All Things Subaru

[Monique]

Speaking of which, what's the lowest-profile roof box that can hold 190cm skis (plus other skis, 165-180)

 

[Wendy]

Well, I'm not buying a Brat but I can fantasize about having a rust-free, "new" one, just for the heck of it.

Every since they switched from regular NaCl road salt to calcium chloride, disc brakes and whatnot are not lasting as they once did. CaCl2 is SO much more corrosive, and it's sprayed on the roads in ginormous quantities which makes it all the worse. We had an inch of snow yesterday morning and already there was salt all over the roads. Good grief, for an inch of snow! The stuff is also sort of greasy, so it can also make wet roads feel more slippery. My high school chemistry students get several lessons/labs on various types of road salts so they can test the differences for themselves.

Western drivers are luckier because I recall sand being used instead of salt most everywhere. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the east is so intent on calcium chloride....probably because not many bother with snow tires anymore and everyone expects perfectly safe roads even in storms. But it's a also a problem for watersheds and native plants. Sigh.

With that said, here's my Outback with its steel rims and snow tires. I need to add something else to it to make it look more "badass." Ideas, anyone?? @Philpug ?

 

[Ken_R]

Well, I'm not buying a Brat but I can fantasize about having a rust-free, "new" one, just for the heck of it.

Every since they switched from regular NaCl road salt to calcium chloride, disc brakes and whatnot are not lasting as they once did. CaCl2 is SO much more corrosive, and it's sprayed on the roads in ginormous quantities which makes it all the worse. We had an inch of snow yesterday morning and already there was salt all over the roads. Good grief, for an inch of snow! The stuff is also sort of greasy, so it can also make wet roads feel more slippery. My high school chemistry students get several lessons/labs on various types of road salts so they can test the differences for themselves.

Western drivers are luckier because I recall sand being used instead of salt most everywhere. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the east is so intent on calcium chloride....probably because not many bother with snow tires anymore and everyone expects perfectly safe roads even in storms. But it's a also a problem for watersheds and native plants. Sigh.

With that said, here's my Outback with its steel rims and snow tires. I need to add something else to it to make it look more "badass." Ideas, anyone?? @Philpug ?

View attachment 17179

The Outback looks really nice in that Color! What year is it? 2017?

You can put wheel covers that look nice but the might go flying if you drive on rougher roads or hit a large pothole.

I just did some maintenance on my Honda Pilot 2009 but would like an Outback next. My wife just got a Forester and I love it. I want something a bit bigger inside (longer) and the Outback looks perfect. Would like it if they put the 2L turbo in the Outback though to have as another alternative.

 

[Wendy]

The Outback looks really nice in that Color! What year is it? 2017?

You can put wheel covers that look nice but the might go flying if you drive on rougher roads or hit a large pothole.

I just did some maintenance on my Honda Pilot 2009 but would like an Outback next. My wife just got a Forester and I love it. I want something a bit bigger inside (longer) and the Outback looks perfect. Would like it if they put the 2L turbo in the Outback though to have as another alternative.

This is a 2015 but is basically the same as the 2017. Those are the steel rims for my snow tires; the stock rims with my summer/all-weather tires look nicer. I don't much care about the looks of the steel rims, in fact, though, I quite like them for winter.

The 2.5L engine is very sufficient for all kinds of driving, even highway. I drove the more powerful engine and thought it was overpowered on snowy/slippery roads.

 

[Ken_R]

This is a 2015 but is basically the same as the 2017. Those are the steel rims for my snow tires; the stock rims with my summer/all-weather tires look nicer. I don't much care about the looks of the steel rims, in fact, though, I quite like them for winter.

The 2.5L engine is very sufficient for all kinds of driving, even highway. I drove the more powerful engine and thought it was overpowered on snowy/slippery roads.

Yeah, I really enjoy the 2.5L on mi wife's Forester. Even when cruising at 75mph it is more than adequate and we drive mostly at 4k-8k feet elevation and I do not get why the CVT gets some hate I find it excellent.

