Grandpa’s LS-Swapped Subaru Forester Is the Coolest Sleeper Around: Track Time Tuesday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
Subaru Forester is one of the more boring rides on the road today, but this one is a total smoke show.
Over the years, Subaru has developed a loyal following mostly thanks to its entire lineup of all-wheel-drive vehicles that are capable in winter weather and offer plenty of room for the family and our canine friends. But the owner of this 2013 Subaru Forester – a grandfather by the name of Mike – also discovered that it was actually sort of quick after he beat a 1968 Dodge Challenger in a drag race. That led to the inevitable – wanting more, and Mike eventually built the crossover’s 2.5-liter flat-four to a healthy 800 horsepower before ultimately going the LS route, as he explained to That Racing Channel.
The subject of this week’s Track Time Tuesday presented by Nitto turned out to be a bit high-strung with that hyper-powerful four-banger, breaking axles and forcing Mike to rev it to the moon to extract all of its potential. Thus, he decided to go the ever-popular LS route by sourcing an entire drivetrain from a Cadillac CTS-V.
Instead of just dropping the supercharged 6.2-liter LSA V8 into the Subaru Forester and calling it a day, Mike had the powerplant rebuilt and fitted with ARP head studs, new rings, valves, and springs, free-flowing exhaust manifolds, and a hot camshaft. He hasn’t had it on the dyno yet, but Mike estimates that his refreshed LS is making around 600 horsepower. That’s not as much as the prior four, of course, but the V8 has much more low-end grunt, and he’s already eyeing a smaller pulley and a goal of making 700 horsepower.
The LS sends that power to the rear wheels – not all four, as is the case with any stock Subaru – via a 6L90 six-speed automatic transmission. The combination isn’t terribly light at just over 3,800 pounds, but it’s lighter than a CTS-V, at least. That makes it pretty darn quick, and perhaps more importantly, Mike is able to light up the rear tires very easily. The resulting combination might only get around 11 miles-per-gallon, but who cares when you’re having this much fun in a car no one expects to be fast?
Join the LS1Tech forums now!
