Improved Departure Angle for my 2009-2013 Forester
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- Опубликовано: 4 сен 2024
- JUMP TO 2-MINUTE SUMMARY: 11:08
After years of snagging my rear bumper on various terrain, I finally decided to do something about it. This isn't a How To video, but I'll show you what I did.
Nobody talking about how well this was shot! Filming at its finest
As I watch this I hear my wife yelling, “NO!” Despite that, I always enjoy watching you modify your Subie. Even for someone like me, who’s not allowed anywhere near the car with tools, it’s fun to watch you work on your rig. Adventure on👍🚙🏕🍻
🤦♂️just do it! You know you want to 😁.
LOL :-)
Uno, for someone that claims to not know what they are doing, you sure do fine work. looks great!
This is why I watch this channel. You problem solve and talk it through. Nice Job!
That disclaimer at the beginning is priceless!!! I have a 2003 Land Rover discovery, but I love these lifted subies! Saw a cross trek lifted with all terrain tires in downtown Tulsa when I was there for a couple weeks and it looked sick!! Really has me wanting one!
Put "mud flaps" on your forester it looks great and protect the rear of the vehicule
Yep, I think I'll have to get some on there!
@@softroadingthewest i cut mine in "truck mud flaps",don t make them too long.I scrashed my bumper with it
Don't know quite how I stumbled across your video- but it's good, informative and well narrated. The end product is well done and doesn't appear amateurish at all. Good job.
Looking at commenters suggesting mudflaps - I second that, but ensure what you end up with doesn't have the potential to become caught under the rear wheel when reversing off-road. If it did then it could be ripped off. Potentially taking the bumper or arch liner with it.
@@softroadingthewest and 2'' lift kit
Some mud flaps would look really goon on here.
Damn, Donald, that looks really smooth!! The increased departure angle is a major benefit. It will be cool to see you on a few excursions and see if you can notice the difference.
Nicely done. Taking power tools to ANY vehicle is not for the faint of heart. It turned out great.
I can see why that mufler shop has a great reputation. They could have EASILY sold you two mufflers and extra fab work. BUT, they listened to your objective, and gave you the best solution. Hats off to Goofy's 👏
I second the comments before, for someone that "doesn't know what he's doing", you sure are good at it! I looking at putting a diff guard on mine, but the exhaust is a bit in the way, so think I'm gonna do what you did, but just cut the pipe off before the diff, and bend it a bit further away. Gonna have to do the bumper thing as well, now that I've seen it!
It looks sick, brutha! That's the way it should have come out of the factory. Nice work.
Good idea with the wood backstop for the rear tire! I drilled a hole in a trailer tire fitting a new fender to the frame :O.
Video was so well done the people didn't deserve a "tl,dr". Got my eyes on a forester
I’m just spending some major $$$ on my 2009 forester- four new rotors &and disc pad sets, timing belt, new clutch and rear gearbox oil seal & replacing a stuffed central diff with a 12kg aftermarket one. Also just bought a replacement rear bumper from wreckers to fix dinged one I have on car. I’m now considering AT tyres plus offset wheels and replacing the fake twin mufflers after seeing this video. I think I need to watch the rest of your videos mate, you are inspiring.
Thanks for watching, good luck with the Forester!
Love the way it turned out. Would look really good with mud flaps and would help to keep some of the rocks and mud from building up under your rig.
Donald, that looks amazing. I was skeptical at first, but I really like the new look a lot.
I like it. Much less noticeable than I expected when you started. Good job with the bolts to get some rigidity back.
Indeed...I had been mulling this over for literally years but didn't want to end up with a raw chopped look. Eventually that bumper looked so bad that I was ready for any change. Even I was surprised when I stepped back and looked at it by how natural it still looked. I'm sure most people would never even notice unless I was parked right next to an un modded Forester.
@@softroadingthewest I like how you kept the lines of the old bumper, just shrunk it. Very nice! Has a bit more of an "aggressive" look. Basically a jeep now.
@@JakeGoober haha, don't let the Jeep people hear you say that, LOL :-)
Hi from Greece. 🇬🇷.. I love your videos and I love the cut you did on the forester... maybe I do that to mine too..
Nice, simple solution. No ridiculous suspension spacers. Great job.
Du bon boulot! Une amélioration discrète mais terriblement efficace! C'est impressionnant de voir comment le pare-choc se tordait lorsqu'il tapait le sol! 😱
Ouiiii ça m'a vraiment étonné aussi, presque plié en deux, c'est fou. Je suis hyper content avec ce changement.
Looks good! Now you need to take a look at those rocker panels and see if they come off. Then a little cutting in front and you have a new vehicle. Probably a good thing to get rid of that before the trip this week. See you soon, George.
