Dulagarl: the Lifted H6 Forester

Well, I bought it, and I have to say that what SKT has done is truly inspired.

It’s a freaking rocket on the bitumen, and it has an enormous amount of grunt offroad.

Engine transplant thread is here:

https://www.ausubaru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16564

Here’s a little log of bring it home, and it’s first offroad trip once home.

Jan 29th I flew to Coolangatta. Scott picked me up at the airport and we went for a drive. It didn’t take long for me to be convinced that I should buy this. Sure, it had a couple of issues, for example some worn out bushes in the front end, and a cooling issue, but I could tell that this was a VERY serious vehicle.

Brought it home via Lismore and Casino and then to Tamworth for the night. Next day was Tamworth to Narrandera. Narrandera to Melbourne on the Minday was relatively easy after all of that.

Saw some amazing country in the process. Didn’t have time for many snaps, but here are a few…

Some of the country just into NSW after casino…

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Took a detour via the outer solar system…

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Actually, that virtual solar system drive from siding spring observatory is a good idea. That pic was taken in Gilgandra.

While on the space bent, couldn’t resist a couple of pics with the Parkes Radio Telescope…

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It was 38 degrees Celsius when those shots were taken, and it didn’t get cooler for hours. Unsurprisingly, the vehicle got a bit hot just south of Forbes.

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A bit further south past West Wyalong, and there was still water around from December. Ridiculously flat country with paddocks turned to lakes…

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So, when I got home, I went straight to the mechanic and got an aircon service. I also consulted about improving airflow to the radiator. I looked at pics of offroad bars on Outbacks on the Subaxtreme site, and also the bar on the latest Forester. Armed with that info I decided to cut some holes in the bulbar, and this is the result…

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Gotta love the grille mesh from supacheap auto!

So, I then set up the GPS on the dash with some adhesive Velcro…

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and connected the ECU to the laptop to monitor engine performance and temperatures.

004ecudata.jpg


(BTW: I think I might have resolved the “cooling issues”!)

... part two to follow
 
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Bugger mate! I don't know what to say, except that it's such a waste in this disposable society we unfortunately live in!

I hope it takes a turn for a better path for Dulagarl!

Cheers

Bennie
 
El_Freddo said:
Bugger mate! I don't know what to say, except that it's such a waste in this disposable society we unfortunately live in!

I hope it takes a turn for a better path for Dulagarl!

Cheers

Bennie
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Thanks Bennie. I will keep it on the road.

The fact that my bonnet is screwed raises an interesting question or two.

Currently, I am finding it easier to locate good priced SF turbo bonnets that N/A. I have avoided getting a turbo scoop to make the car more of a sleeper, but I think it was either Rally or Dgenerate who suggested that I get a scoop, and fit an oil cooler where the turbo intercooler would normally go.

I can see the advantage of this insofar as cooling the oil will prolong its life, and also help cool the engine. I am interested in what others think about this, and how it could be done.
 
With so many diesels around and Subaru no longer badging the XT as such, bonnet scoops are becoming less of a giveaway.
 
Dulagarl said:
I will keep it on the road.
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We already knew that :rolleyes:

Dulagarl said:
Currently, I am finding it easier to locate good priced SF turbo bonnets that N/A. I have avoided getting a turbo scoop to make the car more of a sleeper, but I think it was either Rally or Dgenerate who suggested that I get a scoop, and fit an oil cooler where the turbo intercooler would normally go.

I can see the advantage of this insofar as cooling the oil will prolong its life, and also help cool the engine. I am interested in what others think about this, and how it could be done.
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The only issue I could see is that the oil cooler would be much higher than the sump of the engine and depending on how it was plumbed in it could damage the engine on start up. One way around this would be to install an oil pressure can.

An mate told me about these, they used to fit them to track race cars, probably still do. It's a sealed can with a pipe at one end and a solenoid on the pipe that feeds this can. On shutdown you basically rev up high and shut off the engine. The oil is forced into this can under pressure, when the engine is shut off the solenoid closes as well, trapping the oil in the can under pressure.

The idea is that when you turn the ignition on to start the engine, the solenoid opens and the oil returns to the engine filling the drained oil galleries. This allows you to start the engine without having to wait for the oil to prime after initial start up.

Does it work?? Well, I don't know as I've never done it but like I said, I've heard it was used on race vehicles at some point in time.

