Rocky mountains & 4 cyl?

[Joe J]

Going on cross country trip next week from Vegas to Wisconsin via I-70 &
Denver. I have a 97 Outback, 4 cyl, 5 speed. The last time I made this
journey it was from East to West and in a 5-speed, fuel injected, 84 Saab
and it struggled up those inclines.
Anyone have experience with 4 cyl Subarus, driving through the Rockies? I'm
not pulling a trailer but the car will be loaded with household boxes and
the dog!

Thanks,

 

[Tim Conway]

Going on cross country trip next week from Vegas to Wisconsin via I-70 &
Denver. I have a 97 Outback, 4 cyl, 5 speed. The last time I made this
journey it was from East to West and in a 5-speed, fuel injected, 84 Saab
and it struggled up those inclines.
Anyone have experience with 4 cyl Subarus, driving through the Rockies?
I'm not pulling a trailer but the car will be loaded with household boxes
and the dog!

Thanks,

I have a 2000 Forester, and used to have a '92 Loyale. I don't know about
'97, but the 2000 has vastly improved performance over the '92. I wouldn't
worry about the mountains with this one. They really *have* improved the
pick up. With an automatic my '92 Loyale made me think I had to help push.
The 2000 Forester(also automatic) is totally different, so your '97 Outback
should be vastly improved over your '84 Saab experience.

 

[S]

Hi Joe!

Going on cross country trip next week from Vegas to Wisconsin via I-70 &
Denver. I have a 97 Outback, 4 cyl, 5 speed. The last time I made this
journey it was from East to West and in a 5-speed, fuel injected, 84 Saab
and it struggled up those inclines.
Anyone have experience with 4 cyl Subarus, driving through the Rockies? I'm
not pulling a trailer but the car will be loaded with household boxes and
the dog!

Thanks,

I've had my '99 Forry (2.5l SOHC) all over Colorado; been over the
Glenwood Springs. - Denver stretch of I70 a bunch. You'll probably
find 4th gear useful on the approach to the Eisenhower tunnel, and
maybe just before the top of Vail Pass, but other than that I can't
imagine you'll need to gear down as a result of hills. Some parts of
I70 in the Glenwood Canyon are pretty twisty, and you might find
better throttle response in 4th.
I70 can be a disaster between the I40/I70 intersection (just W. of
Idaho Springs) and Denver in the evening, particularly on weekends, or
in bad weather. Avoid these time blocks if at all possible. Hwy6 east
from Idaho Springs is a pleasant alternative to sitting in traffic on
the interstate, and drops you out in very nearly the same spot.
Also remember that significant snowfall is still a very real
possibility in the mountains thru April, sometimes even into May.
For a somewhat longer, but far more scenic/less hectic trip thru
Colorado, check out Hwy50.
Avoid the issue all together on I-80, but take along some no-doze ;-)
Have fun. ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[Joe J]

Hi Joe!



I've had my '99 Forry (2.5l SOHC) all over Colorado; been over the
Glenwood Springs. - Denver stretch of I70 a bunch. You'll probably
find 4th gear useful on the approach to the Eisenhower tunnel, and
maybe just before the top of Vail Pass, but other than that I can't
imagine you'll need to gear down as a result of hills. Some parts of
I70 in the Glenwood Canyon are pretty twisty, and you might find
better throttle response in 4th.
I70 can be a disaster between the I40/I70 intersection (just W. of
Idaho Springs) and Denver in the evening, particularly on weekends, or
in bad weather. Avoid these time blocks if at all possible. Hwy6 east
from Idaho Springs is a pleasant alternative to sitting in traffic on
the interstate, and drops you out in very nearly the same spot.
Also remember that significant snowfall is still a very real
possibility in the mountains thru April, sometimes even into May.
For a somewhat longer, but far more scenic/less hectic trip thru
Colorado, check out Hwy50.
Avoid the issue all together on I-80, but take along some no-doze ;-)
Have fun. ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

Thank you for the reply.

Joe

 

[Catherine Jefferson]

Going on cross country trip next week from Vegas to Wisconsin via I-70 &
Denver. I have a 97 Outback, 4 cyl, 5 speed. The last time I made this
journey it was from East to West and in a 5-speed, fuel injected, 84
Saab and it struggled up those inclines.
Anyone have experience with 4 cyl Subarus, driving through the Rockies?
I'm not pulling a trailer but the car will be loaded with household
boxes and the dog!

ROFL! We do indeed. Over Christmas we drove a 1999 Subaru Forester S,
4 cyl, automatic transmission, over that exact route twice, with enough
luggage for a cruise and bunch of Christmas presents. The weather was
horrendous (snow, ice, etc.) one way, but we had no problem at all with
the engine lacking enough power. My mother also lives in Colorado and
drives an Outback just a year younger than yours. She goes over I-70
and Loveland pass a few times a year at least.

