long travel Outbacks or making Subarus faster and more reliable offroad

[iluvdrt]

18 hours ago, pontoontodd said:

If it's only 4x as expensive as an ADF lift that's cheap!  Would like to see some pictures and videos.

Oh, I am not sure of the cost, but it isn't cheap. You would have to Chris about that. Pictures and videos of can be found on his FB page. It is what his white forester has.

[pontoontodd]

Going to make a few posts about some of the guards we've built recently.

This one is the gas tank guard we originally made for the green 2000 Forester.

Original:

We had to refab a couple of the mounts to fit the blue 2001 Forester, probably mainly from beating on the 2000, I don't think the cars are supposed to be different.  Test fitting and adjusting on the 2001:

welded the new ends on:

quick respray and install:

Edited October 1, 2018 by pontoontodd

[scalman]

i allways had one thought like what if you catch on something smaller between those tubes , like even not that small stone could fit there in those gaps. isnt that a problem or at least some danger ? 

[pontoontodd]

18 minutes ago, scalman said:

i allways had one thought like what if you catch on something smaller between those tubes , like even not that small stone could fit there in those gaps. isnt that a problem or at least some danger ? 

You mean caught between the tubes and the gas tank?  I don't think we've had that problem.

If you mean smaller rocks could fit between the tubes and dent the gas tank, that hasn't been a problem either.  The main goal is to keep the big rocks from smashing into the front edge of the gas tank.

[pontoontodd]

This is the guard we just built for the front of the Forester to protect the radiator support and oil pan.

Also bolts to the front swaybar mounts for more bracing and somewhat protect the exhaust.

 

[pontoontodd]

Similar guard for the front of my 2002 Outback.

 

 

You can see the auto trans guard I'm working on too, I'll put up some pictures of that when it's done.

[scalman]

looks great. very neet. so you want to cover all that area with some plates ? what about recovery points in front ? i dont see any there , you could just do them where originals where , or you will make steel bumper and they will be there ? 

and what diameter tubes you used there ? and why not round tubes or corners ? do those like best for strenght ? 

thanks . 

[pontoontodd]

5 minutes ago, scalman said:

looks great. very neet. so you want to cover all that area with some plates ? what about recovery points in front ? i dont see any there , you could just do them where originals where , or you will make steel bumper and they will be there ? 

and what diameter tubes you used there ? and why not round tubes or corners ? do those like best for strenght ? 

thanks . 

For now I'm not going to add any more plates.  I think the extra weight, cost, and difficulty of maintenance isn't worth it.  If we start desert racing with one of these then we probably should.

We will usually just loop a strap around the front bumper.  Planning on making bumpers for both cars.  2002 already has a steel bumper in front.  In the meantime we can loop something around one of those tubes going back from the radiator support.

Round tubing is stronger but for these guards square and rectangle seems to work out better.  Mounting to the bottom of the radiator support and crossmember is easier, then connecting those and giving a flat surface for the plate to attach to is also easier.  It's also a lot faster fitting square/rectangle tubes together than round to round.

[scalman]

cool. i saw you welded plate on .. and made hole for oil change ... i thought like what if make those plates on bolts.. like 4 bolts in corners... if its got dent or something you can then change it or remove..  but maybe thats not needed. and i see why you need such strong protection for those high speeds that you do there its crazy. and you could made recovery holes when you did that radiator support tube on sides could be longer plates with holes , that could be fine recovery points.

[pontoontodd]

8 minutes ago, scalman said:

cool. i saw you welded plate on .. and made hole for oil change ... i thought like what if make those plates on bolts.. like 4 bolts in corners... if its got dent or something you can then change it or remove..  but maybe thats not needed. and i see why you need such strong protection for those high speeds that you do there its crazy. and you could made recovery holes when you did that radiator support tube on sides could be longer plates with holes , that could be fine recovery points.

I thought about bolting on the plates.  It would be a little more work and weaker than welding them on.  Really there's almost never a reason to remove that plate once it's installed, you can even remove the engine and/or exhaust with it in place.

We use these straps for recovery:

https://www.racereadyproducts.com/tie-downs--tow-straps/speed-strap/

You can adjust the length, they loop around a bumper or whatever so they don't fall off, and the 2" straps hold up very well.  So a plate to loop them through wouldn't be good, that would cut the strap.  Plates sticking out down there might catch on obstacles too.

 

[scalman]

ohh interesting never heard of those straps... mostly here we just use kinetic strap or rope for recovery ... so we need  like loops and shackles for those. 

 

[pontoontodd]

1 minute ago, scalman said:

ohh interesting never heard of those straps... mostly here we just use kinetic strap or rope for recovery ... so we need  like loops and shackles for those. 

