Drive Brumby in FWD on dirt = write off

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:31 am

An olde acquaintance of mine advised me of the passing of his Brumby. Was travelling along a poorly graded road near home and got stuck in the bulldust that should not have been there if road was better done by council (use a bit of water and a roller! ) and next thing he knew he bit the embankment and rolled. Clever part was landing back on the wheels - so upright. Left him shaken for a while and sore bits but OK after a few days. The Brumby was a write -off and in the hands of the insurers.

I thought to ask if he had forgotten to slip her into 4WD when he left tarmac. Didn't forget - never has in 15 years as he says he only slips her into 4 on slow rough country not dirt roads. In this circumstance I don't think even 4WD would have prevented his little disaster.Might check my subie owner manual to see if it actually recommends 4WD action for all non tar surfaces.

maxxair · Post by **maxxair** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:39 am

bugger what it reccomends. i use 4wd whenever its a little iffy. dirt roads, damp tarmac, water puddles. makes it feel 3x more secure on the road.

RIP Brumby

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:32 am

In my Brumby when it had EA81 and a 4sp box I used 4WD everywhere except in carparks, lol. Still have that 4sp, used it in the race wagon, strong as ever..

I'd say, if you have 4wd and don't use it on dirt roads your

shuffbag · Post by **shuffbag** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:47 am

yeah i've noticed the 4sp doesn't bind up on the road like my L duel range did.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:51 pm

I agree with maxxair entirely. I love how stable and surefooted my Brumby feels in 4WD at 100 kph and a sometimes a bit more on those open nicely graded gravel roads.

I have noticed since running 50 series tyres there is less give and the gearbox tends to stiffen up more than with 70 or 75 series profile tyres in the drier road conditions.

I was surprised the old boy did not use 4WD often.

ChPLAT · Post by **ChPLAT** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:54 pm

I though you couldn't do more than 30k's in hi range without screwing the box up, on or off road.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:07 pm

well don't tell my cars that ! And if you saw the utube chase of uglies one was RX Leone of all things and it was 4WD. I'd say the chase was going a bit faster than 30k. As long as there is room for some wheel slip to stop diffs winding up against each other....

Matatak · Post by **Matatak** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:46 pm

meh driving in 4wd is fine. just not so good in the carpark scenarios as Phiz says

although i only did it when traction was a problem on the road.

brumbyrunner · Post by **brumbyrunner** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 9:51 pm

ChPLAT wrote:I though you couldn't do more than 30k's in hi range without screwing the box up, on or off road.

No way. You can run them flat out in 4wd. Does affect your top speed though.

ChPLAT · Post by **ChPLAT** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:54 pm

Goes to show you learn something new every day haha

maxxair · Post by **maxxair** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:20 pm

you can slot into 4wd at ANY speed in my L, without the clutch(so long as your going straight). i do however clutch it to go to low range. im running 3WD atm and in 4wd all the time as i took out a front CV. think i need to remove the other side as its a bit weird doing burnouts and doughies (a novelty to a longterm L owner) this is the second car i have run like this

i have never broke a rear cv. i have killed MANY fronts.

interestingly they handle Far better as RWD thean FWD, not changing lanes over a small bump in the road. takes a little while to get away from the FWD mentality of more steering, more throttle. just doesnt work with RWD. rain drifts are HEAPSSS SICKOOO. lol

hijack ova:)

the gumbi brumby · Post by **the gumbi brumby** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:05 pm

im in 4wd on rainy days
and on dirt at least if you hang it out you have half a chance of getting if back

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:04 pm

When I was in Tasmania about 2 yrs ago, I was slightly a bit too fast on very loose gravel (left big bulldust behind me!) and almost lost control and I didn't have the time to muck around with gears so wacked in 4WD low and got me out of trouble after a couple of swerves.. and thought lucky I have Low range & AWD in my Liberty!
Cheers
AP

jim · Post by **jim** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:39 pm

so just a quick question guys,

My understanding of the L series duel range is that it binds up when cornering when the tyres can't slip eg tar sealed roads because it has no centre diff. But it's ok on dirt, gravel, ice/snow etc

let me know if this is correct or not, i would rather use 4WD on a loose surface road, and what top speed could you go safely

cheers

Phizinza · Post by **Phizinza** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:20 pm

jim, correct.

Top speed I'd say 100kmph

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:42 pm

jim wrote: what top speed could you go safely

Depends on the conditions. For most people I would say I drive at a high speed on dirt, the normal 100km/h speed limit is not a problem for me if the conditions of the road and weather are good.

Effectively you could be in 4wd when the top speed has maxed out, binding will slow the top speed of your subi as already stated.

Cheers

Bennie

PS shame about your mate's brumby steptoe, hope he's alright.

daza · Post by **daza** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:05 am

jim wrote:... and what top speed could you go safely...

Possum Bourne saw 180 plenty of times!
Back in the day.

Thrillbilly · Post by **Thrillbilly** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:19 pm

So can anyone confirm that I can drive my brumby in 4wd all the time without damaging it? I've allways wanted to use 4wd more because of the improvement in handling but I thaught it damaged the transmission etc?

Outback bloke · Post by **Outback bloke** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:51 pm

If you use 4wd continually on the bitumen you will destroy your box. It may not be in the first week, then again it could be on a tired box however it will definitely wreck it. Unsealed and wet roads are fine.

the gumbi brumby · Post by **the gumbi brumby** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:44 pm

will this damage a box takeing off at the lights and abslutely drop it in low range