Shiv's MY08 Outback 3.0R (off-road spec)

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Re: Shiv's MY08 Outback 3.0R (off-road spec)

Postby bigBADbenny » Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:27 pm

Hey Shiv, I've been working in the outback and this whole lifted subie thing is really growing on me.
I have some questions I'd like your opinion on :good:
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Re: Shiv's MY08 Outback 3.0R (off-road spec)

Postby Shiv » Sat Mar 02, 2019 7:53 am

Hey mate,
Yeah shoot with any questions you may have :)
MY08 'off-road spec' Outback 3.0R Premium -- 1"inch raised King Springs, 1"inch lifting blocks, SubaXtreme alloy front & rear bars, KIDO Tune, Valenti Style Tail Lights + much much more!
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Re: Shiv's MY08 Outback 3.0R (off-road spec)

Postby bigBADbenny » Sat Mar 02, 2019 8:48 am

Awesome! Well, the question about raising a spec b to cope with a rough road was asked on the spec b FB group.
I coughed up everything I knew on the subject, eg outback body lift & how much height difference between stock spec b struts and ob struts... And then did some more research on top of that.

Which led me to subieliftoz and their spacer kits.
And the vendor that makes the cast bash plate etc.

That’s where my knowledge runs out.

The two main questions I have are:

How much lift is useful or practical vs loss of handling?

And given I’d like to do this with my Shockworks coilovers, which are optimised for full travel whilst lowered maybe an inch under stock spec b height, how does that affect ability on rougher dirt tracks?

I’m a total n00b on the subject yet the experiment is an affordable one.
I’d need 17’s, tyres, lift kit including front spacers and perhaps one of the full rear subframe spacer kits, maybe adjustable rear lateral arms just because I want them regardless.

With the understanding I’m already an inch lower than a stock outback.
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Re: Shiv's MY08 Outback 3.0R (off-road spec)

Postby Shiv » Sat Mar 02, 2019 9:23 am

bigBADbenny wrote:The two main questions I have are:

How much lift is useful or practical vs loss of handling?

And given I’d like to do this with my Shockworks coilovers, which are optimised for full travel whilst lowered maybe an inch under stock spec b height, how does that affect ability on rougher dirt tracks?

I’m a total n00b on the subject yet the experiment is an affordable one.
I’d need 17’s, tyres, lift kit including front spacers and perhaps one of the full rear subframe spacer kits, maybe adjustable rear lateral arms just because I want them regardless.

With the understanding I’m already an inch lower than a stock outback.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to answer your questions. You may not know until you get the lift kit in...

1. Contrary to what most people would assume, my Outback doesn't handle like a boat. As I'm running King Springs (which are stiff by nature) body roll is kept reasonably in check. There is definitely lean in the corners, but its predictable and NOT excessive. I should also note; my Outback has more than 300mm of ground clearance at the diff. This is way more than any stock 4WD (think Troopy, Wrangler etc). Despite this, it still handles fine because its quite a stiff setup. Trade-off is its got very little wheel articulation which means more often than not, its lifting a wheel when offroading.

2. I'm not sure how your coilovers are going to behave offroad. They may be more comfortable but there may be too much rebound in which case you'll run the risk of bottoming out and have too much pitch front-rear, which can be dangerous at higher speeds if you go through a sudden dip in the road. My suspension setup is stiff. It may not be the most comfortable but when its loaded up with people and luggage, and the roads are rough as f**k, it gives me full confidence, which is the most important thing. Hard to describe. It can take some serious abuse and the car always feels totally planted and predictable.

Tyres will be very important. Really depends what tyres you can squeeze under there. Low profile tyres won't last long for anything truly rough like a corrugated road.

Sorry, don't know if I've been much help there...
MY08 'off-road spec' Outback 3.0R Premium -- 1"inch raised King Springs, 1"inch lifting blocks, SubaXtreme alloy front & rear bars, KIDO Tune, Valenti Style Tail Lights + much much more!
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Re: Shiv's MY08 Outback 3.0R (off-road spec)

Postby bigBADbenny » Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:29 pm

At this stage, it’s more that as a noob, any perspective is crucial for context versus available data during the research stage.
Points taken: diff clearance, articulation and spring rates vs damping.

So regardless of strut, spring and body/strut spacers, diff clearance seems important.

My understanding is the rear subframe spacer kits won’t improve this but will help departure angle.
Otherwise all improvements to diff height are derived from strut top spacers, longer shocks, higher springs and taller tyres.

As regards spring rate and damping, the Shockworks feel very composed on dirt tracks, they’re overbuilt and have digressive damping tendencies.

I did some research around that last aspect, and in the context of extreme off-road racing, digressive tendencies can mean handling benefits at the expense of pack down effect on repeated compression.
I run the shocks full soft and that’s not something I’ve noticed yet.

I’ll do some more research to see by how much I can lift the coilovers and if any extra travel is possible or desirable.
Thanks for the feedback!
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