an eye out for any cheap bargains. I might keep it perfectly stock for a little while so I can notice the difference when I start changing things. Any suggestions for mufflers and grilles? the cosmetics can begin right away haha

[bigBADbenny]

I'd recommend good coilovers eg Shockworks or MCA for your car or if your budget is very limited, upgrade springs for your struts that are specific to the 2.5i. But especially C/O's if your current struts are flogged.
If you do a little research here, you'll find that using spec B springs will result in very little front end lowering as the 2.5i is lighter at the front.
Since scope for adding real power from mods is limited (response or auto can be somewhat improved upon iirc) concentrate on handling and braking, and whatever cosmetic mods you need.
That way you can really enjoy flogging the 2.5i in all conditions

[bigBADbenny]

Anyhow the forum is a wealth of info, but you need to be able to find it easily so use a google site search an example of which is in my sig.

Like this: https://www.google.com.au/search?output ... i+lowering

Or this: https://www.google.com.au/search?output ... une+tuning

Or on any site, eg LegacyGT etc...


.

[Surge]

A Kido tune would be an easy improvement.

Some quads from the sti liberty would look nice.

Also the gt or h6 brakes (front and rear), make a nice upgrade. I've seen a set go anywhere from 300 to 500 on subaru forums and ebay. Cheaper than going with brembo brakes and require no adapters to fit. While you still get a huge upgrade in braking.
Before this upgrade I had experienced fade on a spirited drive, after changing to gt brakes I never had that problem.

One thing I'd also do is keep the oil changes closer to 6-8000km rather than 12,500. And change the coolant if it hasn't been done recently. Use good quality coolant.

The timing belt service should have been done by now but if not, make sure you use a good quality kit with a genuine thermostat.

[bigBADbenny]

And defo check Hyrax and Surge member profiles as they're 2.5i owners who have "done it all"

[Tommycee]

Hey Guys, i need some more help. Just found some 17x9 +35 wheels for an absolute steal and i'm wanting to know whether or not they'll fit on my car without needing to roll the guards (stock suspension also.)
I've been told it's a dumb question but can't seem to find any info on the topic.
Cheers!

[Adrian2627]

That's a difficult one as most people usually go with 18's. Technically, either 17s or 18s would be illegal as you'll be increasing your track, the distance between the centre line of the two wheels by more than the allowed 26mm. This increases the load placed on bearing and suspension pivots potentially leading to increased wear. Personally I'd pass them up for that reason alone. Ascetically, I think 17s at those dimensions will look a little small on a Gen 4. At those dimensions though you'd probably be at least rolling the guards.

[bigBADbenny]

pokey

image.jpeg (76.1 KiB) Viewed 2635 times

Coilovers, bushes and guard work required.