Rollie715

Wow, This thread has seemed to hit a chord with so many people who have jumped in and added their comments. In the few hours since I first read this, I've been thinking about why people become enthused with anything. I admit I have also caught the bug and have very quickly spent more money and did more work on my Subaru's then I can justify. Why? I think enthusiasm is contagious. Other people have a huge influence on what we think and do. It may have started out as a cheap car we picked up, but as soon as we start hanging around other Sube owners or reading the posts on this website, we develop the desire to do what they do or even try to do it better then the next person. Then, before we know it, we have gone way beyond what makes rational sense. I think in some ways it is like a cult. We develop beliefs and defend our way of thinking beyond what is truly rational. To me that is what much of the fun is all about. It doesn't have to make sense. Subarus may not be better at anything, but that doesn't really matter to me. I enjoy thinking they are. Rollie

Hey Scott, When are we going to get together and post more of your latest Walker Valley trips on to the website? Rollie

I know Scott is familiar with your exact question. He currently has a silver 88' Wagon sitting in front of his shop with 27" SSR's mounted on 15" Pugs bolted up to the rear where he has done the above mentioned rear mods. Currently the same car has a little smaller tires on the front, as the front requires a lot more beating or cutting to get a 27" tire to fit especially when the steering wheel is turned sharp to the left or right. The SSR's look like they belong on the Pug Alloys. The width is just fine. Rollie

I Like it

Chevy rims typically have a wider offset and will stick out further then wanted. This could cause the tire to hit hard against the rear fender well when turning the wheel. The Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda wheels would be a better choice. Rollie

I've always liked the look of huge tires on a "lowrider". I'd cut out the fenders more and stay with the bigger tires. As for clearance underneath, you will still gain the amount the tires have lifted the car even without a body or suspension lift. A 4" taller tire will gain you 2" more of clearance. Nice rig. Rollie

Great pictures and event. As for Soobs and Yotas, I can say that almost everytime when Scott and I have planned an offroad event in which we personally bring Subarus and mostly only promote it here on the Subaru site, it seems like we've had more Subaru owners drop out and more Toyotas show up to where we are outnumbered by the Toyotas. If you watch our offroad videos, you will likely see more Toyotas then Subarus. It's great. They all know how to have a good time and usually treat each other good. Rollie

I've been driving lifted rigs for quite awhile. Harrassment by the police seems like it occurs mostly if you have other issues that are attracting them, such as chunks of mud and dirt falling off, bashed up body parts with broken or missing lights and mudflaps. Loose or loud exhaust. Welded rearend with loud tire squealing as you turn around a corner. Bumper height depending on the state is usually based on the tonnage of the vehicle. I haven't checked it but I believe even Subaru with an 8" lift still sits low enough to be legal. If your rig looks decent and you don't drive in a manner to attract anyone, I don't think you would have a problem. Rollie

Actually, mine was missing one wheel cover from each side and I had to move them both to the same side just to get the picture. Rollie

Great observation. Besides the lift and wheels. Hubs are now 6-bolt, notice the 6-bolt Nissan wheels bolted directly on. Front bumper is now one from AA. Hood has been replaced with a straight one. Top roof rack now has the cross bars bolted on. Front mudflaps have been removed to clear larger tires (215/70r15). Front skid plate has been extended from under engine up to bumper. Front broken grill replaced by unbroken one. It's nice to have a second parts car of the same color.

I drove my Soob out of the shop this last week with the new SJR lift installed. Drove it to work the last couple days and it handles great on the road. Specs: 88 GL Wagon, 6" SJR Lift, AA front Bumper It was mostly a bolt on conversion, with a few small parts that needed modified or fabricated. I hope to publish a fully documented story complete with detailed photos of each part. Here's a few photos: Before After Before: After: Before: After: Me, Ready to roll: Rollie

Last night I: replaced exhaust sensor thing bled brakes (needs it more) tightened potential leaky fitting on power steering pump installed front grill mounted front turn signals mounted front license plate installed spare tire holder and tire extended body to engine and tranny ground straps. To do list for tonight: modify shifting linkage to remove interference fabricate single bolt modified front body lift parts install front skid plate possibly reinstall front valience check out dog chewed dimmer switch check out rear exhaust body rub add power steering fluid and checkout leak I drove the car to work this morning. Rides great, but engine still has original rich running state. I'm thinking of pulling the intake manifold to check if a big bolt or something dropped inside the intake when I first got the motor. I'm running out of ideas. Rollie

Sorry I missed it. I worked late last night and didn't notice the shop light on. I hope to nose in Big Blue tonight and finish getting it ready to drive.

I'm thinking the Bronco group as a whole did not have the same commitment to not using the bypass as others may have. I'm guessing each rig may have spent some time trying the rock face, and then used the bypass when they failed. It would take considerable group time to rig up and winch each vehicle.

