Newbie

foresterscott · Post by **foresterscott** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:54 pm

Hi, just joined and wanted to know some easy tracks in perth to try out my 99 gt forester. How capable are the gt foresters offroad and what mods can i do to improve it? Thanks scott

tim_81coupe · Post by **tim_81coupe** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:16 am

G'day Scott and welcome to the forums.

I can't honestly tell you how capable a GT Forester will be offroad, never seen one go off the tarmac before! I can however fill you in on a few good Perth spots to give a try...

Kwinana Offroad area: End of Thomas Rd, near Rockingham Rd there's a turn to the left and this is actually an 'Offroad Vehicle Area'. Can be testing, I personally wouldn't put a GT through here as there are a lot of bumps and scrapes, even for the lifted vehicles.
90 Acres / Thomas Rd area: Again on Thomas Rd, this time near the Freeway. Take the Thomas Rd exit and turn left, its about 100m up on the left and looks like a little trail leading into nowhere. It leads up to the bed of a lake, this time of year it will be flooded, really only a good spot for circle work. 2WD's can get in, so there should be no problem for the Forester!
There's some spots out near Banjup too, although I think thats private property.
There are other spots, hell they're everywhere but as far as I know these ones are closed: Jarrahdale (aka Gooralong National Park), Pippidini, Gnangara Pines etc etc.

There's also the Mundaring power line track out in the hills. And there's Lancelin and Wedge up north. Oh, and Tims Thicket down near Mandurah (not been there yet myself!). For the GT I'd recommend trying the sandy / beachy stuff first, theres less chance of body damage on the soft stuff.

BrennyV · Post by **BrennyV** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:43 am

welcome to ausubaru scott, nice ride mate.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:25 am

G'day and welcome! Nice ride..

Mundaring is very good....theres even some good trip notes for it on exploreoz.com
It is likely you may scrap the underbody a few times, some parts have quite large rocks and rutts to negotiate although granny tracks are plentiful. For mods I'd recommend contacting BYB-001 and have a chat about a body lift kit. Very cheap mod and will make your car's underbody far less likely to incur damage.

vidler · Post by **vidler** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 7:11 pm

ahoy hoy. welcome aboard

i suggest a 4" lift kit, all terrain tyres, front and rear replacement bars etc etc etc etc etc

BlackMale · Post by **BlackMale** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 2:11 pm

Welcome look forward to see you in the bush with us sometime.

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 8:32 pm

Welcome to the group but you might want to consider some major lift before u come out with us... Could be some nasty damage bills taking that out to some of the places we go.

Have u seen the video clips?
I can't think of any 4wd tracks that i would confortbably take a GT Forester down.

Flat beach might be your best bet.

Dave

Post by **Alex** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:17 pm

hey welcome...Tims Thicket is great, the forester will handle it piece of piss

Id love to see a 4" lifted forester, hello ladies!

subanator · Post by **subanator** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:12 am

hmmmm............G T F o r e s t e r **drools**

That with a lift would be interesting. Did they come out with dual range?

tim_81coupe · Post by **tim_81coupe** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:13 am

subanator wrote:hmmmm............G T F o r e s t e r **drools**

That with a lift would be interesting. Did they come out with dual range?

I don't beleive the GT or the XT was ever offered with the DR trans, although I could be wrong...

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:26 am

I aggree Tim, although I am also not 100% sure.

Lapsed · Post by **Lapsed** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:30 am

i know the early modle foresters came with a D/R gearbox but only for the manual transmission.

"The five-speed manual came with low-range gearing and constant drive to all four wheels for better off-road ability, while the auto had a torque-on-demand system." taken from http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Artic ... cleID=9385

chris

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 3:24 pm

Yeah that would be an N/A model.

foresterscott · Post by **foresterscott** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:26 pm

Mine is an auto. I drove a manual with the dr gearbox but it didnt seem to have much power. I have taken the gt thru a few dirt tracks and mud pits in the dwellingup area and it definatley had enough torque. Ground clearance would be a problem in rough areas though.