Someone pls talk me out of selling my OBXT

[Audioi]

All cars have problem areas and you have hit on all of them. There are a couple of easy fixes like the one for the ATC but the clutch & handling is what you get. Try out a couple of cars that you like and see if its really worth it. Maybe a A4 Qauttro Avant or a 330i Estate?

I understand they corrected some of your beefs in the 07.

[red beast]

BTW - it's called "personality"

[eVoMotion]

ok - thread that still lives...like we want your OBXT.

 

I agree with all you said and all comments. My 2 yen.

 

We added coilovers and proper size tires to our OBXT and it is night and day. You will love it, scare your friends and BMW/Audi drivers on the hills and laugh all the way to the bank.

 

Drop it down and keep it.

[TimGinCentralNJ]

People use strange logic to justify their choices... crazy snow in western NJ?? Whaaat? Even if you get few days every few years of said crazy snow, does it warranty driving on jacked up car on gumball tires year round? Scout mentality - be prepared

 

Sorry, I certainly have anti-OB bias, and I know I am not helpful.

 

No problem--I guess I opened myself up with that one...I should've qualified my statement a little: Do we have a huge annual amount of snowfall? No. Is it like Alaska? Not even close. It's probably worth mentioning that I do live on top of a small mountain (go to GoogleEarth and enter 08804, check out the topography of the town and find the highest point....that's where I live) and see significantly more snowfall than other areas around me; when it's near freezing and raining in town, it's snowing in my yard. It doesn't help that NJDOT's approach to clearing snow off the secondary roads around here is "wait 'till it's done snowing, then plow" and they don't do much better with I-78 which is what I take to work.

 

While not one of the reasons I bought the OB, its height has come in handy several times for crossing over the grass median during times where they've closed I-78 for long periods due to an accident.

 

The only other reason why I thought a little more ground clearance might come in handy was the fact we like taking our cars onto the beach in the Outer Banks when we're down there, and my Expedition is getting up there in miles. With the size of those ruts, ain't no way you'll be doing that in an LGT...

 

...but it would be fun to see YOU try Just bustin' on ya'...

 

Tim G.

[PGT]

Tim - same reason we are considering an OBXT to replace my wagon - sugary sand at Corolla and unusually high snowfall where we live relative to the region (we get 10" when DC gets 2-3").

[EvilSteve]

My wife and I bought the XT for the same reasons as you did (by the sound of it) but we have a place in the Catskills so I was expecting a fair bit of snow.

 

With regard to the clutch, it's terrible and I'm still trying to get the hang of it after ~4k miles (we bought second hand).

 

Handling wise, you need to progressively steer into a corner, letting the body roll and then the car will handle the way you want. You just have to account for the body roll and it's really not that bad. I'm going to be buying the front & rear anti-roll bars at some point in the near future.

 

The ACC doesn't bother me either although, it's clearly not perfect.

 

Having said all that, if I had to do it again, I'd get an LGT instead of this. I love my MT XT but I'd give up the MT for an AT LGT because it's going to be more practical for what we do with it. It'd definitely be a wagon though because they're so convenient and fun too. I'll see how I go over winter though, if I don't need the clearance, I might get an LGT next, given of course that SOA doesn't cancel it.

 

Oh yeah, I've driven my friend's A4 and unless you're really going quickly through some tight twisty stuff I don't see what the benefit is.

[Garandman]

///Actually I did intentionally buy the OB for the add'l ground clearance (we actually do get some crazy snow in Western NJ on occasion, and also travel to New England to go skiing), but did prefer the handling of the LGT sedan I had orig planned on buying. I don't mind a slightly softer suspension, so if coil-overs will clean up the handling a little (even if I lose some clearance) and don't cost me a freaking fortune, I'll probably go that route. Who knows, maybe even a swaybar.////

The Gen I and II ground clearance was about perfect for snow - got you over the packed berms between lanes on highways and the like.

 

While the ground clearance is officially 8.4/8.7", if you get under the car you see at the back it's 8.4" (on mine) at the rear suspension - but 10" down the middle.

 

A guy at subaruoutback.org got the online manuals and found there's a spacer above the rear subframe on the OBW that raises it 1" or so.

[Guest]

A guy at subaruoutback.org got the online manuals and found there's a spacer above the rear subframe on the OBW that raises it 1" or so.

 

Yeah, I was just checking "vacation pix" and I saw the spacer in the rear. The rear links are also different.

