MountainBiker
Experience Seeker
While a Subaru Forester is not the usual choice for an Expedition Rig, it has been a good compromise vehicle for our needs. I started out exploring 4wd roads with the car when it was stock, and I quickly realized it was a lot of fun, but obviously had some weak points when offroading. Even so, I could tell that it was quite capable to get me to most of the backcountry areas I want to visit, while still being economical to own and maintain. Besides, if the road gets too tough, I can always park the Subie and hop on my bike!
The plan is to make the Subie as capable as possible, without getting into major suspension modifications like grafting on parts from other vehicles.
Updated on September 12th, 2007
Modz so far, in approximate order of completion:
-Start with a 2002 Subaru Forester, Automatic Trans (the auto provides a little bit of a low range for ascents, but of course doesn’t help too much on descents!)
-Aluminum Sump Guard from SubaXtreme
to replace the OEM plastic splash shield. It ain't steel, but this isn't a rockcrawler either!
-Center Diff Lock (Sort-of). Wired up a switch to override the electronic control of the center transfer clutch. This gives me the ability to get maximum power to the rear wheels, essentially “locking” the front and rear drive shafts. This is a fairly common mod for Subarus with the automatic transmission (stick shift Subies have a mechanical center differential with a Viscous LS unit, except for the Rally inspired STI!).
-Larger tires: Pirelli Scorpion ST 215/65-16, which are as tall as you can go on an ’02 Forester due to strut clearance. ’03 and up have a little more clearance for larger tires.
-40 mm lift, using strut top lift blocks from SubaXtreme. Lifts everything further off the ground, including the diffs, but at the cost of increased driveshaft angles.
-Offroad Front Bumper from SubaXtreme, provides a lot more approach angle!
-Sway bar quick disconnects of my own design.
-Custom rear bumper, incorporating a 2” receiver. Also replaced the stock muffler with a smaller unit, tucked up higher (axle-back), to get an incredible improvement in departure angle! To make it look halfway decent, I cut the bottom off the stock plastic bumper cover and re-installed it.
-Removed Bullbar section of the offroad front bumper
-Cargo Restraint system: using the 6' pickup truck net from www.cargonets.com.
-All Terrains: General Grabber AT2, 215/65-16. I’ve got six matching wheels and tires so I can do rotations with all six. By doing so, all six tires will be similar sized so that the AWD system doesn’t get damaged. As probably many EP members know, the hidden cost of full-time AWD is that one failed tire can mean that you have to replace all four due to the difference in tire circumference!
Here is a picture from Valley of Fire, Nevada State Park in November 2006:
To Do in the Near Future:
-Quaife torsen style limited slip rear differential to replace the useless Viscous unit. Sitting in box, waiting for install!
-Fabricate tranmission pan impact protection
-Fabricate gas tank impact protection
-Transmission and diff breather extensions for water crossings
-Re-design sway bar quick disconnects for easier use and more durability
-Install switch to turn off radiator fans for water crossings (currently I just pull the fuse)
-Install switch to turn off ABS when on certain types of gravel and snow (currently I just pull the fuse)
Further down the road:
-I’m looking at all the cool cargo drawer systems on this site! Hopefully I'll be inspired enough to build a set.
-50 mm body lift (to add to the current 40 mm strut lift) from Scorpion Subaru
I plan to update this first post by moving things into the “completed” list as it occurs. And to add new stuff to the wish list!
The plan is to make the Subie as capable as possible, without getting into major suspension modifications like grafting on parts from other vehicles.
Updated on September 12th, 2007
Modz so far, in approximate order of completion:
-Start with a 2002 Subaru Forester, Automatic Trans (the auto provides a little bit of a low range for ascents, but of course doesn’t help too much on descents!)
-Aluminum Sump Guard from SubaXtreme
to replace the OEM plastic splash shield. It ain't steel, but this isn't a rockcrawler either!
-Center Diff Lock (Sort-of). Wired up a switch to override the electronic control of the center transfer clutch. This gives me the ability to get maximum power to the rear wheels, essentially “locking” the front and rear drive shafts. This is a fairly common mod for Subarus with the automatic transmission (stick shift Subies have a mechanical center differential with a Viscous LS unit, except for the Rally inspired STI!).
-Larger tires: Pirelli Scorpion ST 215/65-16, which are as tall as you can go on an ’02 Forester due to strut clearance. ’03 and up have a little more clearance for larger tires.
-40 mm lift, using strut top lift blocks from SubaXtreme. Lifts everything further off the ground, including the diffs, but at the cost of increased driveshaft angles.
-Offroad Front Bumper from SubaXtreme, provides a lot more approach angle!
-Sway bar quick disconnects of my own design.
-Custom rear bumper, incorporating a 2” receiver. Also replaced the stock muffler with a smaller unit, tucked up higher (axle-back), to get an incredible improvement in departure angle! To make it look halfway decent, I cut the bottom off the stock plastic bumper cover and re-installed it.
-Removed Bullbar section of the offroad front bumper
-Cargo Restraint system: using the 6' pickup truck net from www.cargonets.com.
-All Terrains: General Grabber AT2, 215/65-16. I’ve got six matching wheels and tires so I can do rotations with all six. By doing so, all six tires will be similar sized so that the AWD system doesn’t get damaged. As probably many EP members know, the hidden cost of full-time AWD is that one failed tire can mean that you have to replace all four due to the difference in tire circumference!
Here is a picture from Valley of Fire, Nevada State Park in November 2006:
To Do in the Near Future:
-Quaife torsen style limited slip rear differential to replace the useless Viscous unit. Sitting in box, waiting for install!
-Fabricate tranmission pan impact protection
-Fabricate gas tank impact protection
-Transmission and diff breather extensions for water crossings
-Re-design sway bar quick disconnects for easier use and more durability
-Install switch to turn off radiator fans for water crossings (currently I just pull the fuse)
-Install switch to turn off ABS when on certain types of gravel and snow (currently I just pull the fuse)
Further down the road:
-I’m looking at all the cool cargo drawer systems on this site! Hopefully I'll be inspired enough to build a set.
-50 mm body lift (to add to the current 40 mm strut lift) from Scorpion Subaru
I plan to update this first post by moving things into the “completed” list as it occurs. And to add new stuff to the wish list!
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