How to prep subaru for paris-dakar?
Discussion
I previously started a thread regarding a north-africa expedition.
People told me to go away and do more planing so thats what ive done. My route is now fairly set, and we are staying in Morocco (via spain).
Id love to have gone down to dakar but it seems a little much. Going to the major morrocan citys and passing over the mountains to see the sands of sahara.
Ive got a subaru outback (MY2000, 2.5 N/A, Manual) and i need help knowing how to adjust it to handle the sahara and Morocco.
What modifications would be wise?
Currently been advised along the lines of:
Best tyres i can afford.
Underbody protection (?)
'recovery gear'
Can anyone add or explain in more detail what i should be doing?
Where in the UK can i go to practice driving offroad?
People told me to go away and do more planing so thats what ive done. My route is now fairly set, and we are staying in Morocco (via spain).
Id love to have gone down to dakar but it seems a little much. Going to the major morrocan citys and passing over the mountains to see the sands of sahara.
Ive got a subaru outback (MY2000, 2.5 N/A, Manual) and i need help knowing how to adjust it to handle the sahara and Morocco.
What modifications would be wise?
Currently been advised along the lines of:
Best tyres i can afford.
Underbody protection (?)
'recovery gear'
Can anyone add or explain in more detail what i should be doing?
Where in the UK can i go to practice driving offroad?
As has already been mentioned, it really depends on how much off roading you are planning on doing, and how serious the terrain is.
Although you don't have as much internal space or ground clearance than a conventional 4x4, your Subaru will still be more than adequate for the job - providing you pack the essentials and plan your route/line through the tricky bits carefully.
It sounds like you'll be doing a lot of tarmac driving on your way down there, so All Terrain tyres would be recommended. Colway do a good budget AT tyre, or it you want something a little more durable, then BFG would probably be your best bet. Although tbh I'm not sure if either make them in a size suitable for your Subaru.
For driving across the desert - ideally you'd want to be acompanied by another vehicle if you can find someone who wants to do the same route. But I'd highly recommend taking sand ladders, jerry cans with extra fuel, a water tank (for drinking) and your basic survival gear & rations. Make sure they're tied down properly as well, a full length roof rack will give you extra space. Oh, and at least two spare tyres/wheels and the means to change them.
Strong recovery points are also a must - don't rely on the factory tie down hooks, as I've seen these come away and it isn't pretty! Weld/bolt some recovery points to your chassis, and carry several strops, ropes and shackles. And definitely a shovel. Also take a jack and something to stop it sinking into the sand with - a few blocks of wood will be fine to spread the load. Also consider a hand winch and ground anchor - although burying your spare wheels in the ground should also do the job.
Extra underbody protection would be a good idea - more important in rocky terrain, but can also helps you slide over sand when it get's a little too deep. This can be as simple as bolting some ally onto the underside of the chassis rails.
You'll probably need GPS, and pick up some local maps when you're there.
When going across the desert ALWAYS tell someone your route and when you'll be at your destination. If you're not there, at the designated time they can call in a rescue. If it does go wrong, you should stay with the vehicle and never try and walk out unless your are 110% certain of your location and that you can make it to safety on foot.
There are many articles on the net about preparing for overland expedition, what to take and how to cope when you're there. Might be worth doing a Google seach and having a read.
Hope this helps.
Although you don't have as much internal space or ground clearance than a conventional 4x4, your Subaru will still be more than adequate for the job - providing you pack the essentials and plan your route/line through the tricky bits carefully.
It sounds like you'll be doing a lot of tarmac driving on your way down there, so All Terrain tyres would be recommended. Colway do a good budget AT tyre, or it you want something a little more durable, then BFG would probably be your best bet. Although tbh I'm not sure if either make them in a size suitable for your Subaru.
For driving across the desert - ideally you'd want to be acompanied by another vehicle if you can find someone who wants to do the same route. But I'd highly recommend taking sand ladders, jerry cans with extra fuel, a water tank (for drinking) and your basic survival gear & rations. Make sure they're tied down properly as well, a full length roof rack will give you extra space. Oh, and at least two spare tyres/wheels and the means to change them.
