05 LGT- Does this look decent for the price

Hey guys, my name is Justin this will be my first subaru if I trade my car for this. Right now I drive a 03 350z with 43k miles blue books around 14300 here in Nashville. I came across this at a local dealer the other day and wanted to know what other LGT drivers thought.

 

http://nashville.craigslist.org/ctd/2718750571.html

 

I'm going to test drive it this Sunday because I wanted time to do research before I went and did something without thinking about it lol. First is that a good trade? He said he would do a straight trade for my Z. Is 80k miles to much for these motors? I saw that the timing belt is done around the 100k mark and the clutches on avg get changed around 70-90k. On these motors can you get to the turbo to seee if there is shaft play?

 

This is my Z if you wanted to see it.

http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/2752374308.html

 

Any Info would be great.

 

Thanks, Justin

Bump. Really need some input on this. I have a guy that wants to buy my car for 14200 this weekend as well. I could take the 14200 and then talk the legacy down to around 12k but then have to pay taxes and dealer fees. I'm just not sure if 12k is even a good price for 80k miles

from what i can tell it looks pretty good. car fax it. price is descent. need to find out what services have been done, check the clutch, cause it should be going soon if it original, 05 lgt came stock with 17in wheels, so those are aftermarket. its looks like its sitting on bilstiens with sti pink springs, and also seems to have the short throw shifter installed with the spt momo shift knob, has wrx/sti petal set and dead pedal. timing belt is suggested to be replaced at 100,000 miles. dont do straight trade. youll be losing about 2000 bucks. hate when they clean the hell out of everything hard to judge over all. check to see if front bumper has been painted. when i traded in my 05 lgt it was pitted to hell, 87000miles of higway driving in 4 years. hope this helps some, good luck with purchase

 

edit: mileage is about right were it should be maybe even lower it is 6 years old and all. try to get to 10,000. got 10,000 trade in for mine(it was paid off) and it sold a week later for 13700 and this was in late 09

Thank you so much. That really makes me feel better. Yea I didn't think those springs looked stock. So I should try and talk the price down to 10k? Thats almost 4k So I guess I'll to point every thing out thats going to need to be replaced soon. Clutch, timing belt, water pump. Any thing else? What oil should have been ran in this? brand and weight?

Get it compression/leakdown tested and if it comes back good, buy. The car looks very clean and well cared for. It appears they might have used armor all under the hood, which will look like complete crap in a week or two. The solution is to use dish soap and water to get it off.

 

The wheels are OEM spec B wheels and the tires on them are quite well regarded on this forum.

 

The price isn't bad, but should be closer to 11-13k.

 

These engines are pretty durable, but expect some issues to crop up with turbo around 100k (common failure for the failed ones on the forum, but others have run them to 140k+). Issues typically result from bad tunes and too much boost or just plain bad luck.

 

Clutch life is totally dependent on the driver style - some go 110k +, while others go at 80k. Timing belt & water pump is 105k.

 

Trans oil should have been changed at 60k.

 

Oil is 5w-30 conventional or synthetic.

Thanks guys that about tells me everything I need to know. This isn't a spec B though correct? I was looking at a wrx(same 2.5) and was doing some reseach and the brand of oil was a huge topic. Would mobil1 full syn or amsoil syn be good as long as its 5w-30.

 

I have a guy thats in the army coming to look at my Z and he already said he would give me 14,200 so it sounds like a legit deal. I think I'd be better off selling it out to him then talking the LGT down to 11k-12k with the compression test in the deal. I have a buddy that has a lift in his garage so the clutch isn't a huge deal. Just need to read a DIY if there is one.

Clutch replacement isn't hard, nor is the turbo (if necessary). +1 on the compression test. The motor looks to be unmolested which would mean that even if it were driven hard, it probably wasn't driven THAT hard (when compared to what it could have been put through). I bought mine with 45k miles a year ago and it was pristine. You may have found a pretty great example of a well maintained car. The IC does look pretty dirty, but that may be a factor of WHERE it was driven...not how it was driven/maintained.

