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Evil SpongeBob
Dec 1, 2005

Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.
Before I pull the trigger, any inputs on Toyo AT3 vs Falken wildpeak? I'm leaning toward the Toyo. Was considering the bf Goodrich ko2, but that tires almost 10 years old.

I do baby trails in so cal in a grand Cherokee, so mostly dirt, rock, stones, not mud or snow.

Going a little nuts trying to compare tire buyer v tire rack v discount tire too. Tire buyer gives a 10 percent veteran discount, discount tires is 5 pct, but less install options. Some also give road hazard included while others don't.

E: Pulling the trigger on the toyos. Went to grab a negative terminal cap and ac filter from parts and my jeep dealer had them for $256. That's almost $30 per tire cheaper than all the online dealers even with the discount. About 30 per tire mount which includes a 2 year road hazard warranty.

Evil SpongeBob fucked around with this message at 00:34 on Aug 11, 2022

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kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
If you mean the AT3W ones I am glad you got the Toyo instead. Others may disagree but I'm not impressed with my AT3Ws. I got stuck on nearly flat wet grass multiple times with them, and had to have people push while I drove. I only paid 250 for a full set of 4 on wheels and am more than happy since my only requirements were "35s, bolt on, 3000 miles worth of tread and less than 5 years old", but I definitely won't be buying a new set, I'll go with one of the tires I've liked more such as BFG ATs, MTRs, Krawlers etc etc.

Even my literally 12 year old Firestone winterforces that are drier than a hockey puck and more worn than my AT3Ws have better wet grass and mud traction than 3 year old AT3Ws.

Evil SpongeBob
Dec 1, 2005

Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.
Thanks for the input. I'm a complete amateur to offroading (and Jeep maintenance) and could have sworn the goon hivemind gave me those 3 tires earlier in this thread.

My teen daughter and I joined a local Rockhound group. The next field trip is to Clear Creek BLM area near Sequoia NP. It has natural asbestos, so you can only go 5 times a year. So my needs are for trails in FS and BLM highway legal vehicles.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
They'd probably be fine for that, honestly. It's wet grassy or mossy surfaces they seem to do very poorly on.

5 times a year, asbestos?! Do they only let people go when it's wet out to keep dust down or something?

Evil SpongeBob
Dec 1, 2005

Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.
https://www.recreation.gov/vehiclepermits/250848

They recommend only going when it's not dry or dusty which...well...it's California. Plus not using outside air for ac and washing clothes afterwards. Already got a new cabin filter for afterward. But it's a great area for rockhounds I guess. Cant be worse than the ship I was on in the navy built in the early 60s. Steam plant with asbestos covered pipes. We'll only be there for a few hours and we'll wash everything down afterwards.

wesleywillis
Dec 30, 2016

SUCK A MALE CAMEL'S DICK WITH MIRACLE WHIP!!
On the subject of pulling someone out of the mud, up a hill or whatever.
Most videos that I see show the pulling vehicle pulling forward (line attached to the rear of tow vehicle) and hardly ever pulling in reverse.

Is there a reason (safety?) for that? I'd figure that in most situations, unless you need speed for snatching maybe, pulling in reverse would be better for the puller as reverse is a lower gear and would make things easier for the engine/drivetrain of the tow vehicle.

Once again sorry for the dumb questions, just trying to learn poo poo.

sexy tiger boobs
Aug 23, 2002

Up shit creek with a turd for a paddle.

Ambassadorofsodomy posted:

On the subject of pulling someone out of the mud, up a hill or whatever.
Most videos that I see show the pulling vehicle pulling forward (line attached to the rear of tow vehicle) and hardly ever pulling in reverse.

Is there a reason (safety?) for that? I'd figure that in most situations, unless you need speed for snatching maybe, pulling in reverse would be better for the puller as reverse is a lower gear and would make things easier for the engine/drivetrain of the tow vehicle.

Once again sorry for the dumb questions, just trying to learn poo poo.

I don't have an answer but it sure feels like reverse is a higher gear than first in my manual 16 tacoma. It's really obnoxious trying to back up hills. Probably answer is just wanting to be able to see where your headed

Splinter
Jul 4, 2003
Cowabunga!
Safety wise, one thing would be if the stuck vehicle's recovery point fails, you're probably more protected if you're pulling forwards rather than in reverse, as in reverse all that's potentially in between you and the shackle or whatever broke off their vehicle is the front windshield. If you're pulling forward, the projectiles are going to have to go through more material before they get to you (though you're still be no means safe in that situation). If you put the hood up maybe it's more of a wash. Obviously though if you think there's any chance of something failing in that manner you shouldn't be attempting the recovery in the first place.

