What factors make Off Road Ability?

i made new video of testing VDC system again this time on snow up hills and some places that would give hard time for cars AWD system. so if it looks simple on video its not in real as i drive as slow as i can and then im stoping in middle , im backing up to give hard as hard time as i can . and then i see how it performs. and its great. VDC off really doesnt do nothing if you need to go obstacle slow, it would go just with some momentum , no other way there. But then VDC system shows here that even if its can not always fins good traction its never giving up.
lets see it
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7QaMpg8bOo"]Subaru VDC testing on snow up hill - YouTube[/ame]

that was hard part as not only its need to find traction but its on snow , grass, and up hill
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with VDC off it was just dead there, moving nowhere, and it was center locked too with 1st gear on 4eat. ohh and rear LSD. still even center lock doesnt do much if your 2 or more wheels are in air no grip.
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it cant be seen in those giffs but with vdc off front wheel was just spinning full speed and VDC on it was just sliping and stoping and then sliping again trying to find grip. and it did.

another example in reverse it tries one rear wheel then it stops it and tries front wheels. im amazed how this system looks for grip . i then stopped later and tired again because car was sliding against that tree haha
im just pressing pedal very gently doing nothing else. it does all itself.
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and that is just on snow , slips wheels then stops them and tries other wheels for grip
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found some cool test 2 Foresters vs 2 Dusters. as i understand all no lift and just winter tires.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnLMGJ1w6ME"]?????? ?????? ??????. ???????? ????? ?? ??????????! ???? ? ??? ? ???????. ??????? ??????????, 2018 - YouTube[/ame]

that turbo forester seems like sits very low . in deep snow it have problems, but uphills they went pretty good. dusters have better front bumper for better angles.

found some cool thing .. Tesla X with instant torque destroying infamous Land Cruiser
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Tesla have some serious mind blowing specs there 2600kg/670Hp/970Nm . i mean its even heavier then that big heavy looking land cruiser . Tesla hauled it like it stole it. haha
 
scalman said:
found some cool test 2 Foresters vs 2 Dusters. as i understand all no lift and just winter tires.
Click to expand...
Need a translation!
..And why do you call Renaults Dusters?

Ahhh.. is it because they spend most of their time gathering dust, which makes sense?!!

Edi: Oh! They really are called Dusters! didn't realise that. I don't know if we have them here..
 
yes they Renault/Dacia Duster and Dusters are pretty capable AWD cars . out there. they part time 4wd have 2wd mode and 4wd modes. they have same system as nissan X trail uses. lock center and rest helps with traction control.
Renault-Duster-Exterior-106108.jpg


and people are making some cool stuff of them
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again Dusters vs Forester but this time there are more cars Tuscan, Tiggo,RAV4 seems like none of them have traction control. so one thing that they could do is floor it , but thats just not helping when you have some wheels in air . i think they said that Forester have rear LSD . at first all goes easy but then later steeper hill shows why traction control at least needed.
Tuscan was only car on auto. and if its doesnt have separate gears then to drive on D up hill is quite hard as gearbox could change gears in worse moment.
black UAZ patriot is kinda 4WD car. not same league. some models have lockers some have traction control, that one had front locker i guess. and Haval H3 chinese offroader that one was on summer tires . did prety good still. it should have some traction control there.
subaru driver was very arogant and too full of himself. those kind of people really making everything bad in all situations.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-oiDLc_-jE"]???????? ? ????? ?? ???????????! Duster, Tucson, RAV 4, Tiggo, Forester. ??????????, ??????? 2018 - YouTube[/ame]

i would go there completely different aproach. and VDC would help here or x mode .
 
@scalman, could you check if your VDC, or more precisely the traction control braking the slipping wheels, still works while disconnecting some sensors like the yaw or G sensors for example ?
 
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i could maybe if i ts easy to disconnect those. but VDC stops working on any small error or disconnection. like if ABS sensor or wheel aligment is bad VDC goes off right away . i got that myself so can tell for that. not sure for those sensors yet. But VDC not working separately for braking and for engine cut, its works as all or its not works then . so i would guess if anything goes wrong or disconnected VDC just goes off because it cant do its job anymore.
if you know how to disconnect those sensors i could test that for you no prob.
 
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Thats what I think too, it must be very sensible. I'll have to find out if bypasses or resistances could fool the system but will probably get a running Outback to make the tests myself.
 
not sure you could fool system sithout like hacking it because it gets data from all sensors or its shutting off. thats pretty simple. not sure you could use just one part of VDC and not use other.
if i knew where those sensors are and where plugs are its not hard to test them really. i just need to know where.
 
Do you have a speed sensor on the gearbox or are the 4 wheel ABS sensors giving the speed through the VDC ? Sorry, many questions as I don't have a VDC Subaru in front of me !
 
sure but i duno where those sensors could be , like how to tell them , find them ? if you could find places where they should be then i could check. i cant find those info in net thou.
i remember one times i got low coolant in engine and was having longer trip on high speeds so my engine getting hotter and VDC just turned off when i was going high speed. after i cooled down car it was on again. so i mean its really sensitive to many things there.
 
Don't worry Scalman, I'll try and have a look at an Outback here, thank you !
 
Well its no prob really but for testing that you need outback that drives and have everything working ok . so if you know where those sensors are just tell me and i would check them.
 
I'm also talking on another forum and got an answer...VDC can't work without the sensors, too bad.

But...we're trying to find another way to make it work, i'll keep you updated.
 
ok im glad if its work out on some way. i knew it wont work without full on sensors that simple.
 
this guy proved that subaru + long travel suspension makes subaru just more capable off road more comfy there too . just its cost some more and need some stuff redone there , changed , modified
he just having simple old school subaru active AWD and nothing more there. wel land some more power with H6 engine in old 1st gen outback. i wish it could be affordable as well.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPQ62rcCfWQ&t=30s"]Long travel Subaru Outback Arkansas Missouri Feb 2018 - YouTube[/ame]
 
small test of too steep tree stump with VDC on . 1st gear. and then why Hi Lift jack could be used even on subarus. it was fast recovery couple minutes , all front car was in air , put some tress under wheels , lower it down and drove away.
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What factors make off road ability? Depends on what type of off roading. I can only comment on dirt, mud and rock. I have tried road tyres and all terrain tyres, standard height and a mild lift, open, viscous, torsen, plated and locked diffs. All on an SG forester. The single biggest factor in off road ability, more than all the others combined, is having locking diffs. If you can lock your rear and centre diffs, in most scenarios you will go further than with other modifications.
 
I wonder if the key factor for Subaru success isnt low center of gravity vs supposed light weight.

More recent Subarus are not really light. More importantly, what matters is pressure per sq cm and since Subaru have small tires I am not sure they put less weight on the ground per sq cm at all.

In fact, I guess that my 4R has lower pressure per sq cm than my OB had.

There is literally twice as much tire on the ground vs 30% higher vehicle weight.

I do not know, but I think that the Subaru "magic" has a lot to do with really low center of gravity.
 
MiddleAgeSubie said:
More recent Subarus are not really light. More importantly, what matters is pressure per sq cm and since Subaru have small tires I am not sure they put less weight on the ground per sq cm at all.

In fact, I guess that my 4R has lower pressure per sq cm than my OB had.
Click to expand...




psi is psi is psi.
 
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