Cheers

Bennie
 
El_Freddo said:
We already knew that :rolleyes:



The only issue I could see is that the oil cooler would be much higher than the sump of the engine and depending on how it was plumbed in it could damage the engine on start up. One way around this would be to install an oil pressure can.

An mate told me about these, they used to fit them to track race cars, probably still do. It's a sealed can with a pipe at one end and a solenoid on the pipe that feeds this can. On shutdown you basically rev up high and shut off the engine. The oil is forced into this can under pressure, when the engine is shut off the solenoid closes as well, trapping the oil in the can under pressure.

The idea is that when you turn the ignition on to start the engine, the solenoid opens and the oil returns to the engine filling the drained oil galleries. This allows you to start the engine without having to wait for the oil to prime after initial start up.

Does it work?? Well, I don't know as I've never done it but like I said, I've heard it was used on race vehicles at some point in time.

Cheers

Bennie
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something like this I think...

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BILLET-..._Accessories&hash=item3370a4d823#ht_500wt_969

or this

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mocal-S..._CarParts_SM&hash=item519cd1c43f#ht_720wt_952
 
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The thermostat operated oil cooler is a good idea so its not cooling when the engine when is warming up. Lancer EVO's are fitted with them from factory apparently. If you've got an overheating problem then its certainly a good idea, every little bit counts. Even if having it sitting above the engine isn't a good idea then stick it infront of the radiator. The other thing to think about is you've got an extra line carrying oil that could potentially be damaged. You can get insulated fibreglass-y stuff thats made for hose insulation which could also double as a protective layer.
 
Gidday All

IMHO, just having the bonnet scoop will help keep the engine bay much cooler.
Don't block it off with anything ... :iconwink:.
 
Venom said:
The thermostat operated oil cooler is a good idea so its not cooling when the engine when is warming up. Lancer EVO's are fitted with them from factory apparently. If you've got an overheating problem then its certainly a good idea, every little bit counts. Even if having it sitting above the engine isn't a good idea then stick it infront of the radiator. The other thing to think about is you've got an extra line carrying oil that could potentially be damaged. You can get insulated fibreglass-y stuff thats made for hose insulation which could also double as a protective layer.
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Thanks mate.

Yeah, I've pretty much decided that putting it where the intercooler goes is a waste of time: too much plumbing involved.

I wouldn't really say I have a cooling problem any more, but it could still be improved. e.g. at 37 degrees on the sand it gets a bit hot.

Sticking it in front of the radiator is a bit of an issue: my fans are upstream and there's not a lot of room. The condensor for the aircon is slightly shorter in height than the radiator, so I might be able to fit an oil cooler at the bottom of that.

I thought about the lines and potential damage. there are already water lines that go to the oild filter, as a cooling method. These are metal. I suppose I could go for braided cable to the oil cooler.

I'll need to rethink this, but I think the first step is to mock up a cooler to correct dimensions using foam or similar, and playing around at the front of the vehicle. While I'm not suggesting doing the same thing, Perrin stuck an oil filter in the foglight area on their twin turbo H6 sti:

[ame="https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2856444685918888388"]Driving Sports Video: Perrin H6 Turbo STI[/ame]
 
Even adding a GT bonnet would push quite abit of cool air in. Could be worth doing that first while the whole car gets repaired then consider an oil cooler.
Add the air-vents you have in the current bonnet to the GT bonnet too.

Good thing your not over here in Dulagarl. We hit 47 degrees today!! Imagine if you tried driving on the sand in that :lol: Might have a small heat issue :raspberry:
 
Although I'm sure you could do it, it would be a lot of work, putting the cooler at the front is so much simpler. & if you can fit it below the A/C condensor then great. I don't think it would need to be all that big to be effective.

How difficult would it be to thermostatically control it? All these cars that have an oil cooler integrated into the radiator, are they thermostatically controlled?
 
Nachaluva said:
Although I'm sure you could do it, it would be a lot of work, putting the cooler at the front is so much simpler. & if you can fit it below the A/C condensor then great. I don't think it would need to be all that big to be effective.

How difficult would it be to thermostatically control it? All these cars that have an oil cooler integrated into the radiator, are they thermostatically controlled?
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The sandwich plate is where the thermostat is. Iirc they are usually set to open at 80 degrees Celsius. Dunno about A/T cooolers and thermostats.
 
