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2009 Subaru Forester

3747 messages,  Last post on Oct 15, 2012 at 3:22 PM

You are in the Subaru Forester Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Forester, Future Vehicle, Wagon

Messages Page 275 of 376

#2734 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [Panos] by bigfrank3

Dec 19, 2008 (9:59 am)

Replying to: Panos (Dec 19, 2008 9:45 am)
That statement has been in the manual of every Forester I have owned, since 2001. It simply means that when 2 is selected the vehicle starts in 2nd gear to reduce the torque application to the wheels.
 
My salesman, who attends all the classes Subaru provides, assures me that the only time the 90/10 changes is when there is slippage or when accelerating beyond a certain tip-in point with the throttle, no matter what gear you are in.

#2735 of 3747 what subaru told me by kurtamaxxxguy

Dec 19, 2008 (11:00 am)

...was that for the AT equipped foresters, the AWD constantly adjusts power sent to front and back, and is able to send 100% of power to either the front or the rear.
 
I do not know if Subaru changed anything in the AWD system for 2009. But I've not seen any front wheel slip or other characteristics suggesting 90% of the power is normally going up there.
Then again, only Subaru engineers know for sure

#2736 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [Panos] by billwv

Dec 19, 2008 (11:12 am)

Replying to: Panos (Dec 19, 2008 9:45 am)
Thanks for the links -- interesting information.
 
Still seems to be some disagreement as per the post after yours.
 
In any case, its seems starting out in "2" is best way to go on very slippery surfaces, and with VDC off if much spinning is expected.
 
Thanks,
 
p.s. still waiting for a good snow to try mine out here in West Virginia.
 
Bill

#2737 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [bigfrank3] by Panos

Dec 19, 2008 (12:06 pm)

Replying to: bigfrank3 (Dec 19, 2008 9:59 am)
I didn't think of that, actually. Obviously starting out in 2nd gear is recommended in slippery surfaces. So that makes sense. Looking more into this i also saw people mentioning that you also get 50/50 at full throttle and also in reverse...i don't know how true that is...
 
The 50/50 power transfer in 1st and 2nd gear i've seen mentioned on numerous sites online. I still haven't tested it out myself. We're supposed to get 8-12" of snow by tonight! So i'll try to test this out for myself. I have dedicated winter tires also. First time i get to try the subaru in the snow

#2738 of 3747 Re: what subaru told me [kurtamaxxxguy] by bigfrank3

Dec 19, 2008 (12:32 pm)

Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (Dec 19, 2008 11:00 am)
According to the "Subaru Pocket Guide to AWD" that I have, there is always some power going to all 4 wheels so that suggests it can never be 100% either way.
 
I could be losing my mind, but I am pretty sure that I read somewhere that the duty-cycle of the solenoid in the transfer case cannot send more than 50% of the power to the rear (auto). I thought this info was in that same document but it wasn't. I will have to look through the ton of documents I have been collecting on Subaru since 2001. The manual gets adjusted by the shear of the fluid in the viscous coupling, no electronics.
 
I specifically asked my salesman about the 09 and he said he asked that question at the class, and they told him that they didn't change anything, it works exactly like the previous years. He and I were both hoping for the default 90/10 to go to 45/55.

#2739 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [Panos] by bigfrank3

Dec 19, 2008 (12:45 pm)

Replying to: Panos (Dec 19, 2008 12:06 pm)
I believe the 50/50 is correct at full throttle.
 
We are getting snow now here in SE Mass. I remember the first snow with my first Forester back in 2001, so I understand your anticipation. I loved it then and still do. Neither my wife or I have ever used anything other than the usual all-season tires that come with the Foresters, except when my wife wore out her Geos and bought Michelins, and neither of us have ever had a problem. Good ground clearance and a good AWD system are hard to beat. Some of our friends get sick of us raving about the winter capability, except those that have also gone and bought Subarus, now they rave too.
 
Have fun, and stay safe!

