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I would like to know what is the best offroad subi ever made is. I have seen alot of modified cars that go well. In my opinion there is only one choice....go the Brumby.

Pretty tough question, most models have various pros and cons.
I think the gearbox is really the crux of offroad ability in Subaru's and the later AWD models suffer from no locked centre and poor low range gearing.
Most people are of the opinion the good old L series 5spd dual range gearbox is the best. And the L series body itself offers very good clearance, decent entry and deparcher angles etc, and enough power (altho barely) to push it along.

Brumby definitely has it's advantages in light weight etc. I guess if we stick to none or perhaps just light mods then a Brumby would probably be the winner due to it's light weight.
It would be alot better with a L series 5spd gearbox and an LSD from the L series RX turbo in the rear diff.

The older models certainly have their advantages gearbox wise, and entry/deparcher angles, but that being said - a new Forester can still definitely hold it's own offroad.

the brumby for sure, I once went offroad with a 5inch lifted l series and went exactly the same places without breaking anything in a stock brumby with 300,000 ks on it . I have to agree about the 5 speed and lsd +intermitent wipers and a cross bred kit would make it the best car ever in the whole universe

+1 for the Brumby, bbut with a caveat must have EJ motor, and 5 speed box rather than ea81 and 4speed:)

the brumby by far i just spent the day off road with a hilux surf lifted with big tyres and followed him everywhere he went he couldnt belive it

[all my personal opinions, ignore if you do not like them]

The MY's are better then the L's because they are lighter and have lots more rear flex with longer shockers. The Brumby is better because it is lighter then the wagon (lets just ignore the Hatch because really it cost to much for the extra you get from it offroad). Its easy to fit the 5sp in the MY's so that's no problem. The EA81 is superior engine, much more reliable and more torque then you can use offroad even wit 27" tyres in my experience.

Or, for an extra couple of KG you can have a sedan like mine and take 3 people with you to have fun! But the Brumby's look heaps better (as long as they are modified, std they look pretty meh).

Just wondering, exactly how much lighter are MY's to L series in general? ie, an MY sportswagon compaired to an L sportswagon?

the best subaru off road either a hire car or somebody elses

TOONGA

In the early ones (in as new bog stock std) I'd say an RX L mainly because of the slippery rear diff .
In the sand I'd say an EA82T turbo would slog it out better than the MPFI NA or carby lump .

Sometimes a bit of weight in the back is a good thing in a predominantly front heavy car like a Subaru . Low weight can mean low traction because there isn't much weight bearing on the tyres contact areas .
In a perfect world cars have 50 50 weight distribution so they have an even load on each tyre and tend to handle well because their center of rotation is somewhere near the middle of the car - don't tend to act like a lead tipped understeering arrows .

A .

AndrewT wrote:Just wondering, exactly how much lighter are MY's to L series in general? ie, an MY sportswagon compaired to an L sportswagon?

Take it to a public weighbridge it doesn't cost much?

brumby was 1250kg at last weigh bridge

Sure about a 1250 kg Brumby? was that empty? My L series wagon apparently weighs 1200 kgs when I take it to the Tip! (Weighbridge built in to entrance to tip< no other reason:))

i would have to agree with disco. the RX L sedan ot any L sedan 4x4!!

If we are talking standard trim then it has to be an Outback or a Forester. Clearance and traction are the two major benefits over any MY or L series. Standard tires on the L and MY are very tiny and basically completely useless for any offroading. The clearance thing is plainly obvious to any one that has seen the vehicles in standard form.

In modified form you can't beat a Gen 2 Liberty. The body is much stronger and holds up to the punishment more than the earlier models. The radius rods and mounting points are a big let down in the EA series.

I did things in my Gen 2 that I would never have dreamed about being able to do in an EA. Recovery of broken or stuck vehicles being one of them. The weight and suspension are big "plusses" for the gen 2. The gen 3 and 4 are let down by the rear suspension with it being the same in the struts as the L series.

Weight bridges are much like dynos, they are [a lot of the time] out of calibration or inaccurate. They are great for comparing two different things at the same time but the number they give isn't normally close to a real figure. Otherwise our '1340kg' 01 Hilux would easily drive past any subaru on sand.....

My manual says Brumby weight is 1032kg, MY wagon 1091kg and L wagon 1186kg.

AndrewT wrote:Just wondering, exactly how much lighter are MY's to L series in general? ie, an MY sportswagon compaired to an L sportswagon?

Hard to get a comparison on the same year but a 1990 Deluxe L manual kerb weight is 1080kg and the 1994 sportswagon N manual is 1035kg.
This is from Redbook.
I'm still new to Subaru's, what is an MY series? I can't find that model designation on Redbook.

IanC

ian059 wrote:Hard to get a comparison on the same year but a 1990 Deluxe L manual kerb weight is 1080kg and the 1994 sportswagon N manual is 1035kg.
This is from Redbook.
I'm still new to Subaru's, what is an MY series? I can't find that model designation on Redbook.

IanC

Anything that looks like a Brumby

you can't just throw out a blanket statement that weighbridges are inaccurate. thats just stupid. If they are a certified bridge that is recalibrated every year then they can be very accurate.

the bridge you used might be way out of calibration. that doesnt mean they all are

In my experience, weigh bridges are approx 90% accurate, sometimes ive came across to incorrect weigh bridge and ended up arguments! (like simsmetal for example)
Cheers
AP

again - how do you know that. you wighed the scrap on someone elses bridge first to compare?

anyways end off topic rant