Atticus_1354
Dec 10, 2006

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark


Managed to pick the one day it's raining all summer to pick up the CJ5 project.

IOwnCalculus
Apr 2, 2003





sexy tiger boobs posted:

I don't have an answer but it sure feels like reverse is a higher gear than first in my manual 16 tacoma. It's really obnoxious trying to back up hills. Probably answer is just wanting to be able to see where your headed

I checked a few random transmissions and it seems about 50/50 as to whether first or reverse is a shorter gear.

Zero One
Dec 30, 2004

HAIL TO THE VICTORS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn4IJFERCRM

ili
Jul 26, 2003


Ambassadorofsodomy posted:

On the subject of pulling someone out of the mud, up a hill or whatever.
Most videos that I see show the pulling vehicle pulling forward (line attached to the rear of tow vehicle) and hardly ever pulling in reverse.

Is there a reason (safety?) for that? I'd figure that in most situations, unless you need speed for snatching maybe, pulling in reverse would be better for the puller as reverse is a lower gear and would make things easier for the engine/drivetrain of the tow vehicle.

Once again sorry for the dumb questions, just trying to learn poo poo.

There's a bunch of possible reasons for this, as you say if you need more momentum for snatching forward is better, it's safer to drive forward rather than backwards from a vision and stability perspective, for those who worry about such things there's more body between the driver and any potential projectiles, but also people are generally headed in the same direction and in some cases it's easier to reverse up to someone who needs to be recovered than it is to turn around then turn around again. There's also just the way habits are passed on to newer people, so I learned from my mates to recover going forward where possible without them explaining why, and they possibly learned from people before them and so on.

Iirc you were asking a bunch of technical things before so I'll try to give a bit of detail for the last reason - tl;dr your vehicle was designed with the expectation that you'd be going forwards.

Differentials are generally designed to be stronger in the forwards direction than in reverse. If you look at the interface of the pinion and ring gear teeth, they're almost perpendicular to the plane of rotation on the drive side (the face that gets pushed when the wheels are being driven forward) but angled on the coast side (which is the side which would be pushed when the wheels are being driven backwards).





As they're almost always going to be driven forwards this is what they're designed to handle loads doing, and working them hard on the coast side puts a load on the pinion it's not designed to take. Different differentials will have different profiles and strength differences but the figures I've read vary from 15% to 30% weaker in reverse. Allegedly dana diffs are more equal but they're not very common in here so I've no idea if that's true.

You could also say the rear is often built stronger than the front for most vehicles as that's the diff that will do almost all of the work almost all of the time. Especially in a lot of the newer utes we have here they'll have a decent rear solid axle but a weaker ifs setup up front. In your typical 4wd scenario you're most likely to really load up your drivetrain going up hill which transfers weight from the front to the rear. Recovery points are located higher than the axles so as you pull with them you transfer weight onto that axle, which then increases traction on those wheels making something else in the drivetrain more likely to be the weak point because normally the tyres slip before the diffs or cv joints reach their breaking point. The rear axle is built with this in mind but the front won't be. It's not that the first time you recover someone in reverse you're guaranteed to grenade your front diff or explode cvs but just in general you're better off going forwards where you can.

Especially if you're snatching because that puts a big shock load on the drivetrain which amplifies all those issues. Every time I've seen someone do driveline damage it's been with the wheels slipping but they've stayed on the throttle and a front tyre's bitten, shock loaded up the front and just torn the cv joint apart.

Pretty rad dad pad
Oct 13, 2003

People who try to pretend they're superior make it so much harder for those of us who really are. Philistines!
It is the ~ 2-3 months of the year here when everything is relatively dry so this did not involve getting that dirty, relatively speaking.











FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

Hidden winch bumper or front hitch receiver?

Hidden Winch Bumper
Pros
- winch is hidden
- winch is always there
Cons
- winch is always there

Front Hitch Receiver
Pros
- can leave the winch at home when not needed
- can attach other things?
- can attach your winch on the back too
Cons
- might be in a bad spot and unable to attach the winch


I don't even know what I would be winching, but I'm usually way more interested in building these things than actually using them.

