Outback 2.5i Premium on Sanddunes & beach

sankaran

Forum Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2016
Messages
2
Location
Sydney, NSW
Car Year
2015
Car Model
Outback 2.5i Premium
Transmission
CVT
Hi Guys,
I am new to 4WDing. I recently bought subaru outback 2015 2.5i premium. I want to take it on the sand dunes & some beach driving may be along port stevens during this school holidays. Not sure whether is it ok? Has anyone had taken 2015 outback on sand dunes before, any advice please?
 
:welcome: to ORS

The new Outbacks go great in sand:lildevil:
I'm not sure what the beaches and dunes are like at port stevens, but if they are soft, make sure you air down. You want to air down enough so that when back off the power, the car gently rolls to a stop. as a rough guide, 18psi for slightly soft sand, 14psi for decently soft sand and 12 psi for super soft sand. Don't be afraid to drop down to 8psi if you are badly bogged, just don't do any hard cornering at these low pressures as the tyre will come off the rim. Make sure you pump the tyres up before driving down the highway at speed. So either get an air compressor or use one at a servo.

Press the VDC/traction control off button before taking off. This will turn its self back on when you turn the car off or get back up to speed, so just make sure its off when you get started so that it doesn't kill engine power. Once your up and going, keep the revs up a little higher then you normally would to ensure you are in a decent power band for when you hit soft bits.

In the dunes, make sure you know whats on the other side before driving over. If you can't see, don't go, some dunes drop off very steep. And avoid driving sideways along dunes, that's just asking for trouble.

But Subarus do great in sand, so enjoy the trip!
 
The new Outbacks go great in sand

I am going to visit a mate up in Bundy soon and we are going the beach way/sand mining tracks to Woodgate from KinKuna south of the Elliot River. So I guess turning of the VDC with X Mode would apply as well?.

I have driven Patrols and Pajero's on the sand but nut a forester.
 
Subies go great on sand, they float over the top instead of digging down deep like the big 4wds.

Good advice from Red XS, although I start at 16psi & drop to 12psi if really soft. Definitely get an air compressor, it gives you confidence to drop the pressure to whatever you need to knowing you can air back up.

Recovery tracks are a good idea too, you can get TRED copies on eBay for ~$100 delivered
 
@Nachaluva.. Should I get a skid plate? for sand. I don't go mulga bashing or rock climbing
 
Gidday Taroona

The OEM ABS engine splashguard makes a simply superb sand/mud scoop while not protecting your sump at all ... :poke: :( :puke: .

I have a substantial (but fortunately not fatal) ding in the sump of Roo2 that attests to the OEM guard's uselessness.
 
I would get one even if you're only going on sand. The OEM one is just a splash guard & as RB says it doesnt provide any protection. Plus they have a habit of being torn off in sand
 
I was thinking of getting one from primitive in the US. Do you think I would need all three - front, CVT and Diff?

The one from subie extreme looks Ok and they appear to only make a front one
 
Taroona said:
@Nachaluva.. Should I get a skid plate? for sand. I don't go mulga bashing or rock climbing
Click to expand...

I rushed out and bought a second hand one for my trip to yeagarup over easter. I ended up running out of time and not fitting it, since then I have done yeagarup, wilbinga and wedge all with stock bash plate and honestly. I can't see how they act as a scoop. I drive carefully as I have an Sti front lip but that doesn't mean I don't do big hill climbs and the such, I guess I just pick a better line/don't drive in deep ruts because I know what will happen if I do
 
Thank you so much guys. That gives me great confidence. Thank you RedXS, Taroona, NachaLuva!!

I am looking forward to this trip. I will let you guys know how it all went.
 
And if you are unlucky and damage your sump it only takes a few moments for the motor to destroy itself.
Get a bash plate, it is like an insurance policy, there for when things go wrong.
 
Genuinely interested in what sort of terrain you would be driving where this would occur
 
It's fairly common for the plastic sump guard to be torn off on beaches, either that or the little wing in front of the front wheel gets caught and rips out the inner guard lining. If you saw the state of my 2 sump guards there would be no question as to their value! I always use protection :iconwink:
 
That's the thing Kevin, I've had it rubbing along in the ruts (the 2 wings were removed when I did the lip) but I can't see how it's acted as a scoop? I know it's been rubbing on the ruts because they're flattened and I see sand abrasion and stain on the underside, I just don't understand how it acts as a scoop

I must admit I consciously don't follow deep ruts and practice driving a line that allows me to keep max height under the vehicle, but this scooping action everyone talks about, just not sure how it happens, is it when people reverse? Or are they literally plowing through the sand and it enters that gap beneath the number plate?

Again, just genuinely interested in the circumstances leading up to the removal of the stock on on sand
 
Gidday BB


What happens is that the leading edge of the splash protector has sand or mud forced between it and the trailing edge of the stock bumper.

It doesn't take much for it to cause the leading edge to 'pout', allowing more sand/mud to be forced into the gap.

With the considerable force of the motion of the car, this rapidly leads to the splash guard being torn away from the front attachments. The rest is then history.

The little mud flaps in front of the front wheels (I call them 'spats') are more easily damaged when reversing over an obstruction, AFAICS.

I removed mine (deliberately), even before I fitted the front SubaXtreme roo bar. I suspect that the cost of a new guard liner is pretty horrible ... The guard liner material is nowhere near as tough as the splash protector, and tears fairly easily.
 
Could be that the newer Forester has a better designed splash guard than the older Forester's did. The plastic guards on SG's dip down a bit lower then the front bumper, which is why they act as a scoop. Is it possible that on your SH the plastic sits more flush with the bumper? I've only heard of the problem on earlier SF and SG's.

Having a look at a Gen 5 Outback now, the plastic guard sits just about flush with the front bumper and remains at that height, which is far better then my SG which dipped down. I would assume the Gen 6 would be similar to the Gen 5.

Still if you are following deep ruts on a narrow beach, all it takes is a bit of drift would buried under the sand to puncture through the plastic and your sump.
 
Many years ago I had a Rodeo ute and was driving along a sand mine access road and hit a hump which made the front end rise and drop sharply. (There was no problem with ground clearance). As the front end came down I hit a root from a tree that was in the hump .

By the time I got back to brisbane there was an oil leak between the transmission and the clutch housing.

Now I dont know if a bash plate would have saved the day or not
 
Red XS said:
Could be that the newer Forester has a better designed splash guard than the older Forester's did. The plastic guards on SG's dip down a bit lower then the front bumper, which is why they act as a scoop. Is it possible that on your SH the plastic sits more flush with the bumper? I've only heard of the problem on earlier SF and SG's.
Click to expand...

Gidday Red

You are right on the money, mate ... :biggrin:.

I just had a grovel under our SH, and it is far better designed than our SG (was). The front lip of the splash guard is at least 25mm above the trailing edge of the bumper on the SH.

Of course, the SG now has a SubaXtreme alloy sump guard on it. However, what I said about the SH guard providing no sump protection is still valid - I can push it up to touch the sump with my fingers ... :(.
 
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