Off-Roading in a Modified and Lifted Subaru Outback.

Years ago, vehicles were utilitarian. They were built tougher, simpler, and easier to fix. They had to be capable of driving on rough roads. After all, the roads weren’t as well developed as they are today. 

It was common to see vehicles other than four-wheel drives on dirt roads, forest trails, and paddocks. Stories of Volkswagen Kombi vans or Subaru L Series wagons conquering the likes of Cape York, the northernmost tip of Australia, were quite common too. Four-wheel drives eventually became more affordable and popular, replacing cheaper adventure capable vehicles. Four-wheel drives were simply better off-road with dual-range transmissions, bigger tyres, and better cargo space for touring. Soon enough, it became uncommon to see any vehicle other than a four-wheel drive off the paved road.

But in recent years, the trend is seemingly reversing.

Four-wheel drives have become expensive, as the utilitarian vehicles of the past are loaded with technology and luxury. With rising living costs and city life, alternative off-road communities are rising in popularity like ‘Mountain Roo’, ‘2WD & AWD Adventures’, and ‘Safari All The Cars’ movements. Off-road communities like these are once again exploring the world in unconventional vehicles.

Isaac, the owner of the @Jacked_Outback, a 2005 Subaru Outback, is one such example of an unconventional build. With what turned out to be an unintentional build, Isaac has proven that much of the world can be explored in an innocuous family station wagon. In this article we explore the story of how Isaac came to purchase, build, and explore Eastern Australia in his lifted Subaru Outback. 

Car Flipping 101; Buy Low, Sell High.

Buying cheap, neglected, or mistreated cars to fix and sell at a higher price is known as car 'flipping.' Isaac earns a little extra money on the side by flipping cars, and as a qualified panel beater with experience working in an engineering workshop, he is quite good at it.

Isaac usually fixes up a car and sells it within a few weeks of purchasing it. That is until he purchased this particular 2005 Subaru Outback.

Isaac’s newly acquired Subaru Outback needed a little work. As such, Isaac bought a donor car to get the parts he needed to fix it. Starting by swapping out the worn-out cloth interior with the leather trim from the donor vehicle, Isaac moved on to swapping out the driveline, engine, auto gearbox and rear differential. The EJ25 was then serviced with new Plasma Direct coil packs and Magnecor racing leads. Lastly, Isaac updated the vehicle's tail lights. A few weeks of work later and the Outback was ready to sell for a nice profit. 

But everything would change after one Saturday afternoon. 

Isaac’s family had nothing to do on a boring afternoon. The weather was nice, so he thought it would be the perfect day for a family drive through the mountains surrounding Canberra, Australia. Isaac figured they might as well take the Outback. So, the family headed out to Mount Coree where the vehicle surprisingly overcame rough dirt tracks, even with road tyres. 

The unexpected mini-adventure was a hit with the whole family, and they wondered why they didn't explore more of the National Parks around their city. When they returned home, Isaac decided to keep the Outback. Getting the family together and back into nature was worth more than the flip! And so, the Outback officially became the family adventure vehicle!

Here’s where the ball started to roll. 

Isaac knew that the Outback was more capable than a standard 2WD - but the vehicle had obvious limitations. Outback's have low clearance and poor break-over angles. These factors limited where the vehicle could go. With a few inexpensive modifications, the Outback could go further into the bush where rutted-out tracks and uneven terrain had stopped him in the past. Isaac needed to give the Outback more ground clearance.

A lift kit advertised on Facebook Marketplace provided the solution. 

The seller of the lift kit, Joel (@bravozulubuilds), had been modifying off-road Subaru's for years, such as his lifted Subaru WRX, L Series, and H6 Outback. Isaac negotiated a trade for Joel's lift kit in exchange for spare car seats. The lift kit was assembled from Subie Lift Oz 2” front strut top spacers, King Springs 1.5” heavy-duty rear springs, and a 1” inch rear strut top spacer from eBay.

Isaac wasted no time installing his new lift kit, raising his Outback an additional 2" inches in the front, and 2.5" inches at the rear. Next up, Isaac replaced the standard 215/60/R16 (25.31 inches) tyres to 235/75/15R Hifly Vigorous mud-terrain tyres (29 inches) on 15” Dynamic D steel rims with zero offset. 

Subaru Outback's are not designed to be fitted with 29-inch mud-terrain tyres.

