I think the author made the unfortunate mistake of confusing a locked 4wd system with locked differentials. I don’t think he means you need lockers, but rather a locked 4wd system. Read more

My 80 series is the same way. In everyday driving its the EXACT same power delivery as my old 5-speed Forester XT. Engine to transmission into a transfer case and out through an open center with viscous coupling in parallel to front and rear differentials for full time AWD with passive torque distribution. Read more

Im not sure how you mean, but maybe a better example would be putting a wrench on a nut that has not been tightened yet. Very easy to turn regardless of how much input you COULD put on the handle, the nut is only going to accept so much until its tightened down, then you can apply torque through the lever arm. Read more

I’m not quite sure what you mean here. Bronco, Wrangler and 4Runner all have off-road traction control. Jeep calls it BLD (brake lock differential), Toyota calls it ATRAC (or MTS), I don’t know what Ford calls it. Read more

Auto lockers are true lockers. Some are locked until differentiation (Detroit locker...which you can get for a Subaru btw) and others lock with speed difference (GM G80). Once locked they can send 100% torque to either wheel. With brake based traction control you cannot send torque across the differential, you can… Read more

No, its correct. Please read the linked article. This is a common, but wrong, way that people learn about locking differentials. Read more

Agreed. I remember helping a couple in a rented Wrangler get to their camp site at devils kitchen in the same area. Its off the fairly difficult Elephant Hill trail that is much harder than this trail. They were PISSED that they had to do a full on Jeep trail to get to their reserved campsite. Now I KNOW the NPS… Read more

eh, that stock TJ was about at its limits in parts. Read more

Yeah, what really gets me burning is the fact that there is no reason they couldn’t still do it this way, all it is a small 2 speed manual transmission. Its not very low though - the best one was something like 1.3:1 in low range. Subaru is in a unique position to be able to add real low range to their transmission… Read more

I agree with the need to prevent people from doing a dumb in a national park (impossible task) but this is not a good way. They already have a good way, they just don’t use it for this one trail. In this case, the person who posted genuinely thought they were in the clear with their subi being “4wd” and to be… Read more

The park website specifically says 4wd with low range, but that’s no good either as the hummer EV shows. Read more

I know Ryan, good stuff. The last part of the trail would not have been suitable for any Subaru model. I had a 2 inch lift and 33 inch tires and I hit my rock sliders more than once. If you really knew what you were doing, you had made suitable mods and you were a very skilled driver you could make it work, but not… Read more

You are correct that there are a few highly capable single speed AWD vehicles out there. Check out JonDZadventuring on Youtube and what he’s done with his Honda Passport, as an example.

I think he means specifically a locking center coupling. Most 4wd vehicles DO NOT have locking differentials as part time 4wd vehicles don’t have a center differential, but they do have a locking center coupling. The biggest problem Subaru has is not traction, but gearing. The engines don’t have the torque for their… Read more

Hi, its me again. So one good reason why this is a terrible way to prevent unsuitable vehicles on difficult trails is that “AWD” is NOT a good distinction and its out of date.

Fun fact about this trail. Its weak sauce up until the last mile and a half. When I did it, the rangers said most people drive to this point, park and walk and we say people doing that. The last mile and a half was pretty fun.

Man you guys have THE definitive technical article on AWD and you didn’t link it? Read more

hard pass on this format. What a mess. Read more

No. The 1HZ head has a pre-combustion chamber, you can see the pre-combustion chambers just below the valves in this head.

dead on.  Its their workhorse motor and probably the last one in the automotive world. No computers, will happily run underwater and is built like a tank. Granted, its not going to take a lot of boost without new pistons, but it takes a little without affecting durability at all. Read more