alltrack offroad :)

[nyc863]

just idle speculation. a thought experiment..

if one were to take an alltrack touring though the flinders ranges, what would you change? other than the car.

what immediately springs to mind is fitting high profile tires on 17" rims, if one has stock 18s. For example 70 profile off road oriented tires? does that implied larger circumference just put the speedo out?

a roof box with the spare moved there?

anything else?
a b7 wagon airbag lift kit from the USA ha ha.

people tour flinders in rwd commodores I am told, but they do get stuck.

[Hillbilly]

Larger tyres may be illegal as there are limits as to increasing diameter beyond a certain limit.

Apart from altering your speedo it will also up the gearing so that it would be slower off the mark and change down earlier on hills.

Alltrack is a bit of a misnomer I would refer to it as a softroader rather than an offroader.

It is after all only an ordinary unitary bodied wagon with different suspension and AWD.

Mine gave an ominous creak going over an badly angled driveway so wont be trying any offroad tracks with it,

Put light things on the roof, not heavy things as that raises the COG and therefore stability.

Also not always the easiest to get off in some situations.

My Cruiser wheels were to heavy for me to lift that high at 44kg If towing remember your ball weight is part of your load and so reduces the amount of gear you can load in the vehicle.

Eg the Cruiser could hold 662kg payload but after 300KG ballweight 130kg fuel, me and wife 150kg only left 82kg for gear.

Whilst your weights will be less the same scenario applies

[nyc863]

well since it is supposedly an alternative to a Subaru outback, I'm curious to know if the things that it doesn't match up to - eg ground clearance and tire choice - are locked in.

I'm sure a lot of mediocre part-time 4wd systems go successfully touring on roads worse than just dirt so it isn't the lack of a diff locker and low range. Obviously the spare tire could be repacked for easier access without putting it on the roof. Also there are tires that are better suited to rocky roads without going to 70 profile, but perhaps one could even get 16" (outback and forester has 16") rims and larger profiles, i've no idea.
Which is why I asked really.

If the "alltrack" is really only for pulling a light boat up a ramp, or the odd bit of slippery grass field parking at a village fete (and ski resorts of course) it isn't an "all" track.

Fraser island sands? places rutted and rocky, but not requiring Prados with long range tanks?

[Inego]

I'd suggest that many Euro tracks are quite different to ours, and that it is largely an alltrack there. It's fitted out for steep snowy gravel - made tracks rather than a 4WD, and marketed as such.

165mm does seem a little light on, given that the Scout (and Ford Territory) are 180mm, but should be fine for me. Until the current generation the Outback was only 200mm, up now to 230mm IIRC.

I think you'd need to find 15" rims to go to 70 profile - my Scout has 225/50x17, which has been fine on made although at times rough tracks.

[nyc863]

Did some more reading and alltrack owners in colder climates keep a set of 16" or 17" vw alloys, fitted with their choice of winter suitable tire. Having another appropriate tire set would be the right thing to do for a planned trip away from bitumen in hot climates, this is something the owner of an Outback doesn't have to bother with.

Also I did a quick search on "cracking" sounds in b7 when articulating the car, and apparently in cases in forums it was poorly fitted front suspension assemblies/struts and vw is was pretty quick to replace them if an owner reports unusual noises over low speed bumps etc. I'd be a bit concerned if there were so much chassis flex on three wheels that the car made cracking noises!

[Inego]

Did some more reading and alltrack owners in colder climates keep a set of 16" or 17" vw alloys, fitted with their choice of winter suitable tire.

Even the British are getting more and more used to winter tires and yes, the normal swap is from a 17" to a narrower, taller 16" winter tyre.

Apart frm the styling and the tinniness, the worst thing about the Outback is the tyres for most people for normal daily use. If living in the city and occasionally heading to the country I'd either be getting the dealer to swap out the Geolandars before delivery or head straight form the dealer to a tyre place. Having to switch the other way on VAG "off-raod" products recognises how most of them are used most of the time.