I found everytime my car overheated in sand it was driving into the wind resulting in zero airflow. Bennies plan is to wire up a thermo fan 'on' switch so its running to preventing that heat build up earlier in such a situation. maybe that could be a way to go before considering more extensive mods.
 
I wish you all the best with your battle to return the h6 to its former glory, I have faith that you will this!

As for bonnet, maybe get the turbo bonnet and turn the scoop around to let hot air out rather than cold air in.
 
Subaruby said:
As for bonnet, maybe get the turbo bonnet and turn the scoop around to let hot air out rather than cold air in.
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Yeah thats what I was thinking but I think it has a curve on it that would need some "massaging" to make it fit facing backwards. Would get rid of hot under-bonnet air very well...

The other thing I dont like about a forward facing vent is sucking in a heap of water when Dulagarl goes through a deep water crossing with water pouring over the bonnet :lildevil:
 
Nachaluva said:
Yeah thats what I was thinking but I think it has a curve on it that would need some "massaging" to make it fit facing backwards. Would get rid of hot under-bonnet air very well...
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This is what I wanted to achieve with a vortex turbo scoop - but once it's turned around it's got a "sad face" curve against the "smiley curve" of the bonnet's leading edge, it didn't look right and I'm trying to find the time/skills to make up one that will look good and do the job I want at the same time.

I see this as the answer to my cooling problems as the subaru engine bay doesn't have very good hot air removal when moving slowly and working hard, even with the thermo's triggered via the in-cab switch.

Cheers

Bennie
 
Venom said:
I found everytime my car overheated in sand it was driving into the wind resulting in zero airflow. Bennies plan is to wire up a thermo fan 'on' switch so its running to preventing that heat build up earlier in such a situation. maybe that could be a way to go before considering more extensive mods.
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do you mean with the wind?

Nachaluva said:
Yeah thats what I was thinking but I think it has a curve on it that would need some "massaging" to make it fit facing backwards. Would get rid of hot under-bonnet air very well...

The other thing I dont like about a forward facing vent is sucking in a heap of water when Dulagarl goes through a deep water crossing with water pouring over the bonnet :lildevil:
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agreed

El_Freddo said:
This is what I wanted to achieve with a vortex turbo scoop - but once it's turned around it's got a "sad face" curve against the "smiley curve" of the bonnet's leading edge, it didn't look right and I'm trying to find the time/skills to make up one that will look good and do the job I want at the same time.

I see this as the answer to my cooling problems as the subaru engine bay doesn't have very good hot air removal when moving slowly and working hard, even with the thermo's triggered via the in-cab switch.

Cheers

Bennie
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this is exactly where I have had issues: engine working hard at low speed.

I think what I will do as a start is bithe the bullet and midify the bash plate. It currently goes back as far as the O2 sensors, and Al from AM Auto said that he reckons that is too far back since subies release a lot of hot air at the rear of the engine bay. I don't think the current bash plate configuration helps.
 
If it was me, I'd just go for the bonnet scoop first & see how it goes :iconwink:
Then, if there are still heat issues, then I'd go ahead & add the oil cooler :cool:

I know what you're saying about keeping it as a sleeper. But as others have mentioned, there are that many vehicles with bonnet scoops these days, you won't really be standing out in the crowd, if you know what I mean :)

Venom said:
Bennies plan is to wire up a thermo fan 'on' switch so its running to preventing that heat build up earlier in such a situation. maybe that could be a way to go before considering more extensive mods.
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That could work too & may not be a bad idea actually :)

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Venom said:
I found everytime my car overheated in sand it was driving into the wind resulting in zero airflow.
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With the wind - & happens all the time with A/Ts in the sand where the solution is to get a large tranny cooler and disconnect the tranny pipes from the radiator. An "always on" fan should help too.
 
Kevin said:
With the wind - & happens all the time with A/Ts in the sand where the solution is to get a large tranny cooler and disconnect the tranny pipes from the radiator. An "always on" fan should help too.
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Yeah, thought it was with the wind.

As for an always on switch for the fan, I don't think this would help me much. Reason for this is that I am able to set the fan settings in the ECU by using my laptop. It is currently set so that fans go on at engine coolant temp (ect) 97 degrees, and go off at 92 degrees. I have a watchdog which tells me what the temp is, and the issue is that when working hard in sand sometimes it sits over the 97 degrees for some time, hence the fans stay on.
 
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