Arishtat
Jan 2, 2011

FogHelmut posted:

Hidden winch bumper or front hitch receiver?

Hidden Winch Bumper
Pros
- winch is hidden
- winch is always there
Cons
- winch is always there

Front Hitch Receiver
Pros
- can leave the winch at home when not needed
- can attach other things?
- can attach your winch on the back too
Cons
- might be in a bad spot and unable to attach the winch


I don't even know what I would be winching, but I'm usually way more interested in building these things than actually using them.

So I have a low profile bumper with a winch installed and I'll add the following:

Hidden winch bumper
Pros
- like you said winch is there and ready to go
Cons
- can be a PITA to get at the clutch and winch spool
- more weight up front so suspension needs to be adjusted to compensate

Front hitch receiver
Pros
- winch and winch spool easily accessible
Cons
- generally not as strong a mounting point as a bumper or dedicated winch plate

When I installed it I cut two 5" diameter holes in the plastic air dam under the hood so I can get at the winch's relay box (where the wired control hooks up) and the clutch handle. It's also a way to force me to open the hood prior to putting the winch into operation. The whole assembly weighs about ~150lbs and does make the truck a little nose happy when braking. Since installing it in 2019 I've used it...three times I think, twice in one day at an off-road park (once to help a friend and once for my own dumb self) and once another day at the same off-road park (helping a friend out).

It bears mentioning that if you do buy a winch with synthetic winch line it's necessary to clean and inspect it periodically for fraying. I do this about twice a year and after any trip to the off-road park whether or not I use it because it invariably gets a dunking in a disgusting PA coal/oil/water mix. Then I rewind it with some tension on the line to ensure that it spools properly. Cleaning is accomplished by dunking the line in a bucket of soapy water and then rinsing it off with the garden hose to evict any remaining mud or other particles. The whole process takes ~15-20 minutes so it's not too painful to do as part of a normal washing of the vehicle.

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

Cleaning and maintaining a winch sounds difficult if it's hidden inside a bumper.

I was thinking about for a front hitch receiver, wiring up Anderson connectors through a switched relay. The switch would simply power on or off the wiring. In addition to the winch, I could use this to power some sort of front hitch mounted lighting, or have a heavy power source without clamping directly to the battery. You know, lots of things I'm not sure I would ever use.

wesleywillis
Dec 30, 2016

SUCK A MALE CAMEL'S DICK WITH MIRACLE WHIP!!

FogHelmut posted:

Cleaning and maintaining a winch sounds difficult if it's hidden inside a bumper.

I was thinking about for a front hitch receiver, wiring up Anderson connectors through a switched relay. The switch would simply power on or off the wiring. In addition to the winch, I could use this to power some sort of front hitch mounted lighting, or have a heavy power source without clamping directly to the battery. You know, lots of things I'm not sure I would ever use.

Had to look up Anderson connectors. I've always known them as "genderless connectors" but whatever. I've thought about that too with my Tacoma. Getting a hitch receiver mounted to the front and a tray mounted winch that can be moved from front to back as needed. The video of the guy pulling backwards with a front mounted winch answered a question that I had for a long time. That being, "can it be done somehow"? Doesn't look like a particularly complicated thing to set up, the main issue being that you need a bunch of anchor points, and I guess enough hardware to pull it off.


ili posted:

There's a bunch of possible reasons for this, as you say if you need more momentum for snatching forward is better, it's safer to drive forward rather than backwards from a vision and stability perspective, for those who worry about such things there's more body between the driver and any potential projectiles, but also people are generally headed in the same direction and in some cases it's easier to reverse up to someone who needs to be recovered than it is to turn around then turn around again. There's also just the way habits are passed on to newer people, so I learned from my mates to recover going forward where possible without them explaining why, and they possibly learned from people before them and so on.

Iirc you were asking a bunch of technical things before so I'll try to give a bit of detail for the last reason - tl;dr your vehicle was designed with the expectation that you'd be going forwards.

Differentials are generally designed to be stronger in the forwards direction than in reverse. If you look at the interface of the pinion and ring gear teeth, they're almost perpendicular to the plane of rotation on the drive side (the face that gets pushed when the wheels are being driven forward) but angled on the coast side (which is the side which would be pushed when the wheels are being driven backwards).