We had a group of extreme Ford Broncos right behind us. All had huge Boggers and most were locked up front and rear. Only 2 out of the six successfully made it up the rock face. Most had to go around the stump.

I've started putting together the Videos from the recent Walker Valley trip. Here's a few low-res samples. http://www.loghomefamily.org/subaru/videos/WalkerJan272007ScottMudWinch_lo.wmv http://www.loghomefamily.org/subaru/videos/WalkerJan272007DylanBlowsRearAxle_lo.wmv http://www.loghomefamily.org/subaru/videos/WalkerJan272007ScottRockclimb_lo.wmv Eventually they will be added to the following page and appear at the top of the list: http://www.loghomefamily.org/subaru/ Rollie

Great trip! We had 4 vehicles, Scott's White 87 GL Wagon Dylan's Red EA81 Wagon Brian's Red Isuzu Trooper Karls Red Jeep Lots of damages and plenty of challenging offroad situations. 3 blown tires (Scott, Dylan, Brian) 1 bent rim (Brian) 1 bent radius rod (Scott) 1 front axle break (Brian, probably a locking hub) 1 blown rear end (Dylan, probably broken spider gears) 1 broke off side mirror (Scott) 1 slightly ripped top (Karl) A few busted turn signal lights A few bent bumpers Lots of exra dents in the side doors 1 broken headlight (Dylan ?) 1 smoked clutch (Dylan) We used most of the tools and spare parts brought along. Including both winches Overall it was a very succesful trip. All vehicles came out of the woods under their own power, although a couple had to be towed through the rough spots. Here's a couple pictures to whet your appetite. I haven't reviewed the videos yet, but hope to have highlights posted online and DVD's available within the next few days. Rollie Andy, Cassie, Jason, Brian, Ki, Dylan, Rollie, Scott, Bruce, Karl Scott stuck in mud, Had to winch out of this one Dylan going over a rock, This is the one that broke his rear end

I will be at the shop tonight working on my lift. My car won't be ready for the trip. I am available to assist whoever is getting their car ready for this Saturday. I plan to go along to Walker Valley as the official videographer. Your guys job is to get your cars there and do fantastic things in the mud. My job is to capture the moments with the video camera for all to enjoy. Rollie

The higher you go, the more work it will be. For 3-4 inches, you could get away with a minimum number of lift blocks and a little bit more angles on your axles. For 6 inches and more you will need to put lift blocks on every attachment point. For greater then 6 inches, you may want to add cross bracing between some of the lift blocks to maintain structural integrity. For 8 inches and higher, the cross bracing may get so invloved that what you end up with will resemble a complete subframe between the body and suspension parts. Good luck Rollie

Thanks Noah, I updated the above table to show the correct ratios

I'm planning on running different tire sizes front to back, so that the ratios will work out and not cause problems in 4wd. Front -- Rear -- Rear - 3.90 --- 4.11 --- 4.44 - 23.0 --- 24.2 --- 26.2 - 24.0 --- 25.3 --- 27.3 - 25.0 --- 26.3 --- 28.5 - 26.0 --- 27.4 --- 29.6 - 27.0 --- 28.5 --- 30.7 For example using the above table, I'm thinking if I put a 4.44 diff in the rear, I will limit my front tire size to 25.0 to help with the low gearing and put a rear tire of 28.5 in the rear.

I'm thinking of putting a diff in the rear with a 4.10 or a 4.44 ratio or what ever else is available, and then putting bigger tires in the rear to even out the front to rear ratio. Are there diffs from other Subarus that will bolt right in? And what other ratios are available?

I've been thinking for awhile, it would be nice to put a 4.11 or 4.44 diff in the rear and then put taller and wider tires in the rear. I would think it ought to go good and even look good if you like the staggered tire size look.

I like it ! I was thinking of doing a similar mod, and also like the idea of keeping it low. Raising the engine would help get the diff to fit under, but would not provide for much room above it for the radiator. You would probably need to move the diff forward a few inches to make room for the larger tires to keep them away from the rear of the front fenderwells with only a 6" lift. The front part of the fenderwells would need to be cut out extra. Also moving the front diff forward may require a little reworking of how the strut towers mount up to the body. I was also thinking of moving the transfercase back far enough so that when you cut the big hole and raised it higher, it wouldn't be right between the seats and be too wide at that point. I imagined a taller narrow hump between the seats which would be where the two forward driveshafts would be. As for cutting out the bottom of the original tranny or running a dry sump, I think the low point under the flywheel might be the big problem, and I don't think you would gain much there unless you move the diff forward as well as the engine/tranny rearward. It could be major work. Just ideas so far. I will let you know if I make any progress towards it. Rollie

I recently had the same question. I found if I went to the photo section and did a search for transfercase or differential, I found a few good pictures showing how others had done it. Then after you see who has some of the pictures, then go to their photo albums, and you may find more. If I remember right, Bushbasher had some really good ones that showed a lot of how he did it. Rollie