 

Apparently in front only struts/springs and a plate for lower control arms are different.

 

I was investigating posibility of "real" OB to Legacy conversion and it does not seem that hard or that expensive to get the suspension converted to Legacy specs.

 

If only there was easy way to get rid of the body cladding. The fugly bumper i guess can be replaced.

[Guest]

The Gen I and II ground clearance was about perfect for snow

 

True. In order to sell OBs as "light trucks" they compromised safety in the name of CAFE credits. Goverment regulations and bean counters at their best.

[Garandman]

///I was investigating posibility of "real" OB to Legacy conversion and it does not seem that hard or that expensive to get the suspension converted to Legacy specs.

 

The OB handles a lot better than people give it credit for. Go find an autocross and check it out. A car can roll a lot and still stick to the road well. And by the same token setting up a car for flat cornering can limit adhesion on rough roads.

 

True. In order to sell OBs as "light trucks" they compromised safety in the name of CAFE credits. Goverment regulations and bean counters at their best.

 

Any car with a rollover risk of 10-20% is given four stars. Available passengers cars vary from 7 to 19%. SUV's vary from 15% to 25%.

 

All Subarus I could find have four stars. The lowest model I could find was a 2004 Legacy - 10%. The highest was the Tribeca - 16%. I could not find a rollover % for the 2005+ Legacy or GT. Current Outbacks and Foresters are 15%, current Imprezas 11%.

 

Cars with 7-8% rollver ratings are basically two seat sports cars. 9% rollover ratings include hotties like the Chyrsler Sebring, Ford Crown Victoria, Pontiac G6 and Mazda6 - none AWD.

 

Lowest "SUV's" were Dodge Magnum, Ford Freestyle, Chevy HHR and Pacifica. Others with 15% rating were Acura MDX and Nissan Murano.

 

http://www.safercar.gov/RollRatings2.cfm?rYear=2006#VClassSU

[Guest]

The OB handles a lot better than people give it credit for. Go find an autocross and check it out. A car can roll a lot and still stick to the road well. And by the same token setting up a car for flat cornering can limit adhesion on rough roads.

 

This is all true. Remember, body roll has not much to do with how well car sticks to the road, it's just how well you can control it. Less body roll = more control. What counts is the center of gravity, and the lower it is the better for handling.

 

Nevertheless saying OB handles well on it's underdamped suspension is smoking crack.All is relative, but c'mon. Heck, even LGT on the stock crappy suspension does not handle well! Difference is LGT is easily fixed by replacing the suspension with something better, while OB not.

[red beast]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-10/423426/xtriver.gif

[Guest]

When you have to get across.... just go in Legacy... forget the Outback

 

[Audioi]

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-10/423426/xtriver.gif

 

Awesome vid man!

[eVoMotion]

oh my gawd!!!

[Boulderguy]

That video's great - it's all about the technique tho, not the car.

 

Sorry to hear the car's not working out for you. I'm in touch, definitely. Last time I buy a car w/o testing it on some canyon roads. Had I done that I would have definitely done the LGT wagon instead of the OBXT.

 

So I agree, the power's there & super fun but the handling is grossly inadequate to keep up with the speed. Plus there's all sorts of little "why did they design it this way" quirks that could have been done better, like interior lighting, door locks, noise dampening, hood lifters, wiring stuff, squeaks, rattles, the list goes on & on. If you're coming from a 7-series you know exactly what I mean. It just doesn't have a quality feel to it.

 

I've gone pretty far to correct as much of these things as possible w/o sinking too much $$ into it & am fairly happy, but have had to make sacrifices too. If I could sell the car w/o taking a big hit on depreciation I would in a second but it just ain't worth it. I'd rather just deal for a few more years & come out better on the back end than eat the two most expensive years of the car's life.

 

So I guess that's my advice, if you can live with taking the hit of the biggest depreciation years then do it, it's worth it to not be bothered by the car daily. If you're not willing to do that - as I'm not - then maybe $2k in mods will make the car a lot more enjoyable for you.

 

For the record I'm maybe $1500 into suspension mods & it's been well worth it. Still if I could go back I'd buy a 2003 Grand Cherokee, that was a great car. Or maybe an '04 4wd BMW wagon.

[Boulderguy]

One other thing - I've got the AT and while the grass may seem greener from where you sit I can say the auto is kinda weird & not w/o quirks.

 

I sometimes wonder if the MT would have been better even tho I hate shifting gears 90% of the time.