#2740 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [bigfrank3] by Panos

Dec 19, 2008 (3:10 pm)

Replying to: bigfrank3 (Dec 19, 2008 12:45 pm)
Frank, I'm also in MA. I took the forester for a quick drive since the snow has covered the roads right now. This is my first time with dedicated winter tires. My previous SUV was a nightmare in the snow with the oem all-seasons it came with...without 4WD it was useless. So now that this is our only car and since my fiancee will be driving it too, i didn't even want to try the Geolanders in the snow.
 
It's pretty nasty out there. I saw a plow truck do almost a 180° going around a turn. The Forester was great! Only time it would break loose was when i would purposely push it and take sharp turns, but even then it quickly gained traction and it was very predictable. It also stopped well, only time the ABS kicked in was when i would hit the brakes hard, the ABS would come on briefly and the car would come to a stop quickly. Even going downhill i could stop with no problem. Driving normal the forester was solid and wouldn't lose traction. I tried both D and gears 1 and 2 in manual mode, and when i did a couple quick starts from a stop, i could feel the forester break loose, but AWD was quick to work and gained traction. In gear 1, when i did a quick start there was no loss of traction....I called it quits cause it's rush hour and too many cars sliding around out there! I'll go to an empty parking lot later on and do some more test between D and manual mode.

#2741 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [Panos] by bigfrank3

Dec 19, 2008 (3:53 pm)

Replying to: Panos (Dec 19, 2008 3:10 pm)
My wife just got home from work and also said it is nasty. We have about 5" already, and it is very heavy. It is coming down hard. Our total is supposed to be a bit less than the rest of the state, except for the Cape, because of the moisture content, but it sure makes it hard to move around.
 
She said the highway hadn't been touched yet and there were cars stuck on inclines, some off the road, and some spinning out. She just drove around all that stuff without any problems. That is what we have come to expect with our Foresters. It would make a great commercial.
 
It is kind of cool on those occasions when you feel the front wheels start to slip a little, and you can feel the power shift to the rear and almost shoot you forward as if someone hit you in the rear.
 
I am sure your winter tires give you an advantage, but I have to tell you, neither of us have ever said we wished we had different tires on the vehicles. Even my 2 bottom-of-the-line Foresters with the cheap Bridgestones were never a problem. My Premium and her Bean have the Geos with the LSD and that is a help.
 
Are you north, and getting the light fluffy stuff? We rarely get that, too bad.

#2742 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [bigfrank3] by Panos

Dec 19, 2008 (5:38 pm)

Replying to: bigfrank3 (Dec 19, 2008 3:53 pm)
I'm actually about 7 miles SW of Boston and the snow is wet and very heavy over here also. Glad to hear the Geo's aren't that bad in the snow. I was hearing nothing but terrible things about the Geo's. People were saying they were good for the first 10k mile, after that they were terrible in the winter weather
 
The winter tires are great, i have to admit. They do give you an advantage that's for sure.

#2743 of 3747 Re: '09 XT in the Snow - first day. [Panos] by camrytimes2

Dec 20, 2008 (10:16 am)

Replying to: Panos (Dec 19, 2008 5:38 pm)
I live west of Boston very close to the interchange of routes 90 and 95. I hand shoveled the very lightweight snowbank this a.m. and backed the Forester out of the garage and down the driveway without a problem. There was probably only about 6" to 8" of light snow on the driveway. Took the car for a test drive, too. The performance was very good. I turned the stability control off, as recommended in forums. Starting on steep inclines very slowly, there was no perceptable uncontrolled wheel spin. I drove up a steep unpaved road with "rolling" terrain that had been plowed as best as possible given the poor condition of the road. I felt as though I perceived power being transferred "from the wheels that slipped to the wheels that gripped", but it may have been my imagination. In any case, there was some extra wheel spinning - which was fine since not a one of my previous vehicles would have negotiated that road under the same conditions. I'm not complaining about the traction - but I seem to think that my sister's '08 performed slightly better under similar road conditions. Differences that come to mind are that there were also passnengers in her car when I drove it and she has a limited slip differential. Does the addition of a limited slip differential make a significant difference in performance? We both have 'Geosqueelers.'

Messages Page 275 of 376

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