The Forester XT has been a company favorite here since the beginning. Throughout the years Andrew personally owned several well prepared Forester XT’s for street use, but they were all the SG (2002-2008) chassis. This 2014 FXT SJ has been in the ISC family for a few years now as a daily driver, so this year we decided to utilize it as a project car and document the modifications and improvements we make along the way. We hope that this build provides you with a better understanding of modifying the 2014-2018 Forester XT, with a focus on suspension tuning and daily driver friendly modifications. Keep an eye out for the YouTube channel which will offer installation videos and product demonstrations for this specific project car.

February 2018- Chapter 1- ISC 5×100 to 5×114 Wheel Adapters:

Product Link: Here

Expect a more detailed write up and video on this product in the near future. We made this modification prior to formally making this 2014 Forester XT into a ISC Project Car. For anyone who wants to view our generic wheel spacer or adapter installation video click here.

For those looking to run aftermarket wheels on their Subaru Forester XT the choices can sometimes be limited, especially if you want to run the OEM STi BBS style wheels that are 5×114 (except for the 2004 Sti variant which is getting hard to come by). Many sought after wheels are 5×114.3, which leaves the 5×100 Subaru crowd limited to available options. We picked up some wheels off a 2008 Sti that we wanted to fit to our Forester Xt, so the ISC 5×100 to 5×114 adapters were a needed tool to make this happen. There are 15mm and 25mm widths available, we opted to use the 25mm adapters for this application.

The STi wheels gave the Forester XT a much more aggressive stance. The track width is now wider as well due to the increased wheel width, and the 25mm adapters- so handling characteristics will also be improved in addition to the cosmetic enhancements from this modification.

March 2018 – Chapter 2

ISC N1 Street Comfort Coilovers, Triple S Upgraded Coilover Springs, and ISC Coilover Covers

Product Links: Coilovers, Triple S Springs, Coilover Covers

For the coilover setup on this car we wanted to meet or exceed OEM ride quality, with a focus on improving handling (less body roll), but not sacrificing ride quality in the pothole department; which our New England roads have plenty of. In the world of coilovers, some may think a goal like this is unrealistic, especially with a budget minded product, but we can safely say we proved that statement wrong with this build!

The ISC default spring rate for the N1 Street Comfort is a 10k front, 8k rear. We stayed with this same spring rate, but upgraded to our Triple S coilover springs for increased pitch and stroke. More information on these can be found here.

ISC coilover covers

The ISC coilover covers for us up here in New Hampshire were a no brainer, so while we did the installation we threw a set of those on as well, 370mm fronts and 300mm rears.

For more information on the actual installation of the coilovers and accessories onto our 2014 Forester XT we have a full write up here, as well as a youtube video here.

If you have any questions or would like to see more pictures send us a message and we are happy to help. If you are local you are welcome to come for a test drive and try the vehicle out for yourself as well. Stay tuned for our next project on this vehicle!