As they're almost always going to be driven forwards this is what they're designed to handle loads doing, and working them hard on the coast side puts a load on the pinion it's not designed to take. Different differentials will have different profiles and strength differences but the figures I've read vary from 15% to 30% weaker in reverse. Allegedly dana diffs are more equal but they're not very common in here so I've no idea if that's true.

You could also say the rear is often built stronger than the front for most vehicles as that's the diff that will do almost all of the work almost all of the time. Especially in a lot of the newer utes we have here they'll have a decent rear solid axle but a weaker ifs setup up front. In your typical 4wd scenario you're most likely to really load up your drivetrain going up hill which transfers weight from the front to the rear. Recovery points are located higher than the axles so as you pull with them you transfer weight onto that axle, which then increases traction on those wheels making something else in the drivetrain more likely to be the weak point because normally the tyres slip before the diffs or cv joints reach their breaking point. The rear axle is built with this in mind but the front won't be. It's not that the first time you recover someone in reverse you're guaranteed to grenade your front diff or explode cvs but just in general you're better off going forwards where you can.

Especially if you're snatching because that puts a big shock load on the drivetrain which amplifies all those issues. Every time I've seen someone do driveline damage it's been with the wheels slipping but they've stayed on the throttle and a front tyre's bitten, shock loaded up the front and just torn the cv joint apart.

drat! Once again a very informative post to answer one of my questions.
Thanks fellow goon!

Arishtat
Jan 2, 2011

FogHelmut posted:

Cleaning and maintaining a winch sounds difficult if it's hidden inside a bumper.

I was thinking about for a front hitch receiver, wiring up Anderson connectors through a switched relay. The switch would simply power on or off the wiring. In addition to the winch, I could use this to power some sort of front hitch mounted lighting, or have a heavy power source without clamping directly to the battery. You know, lots of things I'm not sure I would ever use.

Cleaning and maintenance isn't a big deal because it's the same thing you'd do for any winch; however, with a hidden winch you want to be super cognizant of making straight pulls and not loading up the line all on one side of the spool because un-loving it will not be a fun job to do.

ili
Jul 26, 2003


Can you get anderson plugs rated for what your winch draws? I've only seen them going up to 350 amps. If there's a good way to do it I'd definitely look at a removable hitch mount type winch carrier next time around, if nothing else it'd keep my winch out of all the filthy water it currently gets pushed through.

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

"The SB350 is the largest connector in the series with power capabilities up to 450 amps with 4/0 AWG wire and 500 amps with a 350 mcm wire."

Seems to be what people are using.

Paulie
Jan 18, 2008


What do you do when you have your main trail rig ready to go down for major upgrades (my trooper is getting 1 tons and hydro assist, parts everywhere) and another year plus long project that will serve as the trail beater while rig #1 is down (samurai, still needs a few things completed but wheels currently, parts everywhere) but you see a "really good deal" on the local 4x4 forum? You buy a rusty 1980 International Scout II Traveler, that's what.











I have about a spare scout's worth of panels and parts and whatnot loaded in the back and all over the garage now. Ideally I'll end up with a cool restomod mild trail rig, ice cream getter, family ride. In 10 years. Or I'll cut my losses and sell it to the next sucker when I get tired of tripping over parts and/or die of tetanus. I have a problem.

Atticus_1354
Dec 10, 2006

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark
Anyone in here have much experience with Subaru Outbacks? I'm considering one as a daily driver so I can retire the truck to weekend duty. But I'm also considering a lift and all terrain tires for it to make a dirt road explorer that can also comfortably cruise on I-10.

Mainly wondering what to watch for in something around a 2017 model and what options I do or don't want. Is the 3.6r worth getting or is the 2.5i good enough?

chrisgt
Sep 6, 2011

:getin:

Atticus_1354 posted:

Anyone in here have much experience with Subaru Outbacks? I'm considering one as a daily driver so I can retire the truck to weekend duty. But I'm also considering a lift and all terrain tires for it to make a dirt road explorer that can also comfortably cruise on I-10.

Mainly wondering what to watch for in something around a 2017 model and what options I do or don't want. Is the 3.6r worth getting or is the 2.5i good enough?

