This fourth gen Outback is not only one of the most capable Subarus you’ll see on the trails – it’s also one of the most powerful. J was kind enough to sit down and document his entire build experience. We hope you enjoy this article as much as we do!
The Car:
2012 Subaru Outback 3.6 Limited. 4th gen OB aka BR Outback in the US.
Full Outback Mod List (Buckle Up, It's a Long One)
- ADF lift kit
- 30″ Falken AT4Ws (245/65/17)
- Voxx Monte wheels 17×7.5″ 5×100 OFST 20
- Removed sway bars
- White Line rear differential bushings
- Godspeed adjustable rear lower control arms
- Godspeed Adjustable Trailing Arms
- Optima Red Top AGM battery
- Rallitek HD Toe Arms
- Primitive skids x3 (Engine, Trans, Diff)
- Ironman 6.5″ 4×4 Instant Awning
- Trimmed front & rear bumpers
- Spiked Performance Hood Louvers
- Modified exhaust – routed up for clearance, OEM mufflers replaced with “Turbo Mufflers” solely based on small size. Resonator removed to accommodate the lift.
- Side skirts removed (sliders some day)
- Rola Roof rack with extension
- Yakima spare tire holder for roof rack
- Hayden 678 Trans Cooler
- CKMA12 Single Tank ARB pump hardwired into battery, linked to interior switch. Unit mounted in hatch area in spare tire compartment.
- Hose mounted in hatch for easy access
- 12v LED light mounted facing down on hatch wired in with hatch interior light
- Customer radiator sprayer setup – Misting nozzles combined with a windshield wiper pump and reservoir. Experimental stages but functioning.
- 360° lighting – 32″ Light bar, 7″ LED switchback pods mounted at the bottom of the bumper, Ditch light angled pods, 7″ slim led bars mounted on each side, Two rear facing LED pods. Amazon brands such as Nilight and Rigidhorse.
- Wiring is setup with its own loom and in a way that each light has its own plug and is easily changeable/removable
- All routed to a fuse box that’s custom mounted in the engine bay
- Wiring / Fuse box goes to 8 button led auto dimming switch mounted inside under my left blinker switch
- Scan Guage wired and mounted on steering wheel column for easy viewing
- Midland MXT115 hardwired and mounted under radio/ac controls
- Removed OEM washer reservoir and replaced with smaller one
- Hood is wrapped black due to clear coat peeling
- Emblems plasti dipped
- Grill was PAINTED
- WeatherTech side window deflectors
- Limo tint all the way around the car
- Windshield 70% tint
- LED low and high headlight bulbs, Auxbeam and Hikari respectively
- All interior lights converted to LED
- Literally every suspension part has been replaced at some point, some multiple times.
Lifted Outback 3.6R MPG (Who's Counting Anyway?)
I honestly don’t even pay attention to it. I drive it, and fill it up as needed. The mileage isn’t going to make a real difference for me personally. I don’t have to check to know its better than your average full size 4×4, such as my V8 Grand Cherokee haha.
I don’t recall a big difference with my bumper cut as that was early on. Typically drag (stuff on the roof for example) and bigger tires are going to be the biggest draw on your mpg though.
Lift Kit Install Process
I was basically just there to lend my hands, but it was absolutely Matt / aka slo_foz. We used some pretty sketchy spring compressors I remember lol.
It was in the early days of Matt doing automotive work. No part of it seemed particularly hard for us. We installed everything at once, so to go from stock height/struts/springs to the above, it was a literal night and day difference.
Making The Choice To Modify An Outback Instead Of a 4X4
Honestly, I never expected it to be what it is today. When I got it, I was having a bunch of issues with my Jeep and just wanted something that I could both daily drive and take on some camping trips.
I had actually liked Subarus for a while, and so began my search. The Outback won out over other models because it had comparable space to my Grand Cherokee. I still have the Jeep, and plan to fix it someday, although I’ve been saying that for a few years now as it’s been sitting in my backyard. The Outback just kinda took over.
