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Old 09-13-2012, 02:57 PM   #47
HipToBeSquare
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Join Date: Jul 2006
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Originally Posted by JustyWRC View Post
I should have said SUBARU probably wouldn't think it was safe ENOUGH for them. Not sure about the Porsche, but aren't the other ones criticized for their "top heaviness"? The Explorer I believe is a wider vehicle as well. NONE of this even means that they are safe. What are their roll over ratings?

My statement wasn't meant to argue. I was trying to get in the minds of Subaru and why they wouldn't offer the Forester with the 296 vs 240. Having worked at a dealer for as long as I have, I somewhat understand them a bit more, I think it has to do with what people will buy. A 296hp Forester would probably cost significantly more than the 240hp one. Sure, they would sell the 296, but enough of them at the price they would have to charge?
I wasn't trying to be argumentative, either, just making a point.

And they wouldn't meet current crash test standards if they weren't safe.

SUVs and CUVS seem to sell well, with their Center of Gravity where it is... and Forester has one of the lowest for vehicles with similar ride height, due to it's drivetrain and engine being low in the chassis. Forester has long been cited as one of the most car-like vehicles in it's class, and before '09 and the SH generation, Forester was the only vehicle in it's class that DIDN'T require a roll-over warning label on the sun-visor.

And there is nothing to say that a sportier Forester wouldn't have a lower ride height than a stock Forester currently, even if not as low as a WRX or STI. Several SH Forester owners that modify their vehicles have lowered them slightly to very nice effect.

The blue Forester is a full '08 STI engine and driveline swap, with Stage 2 engine upgrades. The black one is stock.

http://www.subaruforester.org-sleepy1-2009-forester-2-5x-w-complete-08-sti-conversion-106814/

Track width is an issue, but mostly in relation to CG, rather than over-all height... and Forester has a low-ish CG in it's class, and even lower if the Forester is lowered an inch or so.

If I could buy a Forester like Sleepy1's modified Forester... I would consider it very quickly. I don't have the cash for an STI donor car, and the labor to swap it directly in.

If I did have the money... a nice blue Forester XT Touring, with a full STI swap with DCCD and SI-Drive, and the whole deal, all the way to the 5x114 hubs and wheels... that would be a NICE vehicle, and dare I say it... a better looking CUV as CUVs go, than WRX STI is as cars go.
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