Strong recovery points are also a must - don't rely on the factory tie down hooks, as I've seen these come away and it isn't pretty! Weld/bolt some recovery points to your chassis, and carry several strops, ropes and shackles. And definitely a shovel. Also take a jack and something to stop it sinking into the sand with - a few blocks of wood will be fine to spread the load. Also consider a hand winch and ground anchor - although burying your spare wheels in the ground should also do the job.
Extra underbody protection would be a good idea - more important in rocky terrain, but can also helps you slide over sand when it get's a little too deep. This can be as simple as bolting some ally onto the underside of the chassis rails.
You'll probably need GPS, and pick up some local maps when you're there.
When going across the desert ALWAYS tell someone your route and when you'll be at your destination. If you're not there, at the designated time they can call in a rescue. If it does go wrong, you should stay with the vehicle and never try and walk out unless your are 110% certain of your location and that you can make it to safety on foot.
There are many articles on the net about preparing for overland expedition, what to take and how to cope when you're there. Might be worth doing a Google seach and having a read.
Hope this helps.
How attached are you to the Outback? It'll be fine unmodified for tracks but if you really want to get into the sand I suspect it'll be a liability.
You need clearance under the axles (or body in your case) and you'll be running your tyres at about 15psi to increase traction. This means you need big tyres and I don't thing the Outback has the space in the wheel arches.
The other issue is fuel. You use a lot of fuel in sand and the Outback is pretty thirsty anyway. You don't want to carry fuel in the car so you'll need a roof rack and that amount of weight up top on corrugated roads may well overload it.
The only advantage you have is power and revs which is more useful on sand than torque as you need to charge dunes to get over them. Even when unladen we were struggling in dunes in a 300tdi Defender. The locals used petrol Landcruisers.
You need clearance under the axles (or body in your case) and you'll be running your tyres at about 15psi to increase traction. This means you need big tyres and I don't thing the Outback has the space in the wheel arches.
The other issue is fuel. You use a lot of fuel in sand and the Outback is pretty thirsty anyway. You don't want to carry fuel in the car so you'll need a roof rack and that amount of weight up top on corrugated roads may well overload it.
The only advantage you have is power and revs which is more useful on sand than torque as you need to charge dunes to get over them. Even when unladen we were struggling in dunes in a 300tdi Defender. The locals used petrol Landcruisers.
Lefty Guns said:
Landcruiser VX or Amazon (the big 'uns) can get 35" tyres under with little or no mods and long-range tanks are easy to get (as are all other overland accessories).
they are ridiculously expensive though!an outback will be fine- go find a copy of Chris Scott's Sahara Overland book. You can contat him on the Horizons Unlimited Bulletin Board (otherwise known as Hubb). in some situations you outback will walk all over my landcruiser- especially in soft sand i reckon where weight is key!
off roading the UK might be a little too much for it unfortunately- a lot of UK off road sites are specifically designed for Defender 90s with tiny approach and departure angles and great breakover. Something that the outback will suffer with.
ou could also buy Tom Sheppards Vehicled Based Expedition Guide- look for the latest edition (ver 2.1), as the earlier editions are worth a lot of money. Its not a cheap book but is almost essential reading for a proper trip into the desert- it will tell you all you need to know. The chris Scott book has almost the same info (although not quite as inedepth) but it does include a lot of tracks that have been graded- most of them driven in a 2wd Merc 190.
I am in Morocco right now, was in the Sahara last week (on camel) and am now playing on the coast. 80 per cent of the cars you see down south are Land Cruisers, 10 per cent Defender and the rest "other" You can drive all the way to the sandy bit in any car and the roads are good n tarmacked. Depending on where you go you will not be too far from help and things are busier than you would expect. Sand tyres are a must and take a good hat.
You'd be better posting this in the rally forum TBH. Someone will be able to tell you what they do to the impreza to make it suitable for rallying.
