Reberz 03 n/a forester

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Hey guys! Here is my 03 auto foz! It has a 1" gorilla lift kit and 215/70r16 a/t tyres! Looking forward to modding more if the car potential is just as good. I simply cannot afford a big 4x4 cost or fuel so this may have to do! I find the open diffs a bit average though, anyone got tips about driving with open diffs? i found my lhf and rhr just burying themselves when trying to climb :(
 
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Your car has a vLSD in the rear, whether auto or manual.

If it isn't effective (mine is), then it may be rooted. A vLSD works, in spite of what some say about them.

The centre in autos is a clutch pack of one description or another. Manuals have a vLSD centre.
 
no i am not, i read around and not much is said about the hold function? car only has 160k on it and subaru service history up till then and no other signs of a faulty diff? I have a video of me crossing some mud and it looks like it works....?
 
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Maybe the 4EAT mod to lock the front/rear could help ?
 
When you use the hold function the auto starts in 2 nd gear to simulate low range and I am sure the front and rear power distribution changes to closer to 50/50 which the manual has. In normal auto mode the power distribution is 80 /20 front & rear.
 
yeah maybe the rear was not getting enough power, the power wasnt enough to go to 2 wheels so one spun? i need to try again haha. 4eat lock mod is to come when i figure out how to do it haha, i am not the greatest with electrical haha
 
once i sort out the rear diff/driving skill what mods would people recommend? i am using the car for mainly camping/offroad, im looking at a awning, sump guard, and maybe a spring lift. will a 215/70r16 tyre fit in the spare wheel well? i will try get some more photos up soon! :)
 
Giddy Reb

AFAIK, a 215/70 16 will not fit in your spare wheel well.
A 215/65 16 will, with a little persuasion :iconwink: :lol:.

You need an air bag compliant sump guard, and the only maker of these is SubaXtreme. While these are cast alloy, they are a bloody sight tougher than you might think! I straightened my s/h one out using a Canadian block splitter without further damaging it!
 
ohhh mannnnnn i dunno where to put spare then -.- should of checked haha, im gathering i cant run the stock size and the fwd fuse can i?

the subaxtreme are hugely pricey arent they? well I think they are in Australia. i was going to do a DIY dam :(
 
If the stock size spare is on the rear you could use the "Front Wheel Drive Fuse". But this is not going to do you much good if you need AWD to extract yourself from any offroad terrain
 
cool design! like a bike rack that comes down.

very true about being stuck.. hmm
 
There's a discussion on the Hold switch over here: https://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f89/hold-switch-what-s-2064/

an extract from sahunt:

It stops automatic use of 1st gear, more or less. I think it also alters the shift points to upshift at lower revs than usual (opposite of Power button). It's mainly intended to reduce wheelspin on snow.

Specifically, with HOLD turned on:

In D, the car will move off in 2nd gear and change up to 3rd and 4th as soon as it can.
In 3, the car will move off in 2nd gear and change up to 3rd as soon as it can.
In 2, the car will use 2nd gear only.
In 1, the car will use 1st gear only.

Allegedly, using Hold also makes the centre transfer clutch lock up sooner/harder.
 
Thanks Kevin for the reply! Personally i don't think the hold switch would help with this situation... as i don't think ti would have enough power to even move without wheel spinning haha, i really need to test this properly offroad! hopefully this weekend and get some practice in!
 
i gave the hold function a shot today, i see how it removes 1st gear, could be useful! im genuinely wondering after watching a few videos if my car actually has a rear lsd... anyway i can check? if i spin a rear wheel by hand and the other spins the other way it means it is open, i will check this tonight hopefully.
 
^ sorry to rain on your parade, but your car should have a vLSD in the rear as standard, all SG models, both auto and manual, came with one.

Secondly, vLSDs don't behave like that when jacked up. They need the power of the engine and differential wheel motion to cause the non-Newtonian fluid in them to become viscous enough to lock the plates connected to the two rear wheels together. You cannot generate this sort of force by hand ...
 
oh bugger okay, just for reference i spun the rhr and the lhr spun in the same direction, to be this is lsd, but you are saying i need to run the car? anyway, besides this i need to get some driving skill and practice in! sounds like this is the 1st issue!
 
^ Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I have had a very difficult couple of weeks ...

Other than by stripping a vLSD down (NOT advisable ... ), there is almost no way of telling whether it is working or not. Its greatest strength is that it works without any driver intervention or special controls - i.e. it is totally automatic and doesn't have anything in common with the way most "conventional" LSDs behave and feel like when driving.

A vLSD is extremely smooth in almost all situations. I have felt mine kick in when going over a roadside drain on a dirt road at about a 45° angle. It seems that I caught it out. My rear P/S wheel actually started to spin, then suddenly stopped spinning and the car shot forward.

Mostly, I cannot tell that it is working. However, I do know that my Forester behaves very differently from my '93 Impreza which had open diffs front and rear and a vLSD in the centre.

Agree about learning to drive one's vehicle. My Forester is very similar to my Impreza, but very different in other ways.
 
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