What factors make Off Road Ability?

maybe but your forester have parts that no stock forester ever had in terms of that AWD system. so yours are very much changed . and when its compared to other subarus in real life you should not be considered as "forester" as others could be . it should be called like mega forester / ultra or something like that haha.
 
At my last trip, the others gave it the nickname "aladdin" !

I like my Forester to be discreet so it looks very oem from outside...
 
Apart from the bull bar and snorkel my car is pretty much the same. Looks about standard height, runs Subaru rims and road tyres. I have had people laugh at me for tackling something they obviously thought I had no chance of doing.
 
so you should not say : this is how forester goes, yay . because its far from how normal forester go lol . can you tell like about how much your mods into drive train did cost and what was most expencive , and what is most affective in offroad.
 
Now we are off topic...! We should move this discussion to the "what factors make off road..."
 
I will keep it on topic (mostly)by saying the best modification I have done is the rear locker. Having the plated rear diff though also made a significant improvement but if you run just the plated rear diff it adversely affects the balance and handling of the car. It needs a front lsd as well to restore the balance.
 
so is it true that real LSD kinda dont give much on offroading. no matter how good it will be . ? it could thou give some more traction like when both wheels still have grip to move forward. thats as much as i understand from all info i found about those.
about mine. first people said that i might have rear lsd, then i checked by turning wheels , but im not sure how good its still there , like is it used allready and dont lock much or on what level that LSD still works . how to tell that ?
and my model was mystery to me at first. that was my first subaru and first awd car. so guy that sold it just said : ohh it have some traction control that is allways on, so its no fun with that. i bought car in winter when was full of snow on streets. so when i tested car i drove on snow and i felt that traction control there taking control and such. but i didint knew what that means for that mode lat all. then i found out that i have early VDC model and even with rear LSD. but i dont feel that rear LSD i guess because traction control kicks in so fast. or maybe it works but i just dont know because i had nothing to compare that to. because later VDC cars with traction control just dont have rear lsd anymore as traction control does similar job for all wheels i guess.
 
jf1sf5 said:
It depends where the border between a stock and a modified car is. My Forester is still a Forester because it still has a Subaru DNA with OEM modifications ( 1,59:1 low range, DCCD, EJ22, SVX axles, SG suspension links....) but I couldn't find long stroke suspensions so I had to find something else that for me is still in the Subaru philosophy.

A solid axle Subaru is no more a Subaru for me but the people who did this modification probably say it is ! Well, its everyones sensibility after all !
Click to expand...

I could say the same thing. I run a Subaru dual range gearbox with Subaru gears from various models. Front diff is Subaru. Engine is Subaru. Rear diff housing and gears are Subaru, as is rear cross member, axles, hubs and brakes.
 
I think its great that people modify their Subaru's to be mega off-road Subaru's. But i do enjoy seeing the symmetrical AWD system doing its thing.
 
as always russians have good company of different cars and forester is one of them. stock forester . and renault /dacia Duster as well
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ3a2boHU3E"]?????????, ??????? ????????? ????????????! ? ??? ??????? - YouTube[/ame]
and all those russian offroaders iv seen in my own eyes at old times when was young they where going on our streets.
i was thinking what our subarus at least 2.5NA lacking is torque. my tires sometimes have so much grip that engine cant give it enough torque to move the car. 3.0R 3rd gen outback with 250 hp would be monster with auto no turbo.
i think those kind are very good videos to show how very different cars going via same tracks and uses different techniques
 
SHERP's going on lake Baikal , its largest fresh water lake in the world. about 700km trip on those slow machines must be something

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqjXPQXjRqM"]700?? ?? ?????????? ?? ???????! ????? ????? ?????????? ?5 - YouTube[/ame]
sherp looks small because of large wheels but really 2 persons can sleep inside pretty comfy. and in winter. amazing views around.
 
I wish we had ice like that for some play!
 
i saw other video from russians where sherp was going on tracks where those 4wds went many times and sherp didint passed all those . maybe because its short and so big wheels at some place it could be dissadvantage. so those 4wd where so happy there that they beat sherp. but sherp can just turn and go straight where it wants no need tracks at all. then you can put it on lake and fish from it or have a swim as from boat. so cool design i like it a lot.
Burlak similar design russian beast can swim as well and its much larger with large wheels but that suspension looks so weak , i mean yes they made it in garage and wanted it be as light as possible
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i did watched them going to north pole with that car for test drive and couple time one wheel of car just broke off that frame . so they welded it in place and continue trip. amazing but maybe too weak for those large wheels.
but inside its like small hotel rly.

remember when top gear tested that sherp . it was funny series . they went hunting with it. amazing
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and with right paint it can look very amazing
Sherp-ATV-1-4260-default-large.jpeg

1.3 tonne, 44hp 1.5 diesel engine
and maybe because its have those large and wide tires in can get stuck in deep mud because its not digging down into it but just like boat it floats on mud and tries swim on it. not allways working
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=322&v=hQcqqea5APs
maybe she should turn it to sides not just try go straight . every new car need its own style of driving. you cant just use 4wd style driving on sherp.
 
