Subaru owners: Let's see your expedition rigs!

tddockery

New member
My current plaything .... 2008 Subaru Outback 3.0R LL Bean. 1" Subtle lift, King Springs, KYB shocks, GT brake upgrade, Yakima racks and rails, Rage Powersports safari basket, 22" roof mounted LED lightbar, tuned ECU, Primitive Racing skid plates, Yokohama Geolandar AT/S tires.... etc. :)


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DanCooper

Adventurer
2008 Subaru Outback Eddie Bauer Edition, 3.0

I've been slowly building this Outback over the last four years. These photos were taken at the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, Washington this last weekend. I took off on a solo trail run up some of the Forest Service Roads. Beautiful country there.

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Subtle Solutions 1-inch lift with over-length King Springs and KYB struts
Primitive Engineering skid plates including differential
ARB Differential (and transmission) breather extension kit
OEM wheels are powder coated and shod with 235/65x17s
20mm wheel spacers
Whynter 40 qt freezer on roller-skate bearing slide
Sleeping platform with storage under
ViAir 90 for tire inflation, ARB Deflator for deflating
Adventure Tool Company tool roll
Lock-and-roll hitch for Sawtooth XL trailer under construction
Custom fabricated rear tire and water carrier
Some other minor stuff as well
 

DanCooper

Adventurer
Fantastic Outback Dan!
Where can we see more? Do you have a build thread?

Thank you! I don't have a build thread, as this has evolved over several years. However, I will probably submit an article to Offroad Subaru with photos of the rear tire carrier.
 

tddockery

New member
I've been slowly building this Outback over the last four years. These photos were taken at the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, Washington this last weekend. I took off on a solo trail run up some of the Forest Service Roads. Beautiful country there.

View attachment 352418


Subtle Solutions 1-inch lift with over-length King Springs and KYB struts
Primitive Engineering skid plates including differential
ARB Differential (and transmission) breather extension kit
OEM wheels are powder coated and shod with 235/65x17s
20mm wheel spacers


I have a very similar suspension set-up (only difference is 15mm spacers to your 20's) - and you are running 235/65/17's??

Any body/fender/fender liner/mud guard rubbing? Did you need to make any modifications to get them to fit?

I would LOVE to move from my 215/60/17 Geolandars to a bigger 235/65/17 tire!!

Please, enlighten me!!

Another Dan
 

DanCooper

Adventurer
I have a very similar suspension set-up (only difference is 15mm spacers to your 20's) - and you are running 235/65/17's??

I fat fingered 235/65, it is actually 225/65. Sorry!

My Outback is a third generation 2008 version. Each version is slightly different. What works on one may not work on another. Moreover, static measurements do not tell the whole story, as the wheels, the rear as well as the front, move about in the wheel wells as the car is driven. So you have to mount the tires on the wheels and drive it to see what really works.

These tires fit beautifully while parked (after the inner mudguard modifications), but do require removing all factory mud flaps. And driving with them does require some cutting and patching on the inner mudguards.

What I did was immediately take off the factory mud flaps. I then drove it for about a hundred miles and let the tires scuff the inner mudguards. Then I jacked it up, removed the wheels, and took out the inner mudgaurds. The scuffed areas are primarily on the ridges molded into the mudguards to provide stiffness and amounted to scuffing on 6 to 8 inches. The scuffed areas were removed and patched with flatter pieces of material, and sometimes I just reversed the rib. Pop rivets and 3M 5200 Fast Cure were used as the fasteners.
 

tddockery

New member
I fat fingered 235/65, it is actually 225/65. Sorry!

My Outback is a third generation 2008 version. Each version is slightly different. What works on one may not work on another. Moreover, static measurements do not tell the whole story, as the wheels, the rear as well as the front, move about in the wheel wells as the car is driven. So you have to mount the tires on the wheels and drive it to see what really works.

These tires fit beautifully while parked (after the inner mudguard modifications), but do require removing all factory mud flaps. And driving with them does require some cutting and patching on the inner mudguards.

What I did was immediately take off the factory mud flaps. I then drove it for about a hundred miles and let the tires scuff the inner mudguards. Then I jacked it up, removed the wheels, and took out the inner mudgaurds. The scuffed areas are primarily on the ridges molded into the mudguards to provide stiffness and amounted to scuffing on 6 to 8 inches. The scuffed areas were removed and patched with flatter pieces of material, and sometimes I just reversed the rib. Pop rivets and 3M 5200 Fast Cure were used as the fasteners.


Excellent!!!

I also have an '08 3.0R LL Bean, with a 1" Subtle lift (2" LPAdventure or Anderson soon), Kings/KYB's, GT big brake upgrade, Primitive skids, 15mm wheel spacers, roof rack system/safari basket/22" LED lightbar, etc....

I'm not too keen on modifying the wheel wells though. In the winters here, the small bit of space I do have now often packs up with snow - I can only imagine if I got rid of most of that space...

Thank you for the response though, and GREAT looking OB!

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Theprofessional

Silent Footfalls
I really want to explain how unnecessary it is to modify a Subaru but I don't want to kill anyone's buzz. :ylsmoke:

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Trolling aside, seriously they are just so much more capable and durable than anyone I've ever met gives them credit. And this is a DD, not a hobby vehicle. This thing is driven every day and hauls **** and bikes and then goes 1000 miles away on a whim and gets thrashed in the mountains of Idaho, lived in, then driven back 1000 miles with no maintenance and parked and driven to work the next day like nothing happened.

Also overheats the entire way through SLC without stopping.

But that's irrelevant; the radiator is 200k overdue for replacement.

It still works and I've only once been on a road that wasn't conquered with surprising ease and never reeeeeally been stuck yet.
 

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