Finally joined the 4th Gen Outback Clan

[covertrussian]

That's really impressive, though if your are doing the bulk of the mile at 45mph, that does make sense. 45mph is said to be the most fuel efficient speed, between wind resistance and distance traveled per hour.

 

My city driving has a 45mph stretch, but my average speed is closer at 20-25mph

 

Also, I too always use cruise control, I don't believe in the hypermiling tricks, they are too annoying to do when driving a long while, plus other drivers will hate you for constantly slowing down.

 

Oh, and EYESIGHT will keep you from accidentally running into your garage door... bonus!

 

The 2014 already had an eyesight? I wish Subaru had a useful 7-8 seater in 2014, I would be all over it right now.

 

That just forced me to look up the Tribecca again, if it has the same motor, then why on earth is it rated at 16/21 mpg? :facepalm:

Edited April 3, 2019 by covertrussian

[SBT]

The 45mph section is about 2 miles long, with a lot of hills/elevation changes in that stretch. It's down hill through a good portion of it, like into a river valley, and you have to keep your foot on the gas going downhill, because the 5EAT brakes if you're off the gas and coasting. The the uphill portion is significant and even higher elevation with several turns. You can feel, and hear, the engine and drivetrain working to pull that grade.

 

From that point onward, it's all 25-30mph stop and go redlights and stop signs, again, uphill and down in the city. Nothing is flat or level around here for the most part.

 

2013 Legacys and Outbacks could be ordered with EYESIGHT. For 2014 it could be ordered or, as in this case, it came as part of the Special Equipment Package.

 

It works well, and with the 3-mode distance-following will start to slow you down in cruise ON mode, and slow you down even further relative to the car's speed ahead, then continue to slow down and bring you to a complete halt if that vehicle ahead stops.

 

I was rolling up to the garage door, and was about 5' away, when I noticed that the OB was slowing. I kept my foot hovered over the brake pedal, and when it got about 1' away, it completely stopped the car.

 

I really like the Tribeca, especially the 08+ with the 3.6L and revised 5EAT that the 08+ Legacy chassis received. That said, it's a brick, weighs 4,200+ lbs empty, and has wind resistance coefficient of a garage door. It's thirsty huffing all of that weight around, and pushing that much air, and it only has a 16.9gal tank, so you fill up a lot - range around town is ~270 miles.

 

Our daughter and her family had one. They averaged about 18mpg overall, and would see lower 20s on the highway fully loaded. They loved it, and would likely still have it, but a 3/4T Chevy pickup hit them from the rear at 55+ MPH closing speed, and that was the end of the Tribeca. It was a 2012, full-boat limited, so it had all the bells and whistles. Our SIL was driving and drove it home, but when they had it appraised, the entire rear sub-frame was broken on one side and twisted on the other. He was uninjured.

 

Brilliant 2nd seating operation, very similar to the Ascent, but the 3rd row, infants and very small people only. YMMV.

 

 

Really liking this OB. Looking forward to hooking up the "Egg" trailer and going camping.

[covertrussian]

Sounds like you live in an equally hilly place that I do . It's real hard to find a flat road for virtual dyno tuning around here .

 

Overall I'm impressed but still at a disbelief at those numbers for city, but am still curious on your highway only numbers too.

 

I got 28.40mpg yesterday, on my newer highway testing loop (I had to start driving further to keep the miles up otherwise fill-up inconsistencies were not giving good numbers). This is with 87 gas, loaded car, and all headlights/fogs on, going 71mph.

 

I never thought I would say it, but I really like the idea of EyeSight nowdays, now that I have kids (major distractions) I think it's a must for our next car. I wish Suburu got their game together earlier and already had 2014 good 8 seater (before their CVT craze) . I am glad to hear that you can still find an EyeSight Outback that's pre-CVT though!

[SBT]

2015s got the upgraded color camera and wider field of view which adds impressive capability to an already decent Eyesight system. Reading. In the 2020 Legacy thread that the newest JDM version can recognize turn signals and can operate in near-autonomous mode in city environs.

 

 

We're taking a 400 mile round trip next weekend - all highway. Will report back on mileage.

[SBT]

Still need to do a computed MPG, but we've put 7500 miles on the car since February. Over that OCI, we've averaged 25.5 MPG, on Subaru (Idumetsu) 5W-30 Full-Synth oil and 87 E-0 fuel.

 

Car has been down to the East Coast, to Gulf Coast Florida, to NW PA and back to Upstate SC between trips. Car has been flawless. More long trips planned for next month as well.

 

Currently looking for recommendations for a proper DBW throttle controller, that will work with the 3.6L H6 setup.

 

Anyone using a DBWTC? See many on Amazon, including this Injen version, but no reviews or answered questions, so potentially only for the 2.0L/2.5L H4s.

 

I seem to recall an AVO DBWTC on the forums, but don't recall anyone using it with the H6s 3.0L or the 3.6L.

 

 

Any help is appreciated.

[covertrussian]

Ohhhh I see how your getting such good gas mileage, E-0 fuel is probably the biggest help! I wish Shell had E-0, I would test the heck out of it myself.

 

As for BWTC, any reason for going external instead of retuning the ecu?

[SBT]

I like the idea of plug and play functionality that I don't currently have. Would really like to dial-down the ooomph of the 3.6R for ECO purposes and to smooth out the delivery.

 

I don't want to mess with this ECU until I'm ready, which means getting the LGTW upgrade path finished, and tuned, and the 03 Cummins re-injectored.

 

Then I can start to explore the realm of possibilities with this ECU.

[SBT]

Also, has anyone tried the B6 (HD) Bilsteins and what springs did you go with to balance with these? I'm confident that the stock springs won't play nice with the B6es.

 

Have really enjoyed the B6es on the LGTW (with King Performance Springs), and think that they'd be an excellent addition to the OB.

[SBT]

BTW, thinking about it, part of that 7500 OCI (1/3) was with limited to no AC. That said, running with AC at full lilt, it doesn't seem to affect the mileage more than .2MPG.

[covertrussian]

BTW, thinking about it, part of that 7500 OCI (1/3) was with limited to no AC. That said, running with AC at full lilt, it doesn't seem to affect the mileage more than .2MPG.

 

That's probably due to the extra cylinders, even on my LGT I remember AC being about an 1-2mpg hit around town. I'm gonna test this next, while it's blistering hot.