You read my mind George. I've had my eye on those for a while now too. They're also a bit battered and I think it's just a question of when, not if. Front hopefully will be a whole custom fab eventually, maybe a little later this year, so a lot of that plastic will go away. See you soon!
I have a 2012 Forester...now I have to think about doing this! I bought it in Feb of this year, and was about to start outfitting it for "softroading", King Springs, and some new wheels & tires to bring the clearance up to about 11" is what my mechanic suggested. But then the whole Covid-19 happened. They have just recently allowed mechanics to re-open here in the province of Ontario, Canada, so I should contact my mechanic, and then maybe see about doing your mod. I had a whole summer trip planned, but that went the way of the dodo...I do love your videos! Thanx!
Nice, good luck with the build, have fun out there!
That's so beautiful, I could almost cry.
It looks great! Great job on the DIY fabrication.
Dude I have the exact same car. I love your channel, my old lady thinks it's hilarious that I watch all these. I am the brown version of you in AZ rocking the 2010 green SH!
Haha, nice!
Dude!
I LOVE how you just go for it, and get stuff done! 🤘
I'd used painter's tape, lined stuff up, anylized, criticized, then choked and still haven't gone back to get it done (on the GX).
Ooh! Magnaflow! Nice!
When I did my exhaust upgrade in the Superu, with a magnaflow, I also put a cherry bomb in-line near the rear diff protector. The cherry bomb acts as a resonator and quiets the more open exhaust if the 2.25" cashback with magnaflow, just deep suby rumble.
Nice work again, dude!
Bumper looks awesome. Great overall mod!!!
Donald, you know I'm a huge fan of yours and i must say, that is a sweet move on your part. Watch out America... a forester will be coming your way soon...
P.s. you'll be trimming the front end soon... lol. Looks amazing, well done.
Looking good! I used a dremel the first time to cut my bumper but found my jig saw with a metal blade worked well and didn't melt the plastic.
I'm so glad you switched to a single muffler. I don't understand what the point of the duals are other than added cost and complexity.
One last thought:
With the spare tire well now the lowest point I would recommend a hitch to act as a rear skid (that's what mine is for) or something to reinforce the floor plan. Even HDPE/UHMW would be helpful.
That metal is SUPER thin and can be deformed by hand hand. I wouldn't count on it holding up if you drag it like in the opening clips.
Good video!
Yes, in fact there were a couple of metal tabs that come off of that construction which held clips for the rear bumper skin, and I simply folded them back out of the way with my fingers, LOL. I'll have to see how it goes. Hard departure hits like I show in the beginning are relatively rare but I'm sure I'll manage to bang it up. If I had someplace else for my spare to go, I wouldn't mind that whole well getting flattened upward so you don't see it hanging down back there. Maybe some reinforcement under there will be my first welding project! Not that I know how to weld or have any welding equipment. Maybe one day though...I've been inspired by some of the RUclipsrs I follow.
@@softroadingthewest Thin metal is difficult to weld... you don't want to burn holes in your car
That turned out great, looks like an easy shave that has no real drawbacks. I just got through removing the entire plastic bumper covers off of my tracker because the metal underneath was slimmer and better looking. I also had mud and dust from 25 years in my face in the process. This should inspire many Forrester owners.
Thanks Daniel! Yeah...it's amazing where the mud and dirt can infiltrate. Nicely liberating to get rid of some of that plastic, isn't it? :-)
Looks great, Donald. Really well thought out modification. My Xtrail has similar issues, as the muffler hangs ridiculously low (almost like an afterthought) and is the biggest issue with departure angle. This has re-inspired me to seek out a solution.
Thanks Todd! It's kinda fun and freeing, how they can just make the pipe go wherever it makes the most sense. When I first went in, I was really thinking, just cut out the two mufflers and weld in two smaller mufflers, but he proposed this solution instead. I'll be curious to hear about what you end up doing.
Great job !! I have a 09 that I use alot offroad on the oregon coast . I think I will do this. Love your content!!
I might suggest riveting something along the edge of the plastic at like 90 degrees to whatever is left of the cover. This return flange will ad rigidity and help to keep the cover from just tearing when you inevitably touch the bumper on something. A bit of rigid metal conduit or plastic even should work.
You know what, go with the plastic. Just heat it up with something and bend it up. Should be an easy improvement to make on this mod.
As much as these vehicles are used for off roading I am surprised someone isn't marketing off road bumpers for them....
Chris VanOsdol LP adventure does but they pricey
What a simple, yet great, cost-effective mod!
Good idea man! I was going to go with straight pipes axle back, but had some noise issues here in Australia so ended up going with some neat stainless axle back mufflers.
You're giving me departure angle envy. Your backend looks great. Great video as always.
Thanks Mike!
It sounds bloody fantastic, reminds me of my old SF forester sound. I think I'll do this to my SH. It has an agricultural functionality and note to it.