As a start, off the top of my head I'd suggest the following:
As a start, off the top of my head I'd suggest the following:
- Sump gaurd
- Steering protection
- Proper tyres
- Tyre mousse
- Spare tyres
- Changes for all fluids
- Spare filters (I would imaging you can get a desert filter for scoobys)
- Beefed up recovery points
- HL Jack.
- Sand ladders
It's a jacked up Legacy. Does it have a low ratio box?Some pretty knowledgeable folk around here!
I will just stress the need for a spare fuel filter or two, one clogging up was the only mechanical issue i had in west Africa (in a carburetted Suzuki SJ410). One of our convoy had their injection pump clog up too, i think what i'm trying to say is that the fuel out there could be dirty!
If you're looking to go off the lovely smooth tarmac, you may experience corrugated tracks, where the surface is hammered into a washboard type surface by passing vehicles. You will (or already have) read about this phenomenon and the best way to deal with it (i.e. at speed), just make sure nothing important can come loose due to violent vibration.
For example, when preparing your vehicle and finding that you can just pull off your expansion tank don't think 'oh lovely, that was simple and easy' make sure it is secure or it will vibrate off!
Good luck!
I will just stress the need for a spare fuel filter or two, one clogging up was the only mechanical issue i had in west Africa (in a carburetted Suzuki SJ410). One of our convoy had their injection pump clog up too, i think what i'm trying to say is that the fuel out there could be dirty!
If you're looking to go off the lovely smooth tarmac, you may experience corrugated tracks, where the surface is hammered into a washboard type surface by passing vehicles. You will (or already have) read about this phenomenon and the best way to deal with it (i.e. at speed), just make sure nothing important can come loose due to violent vibration.
For example, when preparing your vehicle and finding that you can just pull off your expansion tank don't think 'oh lovely, that was simple and easy' make sure it is secure or it will vibrate off!
Good luck!
MK_Bob said:
Some pretty knowledgeable folk around here!
I will just stress the need for a spare fuel filter or two, one clogging up was the only mechanical issue i had in west Africa (in a carburetted Suzuki SJ410). One of our convoy had their injection pump clog up too, i think what i'm trying to say is that the fuel out there could be dirty!
If you're looking to go off the lovely smooth tarmac, you may experience corrugated tracks, where the surface is hammered into a washboard type surface by passing vehicles. You will (or already have) read about this phenomenon and the best way to deal with it (i.e. at speed), just make sure nothing important can come loose due to violent vibration.
For example, when preparing your vehicle and finding that you can just pull off your expansion tank don't think 'oh lovely, that was simple and easy' make sure it is secure or it will vibrate off!
Good luck!
Did you lock-wire anything?I will just stress the need for a spare fuel filter or two, one clogging up was the only mechanical issue i had in west Africa (in a carburetted Suzuki SJ410). One of our convoy had their injection pump clog up too, i think what i'm trying to say is that the fuel out there could be dirty!
If you're looking to go off the lovely smooth tarmac, you may experience corrugated tracks, where the surface is hammered into a washboard type surface by passing vehicles. You will (or already have) read about this phenomenon and the best way to deal with it (i.e. at speed), just make sure nothing important can come loose due to violent vibration.
For example, when preparing your vehicle and finding that you can just pull off your expansion tank don't think 'oh lovely, that was simple and easy' make sure it is secure or it will vibrate off!
Good luck!
I was driving on corrugations only for a half hour stint during a two week rally, the rest was on tarmac roads (except for the whole western sahara/mauritania border 'supposed minefield' thing). Had i come across more corrugations, i don't know whether fasteners would have begun to come loose, i never considered lock wire during preparation. By things vibrating off i mean exhaust, battery, external storage, or anything else that may not be adequately secured (like my expansion tank).
I would hope that suspension links would stay secure if correctly torqued! Lock wire sounds a good idea though.
I would hope that suspension links would stay secure if correctly torqued! Lock wire sounds a good idea though.
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