98legwag's 09 3.0R Limited

[98legwag]

Welcome to my thread/journal for my 2009 3.0R Limited. I bought it with 62,408 miles in September of 2013. It is stock, and I plan to keep it that way. I wanted a car that had everything I wanted. Both some performance and creature comforts. This fit the bill perfectly. I will pull some minor things over from the 98 wagon.

Interior:
LEDs in map/dome/trunk/door lights
All weather floor mats
45% tint on sides and rear winshield
Liberal Albero carbon fiber shift knob / JDM Momo option shift knob / JDM STI option shift knob
10 inch Polk Audio sub in a Wicked CAS Magic box to replace blown factory Harmon Kardon sub
IAG floor mat bracket

Exterior:
Hella Sharp Tones
LED tag lights
DDM Tuning Plus HID kit 35 watt 4500K
Fog lights- Osram Night Breaker Unlimited
High beams- Osram Night Breaker Unlimited
RREV LED reverse lights
Vinyl overlays on front and rear emblems
Bayson R lip

Engine, exhaust & Trans:
HKS ES Premium axle back
Subaru OEM Battery Cover
Subaru OEM Power Steering Cover

Suspension, chassis, brakes, & Handling:
Grimmspeed Brake Master Cylinder Brace
Hawk HPS brake pads
Tribeca 25mm front sway bar with Energy Suspension bushings
Cusco front sway bar (need to install)
JDM OEM 20mm rear sway bar with AVO polyurethane rsb bushings
AVO reinforced rsb mounts
Perrin front and rear endlinks
Cusco front strut tower brace
Cusco rear strut tower brace
Mevotech aluminium lower control arms

Wheels &tires:
BBS RV723 (04 STI) 17x7.5 +53 wrapped in 235/45/17 General G-Max AS-05s
Stock wheels 18x7 et55 currently wrapped in 215/45/18 Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S

The day I brought it home:


A couple days later:

[Cervantes]

Nice car, close fit in that garage.

[98legwag]

Thanks. There is a good bit of space in front of it filled with other stuff.

[geckoboy86]

2 second gen'ers getting 4th gens with the EZ30R. We gotta meet up. Agile Meet?

[98legwag]

2 second gen'ers getting 4th gens with the EZ30R. We gotta meet up. Agile Meet?

I plan on being there.

[98legwag]

Just filled it up for the first time. Tank of gas lasted 10 days. The wagon was usually 6-7 days. I also got better mileage on that tank of gas than I did with the wagon. This car is faster and heavier too. Yay for modern technology.

I also took the map/dome/cargo LEDs from the 98 and put them in the 09. Its now bright inside the car!

[98legwag]

So yesterday I started painting the brake calipers. I got the fronts done yesterday. I used Dupli-color's matte black caliper paint kit. I like it. Looks like the brakes are hiding.

[dplacencia]

I also painted the calipers on my 05 GT wagon. I went with flat black...

[98legwag]

Found a bent tie rod. I am trying to get the dealer to cover it under warranty. Seeing as they won't contact me back I doubt they will. I only have 4 days left in the warranty.

[Muse]

Found a bent tie rod. I am trying to get the dealer to cover it under warranty. Seeing as they won't contact me back I doubt they will. I only have 4 days left in the warranty.

Face-to-face. Bring it in and talk to them. They can't ignore you that easy like that.

[98legwag]

Found a bent tie rod. I am trying to get the dealer to cover it under warranty. Seeing as they won't contact me back I doubt they will. I only have 4 days left in the warranty.

Face-to-face. Bring it in and talk to them. They can't ignore you that easy like that.

Thought about it. At this point the warranty is up. It only covered 50% of parts and labor. It was cheaper to buy a tie rod and change it myself, then take to the car to get an alignment.

[dplacencia]

What car are you taking to the agile open house??

[98legwag]

What car are you taking to the agile open house??

I am taking this one. I took some stuff off that wagon since its now the family's spare car. I'm guessing you'll bring the 97 if the weather is nice?

[dplacencia]

Yes I will take the 97. I plan to get there early. If not the wagon will be there...

