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Just purchased a 2011 Subi forester X S3 2.5 automatic . I have taken it offroad on dirt tracks like pee gravel and a few small rutted hills ,and it handled just fine my only concern and doubt I have with this vehicle is its capabilities on sand, like its power and and lack of low range gears ,I know it's not always about power as much as it is momentum ,and having the right tire pressure. The sand here in Perth Western Australia is quite soft ,is there anyone who has the same or similar Subaru that has experience with the capabilities of this type of vehicle in sand .

Being an auto you will be fine. The 2.5 has plenty of power. Just keep momentum up, pressures low and make sure you always go out with another vehicle and the correct gear.

Davidov wrote:Being an auto you will be fine. The 2.5 has plenty of power. Just keep momentum up, pressures low and make sure you always go out with another vehicle and the correct gear.

Thanks Davidov this gives me quite a bit of confidence as a new owner and of the unknown , i have all the recovery gear if i am by myself which is more likely than not " air compressor ,sand shovel,exhaust jack ,maxtrax and snacth strap" im sure they will all come in handy at some stage, thanks and good treking .

I owned a 2000 Forester Manual and the only time it ever had problems at the Wedge Dunes was to do with the overall ground clearance when trying to mount the top of dunes.
(Thankfully rescued by a gallant L-Series so I didn't need to dig.)
I had Bridgestone Desert Duelers on and only lowered the tyre pressure marginally.
Have a good shovel and some energy and you should be okay if you really over-do it.
Maxx-Traxx and equivalents are getting a lot cheaper these days too.
Have fun!

I'd try and avoid soft, dry dand & keep to wet / prevouisly compacted / well travelled areas where possible & make sure to get a good wash down after playing to get all the salt out ...

The only negative I'll say is that if you don't have a tow pack on the vehicle make sure you get an oil cooler for the tranny - otherwise you could cook it with the extra stress/heat on the oil!

Go out and have some fun. Also check out Pezimm on the forum, he's got an 07 XT foz, it kills sand everytime!

Cheers

Bennie

An auto oil cooler (Included in the tow pack) is the go plus tyres @ 8psi with a compressor for when you get on the hard stuff. but the best thing as has been said is a companion vehicle even if you need to tow them out yourself. But a good tip is don't use the brakes just coast to a stop.

G'day Gryphyn81, welcome

Good tip for an oil cooler. Also, dont forget to use a distribution strap with your snatch strap...unfortunately our tie-down points arent rated for snatching so some extra caution is needed. Also use a ~5T snatch strap as it will have more stretch with our lil Subies than the 8T or 10T straps the Landcruisers use.

Maxx-Trax are under $300 now & TREDs are just over $200 for the larger version (have better tread blocks on them too).

As mentioned, airing down is essential for sand (or any offroading for that matter). 22PSI is good for firm sand, go down to 16PSI if its soft, even lower if needed but be careful how you drive with very low pressures so you dont roll the tyre off the rim or damage the sidewall.

NachaLuva wrote:G'day Gryphyn81, welcome

Good tip for an oil cooler. Also, dont forget to use a distribution strap with your snatch strap...unfortunately our tie-down points arent rated for snatching so some extra caution is needed. Also use a ~5T snatch strap as it will have more stretch with our lil Subies than the 8T or 10T straps the Landcruisers use.

Maxx-Trax are under $300 now & TREDs are just over $200 for the larger version (have better tread blocks on them too).

As mentioned, airing down is essential for sand (or any offroading for that matter). 22PSI is good for firm sand, go down to 16PSI if its soft, even lower if needed but be careful how you drive with very low pressures so you dont roll the tyre off the rim or damage the sidewall.

Cheers Nachaluva great advice ,will look more into the oil cooler thing . Looked around for Maxx-Trax found they were selling for 200 a pair couldn't justifie that price so looked on eBay and got a set just the same for 120 , I'm gonna hit the sand this weekend can't wait any longer :-D

El_Freddo wrote:Go out and have some fun. Also check out Pezimm on the forum, he's got an 07 XT foz, it kills sand everytime!

As El_Freddo said, sand is great fun! The Forester loves it!

I reckon autos are better on sand (very biased view) because you can be very gentle with your torque and no need to change gears and lose momentum.

My 2 cents worth:
1) Never accelerate or brake hard, gentle-gentle is the key. You should roll to a stop and not even use brakes
2) Nachaluva is right with his tyre pressures. At 14psi I had a bit of sand finding its way under the tyre bead while being silly and throttle-happy. Very easy to roll a tyre off the rim at these pressures.

Get out there and enjoy!

Pedro.