MEET A MEMBER

Charles Hobbs joined the Club a few months ago. I had a chat with him to find out what motivated him into 4-wheel-driving, and why he decided on a Subaru. Q: Charles, what got you into 4-wheel-driving A: My family and friends are into 4-wheeldriving. When I got my care, I wanted one that can take me to the places I want to go and capable of keeping up with my family and friends. Q: Why a Subaru Forester? A: Cost. I can only afford to own and run one car (at this stage), thus having a regular daily drive and a 4x4 toy wasn’t an option for me. The capabilities of modified Foresters I saw on YouTube convinced me that if I do the same, I will have a daily drive vehicle that is capable in keeping up with the bigger 4x4s. Q: What kind of 4x4s do your friends and family drive, and what sort of driving do you plan to do in your Forester? A: Various, including a modified Nissan Patrol and a Land Rover Discovery 2. Thus, my car needs to be able to keep up on difficult tracks.

Charles is currently a 1st year university student, studying Automotive Engineering at RMIT in the city. Having a reliable daily drive was therefore critical. He enjoys his driving on-road and off-road, thus was not interested in a “full on” off-roader that, as we all know, typically “sway like a boat” when driven on the road due to their off-road suspension setups. His choice of a SG Forester XT does fit his requirements of his daily drive and as a “fun to drive” vehicle on-road nicely

Charles also works in his family ’s business, JTX Lighting. JTX Lighting specialises in automotive headlight conversions for older style vehicles. They do LED and HDR conversions. Needless to say, Charles will be utilising the family trade for lighting improvements on his Forester. Having grown up in a family with automotive roots, it was no surprise that Charles did not hesitate to explore how he could improve his Forester’s offroad capability. Charles took inspiration from Mitre at the YouTube Channel Ignition Off Road who also has a modified SG Forester. Charles ordered from ADS their “The All Terrain 144” dual range gearbox and their 12kg Viscous Coupling for the centre differential.

Q: Charles, what have you done on your Forester to date? A: I installed a 2” SLO lift kit, changed the tyres to AT tyres, and most importantly, installed an ADS dual range gearbox with a front LSD differential and a centre VCD. Q: An ADS dual range with LSD differential, that is not a step that many people take. Why did you decide to do that? A: It was the best value for money approach for me. The new gearbox gives me a proper low range, and the LSD will help with tractions on my front wheels.

All Drive Subaru (ADS) is a NSW based company that specialises in Subaru drivetrain modifications.

Charles’s XT did not come factory fitted with a dual range gearbox. The ADS dual range gearbox not only “just” provides Charles’s Forester with dual range, but equipped the car with a low range ratio of 1.447 that is 21% better than the standard Subaru low range. This coupled with the higher load rating viscous coupling differential (VCD) allows Charles’s car to transfer higher torque to the wheels at the low speeds typical in four-wheel-driving. On terrain where one of the front wheels loses traction, the Limited Slip Differential (LSD) in the front differential should transfer the power from the wheel that is spinning to the wheel that has more grip. This should allow Charles’s Forester to continue to transfer power onto the wheels with grip to drive the vehicle forward. In terms of cost, like a true automotive engineer, Charles has kept meticulous records of his spending. To date, including installation, the modifications have costed approximately $8,000. Charles estimates that this is at least $17,000 less than the cost of his alternative option, which was to buy a 2nd dedicated 4x4 and modifying that vehicle. Having completed this phase of modifications, Charles is keen to test the capabilities of his Forester on the tracks. While he is considering other modifications, he wants to benchmark the car’s performance first before deciding on the priorities of future improvements including a rear differential locker, an off-road front bar, a winch, and snorkel. Unfortunately, off-the-shelf off-road modification options for Subaru are typically limited. In Charles’ case, there are no ready to fit rear differential locker that fits his car. There are however rumours that a front differential locker made by ARB for the Nissan Navara can be refitted as a rear differential for his model of Forester. It will be interesting to see what solution Charles ends up implementing in his Forester.

When you see Charles on a trip, don’t be a stranger and be sure to say hello. Don’t forget to ask him about his modified Forester.