Oil doesn't matter from what I can tell. Others will argue the differences, but a reputable brand name 5w-30 is 5w-30. You can run conventional or synthetic. Personally, I say run synthetic in whatever car you own. Follow the manufacturer recommendations and you should be fine. I also only use OEM Subaru blue filters. There is apparenly a Mazda filter that adds some capacity (RX-8?). Stock works fine.

 

I used to run Mobil 1 since it was cheapest (6Qt for $24 w/ coupon at wholesale store). I don't get those coupons anymore and read some info on the forum about Mobil1 not being the best in these motors because it thins at temperature. I had zero issues in the 8k I ran with it, most of which was DD and highway travel. I currently run Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30.

1. compression test

2. do NOT use 5w-30 mobil 1 if you plan on driving it hard, OA shows excess sheer to 20w within 1,000 miles = oil consumption and bearing failures in the most extreme case. This has been discussed thoroughly throughout this forum, search. mobil 1 5w-40 however is a much better choice.

3. Best oil analysis testing has been with castrol 5w-30 syntec, amsoil, pennzoil, rotella. mobil 1 and royal purple being the worst.

Yea the first thing I plan to upgrade on the car is the perrin top mount, cobb intake, GFB bov and the cobb accessport V2. Are those all pretty good products to start with? Really want a CBE but cant find one I really like other than the cobb. Any other with about the same sound? Also can I get the intake and top mount installed before getting the accessport and just do an ecu reset or should I get the Access port first?

Yea the first thing I plan to upgrade on the car is the perrin top mount, cobb intake, GFB bov and the cobb accessport V2. Are those all pretty good products to start with? Really want a CBE but cant find one I really like other than the cobb. Any other with about the same sound? Also can I get the intake and top mount installed before getting the accessport and just do an ecu reset or should I get the Access port first?

 

back it up.

 

1. accessports do not tune for intakes, infact they say to keep stock one on...and it has no performance gains till stage 3+ anyway.

 

2. make sure its either a 50/50 recirv bpv or full recirc. these engines need recirculating air or else it may run rough or stall when releasing the LOL pedal

 

3. there are many cbe options out there...ive had the magnaflow and spt, imo the spt is the nicest ive seen. http://www.importimageracing.com

 

4. resetting the ecu does nothing for mods as the ecu is set to certain parameters to run in, the tmic is fine to run without a tune, so is a bpv.

 

5. spending your money on a downpipe is the best gain, flash to stage 2 map when you get the dp and you've got a healthy power bump.

Don't bother with intake mods other than a panel filter. Get an open source tune with a $15 vag-com cable or $80 tactrix (and a tuner from these forums - most recommended is Infamous1). There is no need for a BOV, though I bought a Synapse Synchronic for coolness.

 

There is a Perrin clone - IPR that I believe is cheaper. I am curious if the current FMS top mount is close to the Process West. You should be fine on the OEM intercooler until the tabs eventually blow on stage 2 tune.

 

Get a catted downpipe (CNT, Invidia, Cobb) and a catless uppipe (used Sti, 07+ LGT, Invidia to name a few).

 

You may consider waiting for the TurboXS exhaust to be released. You could also buy a used Stromung since that was the OEM for Cobb. Be wary of the most recent batch though, as there are a few fitment issues, me being one of them Most of the sedans fit perfectly, though.

 

BEFORE YOU DO ANY MODS OR BUY ANYTHING: research and verify the car is in proper working order to receive them. To search this forum, I find using google is best with the "[search terms] site:legacygt.com".

 

Edit: bmx, you are a ninja.

^^+100 on making sure your car is healthy before modding it.

1. With this open source tune do I just pay a tuner on this site to make a map for me with all my mods and he sends it then I just hook my computer up? Is it better than the Ac port or is it just the fact its so much cheaper.

 

2. So it looks like I'll get the K&N drop in, GFB BPV( it has full, 50/50, and full recirc), CNT down catted down pipe, and the catless invidia uppipe. Those should put me at stage 2?

 

3. When you say make sure the car is healthy enough for the mods do you mean just the compression check and making sure the turbo is good?

