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Rubicon ???

4K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  traildogck 
#1 ·
I was watching Top Gear USA the first show of the season where they did the Rubicon trail for Google street view

anyone did it in an Outback ?
 
#2 ·
Do you know why a certain Jeep model is called the Rubicon? Its the only Stock Jeep thats capable enough to do the Rubicon. An OB wouldnt get out of the parking lot where the trail starts. I did another trail near by with Gwagens and our Sequoia. The Sequoia just barely made it. But we knew ahead of time given the leader pre ran the trail a few days prior. We actually talked about if a Subaru could do that trail. Consensus was yes but with lots of body damage done.
 
#3 ·
I enjoyed that episode. I cannot imagine trying it with my OB. I was impressed at how well the old GEO Tracker performed.
 
#4 ·
You need lockers and low range for the Rubicon.
 
#5 ·
You might make, it if it was heavily modified. The Cherokee Trailhawk can apparently make it (although as an FCA product, you need to bring along a spare vehicle for when the first one craps itself and dies for no apparent reason). Same clearance but much better angles, locking rear diff and low range.

I suppose there's an argument that you could get around low range because you have an auto and with big ventilated discs you aren't likely to boil the fluid coming down hills and that the VDC in XMode could maybe provide a sufficient substitute for a locker (I am not aware of any lockers that can be installed on the OB). However the OB has a pretty awful approach angle so you really would need to tear apart the bumper and fit something else. You also need good tires and a full sized spare (maybe 2). While you're doing all that, you might as well lift it and add underside protection (probably need some sort of custom steel setup since the aluminum plates you can buy aren't going to be strong enough to rest the vehicle on). Even then, my previous assumptions are very generous about the capabilities and you'd definitely do some body damage (oh yeah, you'd probably need some custom rock sliders too). It would be very expensive and if you were willing to spend that much you could just look for a used dirt bike or ATV or even just an old Jeep to do it for about the same investment and it would do better and you'd care less about hurting it.

That said, if you do have ambition and cash, don't let us skeptics hold you back, it would make for an awesome story (and an awesome Outback if it made it back).
 
#6 ·
I am with @teni.

Although it is famous, I have never looked into this particular trail. However, if a Cherokee Trailhawk can pull it off, so can a Subaru with modified angles.

Gotta give Jeep the basics, but with all of what has been reported about the Trailhawk, it seems like a paper tiger to me.

More broadly, I am not sure why would one want to drive a trail like that in anything less than a dedicated 4x4. How many trails worth driving for scenery or destination are of this nature? A couple dozen in the entire Southwest plus Sierra Nevada? I think this is too generous an assessment. And if one is into the motorsport called getting over the largest rocks possible through the toughest line possible then a Subie (or a current Cherokee) is the wrong choice, always.
 
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#7 ·
I was under the impression that , to get a trailrating version on a Jeep, it needs to do the Rubicon but after seeing the show I understood that that particular trail is harder than I imagined but also much much more shorter in my canadian head the Rubicon was something lke 100 miles at least

I was curious to know what a Subie that passed the Rubicon would look like
 
#8 ·
I was curious to know what a Subie that passed the Rubicon would look like
Something like this:

Subaru on Lockhart Basin trail, Moab?!!!!!!!!

This is the toughest trail I know a street-worthy Subaru to have driven. He was not entirely un-helped but the damage at the end was not due to Subaru "softness" but to a worn out part about which he knew.

I have driven that car and I can attest that it is very nice on the street.

Similarly, a forum member with a IV gen Legacy, a similar idea to my friend's (add springs from another Subaru model), and an ingenious front bumper, recently did Hells Revenge and Fins and Things (not the optional obstacles though). Without being the toughest around, these are classic, rated difficult Moab trails.

Of all cars I have seen on the forums, this last Legacy, forgot the forum member's name, is the one that impresses me the most: extremely efficient while relatively subtle, clever mods.
 
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