Starting to aero the Subie.

[bhazard]

Awesome pics...



...NOT!!!

[brucey]

Ooooops?



I'll have another one for the mirror in a minute. Transferring files atm.



Tada, my camera is being strange atm. kept wanting to focus on the wall outside the windshield, had to point it down for that pic.

[MechEngVT]

Originally Posted by brucey

Why does the fuel light come on at just under 1/4 a tank? lol

Most fuel lights come on pretty early not only to protect lead-footed idiots from running out of gas but because fuel pumps typically use the gas in the tank to keep the pump motor cool. Running with too little gas in the tank can cause the pump to heat up and reduce its life. Fuel pumps are rather expensive to replace because they're somewhat complicated assemblies (usually integrated with the fuel level sensor) and they're a PITA to get to for an R&R.

And if your Subie is anything like my wife's 99 Legacy SUS it will probably be rather sensitive to inclines at low fuel levels. Where we used to live in GA we had a driveway downhill from the street to the house (looking out the front window eye-level at 6'-3 was just above the street a mere 50' away) and if the fuel light was on in the Sube we had to park on the street or back downhill.

[Thalass]

Hey that's the same model Outback as mine!

I think that if you were to try and aero-mod an Outback, the best thing to do (though not the cheapest) would be to try and aquire the front bumper and side skirts from a legacy wagon, they should bolt straight on as the Outback and Legacy are more or less identical. Then lower the car and you'll have yourself a Legacy in all but badging. :P

Of course then you lose the offroad ability.

[brucey]

Sooo. Redid the wheelskirts again. Total cost is still 0$. Everything was just lieing around.



Made some tabs out of a piece of sheet metal, some are screwed into the plastic, some are simply pinched onto the metal.



Cover it with some free cloroplast. Cut to shape.

Mask, paint, put on.



The paints still drying in that picture, which explains the obviousness that it was from a spray can.

Still not looking too shabby I'd say.




I also decided to remove the mudflaps while I was there.



Thalass: I'm trying to not lose too much offroadability. While I don't plan to take jeeps on, there are a lot of roads that I need access to aren't exactly car friendly either.


The cloroplast front end is nice because while low, its also completely expendable/removable and it can actually fold back to some extent.

The skirts shouldn't effect how the car handles trails, the lack of mudflaps just make it dirtier And the skidplates/underbody tray should be a definate help off road.

[akcapeco]

Try taking some pictures outdoors, without flash... in... er... the daylight.

You'll find that others will be able to engage more easily in discussion when they can see what you're doing.

[pawilkes]

after destroying to of the stock plastic "skid plates" i got an 1/8" aluminum from WWW.GET-PRIMITIVE.COM. i haven't put a lot of miles on it yet but i expect it i will be an improvement over no skid plate, how i've been driving since i broke the last one.

[Thalass]

Yeah, that plastic skid plate is pretty much useless. Sadly a proper bash plate is expensive!


On the subject of aeromodding, would it be worth it to try and close up the gaps around the doors and bonnet? There's probably better things to do (like those side skirts and such), but I don't really want to do anything too extreme.

[brucey]

Had to take the car to get groceries, then stopped off for lunch and decided to snap a picture, since the car was out in daylight.



Wish I could get some plastic piece or something to cover that line that has formed from the two piece of sign warping each little way. Maybe later, right now I'll deal.

[MetroMPG]

brucey - any plans to delete the roof racks? Doing that would likely show up at the gas pump.