MorganM

So the key to making really wide tires fit is more offset then. Please dont get me wrong; I didnt intend to come accross saying it was NOT possible as it's obviously been done and IS possible. Like I said I can only look at pictures and read obscure comments on what has been done to this crazy BRAT (and yours) You can see by that analysis, and what I have worked on myself, how it would be hard to imagine 16" wide (or even 12" wide) tires fitting on with OEM struts. I'm glad the extra offset is working out great. Makes me wanna redrill these 6bolt wagon wheels I have laying around so I can put on wider tires People have said for so long how its bad to offset that much espeically for offroading. Hopefully these monster BRATs hold up and prove a lot of these old wives tales wrong I know I'd love to go bigger with my wagon! ps: sorry Ken if it seems like the thread is getting hijacked but this is actually relevant to the Hatch Patrol Monster BRAT (pps: what's this thing really called?) Were rims used to fit wider tires on this beast? How wide are those tires on there? I noticed yo usaid they are 31"s but they look about 12" wide!

why is that?

But you do have pretty custom suspension up front; and that does indeed allow more clearance for width. Those ranchos are significaly more skinny then OEM struts so sitting in the same area increases clearance from suspension to tire sidewall. With those rims and with that offset I spose you would not need the skinnier suspension but you are there and I'm just looking at photos like this one Where it looks to me like OEM struts would rub like mad. http://www.subarubrat.com/PICS/dirtpile11.jpg

Think there are about 3 too many numbers in that there milage... 1.2 MILLION miles? that's a typo; right? Also ya gotta be clear when you say how many miles are on your car. I could say mine has 200,000 on it; which the whole thing has moved for sure. This is not 200,000 miles on every OEM part however. The engine has been completly rebuilt and a good 80% of the car has been replaced or repaired with used or new parts. Maybe 10% of my car has made it 200,000 miles... Who knows what all the previouse owner had replaced.

Like I said; height isnt an issue really its the width that OEM struts limit. I could put 33"s on my wagon becuase its the width, not the height, that is limiting. That's why, I'm guessing, SubaruBrat had to go with custom suspension up front to fit those wide meats. Doing it all with just positive offset (rims and spacers) isnt really a good idea.

I did up some other maps. These are a little more zoomed in and the path is marked by an orange line. There are also comments in blue text on the images. Get on HWY 35 and go to the Northfield / HWY 19 exit (South if you are comming from Minneapolis/St. Paul) There is a Big Steer truck stop at the exit; cant miss it! Go East on HWY 19 towards Northfield (this would be on the other side of HWY 35 from the Big Steer) and it will lead right into town. At the first big stoplight in town go South (right) on HWY 3. Stay on HWY 3 south untill you get to County Road (CR) 20. Youll know you are near CR20 when HWY 3 goes from 4 lanes into 2 lanes. Take a Left onto CR20 and youll be heading south again. Take CR20 south untill you come to CR29. The sign for CR29 is hard to see untill you are right on it. Take a left onto CR29 and you are there! Should be pretty easy to notice Roy's Playground. He owns the first farm on the right. Pull up and pay Roy $10 for the day or $30 for the year. Look for the gang of Subarus and if you dont see one start your own!

Yep June 5th it's a Subaru Scavaging Hunt! Know a good place we could all meet up out in that area?

The heater core is a small radiator between your firewall and dashboard. When you turn the heat on in the cabin a blower fan turns on behind the heater core and pushes hot air into the cabin. Just like your radiator up front it is prone to corrosion and getting clogged up. A back flush is when you hook up a hose to your coolant system. Forcing water the oposite way it nomraly flows (like pushing it through the heater core return hose). This will free up lots of mineral deposits, sludge, and all that dirty coolant. Might just be time for a new radiator. Visually inspect it from inside the engine bay. Look between the fan blades, top to bottom and left to right. Make sure none of the fins are missing or that corrsoion isnt eating it on the outside as well. You can tell by a green or white color that it's starting to oxedize real bad. When was the last time hoses, clamps and thermostat was changed? Those can play a big part in keeping your engine cool as well. Good luck

Any more symtoms?

True, true...

Prolly has to do with where those Subarus were getting dropped off from Japan I'm not suppirsed there are so many on the west coast; werent they all shipped into the NW coast back then?

I was refering to OEM struts. Plenty of room to go wide with different coil overs upfront. I didnt see any verbage on what was done to the front suspension so I assumed they were still OEM struts up front in which case width is limited. So Ken what was done to the suspension up front to achieve the 10" body/suspension lift? How wide are those tires? How did you clear for mounting and turning those beasts? Lots of positivie offset at the wheels? Curiouse minds must know!

no wonder you bust all 4 loose when dropping the hammer and drift on gravel so easy!

Ya I was impressed to see just what your hatch could do with 25" tires and no lift! For an all out offroad rig I vote Hatch (and this is coming from a wagon lover! )

Who cars what axle is under there; thats feak'n great! Just cuz its got a solid axle rear doesnt change the fact its a Subaru BRAT. My friends Jeep ismostly GM and Ford parts now; you still call it a Jeep.... I'm curiouse to the power plant also. I know an EA series engine could move those tires fine but whats under the hood specificly ? When should we expect to see a T-Case mod + solid axles Font and Back ? 8) Capman2k: I bet 33"s fit on as it is! Width is a more limiting factor then height with the struts up front.

I'm running DUALS OMGOOSES! DUALS! I'm twice as fast, right?

What about the midwest?

Exactly; if the EGR is stuck open thats extra 'air' coming in, unmeterd and uncompinsated for, which could cuase it to run lean.

Damn that's TOO cool! You are one lucky gal! That cut away car is so cool; I love looking at cutaways like that. Really sheds light on HOW things work. Not just how they say it works with their fancy names Looks like there is PLENTY of room near those strut srping seats for some bigger tires! muahahaha And those XT guages... tadamn!

I know I'll prolly get some hate mail but I'd go for the Passat wagon with V6 and Quattro AWD. Prolly the only other wagon on the road that turns my head is a Passat or Audi

I'd also replace both top and bottom hoses. They should hold upto that vacume and not pinch shut. If they fell all squishy then its time to replace them. You'll notice how rigid new ones are when you get them. New clamps is also good I always use a 1/4" drive rachet and socket on them now to get them good and tight.

I almost bought a set of them. Nice tread pattern and good price usually. Around here I couldnt find them for a very good price tho Would have had to order them and pay shipping! Grrr.

Might want longer stacks. Nothing like some cooked oil and fuel all over your windshield to really fog up your view How about some inside the engine bay shots? Peace

That SPFI throttle body isnt really adjustable. It's all ran by the computer which relys on its sensors and program to run the engine properly. I would suspect a faulty component leading to your lean running condition before adjusting any air and fuel ratio by hand. If the EGR selinoid was stuck OPEN then it would be constatnly sending air into your intake manifold. This is unmeterd air since it is after the MAF and TPS so the computer isnt compensating with more fuel. Just a thought since you have an EGR code and lean conditions. I'm with Calebz tho; clear the codes and see what comes back. Find the problem before you start adjusting things to compensate for the symtoms