Nickel Plated

Yea, I'm gonna go ahead and say that's the trim piece that goes on the interior side of the side-mirror mount.

I'm in the process of lowering my 2003 Outback and bought a set of the KYB shocks for the Subaru Legacy. When they arrived however, the left front is a GR-2 while the right front is a Excel-G. The part numbers are what they are supposed to be and I don't care too much about the color. I can just paint them. But I'm concerned that one side will not perform the same as the other. KYB insists that the difference between GR-2 and Excel-G is just the name and color. But I read some forum posts that one is stiffer than the other. And doing a unsophisticated side by side test (stand them both on end, and lean on them at the same time) the GR-2 does seem slightly softer and does not return to full extended position as quick as the Excel-G. Anyone know for sure if there is really any difference between the two besides cosmetic?

Yes the smaller mirror did fit all the hardware for the power adjusting mechanism and would have bolted on if I wanted to. It would just be too small inside the housing.

Thank you. So it seems the AE29A mirror is what i need afterall. The AE25A was listed for the 00-04s as well so it seems there were infact a bigger and smaller variety. Probably the smaller for the more car-like Legacys and the larger for the more SUV/truck-like Outbacks and Bajas.

I do need just the glass and flat plastic piece that goes behind it. Not the whole external assembly. The one I ordered was a Subaru part. I got a Dorman glass before and while it was the right size, some of the dimensions were ever so slightly off that it really wasn't usable. The AE25A part that I got was just the glass and flat plasitc piece plus a screw and some small hardware. The AE29A costs the same so i imagine it's the same but might just be the slightly oversized version. After some researching, it seems that the Baja uses the larger mirrors and apparently my Outback has the same.

I bought an 03 Outback recently and have to change the driver's side mirror on it since it's cracked. It has the power/heated mirrors. So I bought part # 91032AE25A The glass, plastic backing and spring and screws to bolt it into the mirror housing. All the websites list it as compatible with all the Outback and legacy models from that generation. Yet when it came in the glass and plastic backing is considerably smaller than the housing on the car. The part # on the box matches what I ordered, though there are no numbers on the parts themselves. So does my car have some optional larger mirrors? Then what part # do I need? Or did they just put the wrong mirror in the box? Edit: Some more searching shows that there seems to also be an 91032AE29A part. Which is also Left/power/heated. Maybe that's the oversize glass I need?

gbhrps: Perhaps pouring a bunch of money into mods for an 11 year old car is not the wisest thing to do. But I've never been accused of being wise. Either way I prefer older cars. Even if I had 30k for a brand new Outback. I'd probably still just buy a nice older one for 5k and spend the rest to really pimp it out. As for making the Outback something it's not. Really I wanted a regular Legacy wagon. But there were none out there in my area for the price I was willing to pay. So I figured I'd get the Outback and return it to regular Legacy spec. That in and of itself is not that big a deal. A few part swaps on the subframe and new struts and springs (which I would have done to a regular Legacy anyway). Also remove that ugly Aztec body kit. In the end it'll be a Legacy which is what I wanted. For about the same price as a 2003 Legacy if I could find one. But either way. After some more research and thinking it over. It seems that a EZ30 Legacy is what I really needed. Not much room for upgrades. But it already makes the power I want without any of the turbo complications. but ofcourse the pickings were pretty slim when it came to H6s as well around here. I figured "Subarus are supposed to be modular right? I'll just take what i can find just to have a working car (that Camaro is a bit of a basket case) and then do what needs to be done to turn it into what I want" Turns out that while they're modular enough to do what you want with, usually it's still not worth the hassle of actually doing it. So for now my conclusion is do some basic N/A mods to this car and wait for my next bonus check from work. Then sell it and use all the money to buy an H6 Legacy. Not even gonna bother with an H6 swap since the expense involved will just get me a whole H6 car with none of the hassle.

So I bought an '03 Outback wagon a couple weeks ago. 2.5l N/A engine, auto trans. I'm a total noob to Subarus and was hoping for some general help in the right direction. From the reading I've done. I didn't exactly pick the right car for power mods. Can't get much out of this engine in N/A form. And can't turbo it because it's too weak to handle it. But perhaps there's options I haven't considered. My previous car was a '98 Camaro V6 auto. Not the epitome of Camaro performance by most people's standard. But it was still a fun car to drive and got good fuel economy. The engine is a 3800 V6 with 200hp and 225lb/ft torque. Car weighed about 3300lbs. So not that much lighter than my Outback. I figure if I can get the car somewhere in the Camaro's territory, I'd be happy with it. I will be doing some weight reduction on it. It's got power heated seats. So there's plenty of weights to lose. Though it is a DD so not pulling out things like radio, A/C or interior trim. Though between the power seats, insulation and sound deadening, extra speakers (I'll just keep the 2 at the front) lighter wheels and many other things here and there, I think I could atleast get it down to 3300lbs from it's current 3500. I'm willing to go with some indepth weight reduction as long as interior comfort is not sacrificed by too much. Next step will be lowering it, the right way with all the necessary subframe swaps from a standard Legacy wagon. And then install some KYB struts and H&R springs, as well as other suspension bolt-ons. Basically de-Outback the Outback. That should tighten up the handling considerably. And most importantly, and apparently most difficult, will be upping the power. What can I do here to get to 200-220hp and try to stay above 20mpg? Would prefer to stay N/A but from what I read, that's not gonna be possible with the power gains I'm looking for. So I'm open to turbo. Is a 2.5 block/ 2.2 head N/A frankenmotor worth it if you already have a EJ25 in the car. I heard it's not because it's just a cheap way for 2.2 Subies to get more power without a full engine swap. But I've seen claims of ~185hp with a basic frankenmotor build which gets me pretty close to my goal. What about turbo? Should I get a factory turbo motor? What size? Or install a turbo on the existing 2.5? I guess getting it to 200-220hp isn't too much to ask of a turbo so could I get a small set up that spools up pretty quick and doesn't kill my MPG? Any other ways to get ti to my mark and what can I expect to spend for that power? Sorry if this is kinda noobish, but there seems to be alot to learn when it comes to upgrading Subarus so I would appreciate a place to start and a nudge in the right direction. Not like the 4gen Camaro's where there's less choices in engine and parts for it. So it's all pretty straightforward.

Just bought my 2003 Outback a couple of days ago. Had a 98 Camaro prior to this which was my first car. Realized i didn't like Camaros as much as I thought I did when I first bought it. Wanted something more practical but that I could still have some fun in. And wagons are just cool. I got alot of ideas for this Outback. So figured this was the best place to help me on my way since I know close to nothing about them.