Props for using the angle grinder to remove the plastic. Seems easy to damage the body panels- but you did it flawlessly😀
I really had no idea if that would work or not, but it was the only tool I had and ended up being super smooth and easy. :-)
I’m a huge fan of your videos!! I also have a ‘10 forester and these videos inspire me to mod my rig slowly but surely! Looks great! Adventure on brother 🤙🏼
The mods look killer and get rid of a problem too. The exhaust just disappeared underneath, so that's good too. Sounds like the guy totally treated you right at the muffler shop. Congratulations!
Great content! The single muffler sounds better and looks great. I'm selling my forester this weekend. Bitter sweet
But love your vids hopefully one day I could come up west with my cross trek and see the all the cool wilderness!!!!!!
Wow that turned out great! Looks really good and I so appreciate your willingness to jump in and try something. It’s also cool how you’re able to use the tools that you have to accomplish some really great improvements. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Dan! I was pleasantly surprised by how this one worked out!
That looks real good and quite a big gain without doing a lift.
Very sensible; nice job.
Wow Donald. This gives me some ideas for my 2017 😜great video as always
so glad that the shop put the muffler on the LHS side of the car. NO car with a single muffler (in North America) should mount it on the RHS of the car. No cyclist or pedestrian on the sidewalk needs fumes/noise deliberately directed at them.
“Dirt from a thousand roads”. Mods are well done Donald! Why Subaru went with two muffler system? Shaved weight and gained a mellowed tone. I don’t think I can cut the back of my Xtrek yet! Well done video. Your muffler shop you found did a great job.
Two mufflers mean double the power, obviously. It was an odd design decision, but I guess maybe Subaru was trying for a more "sporty" line of cars.
prob it was for emissions
Just found your channel via YT posting your Geological Oddities vlog on my home screen. Really enjoy your videos and just subscribed!
👍👍Very nicely done stealth mod. Trust me,, no one will ever notice if you don't tell. 😉👌
I like it. My outback has a significant nose and butt, but it is way too new to be cutting on. Hope I see you out there one of these days.
All excellent choices. Thoughtful comparison of departure angles.
Good Job!!! I'm glad you painted underneath. Hardly looks like it hasn't been modified.
She looks even better than before!Showing the comparison with other trucks' departure angles was a good idea. I have to subscribe to your channel now. The video was very well put! 👍👍
Uh oh, Donalds given me another idea for my Forester. Great video buddy! the car looks amazing!! Ive been planning for years to remove my SH's oversized mufflers to one small exhaust and now this has made up mind. thank you :)
Love the new look and sound of the new muffler!
Those wheels looks sick
Your videos are very goods!
Hugs from Brazil
I saw your comment about "not a fan of mudflaps,,," - but those three bolts would be perfect for a thick rubber flap, and it just might make your little rig look a but tougher! I had some rubber flaps on my Trooper years ago, and they worked well at keeping stuff off the sides and back of my truck, and also from throwing at drivers behind me (both on and off road)
Yeah, I think you're right, I'm probably going to have to come up with something there.
Dude, this turned out great! Exhaust work looks on point too.
Thanks, I don't know why I hesitated for so long. Super happy with how this has worked out!
A little Thread lock on those nuts might be a good idea cause they may vibrate out..it looks fabulous!!
Awesome small modifications Don as usual, cost efficient but effective
I used a sawzall and removed the muffler right at the back where they connected to the y pipe. now I have a axel back!
Looks amazing for a quick angle grinder job! Long term, I might look into doing the same thing on my lifted VW Alltrack. My car also has two massive mufflers that hang too low...it's only a matter of time before they get destroyed
Hello! I think, that you need to change metall bolts to plastic clips with self-tapping screws, because if you catch an obstacle with your bumper, you will lose your back bumper and all plastic in the wheel arch with it beyond recovery. Plastic clips needed to broke only them, when you catch anything in offroad. In this case them are boking and also saving your most important spare parts.
I love your content! nothing to apologize about :) your garage clips are equally interesting as your off-road adventures
I don't know if you ever idle your car while using the kitchen (morning warm up or battery charging, etc) and I don't know if you planned for it, but the single exhaust on the driver's side was smart placement. Like others have said, clean job by you and Goofy's. I like the look of it and am glad you're pleased with it. Enjoy! Pete - KI7LIL
That wasn't deliberate, I think it was simply a shorter, simpler run with fewer bends to get from the existing pipe to the drivers side rear. Worked out well!
The rear bumper looks way better. 👍🏻
Agreed! I can't believe I waited so long to give this a try.
Good job! Now i want to do the same with my Forester. Thanks! Hello from Kazakhstan.
Well done!! Looks good AND serves a purpose
Love the 70's Ford @ 8:30 too
Someone has put some love into that one.