What does "off road" really mean

I've been reading member's comments on off road ability and it's amazing how many different ideas have been expressed. It got me thinking that what is off-road to me may not be off-road to you and I wonder what the general off-roading community thinks on this topic.


Some comments indicate that one extreme is driving on unsealed roads. At the other extreme is the idea of driving where there are no roads at all so the vehicle makes its own. The extreme goes from driving that could be done in any vehicle to needing a vehicle specially modified or constructed for the specific terrain and every permutation in between.


While considering this whole idea in the context of offroad subarus, I saw (and acquired) T shirts with Subaru-related slogans on them such as:
I love my Foz
Just one more Subaru I promise

I thought of a few of my own and wondered whether anyone knows of a Brisbane business that would print T shirts. Would anyone be interested in a T shirt that says:
When the bitumen ends we go subaruing
Subarus like it rough
When the road gets rough the Subaru gets going

Do you have any sayings of your own?
 
For some people driving on to the footpath is extreme, hence the need for a 4 inch lift and the biggest possible tyres. I had a shirt of my own Subaru printed on it. Would have been ok but the quality of the tee shirt was a problem.
 
True. A lot of people with modified vehicles never go off the bitumen. They just like to look at what they've spent their money on.


True about the quality of the T shirts too. The one I got with Just one more Subaru I promise is white print on black cloth and it didn't come out well. I think the shirt needs to be top quality to begin with so it looks good and lasts like a Subaru. :)
 
i loved how subaru explain their cars in old times. at least now they make videos of how they cars are still capable

il_570xN.1539137800_jehw.jpg


im very curious when new 2019 forester sport will be fully tested what that new x mode system could do better
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAwgwWZuvu4"]The All New 2019 Subaru Forester - Highlights & Features | 2019 Forester - YouTube[/ame]


seems like they going after what toyota have as terrain control.
 
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and about factors it must be tire preasure at first even with stock city tires with FWD car just lower psi and car would go much further even in sand.
very good test russians did. first FWD car then 4wd car but with street tires. first they test it with normal city driving psi and then for street tires they lower them to 0.8 and fwd can drive in sand right away.
4wd car with city tires same story bad with full psi and then becomes ok with 0.8 bar in them.
and in soft sand city tires could dig less then offroad tires so they pretty good going in sand. but not as good as lowered offroad tires still.
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and as they said for offroad tires you could go even lower without doing any damage ti tire. and get even more traction.

this makes all the difference
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works very good for all offroad situations, rocks too
001-lowering-tire-pressure-tire-deflection-against-rock-header.jpg


im still not using this trick enough as i dont have yet proper air compressor that could air up my tires fast.
 
Some good points here Scalman. :)

I made some additional observations from the videos, even though I couldn't understand a word of it.
1. The Mitsubishi ASX would have done even better if it hadn't been dragging its undercarriage on the hill between the wheel tracks. This is an indication that ground clearance is also a very important factor when driving in sand. The softer and drier the sand, the more ground clearance you need.
2. Your point about road tyres being superior in sand was well demonstrated and that's well known among sand drivers. Mud tyres just dig holes. A friend of mine used to run a jeep Renegade on sand dunes with old aircraft balloon tyres fitted that had no tread at all. They were completely bald and it could go anywhere on sand.
3. The sand they were driving on wasn't really all that soft. It was obviously damp underneath the top layer and the deeper the wheel tracks got, the better supported the vehicles were. I've driven my Forester on sand so dry and fine that the wheel tracks naturally filled in almost completely within 30 seconds of driving through it.
4. Following on from point 3, momentum was demonstrated to be a very important factor too. When driving on sand you must keep moving. If you stop going up hill you're finished. This brings in the driver factor in off roading and I think Rally has made this point well before. If you know how to drive you can get a vehicle places others wouldn't have a chance.
5. Lastly, it was pretty plain that vehicle mass made a significant difference too. The lighter the vehicle, the easier it was to drive on sand. heavy vehicles sink further into soft sand and require greater effort to keep them moving. Lower pressures and wider tyres make a difference but the vertical load on the sand is a big factor. The tyre's footprint contributes to resisting the tendency of the vehicle to sink into the soft sand but that advantage is lost to a large extent when wheelspin occurs. In order to keep moving forwards, the tyre that is deepest into the sand is forced to climb up as well as move forward and the heavier the vehicle is, the more force that is required. When it becomes harder to climb the little hill in front of the tyre than it is to dig down, forward motion ceases and the vehicle becomes stuck.


The moral of the story is, if you want to drive on soft sand, you need the following:

1. A light vehicle (Subaru qualifies)

2. Good ground clearance (Contact Subiliftoz)

3. Suitable tyres (the less tread the better) but keep in mind you have to get to the soft sand and back home again so some less aggressive AT tyres might be a good compromise. Lower tyre pressures. 18 PSI is a good place to start but go lower if needed. If you go below 10PSI be very careful when turning corners as tyres can roll off rims at that pressure.

4. A good run up and keep moving - momentum is king.

5. Change direction as little as possible. Wheels straight ahead provides least forward resistance to movement.

Have fun on the beach. I might see you there. :)
 
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