The Outback went under the knife (or more accurately, the angle grinder) to cut the flares, sills, side skirts, guards, inner wheel arches, and front bumper to fit the larger tyre size. Isaac then became concerned that the vehicle's toe angle might prematurely wear out the new mud-terrain treads. So, a set of spare toe arms from a Toyota Camry were modified and installed to correct the toe angle.

The standard body clearance had now been increased from 7.87" to 11.87" inches with the new lift and tyres, officially earning its nickname as the ‘Jacked Outback’.

Now, however, the Outback’s spare wheel would no longer fit in the spare tyre well. 

As an off-build vehicle, it’s a non-negotiable to carry a full-size spare. The easiest solution is to throw the 29-inch tyre in the back cargo area. But, cargo space is needed when the vehicle is loaded up with camping gear. The solution, therefore, was to mount a universal roof cage on Thule roof racks to carry the 29-inch spare tyre. The new roof racks made it possible to also install an Adventure Kings awning.

Feeling that the vehicle needed a little more protection when off-roading, Isaac sourced and installed an alloy nudge bar by ECB. Isaac could then mount a 22" light bar by Mayhem Industries, and a 42” light bar to the roof cage, making visibility at night a non-issue.

A rear draw system was the last upgrade to the Jacked Outback. The Outback had become Isaac’s daily vehicle where he needed quick access to his tools and equipment as an apprentice carpenter. A local seller in his area had listed 1000x900 draws to suit a Toyota LandCruiser by Titan. With a bit of customisation, the draws were easy enough to fit in the Outback.

The Jacked Outback was now set up and ready to go further and harder! Isaac estimated that the total cost of the build to be around $6500 including the car and all modifications.

Modification Summary:

Lift Kit: Front 2” strut top spacers by Subie Lift Oz, rear 1.5” heavy-duty springs by King Springs, and rear 1” strut top spacers from eBay
Tyres: 235/75/15R Hifly Vigorous MT601
Toe Arms: Modified Toyota Camry toe arms
Wheels/Rims: 15” Dynamic D steel rims with zero offset
Nudge Bar: Front alloy nudge bar by ECB
Front Light Bar: 22” light bar by Mayhem Industries
Top Light Bar: 42” light bar by Mayhem Industries
Roof Cage: Universal roof cage
Roof Racks: Roof racks by Thule
Awning: 2x3m awning by Adventure Kings
Rear Draws: 1000x900mm Toyota LandCruiser rear draws by Titan
Stereo: JVC KW-V340BT DVD head unit with aftermarket speakers.
Coil Packs: Plasma Direct Coils and Magnecor Racing Leads

Tackling Snowy Mount Ginini.

The Jacked Outback saw its fair share of dirt, mud, and snow. 

Isaac covered most of the Brindabella Ranges in the Outback, a mountain range with an elevation of 1,913 meters (6276.2 feet), and ventured up and down the north and south coast of New South Wales, exploring the Budawang, Deua, and Wadbilliga National Parks.

Even without the modifications, the Outback handled many of the main roads and trails on standard on-road tyres and clearance. The vehicle could go even further and deeper into the bush with its new off-road performance modifications, often meaning that Isaac went out of his way to tackle four-wheel drive obstacles. Track markers that read ‘4x4 Dual Range Vehicles Only’ were keenly ignored, as they didn’t account for a Subaru Outback with 29-inch mud-terrains. Many of the places that the Jacked Outback reached had other four-wheel drivers scratching their heads in amazement.

Mount Gingera, Mount Coree, and Mount Ginini were among the Jacked Outback's greatest off-road adventures. The Outback proved itself, completing four-wheel drive tracks like Webb's Ridge Trail to Flea Creek, and the Powerline Track up to Macintyre's Hut. 

The most memorable adventure in the Jacked Outback was a family trip to Mount Ginini with Joel from @bravozulubuilds driving his second-generation H6 Outback. Snow had fallen on the mountain making the driving conditions even more challenging for both the Subaru's. It was nothing that Isaac and Joel couldn’t handle with both vehicles climbing steep hills fresh with snow.

Isaac's favourite part of the trip was introducing his son to his experience of snow, a rather uncommon experience in Australia's warm climate.

How Capable are Subaru Outback's?

Subaru Outback's are more capable than most think. 

Outback's can handle rough tracks, shallow ruts, hills, dirt, snow, and sand thanks to symmetrical all-wheel drive, greater ground clearance, and all-terrain tyres. There is certainly enough capability to drive far away from the confines of a paved road. 

The Jacked Outback is just one example of what a Subaru Outback is capable of doing. In Australia alone, there are accounts of Subaru Outback's successfully taking on Fraser Island, crossing the Simpson Desert, and reaching Cape York. Although, we wouldn’t advise beginners to attempt any of these without experience and serious modification. 

