Have subarus gotten better on sand?

[XJLI]

Air down. I see everything on the sand out here.... the people who get stuck the most are people in crossovers with 19" wheels and no rubber.

 

[jf1sf5]

Jf1s5, thanks for the video. That subaru doesn't appear to struggle at all, but it doesn't really look stock.

No, its not stock (!) but the secret in sand is tire pressure, I deflate at 1,4 bar.

Another video from inside

[video=youtube;7aIioGftgNA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7aIioGftgNA[/video]

 

[Bad Goat]

Thanks for all the replays. I'll put the new outback at the top of my list then. My old was 97 has served me well for hundreds of thousand of miles. so if the new outbacks are a little more sand capable i'd be happy.

 

[freshlikesushi]

leagues more capable

 

[Theprofessional]

Thanks for all the replays. I'll put the new outback at the top of my list then. My old was 97 has served me well for hundreds of thousand of miles. so if the new outbacks are a little more sand capable i'd be happy.

I don't see why they wouldn't. More power, wider tires, and no more open diffs would solve the only issues my '97 as in soft, deep surfaces.

 

[jf1sf5]

I read that sand and traction control are not friends…is it right ?

 

[2004 lb7]

You want the smallest rims with high profile tires so you can air down and get a bigger footprint. Track control is not your friend on sand. Good luck. If you get stuck it means you have to much air in your tires. In very soft sand I've gone down to 10 psi don't be shy about letting air out less air less ware on your drivetrain.

 

[Ratwagon]

Drove the length of Matagorda island in TX with stock 14 forester 6 sp. manual. 32 psi, no problem. I was prepared to air down but didn't need it. Man, I was and remain impressed!

 

[calicamper]

Weight vs small rubber is a bad sand combo. Dodge trucks on stock tires are famous for being sand anchors.

Subarus are light, and stability control turned off via a dash switch results in pretty good sand performance in stock form. Hell even stock Legacys can be found tearing up dunes on youtube. I had a Legacy yup worked pretty damn good. The 17inch wheels and more tubby tires on my OB are even better aired to 25psi.

 

[IrishCatholic]

I'll be traveling the NM BDR in July in a stock 2015 Outback running BF Goodrich KO2s on 17" steel wheels - I expect to encounter a fair bit of sand - I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[frank84]

Not sure if the stability/TC off switch actually turns the system off on the Outbacks but it doesn't on my Crosstrek. You need to pull the fuse for it to go completely off. Annoying. With it on the car is terrible in lower speed slippery conditions - snow, sand, etc. It will de-fuel to the point of stalling the motor out (5-speed).

 

[WagoneerSX4]

Wouldn't exactly call modern subaru's lightweights. Base model outback is 3700#'s. Add gear a couple people and you're well over 4200. I've also heard from a lot of people the new subaru's are quite annoying in zero grip situations. For instance, stuck in snow on hard pack. The TC isn't completely defeatable so it won't let you have full engine power while spinning your tires. Not a good combo for getting unstuck if you happen to sink in sand.

If you have a wide enough tire and you air way down it should be a lot more decent then idiots who take their 1-ton trucks out into the dunes and wonder why they sink up to their axles.