Subaru Questions

[Kmrtnsn]

Isn't high oil consumption just a boxer thing in general?

Yep, VW, Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Lycoming, and Continental; all the same, oil consumption goes with the design.

 

[Theprofessional]

Yeah, I know Porsche has some equally serious oil consumption issues and those old bugs.....

I go through about 1/2 3/4 of a quart between oil changes depending on how I drive it; sitting at 4000 rpm for days at a time uses more oil than cruising in the city or off road.

I also noticed my '05 EJ20t motor used much less oil than my older EJ25 but that's likely due to the prototype, aftermarket PCV system.

 

[Jwestpro]

A newer Forester starts with almost 9 inches of ground clearance with a flat bottom (no pumpkin hanging down). With a 2" inch lift and a 1" larger tire you can approach a foot of ground clearance in a Forester.

First, these look very cool and I had an 07 Outback 3.0R. I'm not trying to crap on the Subarus in any way. In fact I really dig them for various reasons. I did like mine a lot but was looking for more refinement, sportier handling plus size so I ended up going the route of less clearance but way more overall comfort and fun driving for long trips...2008 BMW 535 xi wagon with a 6 spd.

Yet, I often still wished I had the ground clearance and suspension travel Thus finding this thread.

The reason for quoting the above notes is that when you go that far with modifying an outback or forester....why not just start with something that already is built that way? Like a 4 runner ?
Forester is unibody I think. 4 runner is still body on frame, but WAY more rugged in that regard and will not handle like a "car" which even with all the mods, I'm guessing the subarus still retain some sportiness of the car platform. Obviosuly a 4runner isn't going to negotiate gravel roads hauling ***** the same way, it'll be in the woods, but then again, when do you really get to drive like you're in a rally anyway?

So, with all that, I went with the two vehicle plan of one being much more sporty and the other way more capable off road. A wagon (used BMW 535xi 6spd) and a 4x4 suv (land rover lr3 fairly modified).

One of these lifted Subarus might be perfect for my mom though to go exploring forest roads and bird watching.

 

[Jwestpro]

98 (SF) Forester on 08 (SG) struts (+1) with Ironman (+2) springs and 1/2in spacers.

Now I have added GD (02-07 Impreza sedan) control arms and lateral links to widen the track and trailing arms off a 98 Outback (slightly longer to compensate for the lift in back)

Tires are 215/75-15 Grabber AT2 and barely clear the spring perches.

With the larger tires it doesn't look lifted, it looks "right" When we park next to stock Foresters it's blatantly obvious how much higher it is

I'd love to meet up sometime and see this in person. Looks great and the lift sounds solid and very functional.