Great video. Thanks for sharing.
I didn't see a skid plate. Thought you might have one for those roads. Also, do you drive with a co-pilot? They can be useful for picking hte right line and taking video. Just ask my wife.
Nope, no skid plate. Haven't had the need for one yet. When I rebuilt my engine, I re-sprayed my transmission and oil pan, and neither of them have a scratch yet. Doesn't mean that I won't eventually get one.....currently weighing my options with fabricating one myself.
Very nice videography. Good work!
What gear are you in whilst attempting the ruts? Also, can models with VDC prevent that infamous diagonal spin?
Most of the time, you can power through the diagonal spin, but you can see me hesitate on my first attempt, which killed my momentum and got me into the diagonal spin to begin with. So for power, I usually use 1st gear. To be honest, in all my off-roading, I'm usually in first. I only start off in 2nd if I'm in deep sand. And yes, VDC will stop the spinning wheels during the diagonal spin to allow power to be transferred to the two that do have traction, and pull you out. The video below shows this happening perfectly.....(around 1:18)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rojWxOGZtkI
That sucks that the stupid wheels spin even if there don't have any traction, but the ones with traction don't do anything.
Yep, it sucks, but that's the way diffs work. Power tries to escape through the easiest route, and when two wheels are off the ground in diagonal to each other, that'll happen. But it's not just AWD, the majority of 4 wheel drive vehicles out there do the exact same thing. (even Jeep's and Toyota's) That's why locking diffs and electronic systems like Subaru's VDC were invented, to aid in preventing it from happening.
Now, if I were in a Forester with VDC, the wheels would have spun for a second before the system catches it, uses the brakes to slow those tires and pull me out without having to re-setup my approach and wheel placement. But to be honest, I love the challenge of getting through something as smoothly as possible, which is why I went through 3 times until I got it right. Gives you a sense of accomplishment, respect for the Foz's off-road capabilities, and experience when you need to pass an obstacle like that again in the future.