Research the problems with the FB25 engines very carefully, these are not known for their reliability. A bunch of them were replaced under warranty, so that's also something to check for.
If you don't care about a manual transmission, the 3.6 is a great engine.

Have you cross shopped the 4runner?

incogneato
Jun 4, 2007

Zoom! Swish! Bang!
If you're asking specifically about off road capability, there are actually a lot of YouTube videos and channels with people using/comparing Outbacks and Foresters in mild to medium difficulty off road situations. My takeaway when we were cross shopping then years ago was it'd probably be completely adequate for our Forest Service and BLM road usage 90% of the time, sketchy some of the time, and very rarely incapable. But then we will also intentionally seek out more difficult roads sometimes just to explore.

We ended up with a 4Runner instead, which we absolutely love. Other than all terrain tires (one size up), I've done no mods at all. But you pay for those 4Runner and Toyota badges, and the mpg isn't real fun with gas prices these days. Also it's just clearly a dated vehicle inside, in terms of layout and space usage especially. Sitting in our friend's new Highlander really emphasized that. It's a 12+ year old model and it feels like it.

I will admit that I'd prefer Subaru AWD on winding mountain roads that have occasional patches of ice among otherwise dry pavement. It'd give me more confidence than part time 4wd and wondering each turn if I should put it on or not.

Safety Dance
Sep 10, 2007

Five degrees to starboard!

Atticus_1354 posted:

Anyone in here have much experience with Subaru Outbacks? I'm considering one as a daily driver so I can retire the truck to weekend duty. But I'm also considering a lift and all terrain tires for it to make a dirt road explorer that can also comfortably cruise on I-10.

Mainly wondering what to watch for in something around a 2017 model and what options I do or don't want. Is the 3.6r worth getting or is the 2.5i good enough?

I bought a 2017 Outback Limited with the 3.6r in March (about 4000 miles or one towing-a-U-Haul-across-the-United-States ago). It's not *quick* but it's got respectable power toward the top of the rev range, and I don't mind the CVT. I used to own a 2012 with a stick shift and the 2.5, and my current Outback is much more comfy without sacrificing any sportiness.

I've started messing around on dirt roads near me (see below). It was flawless on the cheap whatever tires that Carmax put on it. I think next year I'm going to upgrade to all-terrains, but that's not necessary immediately. I *personally* don't think it needs a lift yet, but I'd consider the Primitive Racing 1.5" lift kit if I started running into obstacles I couldn't get around on USFS roads or whatever.

Definitely get it with Eyesight. Even the 2016 / 2017 implementation of adaptive cruise control is really good (but the lane keep assist isn't). Like I said, the first thing I did was tow a U-Haul from NY to Seattle with my sister and two cats, and the car performed flawlessly. Really gas hungry at 80, but much better in the low 70s. Feel free to ask me anything. I like the Limited over the Premium because it has the fold-away roof rack. It's not as strong as real crossbars from Thule or Yakima or whoever, but it gets the job done if you've just got a top box.

Safety Dance posted:

Double-postin' to say that I went out and got my car dirty in the Snoqualmie Forest yesterday.

















Honestly, I just wanted to get out of the house for the morning, so I found a trail on onX Offroad and ran that. It was pretty mild, just some obnoxious potholes / washboarding. I turned around where I did because the trail was getting narrow and rutted, and also I promised my wife I'd be home so we could have our neighbors over for dinner.

I did pass some dude in a Wrangler who was all over the road trying to dodge potholes. The Subaru did a great job. I think I'd like to put more aggressive tires on it, since right now it's got "Ironman" tires from Carmax.

highme
May 25, 2001


I posted my food for USPOL Thanksgiving!


I think I mentioned it before, but I have a friend that took his Forrester up Poison Spider in Moab. He parked it at the top so it was the first thing everybody else saw when they crested the last section. There are quite a few "built" Subarus in the PNW as they're plentiful to begin with and if you know how to work on them you can get them cheap when something expensive eventually fails. Also the Subaru tax up here is not quite as high as a Toyota/Lexus tax but it's there. There was a 1st gen Forrester XT that was tempting me before I bought my GX.

Another friend has an early Crosstrek and that's where I'd look for what you're looking to build. I did not like that platform when it first came out, but I've been on a few road trips in it and I'm sold.Though, before buying anything I'd check the later Rav4s where Toyota changed them to compete with the Crosstrek instead of the CR-V.

