pinister

hi guys sorry for the late reply, i was in a 9 days vacation. about the duel range transmission with 1.45 "low" ratio: all manually transmissioned foresters have been imported to israel with that transmission, but only with 2000cc engines. before ordering anything make sure that foresters with other engines have the same ratio. good luck. pini

hi guys already got a dual range manual transmission in my forester (original 1.45:1 ratio). it helps, but it isn't a real "low". it drives you slower (69% of the "normal" speed) but you can never "crawl" when you really need to. i usually drive off-road with vehicles that have a real "low". a few months i couldn't climb a step that averybody else did, and, believe me, there was a cloud of white smoke coming from the clutch (and there wasn't any red indian chief around...). with such a symbolic ratio the forester will never be a real off-road vehicle. i am going, in a few months, to open the transmission, and to try to change that ratio, knowing that even 2:1, which might be impossible to achieve, and maybe risky to the transmission, still won't be like the others, but it will do to me...

if you put larger wheels, you need more power. on the other hand, if you buy a manual transmissioned forester, you can use the "low" range for more power. on the other hand, larger wheels will hurt your possibility to use that "low" for slow driving off-road...

hi there's a 47mm bodylift kit here in israel, if you are interested.

are you sure that your back (trunk) door is closed down to the end??? don't laugh. i used to have (in my 1999 forester) a terrible noise coming from behind, sounded like bad tires, and it took time until i found out that the back door's lock didn't do it's job, and there was a narrow gap left between the door and the body...

hi guys i don't think that the "phantomgrip" will damage the diff. not as long as it's in one peace. i also don't think that with the "phantomgrip", the diff will work harder. with open diff every wheel can turn differently and the diff mechanism follows both axles and devides the speed between them. with welded diff the mechanism will still "follow" the axles, but they will always move in the same speed. the diff's mechanism won't suffer more than before. all of the extreme forces will "travel" between the two wheels. since there isn't actually a diff, those extra forces will damage the tyres and the joint of the axles. that will happen permanently on asphalt. being off-road, when one wheel will be in the air, the other one will get all the power, and the axle, with it's joint, will work double as planed. i thing that this is bad for the car on asphalt, and helps but still causes damage off-road. i think that stronger axles can minimize the damage. with "phantomgrip" the breaking point will come much earlier. on asphalt, in a certain point the limited friction won't be able to hold the axles in one piece, and they'll start turning differently. the diff mechanism won't work harder because the extra forces will be handled by the friction mechanism in the "phantomgrip". off-road, when one wheel is in the air, the other one gets only the part of the power that the friction mechanism was planned to give. the axle won't get more forces than it's planned to get, but on the other hand the power won't be all wasted on the wheel which is in the air. as i said, LSD is a compromise. not too extreme and not too much risk. i think that in those situations off-road, "phantomgrip" is better than a viscose LSD, because it catches all the time and doesn't need a certain difference to start working. and, in my opinion, if the "phantomgrip" will stop functioning, the diff will work as open diff, and lets hope that it will work at least 120,000 miles, as written in their site. it's seems that the only risk is when the "phantomgrip" falls apart...

hi ranger my phantomgrip is new. it's been working for about 2000 miles on asphalt (and very good), and yesterday it was off-road for the first time. when i climbed a hill (not a hard one) it seemed to be 100% smoothly and quitely, when before, as i can compere, wheels lost grip from time to time and threw dirt and stones. i would prefer a 100% lock, but since i couldn't find any for the forester, and i wouldn't never weld diffs i found that compromise (in both axles) good enough for me.

hi Josh and John my forester already has duel range transmission. by using the "short handle" the speed of the whole "normal" range is been reduced in 31% (the ratio is 1:1.45). i (actually, my mechanic will do it) want to open the transmission and replace the "low" range gears, to acheave a bigger reduction, so i (my forester) can "crawl" slower on technical surfaces. my goal is 50%, but since i have heard some warnings about risking mechanical parts (in one hand), and impossibility of that operation (in other hand), i'll may compromise on 55-58% (if there is a technical possibility). i prefere to buy a kit, but if there isn't any, or the reduction is too small, i'll open the transmission and design the gears myselp (i am a mechanical engineer). so, John, if those 33% mean 33% reduction, it isn't enough. i'll be happy to hear more replies. thank you pini

hi guys just smething to think about: i have a forester. viscose central diff and front and rear open diffs. i have recently installed a "phantomgrip", which is a limited slip kit, in my rear diff. i have installed it in spite of warnings about bad opinions (in a subaru forum in australia). it works great and i take "pinhead corners" much faster and quitely. this is a simple device that based on friction and works all the time, compering to other lsd that operate from a certain speed. the idea is to get help on and off-road. of course it isn't a full lock, but on the other hand it can be used on asphalt, and much better than without it. the next stage is to install one in the front diff, so, when i'll have two wheels in the air (diagonally), i'll still have the other two to pull me out (not such as a full lock, but much better then without it). just another way to improve the grip without risking mechanical parts.

hi guys i want to change the "low" ratio in my forester. the original reduced speed is 69%, my goal is 50% but if it's impossible- i am ready to compromise to 55-58%. i am looking for a kit to buy. if there is not- a design will do. if i won't get a design- my mechanic will open the transmission (and i am going to add a "phantom grip" to the front diff. i already have one in the rear that works great), and i will design new gears (i am a mechanic designer). if anybody knows anything about it (possible or not, names of people or workshops that have alredy developed such), please respond. thank you pini