The primary difference between the two (assuming you already have a laptop) is cost. The AP features actually improved significantly to catch up to open source, especially with logging. Personally, I have an AP since I was not as well researched when I bought it (and was leary of joe-schmoe sending me maps). Infamous1 has tuned hundreds of cars at this point using open source.

 

The disadvantage of open source is that you have to have a laptop/netbook hooked up to log or tune vs. the compact AP. That's about it.

 

2. Looks good to me. The CNTs are a great deal right now @ $295 shipped for a catted unit. You will need a 2.5 - 3" exhaust adapter (downpipe is 3" to the 2.5" stock cbe) and can possibly reuse the oem donut gasket if you are lucky.

 

3. Yes. It's fairly simple. One thing you'll want to research is LiveView, Knock correction, and Ignition Advance Multiplier. These will help you early on.

 

Some other great mods are the group N trans mount and 2 motor mounts (see total: 3 items purchased). Don't bother with the crossmember bushings or pitch stop - they are too close to stock.

The primary difference between the two (assuming you already have a laptop) is cost. The AP features actually improved significantly to catch up to open source, especially with logging. Personally, I have an AP since I was not as well researched when I bought it (and was leary of joe-schmoe sending me maps). Infamous1 has tuned hundreds of cars at this point using open source.

 

The disadvantage of open source is that you have to have a laptop/netbook hooked up to log or tune vs. the compact AP. That's about it.

 

2. Looks good to me. The CNTs are a great deal right now @ $295 shipped for a catted unit. You will need a 2.5 - 3" exhaust adapter (downpipe is 3" to the 2.5" stock cbe) and can possibly reuse the oem donut gasket if you are lucky.

 

3. Yes. It's fairly simple. One thing you'll want to research is LiveView, Knock correction, and Ignition Advance Multiplier. These will help you early on.

 

Some other great mods are the group N trans mount and 2 motor mounts (see total: 3 items purchased). Don't bother with the crossmember bushings or pitch stop - they are too close to stock.

 

tactrix 2 adapters/cables cost roughly 200, but you can log with an SD card instead of a laptop. The disadvantage of it vs a ebay VAG-COM is cost. but you won't be lugging your laptop around for tuning.

 

btw compsurge, do u have the thread/link to the CNT catted for 295?

infamousperformance.net or PM "m sprank"

 

I think I had the used tactrix price in my head. On my 05 (a June 04 car) the $15 ebay vag-com worked perfectly.

Ugh. People. Tactrix are required for 07+ ecus.

 

05-06 can use $15 vagcom.

don't forget about the BustedFingerMotorsports cables. They are about $50 and work every bit as good as a Tactrix. I have a Tactrix 2.0 and two BFM cables. I prefer the BFM cables myself.

Great Info here guys. That will save me alot of money. So to get a open source tune I just need to buy the BFM cables(or any of the other listed) Then just email Infamous my part list and he'll make a map. And yes I have a laptop.

 

1. Where did you find the CNT for that price? The lowest I found it was on infamousperformance.net for 320.

 

2. If I get a CBE thats 3in I wont need that adapter from the down pipe will I?

Make sure the VIN checks out.

 

I'd hate for something like this to happen to you.

 

Good luck!

Great Info here guys. That will save me alot of money. So to get a open source tune I just need to buy the BFM cables(or any of the other listed) Then just email Infamous my part list and he'll make a map. And yes I have a laptop.

 

1. Where did you find the CNT for that price? The lowest I found it was on infamousperformance.net for 320.

 

2. If I get a CBE thats 3in I wont need that adapter from the down pipe will I?

 

5% off for using lgt as promo code I believe. Otherwise PM him. The prices were a sale price, but they might still be available for forum members.

I just looked at the busted motorsports cable....it looks like its just a Vag-Com cable with a sticker on it. They just repack it with their sticker on it, and then its worth $50 instead of $15 LOL

From what I've seen is the tactrix is very proprietary. I've yet to see a copy that supports CAN and all the programs we use for flashing and logging