Mr Newsman
Nov 8, 2006
Did somebody say news?
If you're gonna lift an outback just get a 4Runner imo.

Outback will do a lot with just some AT tires though. I didn't trust the CVT (never had issues, just not a fan) long term.

Edit: I did a lot of stuff with my outback and a pair of Yokohama Geolandars - it's not a terrible platform. 2.5 was pretty sluggish feeling once it was really loaded (2 bikes on the roof and a Thule box and a cargo area filled with luggage for 2 adults and a toddler). Probably would have enjoyed the bigger engine more.

Mr Newsman fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Aug 17, 2022

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

I had a loaner Outback for a month in 2019 when my Impreza was getting a ton of warranty work done. (Subaru's Gold Plus warranty is legit as hell, btw. They fixed EVERYTHING, no questions asked. Even suggested items to replace.) It was fine on the road, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I didn't need a larger vehicle. The lane keep assist was needlessly aggressive though, and one spot on one road would always trigger it even if I was in my lane.

Atticus_1354
Dec 10, 2006

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

Mr Newsman posted:

If you're gonna lift an outback just get a 4Runner imo.

I have zero desire for a 4runner and have hated everyone I've driven. I'm mainly looking for something to daily drive and travel in on the road. I have a diesel truck for hauling/towing and a jeep project for offroad. I just live on dirt roads and drive on I-10 (80mph cruising) a lot so something AWD with decent fuel mileage and room for the dog and me is what I'm after. I'd add AT tires because they are necessary on my roads and the lift would be later and just for fun and not because I'm trying to build an offroad monster.

Mr Newsman
Nov 8, 2006
Did somebody say news?

Atticus_1354 posted:

and the lift would be later and just for fun and not because I'm trying to build an offroad monster.

Gotcha - I went down the rabbit hole considering adding a lift and skid plates to my outback when I had it. Seemed like it was a huge disadvantage to the ride quality / things that make the outback good.

incogneato
Jun 4, 2007

Zoom! Swish! Bang!

Atticus_1354 posted:

I have zero desire for a 4runner and have hated everyone I've driven. I'm mainly looking for something to daily drive and travel in on the road. I have a diesel truck for hauling/towing and a jeep project for offroad. I just live on dirt roads and drive on I-10 (80mph cruising) a lot so something AWD with decent fuel mileage and room for the dog and me is what I'm after. I'd add AT tires because they are necessary on my roads and the lift would be later and just for fun and not because I'm trying to build an offroad monster.

For mostly highways and sometimes mild dirt roads, I agree that a 4Runner is overkill and not worth the downsides (old platform, bad mpg, etc).

Solar Coaster
Sep 2, 2009
I've owned 3 subarus including an Outback and have lifted 2 of them:

2003 Subaru Forester:


- Flatout Suspension GR Lite that gave a 2" lift
- 225 / 70 r15 General Grabbers AT
- 3/16" Steel full skid plates
- Method MR502 VT-Spec 2 wheels in bronze

I basically went up in tire size to nearly as big as I could go, and also went down in wheel size to give me more sidewall when airing down. The Flatout Suspension really transformed what the Forester could do both on and off road. I could corner harder as well as get the full lift that I wanted. Only downside was that the suspension was quite stiff so you could really feel some of the bumps and such off road.

In May she got totaled from a head on collision (uninsured and unregistered old man hit me head on). However, I was able to salvage the wheels and tires and begin modifying the wife's 13 Crosstrek.

2013 Subaru Crosstrek:


- Primitive Racing 1.5" lift kit installed
- King overload springs both on the front and back
- 225 / 70 r15 General Grabbers AT
- Method MR502 VT-Spec 2 wheels in bronze

The wife's car got a slightly smaller lift than the Forester; though I still get more ground clearance than the Forester ever had. The wheels were then pretty much bolt on and we've been able to continue our adventures. The lift is quite different from the Flatout suspension as before. In this case, rather than having a stiffer suspension, I'm still using my original shocks which makes the ride really comfortable, even off road. The car still needs some lighting as I forage in the woods for mushrooms until dark, but other than that and maybe a full size spare for the hitch, this car will be done. We won't be doing anything too extreme to this as we are planning on getting a 4runner to replace the Forester. The 4runner will then be our primary adventure vehicle since it can go where the subies cannot.