Are Subaru Outback's as good as dual-range and air-locked four-wheel drives? And, are they limited out on the tracks?

No, the Subaru Outback is not on an even playing field with traditional four-wheel drives with lockers and dual-range transmissions. Subaru's are limited off-road and can’t overcome technical four-wheel drive tracks with steep vertical climbs, steep descents, rock steps, and deep ruts. 

Larger tyres and a lift kit can increase the vehicle’s capability, but it doesn’t fix the vehicle’s limitations like low clearance, lengthy approach and departure angles, limited wheel articulation, and lack of lockers and a dual-range transmission*.

The vehicle, however, was never designed to be a serious off-roader.

Subaru Outback's were designed to reach many of the places that four-wheel drives are commonly taken. For instance, National Parks, light tracks, fire trails, beaches, and snowy roads. And that is the value of the Subaru Outback; it is a vehicle that can reach many of the places where four-wheel drives are commonly taken. 

A second-hand Subaru Outback has the advantage of costing less to own and run when compared to a four-wheel drive, without compromising practically as a daily commuter in the city. 

The reality is that most four-wheel drive owners spend about 95% of their time on paved roads with even fewer willing to drive on challenging tracks that soft-roaders can’t handle. For many, it doesn't make sense to own and maintain a larger four-wheel drive for the few times a year they tackle a challenging track. Purchasing a soft-roader, such as the Subaru Outback, can make sense for those who commute daily and love an occasional weekend adventure. And on the other shoe, it makes no sense for an avid four-wheel driver to buy a soft-roader. The Subaru Outback is not a four-wheel drive.

But should this stop Outback's from venturing off-road?

Absolutely not. For Isaac, it was “a lot more satisfying to complete a track knowing it would be a bit of a challenge instead of just turning on the air-lockers and crawling up something with ease. Where’s the fun in that?”.

*Some models of the Subaru Outback were sold with a dual-range transmission. 

The Reaction; Loved by Many, Hated by Few.

The reaction to the Jacked Outback could be polarising at times.

Isaac's vehicle stood out and attracted attention wherever it went. Even the most unobservant were drawn to the unusual look of the Jacked Outback. This effect extended to Facebook, where videos of the vehicle filmed by the public went viral as if it were a rare supercar.

By that measure, it is no wonder that interest in the build grew when Isaac created an Instagram account in late 2018.

The @Jacked_Outback received praise, questions, and comments from all over the world. Subaru Outback owners from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Russia, Switzerland, and Kazakhstan, were inspired to modify their vehicle too. 

Similar builds have also appeared in recent years, whether inspired by Isaac's project or influenced by the worldwide Mountain Roo movement. The @subieproject, @java.wagon, and @sendit_subie are examples of off-road Outback's, each supported by pioneering brands such as SubaXtreme, Subie Lift Oz, Anderson Design & Fabrication, and LP Adventure.

While the Jacked Outback received praise, it also received hate.   

Many from the four-wheel drive community questioned the purpose behind the build and wondered why Isaac didn't just buy a 'proper' four-wheel drive. None of this ever bothered Isaac though as the vehicle was not built to prove anything or argue a case against purchasing a four-wheel drive.

Isaac simply modified the vehicle he had to go a little further off-road.

Unintended, But Unforgotten.

The Jacked Outback provided Isaac's family with a lot of fun, new experiences, and new friends.

Isaac's build is an example that the outdoors can be explored without spending heaps of money. The vehicles we currently own might be more capable than we think, allowing us to explore National Parks, venture down unmarked trails, and camp out with friends and family.

While older four-wheel drives can be purchased for $10,000-15,000, many drivers may question their running costs, practicality, and safety. A vehicle such as Subaru Outback could be a viable balance between exploring the world, keeping the family safe, and commuting to work. 

Isaac no longer owns the Jacked Outback. Yet, the build lives on as an inspiration to a new generation of owners modifying their all-wheel drive vehicles to explore the unpaved world.

Isaac's advice to anyone considering a similar off-road build, such as an Outback, Forester, X-Trail, RAV4 or CRV, is to "just go for it! It is such a great starting place to learn and get confident driving in the bush. Plus it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to build your car to a point where it’s more than capable enough to see some amazing places!”.

Follow the @Jacked_Outback

Isaac hasn't decided which car he'll build next, but it's safe to assume it'll be lifted. Isaac's build can be followed on Instagram at @jacked_outback.