Subaru invades Ivy Branch trail system | Misadventure in the mountains of West Virginia

Granny invades the Hatfield McCoy Ivy Branch trail system for a real skid plate bashing adventure. We pushed our 1998 Subaru Forester to the limits on this trip with lots of mud, rocks, and gnarly descents. Added in a float and a couple of near-rolls too, just to be sure.
Watch to the end to catch all the action, and subscribe if you're one of the 97% of our viewers that haven't already. Eventually we're going to build granny a robotic chainsaw rig, so be sure to share this channel with all of your friends who would like that sort of thing.
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Featuring Tyler's face as we nearly capsize Granny in a giant mud puddle.

[@jasonchall3766]

"This escalates quickly"

[@powerofyourbrains]

It certainly did. Like we subconsciously decided to hit the SHTF button after a few minutes of tedium, just to mix things up

[@softroadingthewest]

Every time I'm worried I'm overly abusing my Forester, I come watch these guys. In the immortal words of Captain John Paul Jones (1747-1792), "I have not yet begun to offroad."

[@powerofyourbrains]

Thanks, we ought to be able to push further once we get rid of granny's inferior drivetrain. We're happy to provide all the motivation you require. Would we be the british in this contextually confusing metaphor?

[@Chill_Mode_JD]

And the legend continues... ol granny is a badass 🤘

[@jasondonnelly6966]

Top notch driving. Great video

[@konigchris4884]

I love it! I wish I could take my lifted outback with you guys!

[@alfredritcher]

Man i have to say that is some dam nice driving. Man i love granny

[@julienduvaux7020]

Much respect for you Guys !

[@Zupoyo]

Great videos guys!

[@ethanwilliams2074]

Every time I think ‘no way my foz will make it’ the thought of your bad influence pushes me forward

[@powerofyourbrains]

as long as you have a winch and cell service, I guess it's fine

[@ThatGuy-xd5fs]

By far - the Best channel on youtube ... about stupidity . much love

[@powerofyourbrains]

Thanks! Failure is just part of success, so why shouldn't you get to see both

[@ThatGuy-xd5fs]

Power of your brains also the ghetto video production was awesome in the first ones so dont change that - stay ghetto

[@fredkennedy8435]

I get so excited when I see a new post. You guys/granny rock!

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@ThatGuy-xd5fs Cool, I'll see if I can't get Tyler to bring out his circa 2007 off-brand handicam again

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@fredkennedy8435 Thanks dude!

[@rp90262]

oh yeah one of my favorite channels. seems like forever but well worth the wait. one day i hope my 99 forester will be as much of a beast as yours is. keep it up fellas

[@powerofyourbrains]

Thanks for hanging in there, and you'll get there with your foz. Just keep watching us to learn what not to do and how to fix it better if it happens. Still got an adventure backlog, more to come, plus projects and the new warehouse coming up.

[@Scoutback_Adventures]

Damn you guys got balls! I wouldn't have taken the Scoutback through all of that. It looked awesome though! Nice driving.

[@powerofyourbrains]

Thanks! Thats probably a good thing for your Scoutback. It's been a while, but we tend to keep pushing until something breaks. Nice ride btw. Subbed

[@ballzack6028]

Change the plugs and upgrade the fuel pump lol that thing needs more power

[@erik2719]

Thank you so much for the happiness you give me every time you post a video! me and my '98 Suuby-Doo .... we wag our tail😎😁 ! a strong strong hug from Italy!

[@powerofyourbrains]

A very strong hug indeed..what a nice comment. You're welcome! We're glad you enjoy them so much. . . . Okay, it's getting hard for us to breath now

[@thatpoorguy]

Watching you guys hillclimb makes me miss the smaller tires. My tired old 2.2 stalls the torque converter unless I get a ton of speed before I do a hill climb with the 30s I have now.

[@RumbleOverland]

That descent was making me nervous! And I probably would have done the same in the mudhole haha!

[@bruceyyyyy]

I've been waiting all day to watch this!

[@powerofyourbrains]

Ah thanks bud! We hope it was everything you dreamed about while you were supposed to be working :)

[@nicolasprice9860]

i’m a jeep fanatic, and saw your “infiltration” video😂 instantly subbed, would’ve wanted to ride with you guys vs anyone else! impressive work man.

[@powerofyourbrains]

Granny knows how to party, welcome aboard! As you've seen here, performance in near roll-over situations is a strength of building up a platform which was otherwise never intended to be treated like an expedition vehicle. Come wheel with us!

[@markbalancehealth]

Passenger 1: "This looks real sketchy dude"... Driver: "It does"... Passenger 2: "We should film this"...

[@chrisdidick8225]

Love this videos!!

[@kawyamsuz]

Do you guys air down much? Great vids! I appreciate the DIYness

[@darkefoxx]

I wish my lifted Saturn was this traversable.

[@dirttales]

@ about 4min, when you start slipping in the mud, this is the issue I have with the locker in snow, open diffs pull through fine but with the locker the rear wants to go side to side... I've gone through switch backs in the snow side ways praying I don't get sucked into a ravine that my open diffs would just walk through... Taking my locker out for the winter now.