Overall, in my experience I do recommend at least throwing AT tires onto the subies, as they will perform much better off road and in the snow. Subies are surprisingly great off road. I've travelled all over the PNW off road and there's only a handful of places my subies can't go. I don't recommend going more than 2" on a typical lift because after that, you will need to do modifications to the car such as cutting fenders, raising subframes, extending brake lines, and such. Parts for 3"+ lifts exist, but you are most likely still looking to do some fab work as well.

Atticus_1354
Dec 10, 2006

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Solar Coaster posted:

Overall, in my experience I do recommend at least throwing AT tires onto the subies, as they will perform much better off road and in the snow. Subies are surprisingly great off road. I've travelled all over the PNW off road and there's only a handful of places my subies can't go. I don't recommend going more than 2" on a typical lift because after that, you will need to do modifications to the car such as cutting fenders, raising subframes, extending brake lines, and such. Parts for 3"+ lifts exist, but you are most likely still looking to do some fab work as well.

Thanks. I was thinking 1.5-2" lift and bumping the tire size up just a little for a hair more clearance. I live at the end of a county rd so my commute starts with 5 miles of caliche roads followed by a couple miles of terrible pavement. Good AT tires is a must for traction and for toughness. Street tires just get beat to poo poo on those roads.

Somewhat Heroic
Oct 11, 2007

(Insert Mad Max related text)



:justpost:ing some things from off roading.

Doing "The Funnel" obstacle near Sand Hollow




Scrubbed a little paint off of the bottom of my bumper and dragged my hitch receiver but nothing too bad. My childhood friend was spotting me. Here he is in his manual transmission Tacoma



At "The toll booths". It is a tight squeeze. You have to fold your mirrors in, otherwise they will get crushed and returned to Mother Earth. Speaking of mothers - my 71 year old mom went on this trip with me and my kids. Cool mom.


Here is a video of another little obstacle. It was so much fun banging around these rocks.
https://imgur.com/QcgNgtB

I know I missed tire talk from a page or two back but my KO2's have been flawless. That includes Moab, forest service roads in the mountains, winter in Utah and towing our little tear drop trailer. I have run them at 15psi up to 40psi and everywhere in between. I do not do the mud thing really. We have a lot of shale and granite and red rocks and they have not chunked out. They are nearly 4 years old at this point and have worn evenly. They are really quiet. Nothing but a great experience. My only regret was not doing the white letters out.

Tenchrono
Jun 2, 2011


I’ve got a 21 2.4 outback and have no complaints. Good in the weather here in CO, very comfy, enough room to haul 2 big dogs + luggage comfortably, CVT isnt even that bad. I imagine if I put some A/T tires on it, it wouldnt do half bad. I have an 86 Land Cruiser for “off roading” however.

Final Blog Entry
Jun 23, 2006

"Love us with money or we'll hate you with hammers!"
My wife has been driving a rental 22 Cherokee Trailhawk for the last 6 weeks or so. I haven't taken it offroad, but it drives nice on the road with decent gas mileage and probably compares more to a lifted wagon than a bigger suv like a 4Runner. Also has the fancy terrain modes and a locking rear diff. Not AWD, but I *think* it stays in the auto 4wd mode unless you select one of the terrain modes or 4lo to lock it in 4wd.

FogHelmut
Dec 18, 2003

My mom has a current gen Cherokee, and I really enjoyed driving it around Philadelphia. It's got great handling in a city environment. However, I hated riding in the back seat. The suspension is stiff and just sitting in the back became exhausting very quickly.

Evil SpongeBob
Dec 1, 2005

Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.
Anyone have a recommendation on a 12v/120v air compressor for tires only in the garage and on road? I don't have any air tools, just for airing up tires. Bonus if there's a built in pressure alarm or cutoff. Thanks!

Zero One
Dec 30, 2004

HAIL TO THE VICTORS!
I got this which checks all your boxes: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-DC-12V-AC-120V-Dual-Power-Air-Inflator-Power-Source-Car-Electric/1000092575

I have only used it a little so far but it works fine.

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Evil SpongeBob
Dec 1, 2005

Not the other one, couldn't stand the other one. Nope nope nope. Here, enjoy this bird.
Thanks, picked up one today.

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