Unless your Outback engine has problems, you'll be just fine.

 

[David Ryeburn]

Going on cross country trip next week from Vegas to Wisconsin via I-70 &
Denver. I have a 97 Outback, 4 cyl, 5 speed. The last time I made this
journey it was from East to West and in a 5-speed, fuel injected, 84 Saab
and it struggled up those inclines.
Anyone have experience with 4 cyl Subarus, driving through the Rockies? I'm
not pulling a trailer but the car will be loaded with household boxes and
the dog!

My badly underpowered 1988 Subaru GL 4x4 wagon, 5 speed went all over
Colorado in its day, and went across the continent two times. I don't think
I ever had it above 11,000 ft (US 212 NE of Yellowstone) but it did fine,
although it took its time.

My 1997 Outback, 5 speed. went across the continent four times. It climbed
quite high in Colorado on two trips. On one of them, loaded with many
hundreds of pounds of gear and two passengers, it went along the old road
north of the main road in Rocky Mountain National Park, went up Mt. Evans
(over 14,000 ft), and dealt with Berthoud and Loveland Passes with ease. (We
avoided the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 -- what can you see inside there?).

My 2007 Outback, 5 speed, hasn't been east of Alberta yet -- maybe this
summer. It makes the peppy 1997 Outback look like a wimp.

The 1988 had 411,000 km on it when its fourth owner, the first one not
related to me, crashed it into a tree. The 1997, now owned by my daughter
and son-in-law, is going strong at about 350,000 km so those trips didn't
hurt it. The 2007 is a baby with only about 38,000 mi on it (mi, not km --
bought in Seattle) but my other daughter will get it when I get around to
replacing it at around 200,000 mi.

Don't be afraid of using lower gears. They're there for a reason. And enjoy
your trip.

David

 

[Joe J]

ROFL! We do indeed. Over Christmas we drove a 1999 Subaru Forester S,
4 cyl, automatic transmission, over that exact route twice, with enough
luggage for a cruise and bunch of Christmas presents. The weather was
horrendous (snow, ice, etc.) one way, but we had no problem at all with
the engine lacking enough power. My mother also lives in Colorado and
drives an Outback just a year younger than yours. She goes over I-70
and Loveland pass a few times a year at least.

Unless your Outback engine has problems, you'll be just fine.

Thanks for the reassurance!

 

[Joe J]

My badly underpowered 1988 Subaru GL 4x4 wagon, 5 speed went all over
Colorado in its day, and went across the continent two times. I don't
think
I ever had it above 11,000 ft (US 212 NE of Yellowstone) but it did fine,
although it took its time.

My 1997 Outback, 5 speed. went across the continent four times. It climbed
quite high in Colorado on two trips. On one of them, loaded with many
hundreds of pounds of gear and two passengers, it went along the old road
north of the main road in Rocky Mountain National Park, went up Mt. Evans
(over 14,000 ft), and dealt with Berthoud and Loveland Passes with ease.
(We
avoided the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 -- what can you see inside there?).

My 2007 Outback, 5 speed, hasn't been east of Alberta yet -- maybe this
summer. It makes the peppy 1997 Outback look like a wimp.

The 1988 had 411,000 km on it when its fourth owner, the first one not
related to me, crashed it into a tree. The 1997, now owned by my daughter
and son-in-law, is going strong at about 350,000 km so those trips didn't
hurt it. The 2007 is a baby with only about 38,000 mi on it (mi, not km --
bought in Seattle) but my other daughter will get it when I get around to
replacing it at around 200,000 mi.

Don't be afraid of using lower gears. They're there for a reason. And
enjoy
your trip.

David

Thanks!

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Going on cross country trip next week from Vegas to Wisconsin via I-70 &
Denver. I have a 97 Outback, 4 cyl, 5 speed. The last time I made this
journey it was from East to West and in a 5-speed, fuel injected, 84
Saab and it struggled up those inclines.
Anyone have experience with 4 cyl Subarus, driving through the Rockies?
I'm not pulling a trailer but the car will be loaded with household
boxes and the dog!

I have a 2000 OBW, 2.5L 4 cyl 5MT myself. The only time I found a lack
of power was when my clutch was worn down. That's been since replaced,
and so it's not a problem anymore. Just make sure all check-engine light
problems have been taken care of, and happy motoring. The 2.5L engine is
supposed to have anywhere between 165-175 HP depending on model year.
Even with normal engine aging, that rating might have gone down by maybe
20%, so you still have 135-140 HP on tap, that's more than most V6's of
the 80's.

Yousuf Khan