Most Impactful Offroad Mods
Tires and skid plates are generally the most important, and I did those first along with the front bumper cut. I honestly do not know how people wheel Subarus without bumper cuts lol, you would rip it off so fast on the trails here in Arizona. Ask me how I know!
The other really important mod that is not just your typical bolt on life/tires/etc is the hardwired pump that’s mounted in my hatch. It’s super nice being able to air up with the press of a button and not have to lift my hood. Airing up is literally faster than airing down in my case.
Offroad Driving Tips
Line choice with proper throttle is key, and on anything that looks like an obstacle you should always plan your line beforehand. Sometimes that means getting out and looking first. I also recommend rolling your window down so you can poke your head out and watch where your tires are going more closely.
We don’t typically have the suspension travel to go in the worst parts of the trail, or if you do, you’re gonna struggle more. Study the terrain, and try to imagine where your tires are going to go and take the best possible line. Learn to pick lines, which will come with experience. Also consider you may need to come back up/down that part of the trail later on if it’s a dead end or if you have to turn around for any reason.
Second, get an air compressor (a Viar 88p was my first in the Subaru and it’s pretty cheap) and air down in anything that’s not flat gravel. Why? Because all we have is AWD, maybe a diff lock, and likely not a locker. That means the best thing you can do to improve traction and avoid a flat, is air down. (I haven’t had a flat tire in 5+ years btw)
Lastly, don’t send it everywhere like Instagram basically tells you to or be prepared to break stuff. Most don’t really talk about it often, but the reality is yes, you can do lots with a Subaru by “sending it”, but you will absolutely be breaking things. I can’t tell you how many times people have blamed the lift, or the car, or whatever and then when I watch their videos it’s clear it’s the DRIVING.
I was this way the first few years too for sure and I can tell you that Matt and I have touched every single bolt in the suspension now. That’s not the car’s fault, that’s not the lift’s fault, it’s mine because of how I drove it.
You can do lots, but the more you push it, the more things will break. It’s not a truck or full size 4×4, and people get offended when you say it but it’s the truth – the parts underneath are tiny and thinner in comparison. Remember I own and have wheeled a solid axle Jeep too. As a Jeep owner yourself, you get this I bet. I guess the point is, you can have a ton of fun in them, but be prepared to pay to play, which is essentially always the name of the game when it comes to wheeling.
(The Outback all the way to the left in this photo is another 3.6R Outback owned by our friend Ryan. You can checkout his build feature HERE.)
Wheel And Tire Details
So I’m running 245/65/17 Falken AT4W’s which are considered big (We’ll just call them 30s, we all know people round up lol) for 4th Gen Outbacks, generally 235/65/17 is the sweet spot. I had always wanted to go bigger than that on the tires and the last time around I decided to do it!
We had to trim some plastic, and some metal, and hammer, but after a few back and forth sort of testing periods we got everything trimmed up nicely. We could probably do a little more as it still rubs in very specific off camber scenarios, but that is it. I can turn lock to lock without rubbing, for example.
So far I’ve tested the new AT4Ws on sand, definitely rocks, and a little mud. No snow yet as I got them at the end of winter, which in Arizona means it’s already mostly dry again lol. They’ve done fantastic in all those scenarios though.
I’m especially impressed with traction in the rocks, and I feel these are very durable just like my previous sets of Falken’s. I look forward to testing them more in the wetter conditions when they come or when I find them, but as this is my 3rd set of Falkens, I’m pretty confident in them. They’re chonky too, as you can see.
Rooftop Accessories: Prepared For The Wilderness
I like to keep it simple when it comes to the roof. I also don’t want a ton of weight up there. So for me, it’s just the spare (which yes I know is weight), sometimes my traction boards are up there, a chair typically lives up there, and then whatever else I may need for that specific trip.
