off-roading

[Beanboy]

How's the new Outback holding up in off-road situations? Anybody have fun at the beach yet? Fire roads? Dunes? Water crossings? Let's hear some stories! -B

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

There was some guy who had trouble running it up 180 degree roads in Colorado :lol:

[DWColorado]

I'm that guy ... I've taken my Outback XT on a few moderate jeep roads out here in Colorado. I've only encountered two problems: 1) Stalling in 1st gear at slow speeds on anything less than a level road at altitudes around 12,000ft. However, I've concluded I have the same stalling problems at 12,000ft on a paved road. At those altitudes I just need to get into the turbo rpm's for it to not stall. From what people have said on this board, it sounds like an automatic transmission wouldn't have those problems. 2) Took a chunck out of the sidewall of a tire, but that comes with the territority. Cost about $200 for a replacement tire! As long as you respect the clearance (which is pretty good anyways) and the approach/departure angles, you won't have any problems on rocky roads.

[gt_ltd]

[quote name='DWColorado']Cost about $200 for a replacement tire![/quote] what kind of tire? :o

[DWColorado]

RE92A's (including labor, tax, etc.)

[stokes]

Forest Service roads in Washington...two days after I picked it up. : ) Very impressed with the suspension. Standard gravel, potholes, rocky sections, and creek washouts. Waaaay smoother than my truck at 45mph. Wanted to push it, but all limited viz one lane. Nimble through the washouts.

[froej25]

Yeah, not quite the match of my old 86 GMC Sierra with the 454, 38" Super Swampers and about 10 inches of suspension lift... but then again, I'm going faster at the end of 1/8 mile then that truck could go flat out. Took my Outback XT on a bunch of gravel roads in northern Michigan (my old stomping grounds) including a bit of running near Atlanta MI (site of the SCCA Sno-Drift ProRally) and around the old family farm. Overall, I am pleased; its a rally car, soaks up bumps nicely and lets you apply power so much earlier (and more effectively) than FWD cars (previously I ran a 92 Nissan Sentra SE-R and a 93 Mazda 323, both of which have rally heritage, on these roads; no comparison). Even washouts that I really should have been going much slower when I hit were no problem, I can't get over how this car makes every decent surfaced road seem smooth! But, there are some limitations. For one, it IS a big car, and as such the narrow MI two-tracks were much too close to the nice shiny new paint for my tastes (although any other sport-ute would have been much worse off). The car is not high enough to easily ride over the good-sized bumps (8 inches or more) and deep ruts found on these roads; once again, any stock sized SUV short of a H1 or Wrangler Rubicon would have similar problems on the roads I was on. Also, the AWD is a limitation; a viscous coupling (manual trans) simply cannot distribute power as surely as a transfer case can (fully locking 50/50 t-case, of course). Also, the low torque at low rpms makes standing starts in loose sand difficult; give it some extra gas, or it will stall. Finally, let me point out that leaving the sunroof open when whipping doughnuts in a construction companies sand pit is not the best idea- fun for 3 minutes, then it takes about 3 hours to get the sand out of the upholstery, and 3 weeks for the gritty noise from the roof rails to stop (after cleaning the rails and relubing them). Oh yeah, I was the one who pulled Ramana Lageman's STI off the stage at the 2004 Sno-Drift; that's a nice car :).