Little known fact: I did most of my learner's permit driving learned on a '67 Ford pickup. No power brakes, no power steering, that thing was such an overwhelming beast to this 15-yr-old 98-pound weakling, LOL. There was so much slop in the steering that you could turn the wheel 10° in either direction and keep going straight down the highway. Tell you what, every other vehicle I ever had to drive after that seemed like a piece of cake.
great job and looks like a good project for others to consider...
I was putting off trimming my bumpers on my 09 FTX. I want to modify some jeep bumpers to fit the Subaru. I had some dangly pieces as well. I just used a box cutter, scored it, scored it again and then sliced off the fat!
Great job! Looks even better!
Great job man! It looks great and it will help you out in your adventures too. Time and money well spent!
Just a some advise should get some roll on bed liner and coat rest of the rear bumper and keep it a little more sturdy!!!
Interesting idea!
Well done! I recently did some cutting on my Outback. Way better! Thanks for showing the very detailed up grades.
Time to trim the rear bumper in my 4th gen to improve departure angle and my local muffler shop weld a magnaflow on my vehicle too.
Looks great!
Hi, nice job, Well done.
Best Regards
Good work, you did well to cut that freehand.
Clean work Donald!!!
Thanks Mike!
Love the videos! I'm actually flying into Eugene today to pick up my "soft roading" 4Runner. I hope I don't get in trouble for not using it properly.
Haha! Congrats, that'll be a fun rig for sure!
Wow that looks surprisingly awesome. WAY better. Good job!
This video inspired me.
Now Im about to do the same procedure except it will be on the front of my 2013 CRV. Theres currently a black spoiler underneath the bumper itself but that thing is just horrible to even look at.
There goes my angle grinder haha!
I have not regretted any plastic I've removed from this car over the past couple of years. :-) Have fun!
@@softroadingthewest functionality over looks :)
Tho your Forester looks super cool now!
Cool! Nice shop. KZEL used to have its HQ down there in Glenwood you know!
That looks totally awesome! One of those "I wish I woulda done it sooner" moments, huh? After seeing how it looks shaved off, my inner fabribcobbler really wants to build a custom tube bumper for that new space. After seeing that you are several hours south of me, this probably isn't feasable let alone if this is your daily driver.
Actually turned out to be a really clean look
Man that looks really really good!! Solid work 🤙🏼
Thanks, I've been really happy with this little mod!
You got a steady hand, bro.
Next video: spare well delete, mounted on the rear hatch! Awesome content, subscribed.
Haha, you read my mind! Boy would I love to hammer that thing out of sight, LOL. I've got a few other mods that need to come first but...yeah...I'd like to get the spare tire out of there, flatten that out, and use the remaining space for other purposes. Good call. :-)
More storage in there, also even more departure angle 😃
Thanks for your awesome ideas. I have a blue 09 XT and I want to start with the 15 wheels+tyres and 1inch lift. There are tons of trails to explore in Costa Rica
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Great stuff, Donald. Can't wait to meet you at Alvord.
That should definitely help. It's always good to take a little off then decide to take off more so you don't regret your decision lol. Yeah those mufflers were to bulky for what you do. I like it looks good
Donald you should put some mud flaps where you put those bolts in the wheel well.
I suspect I'm going to have to look into that, yes.
That came out looking really well! Following the lines was a great idea! Love the video! :)
I hear everytime someone comments on a RUclips video an algorithm tells everyone else to watch it. This is my current contribution 😉
LOL...can't hurt! :-)
Regarding 2 vs. 1 muffler, I don't agree with your assessment that double muffler is not necessary. While I don't know for sure, since Subaru is always penny pinching to control cost, there is a good chance 2 mufflers are needed.
It is common to have a single pipe come from the front and for it to split into 2 mufflers. Keep in mind that mufflers provide flow resistance and 2 mufflers provide half the flow resistance than 1.
In subsequent models of the Forester - running the exact same engine - Subaru moved back to a single exhaust/single muffler. Everything I've read over the years has suggested the dual muffler setup does not provide a functional benefit. I decided to trust the muffler guy, who is widely considered the best in town. It wasn't my assessment, it was his that the modification would provide equivalent flow/backpressure. So far I've been unable to perceive any difference at all in performance one way or the other. It's done now, we'll see how it goes! :-)
Great job, looks good! I’m learning a lot from your videos. Keep up the great work!
I think you did an amazing job! Might consider a custom made bumper on the light weight and as a future option. I think you should make a video about how you do your maintenance or how you go about your maintenance on your Forrester because they are known to have problems such as burning oil head gaskets etc. I’m curious as to how you handle those on the trail not so much being stuck but actual car failure
I don't really do anything extra beyond keeping very close tabs on oil consumption, and staying on top of routine maintenance. This particular Subaru engine is not prone to head gasket failure, but does tend to consume oil in certain conditions, so I keep a close eye on it.