 

[Wendy]

Yeah, I really enjoy the 2.5L on mi wife's Forester. Even when cruising at 75mph it is more than adequate and we drive mostly at 4k-8k feet elevation and I do not get why the CVT gets some hate I find it excellent.

I love the CVT, too. It provides much better mileage and power than the old automatics. The paddle shifters allow me to use engine braking as on a manual and they also provide for more control on snowy roads....lots of traffic here, too, so I didn't want to be operating a clutch, so it's the best of both worlds.

 

[VickieH]

Are there many differences in the Forester from 2015 thru 2017?

IIRC - and I'll double-check this - the current body style came out in 2014. I'm browsing late model used and trying to determine if there are real differences I might care about. Seeing used 2017s seems weird, but they're out there too.

 

[Ken_R]

Are there many differences in the Forester from 2015 thru 2017?

IIRC - and I'll double-check this - the current body style came out in 2014. I'm browsing late model used and trying to determine if there are real differences I might care about. Seeing used 2017s seems weird, but they're out there too.

The 2017 Foresters are a bit more quiet inside due to newer, thicker glass and noise insulation improvements.

 

[Ken_R]

Well Hello there: WoW

:

 

[Philpug]

With that said, here's my Outback with its steel rims and snow tires. I need to add something else to it to make it look more "badass." Ideas, anyone?? @Philpug ?

View attachment 17179

Looks pretty bad ass to me.

 

[Wendy]

Looks pretty bad ass to me.

What's the function of the rear sway bar? I've read that many Outback owners have upgraded theirs to a 20mm sway bar for better handling.

 

[Dryheat]

The 2017 Foresters are a bit more quiet inside due to newer, thicker glass and noise insulation improvements.

I hope that includes updating the audio system. My 2016's feels archaic

The refresh also bumped up the mpg by 2 on the highway iirc

 

[crgildart]

With that said, here's my Outback with its steel rims and snow tires. I need to add something else to it to make it look more "badass." Ideas, anyone?? @Philpug ?

Needs a ski box covered with resort stickers from all over.

 

[scott43]

What's the function of the rear sway bar? I've read that many Outback owners have upgraded theirs to a 20mm sway bar for better handling.

Sway bar, aka anti-roll bar, increases roll stiffness in cornering. If effectively increases spring rate on the outside suspension by linking to the inside suspension via the bar. So when the car rolls onto one side it uses the other side's spring to increase the roll stiffness. It does not affect bump stiffness as much on the theory that both suspension points are being compressed on a rolling bump or horizontal bump, like a freeway joint. It does affect it if one wheel hits a bump and the other doesn't. It primarily makes the car corner more "flat" but doesn't necessarily increase performance. It's also the easiest way, besides tire pressure, to alter cornering balance, the stiffer end being the more prone to sliding. So if you increase the rear sway bar stiffness you're making a more flat rear cornering posture..you're also changing the balance such that it will tend more towards oversteer. Much of this is thrown away in snow as there isn't a lot of cornering force being generated. It's not necessarily an "upgrade"...

 

[Bill Talbot]

Sway bar, aka anti-roll bar, increases roll stiffness in cornering. If effectively increases spring rate on the outside suspension by linking to the inside suspension via the bar. So when the car rolls onto one side it uses the other side's spring to increase the roll stiffness. It does not affect bump stiffness as much on the theory that both suspension points are being compressed on a rolling bump or horizontal bump, like a freeway joint. It does affect it if one wheel hits a bump and the other doesn't. It primarily makes the car corner more "flat" but doesn't necessarily increase performance. It's also the easiest way, besides tire pressure, to alter cornering balance, the stiffer end being the more prone to sliding. So if you increase the rear sway bar stiffness you're making a more flat rear cornering posture..you're also changing the balance such that it will tend more towards oversteer. Much of this is thrown away in snow as there isn't a lot of cornering force being generated. It's not necessarily an "upgrade"...