It’s not usually loaded with anything else except on camping trips when the space is needed. I don’t keep things like Rotopax or my shovel up there. I do carry a shovel, but it’s not used often enough to leave it up there, but it would be nice for easier access. I may do some kind of mount at some point.
Would You Change Anything?
It’s hard to say I’d do anything different because so many things I did out of necessity and not as much as “a want”. But, when I lifted Scarlett, there were very limited options for lifts. Now, almost 6 years later (wow it’s been that long), there are multiple options and not just that, multiple ways.
You have spacer lifts combined with springs/struts, like mine. But you also have coilover lifts, “long travel” as they call it. Calling most of these “long travel” is a stretch though in my opinion. That comes from my Jeeping background I guess. Then there is also a Bilsten lift now that is essentially just a taller strut, but your lift height is limited to 1.5’’ and that is too small for my use.
At this point if I had to re-do, I would probably try out some Raceworks Coilovers, which are the only ones I’d put on my car!
Future Plans For The Subaru
Honestly, I’m pretty ready to be done with the mods, it’s been an ongoing thing of mods and fixes for the past 6 years. But here are the last majors:
- Locker: My final goals are the locker, which if you haven’t heard after several attempts we got to find out that the Torq Locker actually did not fit inside my diff case and Torq Masters didn’t know about it. So apparently I was the first 4th Gen 3.6 to attempt to put the rear locker in. They plan to adjust for this and the changes will allow it to work, but it sounds like this won’t happen for around 6 months. So that is still the plan, but when is another story. Update on this: I was sent smaller spider gears that should allow the locker to fit inside the case. No install date is set yet as I have other things that need to be addressed first, but pretty cool they did respond and did keep in contact with me about all this.
- Snorkel: I’d also like to add a snorkel, not just for water but especially dust here in the desert. People always like to talk sh** about people with snorkels here in AZ, but what they don’t realize is that they can be more effective at filtering out heavy dust, which is common here especially on group trail runs. Plus, we DO actually have water in Arizona. 🙂
- Sliders: Sliders would be nice, especially as I’ve banged up my pinch welds already. The problem for me is that the commercial options are not only overpriced, but most of them do not actually protect the bottoms of the doors. I’d likely need to have some custom fabricated, which involves not just money, but time. It’s a whole lot different than just ordering something from xyzsubaruoffroadstuff.com and waiting for it to come.
- Winch: With all the solo wheeling I do, it would be a good idea to have a winch. I would need to figure out the best way and location for mounting it as I do not really intend on steel bumpers. If anything, I may do a tube bumper up front, but that’s probably the LAST thing I’d do when I’ve done everything else on this list. A winch would really be a good investment though. I’m just not stoked on adding more weight to the front until I can lift it a little bit more…Like with coilovers.
- Dual Battery Setup: I’d really like to do this someday, but this can by far be the most expensive out of this list if you want it done right, and I would. I love the idea of having plugs to power and charge everything coming from a second battery that gets charged via my Subarus alternator. You can set them up so they also charge your main battery, and also so that you can start the car with either battery in case one’s voltage drops too low. I’m all about things that have multiple uses. I just bought a larger power station on Amazon Prime Day though, so I’ll probably hold off on this for some time.
Subaru Community Involvement
I’m an officer for MtnRoo Arizona, and have been a member for almost the entire time I’ve owned my Subaru . MtnRoo has been a great resource for anything and everything Subaru related, and I’ve also met some of my best friends there. We are definitely looking forward to more activities here as soon as it cools down. The Phoenix area has been breaking all kinds of records with heat, so we haven’t been as active lately. Soon though!!
I’m also an admin and founder of the 4th gen Outback group on Facebook. If you own a 4th Gen Outback, join up! It’s a great model specific community for my gen of OB.
We really hope you enjoyed J’s Outback build article. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot us an email. Make sure to head over to Instagram and follow along with this build and say hi to @thatoneguyaz
Love this Subie!