[98legwag]

I plan on getting there early too. So far it looks like my group will include, Rubie_25GT, his girlfriend with her CRX, his uncle with their SVX, Hinyo, a friend with a WRX wagon, a friend with a FRS, and another friend either with his Legend or his bike.

[98legwag]

I replaced the bent passenger inner tie rod as well as the passenger outer tie rod on Friday. Then got the car aligned on Saturday. Finished off the weekend by washing it yesterday.

[98legwag]

Went to Agile Auto's open house yesterday with Hinyo and Rubie_25GT. Got to see rkrenicki, geckoboy86, and dplacencia. I didn't take any pictures but here is one that rkrenicki took that has my car and Rubie_25GT's Legacy and SVX. His SVX is for sale. PM him if you are interested.

[98legwag]

So I have had this car for 2 months now and wanted to give a review of it. I love this car. I only have two issues with it. The first is that it has the turning circle of a cruise ship. The 3.0R Limited has a wider turning circle than the other Legacys. The other issue I have, which isn't bad, is the handling. I just wish it was a little better. I may end up getting an OEM JDM 20mm rear sway bar. The car came stock here with a 16mm rear sway bar.

On to the positives. The power is great. Comes on smooth and pulls pretty well. Its enough for me for daily use. The Harmon Kardon 385 watt stereo with aux input is great. There a few rattles from interior panels, but I can live with that for now. One in-particular, the passenger front door seems to be common among 05-09 Legacys. The car is very comfortable and quite. I really like that. The fuel economy is about what I expected. I have a 9 mile commute each way to work. It gets around the same mileage as my 98 wagon. While I do put 93 in this since it is recommended I cannot complain. Basically the same mileage and its got 100 bhp and 80 ft/lbs more than the wagon.

All in all this is a great car. They are selling here well under KBB value. I am very pleased with this car.

[geckoboy86]

Where did you get the sway bar? And did you reinforce the mounting bracket at all? I hear thats a big problem.

[98legwag]

I haven't done anything yet. Still trying to decide if I will do it at all. If I do I will get the AVO reinforced mounts. I found the sway bar here:
http://www.avojdm.com/product_info.php? ... cts_id=196

Its only the sway bar so you would have to buy bushings too.

[98legwag]

Not much of an update but yesterday I gave it a good clean and wax. Hit it with Meguiar's cleaner wax then the Collinite 476s. Today I swapped the carpeted floor mats for the all weather mats I found at a pick and pull a while. Found the mats a while before I even bought the car.

[98legwag]

So it will be getting tint this weekend. I am debating on going with 20% or 35%. 35% is the legal limit here in MD. Come tax refund time I will probably upgrade to a JDM 20mm rear sway bar as well as upgrade to reinforced rsb mounts.

[wentz912]

Do 20%. As long as you don't drive like an asshole you will be fine.

[Zac]

Come tax refund time I will probably upgrade to a JDM 20mm rear sway bar as well as upgrade to reinforced rsb mounts.

If you source one let me know as I am looking for one as well

[98legwag]

Come tax refund time I will probably upgrade to a JDM 20mm rear sway bar as well as upgrade to reinforced rsb mounts.

If you source one let me know as I am looking for one as well

I found a link on legacygt.com.

http://www.avojdm.com/product_info.php? ... cts_id=196

[98legwag]

Finally sort of washed the car after the snow this past weekend and getting the car tinted on Saturday. Its 25% on the sides and the rear windshield.

[Hinyo]

Yummy. Now needs moar low =) and an exhaust and some wheels and tires =) yup thats what it NEEDS

[98legwag]

Already has Pirelli P-Zero Nero all seasons. It will be getting a RSB upgrade.

[Lancaster6]

The tint looks great with the white car. I'm jealous that your car is clean too; I cringe looking at all this salt.

[98legwag]

The tint looks great with the white car. I'm jealous that your car is clean too; I cringe looking at all this salt.

Thanks. It was covered in salt before that. I washed it on the way home and took the picture when I got home.