All Scott said is true, but I will add that most cars are set up to have some, to a lot of understeer, where the front end 'pushes'. My WRX, while being more neutral than the outbacks and foresters, was still not to my personal liking and a rear bar increase helped to get it where I wanted it to be. Another thing said above is that winter conditions generate far lower cornering forces and that a very stiff roll setting will tend to give you a 'now you see it, now you don't', lightswitch release in the snow and frozen road conditions. So don't go too big on your bar choices if you value a predictable winter handling car.

 

[ADKmel]

I would love to have one of these, just for the heck of it. Remember them?
View attachment 17131

LOL thanks for the flash back!! that's what our first Subaru looked like! I learned to drive standard on it. My parents sold it at 150K miles to a high school friend, she ran it for another 100k!

I LOVE Subaru's on my 13th.. 2016 Outback. my 2011 has 120K on it.. I love the AWD, easy maintenance and winter driving it is the best.

 

[peterm]

Speaking of which, what's the lowest-profile roof box that can hold 190cm skis (plus other skis, 165-180)

I recently purchased a roof box for our Forester and got a Thule Force Alpine. Forester isn't a big car so I was conscious of not getting something that would look ridiculously big, but of course wanted something that could hold skis of a decent length. According to the specs it'll fit up to 192.

Anyway, it's a nice box. If I were designing it I'd make it lower profile, but it looks fine on the car. I like that it's not too wide. Pulse Alpine looks lower profile but I didn't think the extra length would look good on the Forester.

The box is quite light but feels well made and durable. The system for attaching it to the rack is beautifully simple so takes just a couple of minutes to put on or take off - it's so easy that we typically throw ours on on a Thursday night and take it off Sunday night.

 

[scott43]

All Scott said is true, but I will add that most cars are set up to have some, to a lot of understeer, where the front end 'pushes'. My WRX, while being more neutral than the outbacks and foresters, was still not to my personal liking and a rear bar increase helped to get it where I wanted it to be. Another thing said above is that winter conditions generate far lower cornering forces and that a very stiff roll setting will tend to give you a 'now you see it, now you don't', lightswitch release in the snow and frozen road conditions. So don't go too big on your bar choices if you value a predictable winter handling car.

Totally agree. Good point on the snow loads, a nuance many don't understand. They generally do engineer in understeer for safety reasons, which people who enjoy driving mostly hate. So that is a bonus. Some pro drivers don't mind understeer, more consistent in some cases if not ultimately faster.

I do find the Outback to be a little...vague..at times. But I'm not sure stiffness is the issue. When pushed it's actually not bad. When generally driving about it has moments where I'm not quite sure what the back is doing. Not dangerous, just vague.

 

[Monique]

I recently purchased a roof box for our Forester and got a Thule Force Alpine. Forester isn't a big car so I was conscious of not getting something that would look ridiculously big, but of course wanted something that could hold skis of a decent length. According to the specs it'll fit up to 192.

Anyway, it's a nice box. If I were designing it I'd make it lower profile, but it looks fine on the car. I like that it's not too wide. Pulse Alpine looks lower profile but I didn't think the extra length would look good on the Forester.

The box is quite light but feels well made and durable. The system for attaching it to the rack is beautifully simple so takes just a couple of minutes to put on or take off - it's so easy that we typically throw ours on on a Thursday night and take it off Sunday night.

Thanks. I'm not concerned about aesthetics for the height; I have basically no clearance right now for my car with the roof box, so I'm wondering how much vehicle height a lower profile box could buy me. But mine is already pretty low.

 

[crgildart]

Thanks. I'm not concerned about aesthetics for the height; I have basically no clearance right now for my car with the roof box, so I'm wondering how much vehicle height a lower profile box could buy me. But mine is already pretty low.

Outbacks are lower that Foresters. If height is a potential issue, garage clearance, etc... Outback is lower to start with. Forester has more headroom but comes with the cost of a higher roof.