Joined
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17 Posts
StupidChicken
I wanted to thank you for the great build thread! There are not as many of these type build threads on the Crosstrek forums as I am used to on other car / truck forums ... yours was very helpful.
I am a recent, first time Subaru and Crosstrek owner having purchased a 2014 Crosstrek with a whopping 21,360 miles on it! My other vehicle is a highly modified Nissan Frontier Nismo .... the wife has a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee
I seem to build everything that I drive LOL ..... My hobby is off-roading and then the other expensive hobby is wildlife photography. I bought the Crosstrek for the gas mileage and the AWD advantages. My Nissan averages 14.8 miles per gallon!
I don't plan on any extreme off-roading adventures with the Subaru (I have another vehicle for that) ... I do like to run the many forestry service roads in our area (east Tennessee mountains) and the Crosstrek will be nice for that. I envy the folks out west with all the BLM lands.
I do plan to lift the Crosstrek (kit ordered) and get a set of skid plates. Of course the lights will need to be changed to leds and other mods are planned.
When I first saw your switch panel I wondered "what will he need an air compressor for?" You answered that later in the build story. My Frontier has on board air for the ARB air lockers (front and rear are locked) and of course airing up the tires. If you have not had a small compressor before be very careful about how very hot they can get! The other problem people have is under sizing the wiring ... but your friend helped you avoid that potential problem. But as you said..... you wanted the on board compressor .... I say, so why not?
I was not able to find anything about how you attached you light bar (in the grille) ... did you build a support, was there something there that you were able to use?
It looked like there was a lot of "hood glare" from your light bar that is mounted on your basket ... yes / no? I had a 50" bar on top of the Frontier and could not handle all the glare, and did not want to flt black paint my hood .... red clay mud is almost impossible to get out of flat or textured paint.
I really like your front protective bar .... have you thought about putting rocker panel rock sliders on your Crosstrek? Those on my truck have saved my bacon many many many times.
Did you ever get the Fumoto oil pan valve? They are great!
Not to get in your business but ..... Do you have much / any experience using a High-Lift jack? They can be dangerous when used incorrectly ... plenty of off-road recovery accidents involve farm jacks each year. If you can find an area off-road or overlanding group that holds training on vehicle recovery techniques they usually provide instruction in using a high-lift jack. At least they do here.
Be careful when getting a wheel off the ground with the cv axles ..... If the tire is spinning when it touches back down, especially if it hits back down hard it can (will) pop the cv joint ... I know this from experience ..... It is fun to do but a pain in the butt to fix on the trail. Serious Nissan and Toyota off-road folks usually carry a spare cv axle in their vehicle
One final thought / comment ... The dyno numbers for your Crosstrek are better than I would have guessed .... I already bought a window sticker for mine that says "slower than it looks!" My Nissan is a mini beast ..... a V6 that started life a t 261hp and now is at 335hp thanks to my friend the engine builder.
Love your build thread ... thanks again
My little Nissan 4x4
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I wanted to thank you for the great build thread! There are not as many of these type build threads on the Crosstrek forums as I am used to on other car / truck forums ... yours was very helpful.
I am a recent, first time Subaru and Crosstrek owner having purchased a 2014 Crosstrek with a whopping 21,360 miles on it! My other vehicle is a highly modified Nissan Frontier Nismo .... the wife has a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee
I seem to build everything that I drive LOL ..... My hobby is off-roading and then the other expensive hobby is wildlife photography. I bought the Crosstrek for the gas mileage and the AWD advantages. My Nissan averages 14.8 miles per gallon!
I don't plan on any extreme off-roading adventures with the Subaru (I have another vehicle for that) ... I do like to run the many forestry service roads in our area (east Tennessee mountains) and the Crosstrek will be nice for that. I envy the folks out west with all the BLM lands.
I do plan to lift the Crosstrek (kit ordered) and get a set of skid plates. Of course the lights will need to be changed to leds and other mods are planned.
When I first saw your switch panel I wondered "what will he need an air compressor for?" You answered that later in the build story. My Frontier has on board air for the ARB air lockers (front and rear are locked) and of course airing up the tires. If you have not had a small compressor before be very careful about how very hot they can get! The other problem people have is under sizing the wiring ... but your friend helped you avoid that potential problem. But as you said..... you wanted the on board compressor .... I say, so why not?
I was not able to find anything about how you attached you light bar (in the grille) ... did you build a support, was there something there that you were able to use?
It looked like there was a lot of "hood glare" from your light bar that is mounted on your basket ... yes / no? I had a 50" bar on top of the Frontier and could not handle all the glare, and did not want to flt black paint my hood .... red clay mud is almost impossible to get out of flat or textured paint.
I really like your front protective bar .... have you thought about putting rocker panel rock sliders on your Crosstrek? Those on my truck have saved my bacon many many many times.
Did you ever get the Fumoto oil pan valve? They are great!
Not to get in your business but ..... Do you have much / any experience using a High-Lift jack? They can be dangerous when used incorrectly ... plenty of off-road recovery accidents involve farm jacks each year. If you can find an area off-road or overlanding group that holds training on vehicle recovery techniques they usually provide instruction in using a high-lift jack. At least they do here.
Be careful when getting a wheel off the ground with the cv axles ..... If the tire is spinning when it touches back down, especially if it hits back down hard it can (will) pop the cv joint ... I know this from experience ..... It is fun to do but a pain in the butt to fix on the trail. Serious Nissan and Toyota off-road folks usually carry a spare cv axle in their vehicle
One final thought / comment ... The dyno numbers for your Crosstrek are better than I would have guessed .... I already bought a window sticker for mine that says "slower than it looks!" My Nissan is a mini beast ..... a V6 that started life a t 261hp and now is at 335hp thanks to my friend the engine builder.
Love your build thread ... thanks again
My little Nissan 4x4