 

these also stretch

[scalman]

but as you said they not good used on loops as they can brake yes ? but on chackles they could be ok yes ? so they would work if like you stuck in mud and some 4wd car want to recover you ? they strong enough ? 

[pontoontodd]

Just now, scalman said:

but as you said they not good used on loops as they can brake yes ? but on chackles they could be ok yes ? so they would work if like you stuck in mud and some 4wd car want to recover you ? they strong enough ? 

I just think if you used it through a hole in a flat plate you'd eventually cut through the strap.  Used around bumpers or shackles or something they hold up great.  We have broken a 1" strap after a lot of abuse but a friend has pulled a semi truck out of the mud with a 1" strap before.  The 2" straps seem indestructible for Subaru use.

[pontoontodd]

This is the front guard for the 2002 Outback welded.  Still need to add tubes to the front bumper so can't paint it yet.

 

 

This is the guard for the auto trans pan.  Held a couple tubes in place with magnets a little bit off the pan and fit a couple plates to some of the case bolts/studs.

 

Added some ramps so it slides over rocks better and welded it off the car.

 

Painted and installed.

[Numbchux]

I want that trans skid!

[pontoontodd]

1 minute ago, Numbchux said:

I want that trans skid!

I'll make you one for some STI R180 rear CV axles...

[scalman]

looks great. is there reason you making them so strong , like in the worse case ? they heavy too arent they ?

 

[pontoontodd]

5 minutes ago, scalman said:

looks great. is there reason you making them so strong , like in the worse case ? they heavy too arent they ?

 

That trans skid is pretty light.

I have bent the oil pan guard on my 99 Outback a little when it was two pieces of 1"x2" rectangle with 1/8" 4130 on the bottom.

Edited October 4, 2018 by pontoontodd

[pontoontodd]

Added a T, tow bar tabs, and little guards for the bolts for the blue Forester skidpan.

Also swapped out the rear CV axles on that, long bolt on one corner on the rear, and fabricated lateral links on that corner.  Put the hitch from the green Forester on it too.

[slammo]

Looks great, looking forward to seeing the new setup.  It's so much nicer to work on and drive cars that aren't rusty, so I'm sure you're glad to have switched vehicles.

[pontoontodd]

19 minutes ago, slammo said:

Looks great, looking forward to seeing the new setup.  It's so much nicer to work on and drive cars that aren't rusty, so I'm sure you're glad to have switched vehicles.

Yes, rust free cars make life much easier!  Forester is pretty much ready to go.

I'm still driving my 99 Outback though and it's pretty rusty.  Once the 2002 is done I'll probably keep driving both for a few years.  Would really like to do a few more desert races while the 99 is still going.

[pontoontodd]

I've been meaning to do this to the 99 Outback since the Vegas to Reno last year, finally decided to over the weekend.  Cut a couple of pieces of 1.5 x 2 x .188 wall rectangular tubing like this to replace the subframe spacers.  The 2000+ Outbacks are actually built somewhat like this, probably for a reason.

 

 

Made plates for the top and bottom of the subframe bolts out of 1/8" 4130 to spread the load and keep the "frame rails" from crushing.  I do have tubes in the frame rails for the tubes to clamp on but they're still smashed.  Before this the subframe bolts were bottomed out on the threads and not really clamping.

Here is one of the top plates in place.  If I take out the engine to do head gaskets or something I might weld these in.

This is the driver's side tube in place.  Bent the flange up so I could slide it in.  Didn't paint this side of the tube (much) since I was going to be welding to it.

Welded the flange and welded the tube to the body.  Again, if I have the engine out I might weld the other side of the tube to the body.  Also welded a little crack in the subframe.  Hammered the front part of the flange back down just to make sure it doesn't rub the tire.

Painted it.

Did the same thing to the passenger side.

 

 

I was able to really torque down the bolts and they're not bottomed out on the threads.  Hoping this will keep me from cracking the windshield so often.

Edited October 9, 2018 by pontoontodd

[slammo]

Nice work, that should better react the bending load on the front chassis rails and hopefully help your chassis fatigue issues.  It's a shame the 2nd gen Legacy didn't come with the U-shaped subframe brace like the GD Impreza did.

[6 Star]

Over the past few weeks I have kept this thread open in a tab on my phone, it has made for an entertaining and inspiring read during my break time at work.

Keep up the good work!

The grass is always greener on the other side... you have so much R & D into these Outbacks you might as well continue with them. However variety is the spice of life.

The only constructive criticism I have is to watch those cross-sections on the trails you are blasting down. (Forgot the location, several videos back) I would hate to be on an atv or whatever and get T-boned by an Outback doing 60 through the woods haha. I didnt see another soul besides you guys on the video but its just a what if... never know who else is out there.