2011 Manual Forester
 

Hey y’all,
I have a 2011 Subaru Forester 2.5X 5M/T.
When I bought it (my second Forester now) I set a goal of sub 3,000lbs just to say I did it with full interior and accessories.
So far I’ve lost about 150lbs, leaving me another 100lbs to go. (Rated curb 3250lb).

The car is a ton of fun to drive and has plenty of pep, and while I will not call myself a true ecomodder (I have a lead foot after all), I do enjoy occasionally trying to best my mpg records.
My most recent trip showed 25.2mpg Highway @ 80mph average. (Boooooo!)
And I typically earn 24.3mpg average mixed between city/highway.
I’m just here to learn a few things, I currently don’t have any under trays and am running sticky, wide tires.

I have a few other four wheeled toys as well, if anyone likes rotaries we’ll be friends, lol.

Not too familiar with Florida traffic, but I get better MPGs in stop and go than highway in the PDX area by driving the average speed of traffic (let gaps form when it's faster and close the gaps when it slows down). The whole point is to minimize brake use. It adds about 30 seconds to a 1hr commute driving that way.

You might replace the spare tire with a plug kit/inflator. It won't help you if a wheel gets damaged or something punctures the sidewall, but it should cover 90% of leaks.

Subarus are fun, I loved mine.

Once I left it and moved to the Fit, I found its weight actually helped with mileage. My driving is almost entirely "highway". Without stop and go and with some drafting, the weight didn't hurt much, and the kinetic energy helped in several places where the Fit just doesn't carry the glides like the Subaru used to.

So far I’ve removed the spare tire/tools (insurance has free tows), any unneeded metal heat shielding from under the car, any unused brackets in the engine bay.
As well as replacing the exhaust system with a titanium one.
Lightweight battery, lightweight flywheel as well.

I’ve still got a long list of things to purchase but they’re all big ticket items.
(Carbon hood, 2 piece lightweight brake discs, lighter driveshaft CF/Aluminum)

You know I was actually hunting down a Fit when I sold my previous Forester. I ended up with an S2000 and sold it very quickly because I missed the cargo space!

I was looking for a 2018/19 Sport trim in Helios Yellow Pearl WITH a 6 speed.
I found one but they were asking way too much for while an amazing car, Honda’s cheapest, lower end car.

I always link to this thread when discussing weight reduction.

It's not likely to measurably improve MPGs, but you'll notice the difference in accelleration/handling.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p...st-1-a-610974/

Haven't ever seen a manual Forester of this same model-year.

BTW would it be totally out of question to replace some glass with plexiglass for weight reduction?

My thought on weight reduction is it's pointless to do for the purpose of MPG gain. The only reason then is faster acceleration and better handling, at which point you should be thinking about a different vehicle.

Haha yes that would be out of the question!
Manual transmission was actually offered until 2018 for Non turbo Foresters.
The turbo manual combo ended in 2008 and is generally far more adored by the Subaru community.

Understandable view point, seeing that this is my second Forester, I realized there isn’t a car that fits me better. Being built on the Impreza chassis makes it favorable for modifications and retains car-like drivability while boasting massive cargo space. I don’t do it for the MPG gain, haha it’s honestly negligible. The nimbleness of the car however is noticeably improved as the weight comes off.

My LGT wagon had a manual. 05 was the first year of that generation (2.5 turbo!), and IIRC the only year the turbo wagon had a manual in the US. 207,000 very fun miles in that. Back when I was in the Subaru community, it was mainly riceboys that couldn't drive manuals.

I must confess I didn't hate automatics in those times, but didn't really care about them as much as I do now. I still can drive manuals if it's a life-or-death situation, but it's quite painful due to the patellar chondromalacia.

If driving it is painful, it reduces the quality of the drive. None of my conditions are that far gone yet. I just hope I can get a Model 3 before they are. :D

I didn't feel so much pain the last time I drove a manual, but whenever I was asked to drive when I had pain on my knees I managed to avoid it.


I always had patellar displasia, as it's linked to genetics, but I didn't treat it until last year and used to push the limits. About a year ago a friend of mine got quite surprised to see me picking a table that would be supposed to be heavy to a point that he didn't feel comfortable to move it by himself.


I'd much rather fit hand controls to an ICE-powered car with a manual transmission instead of switching to an EV.