[@powerofyourbrains]

That's a good point actually. I don't recall that being a problem before, even though it's certainly worth the trade off for us. TorqMasters sent us some lighter weight springs to use that we've yet to install. They could potentially help with that issue by allowing more 1-wheel slippage under light load. I bet they'd be happy to send you a pair if you contact them

[@dirttales]

@@powerofyourbrains wouldn't help and I already have the lighter springs. I think my clutch packs are sticking or something because as soon as i throttle i get power to the rear even in D. I usually run 1 off road though to keep it in gear. Basically in the snow i throttle and the foz goes sideways. I'm sure better tires could help since I'm running AT's but same car without the locker works so much better in the snow. In fact last winter i went through a trail and barely made it up a snowy hill with the locker. Took it out that night, it snowed more by the next day, went back to that trail and got through no problem.

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@dirttales Ah, yeah I gotcha. MT's would help but they're maybe not so great if you have to drive a lot on the road as a DD. Your clutch pack is probably not sticking either. In non-VTD autos you get about ~5-10% ambient torque transfer to the rear even without any tires slipping. If the sudden slides are a concern for you (like, because you have a steep driveway by a mountain side or something) you could always put in an awd kill switch to use for when you know you'll need it. These cars are so front heavy it might not even make a difference depending on your terrain. Stinks to have to remove the locker seasonally.

[@dirttales]

@@powerofyourbrains actually I do have a FWD switch in mine for uturns, parking lots etc, or even when its cold in the morning because the locker is horrendously loud in mine even with 75/140.. I've tried to use the fwd switch in snow and the car is useless. If I'm trying to climb a switch back in the snow I basically have to take the outside of the switchback which makes the car go through about the center or lower closer to a ravine usually. Last winter I actually slid off into a ravine but luckily top centered and used a buddys winch to get out. The whole trip the open diff subarus out performed mine...

[@ShivaShakur]

@@dirttales seems like someone needs to invent an air or electronic locker for the rear? Also just curious do you use your FWD switch as a center lock switch also?

[@jameshill2015]

When you break an axle...does it snap in the middle or somewhere on the shaft or at the end where it meets the spline or at the other end where the pivot bearing is? I bought "HD" axles for my 2000 Outback and they are an inch and an 1/8" ...a good bit thicker but is it gonna help reduce the chances of breaking it???

[@consensuallycasual2697]

Need more videos!

[@frogswurld]

I really wanna wheel with you guys but think I'd rather be in my Xterra than my Forester for it....lol

[@powerofyourbrains]

Bring whatever you want man!

[@LeonardoLopez-km6ee]

What mpg do you get on granny have you guys tested it much?

[@WhereTheTrailTakesMe]

What kind of exhaust setup are you guys using? I’m trying to mimic your full skid setup with the exhaust tucked under the skids, and I love how your exhaust sounds

[@powerofyourbrains]

Good question, though the answer may involve both the exhaust and the skid plates, and perhaps the rear bumper too. It's mostly custom...lets say. I believe the headers are eBay cheapo special and the exhaust is from something like a Chevy Equinox (I think), but I don't believe that's enough detail to make a setup like this work. May be better suited to answer with an instagram post that can show the project (and I don't know all the details right off-hand because there were are few different iterations of this setup). If you give me some time I'll see if I can't make something happen.

[@WhereTheTrailTakesMe]

Power of your brains thanks for the quick reply lol, and no rush. My plan so far is to use a Primitive front skid and make the rest myself. I was planning on keeping the stock header and cats, then having an exhaust shop fab up a tucked exhaust. I guess the real question was regarding the mufflers/resonators. Going for lowest possible profile and I like to keep it on the quieter side of possible, but damn yours sounds nice

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@WhereTheTrailTakesMe Okay cool, well good luck then. We'll try to get a post up soon, but it's not gonna happen immediately. We'd like to put granny on a lift to do it some time in the near future. A bit of an update: the muffler is now a borla universal, no resonator, and had to notch out the transmission cross member to get it to fit well with the skids. Will make more sense in image form

[@EmreAltntas1]

Hi guys...is this 2.0 engine ? With 122 hp?

[@dukeofnyd1]

Hey man let me drive that thing

[@powerofyourbrains]

how's that unboxing coming bud? :)

[@konigchris4884]

What type of front skidplate do u use??

[@powerofyourbrains]

3/16" aluminum, Granny Off-Road special manufactured by POWEROFYOURBRAINS

[@powerofyourbrains]

That's just a dumb way of saying that it's custom

[@konigchris4884]

@@powerofyourbrains I have the primitive racing on my outback. I like how yours comes up alot higher!

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@konigchris4884 it does help the old girl slide over stuff quite easily. In case you're wondering, we were able to bring it up as far as it is by chopping off the awkward protruding radiator supports and just integrating them into the bumper.

[@konigchris4884]

Good sir I saw your rear diff breather hose. I like. Was it a pain to remove the stock breather cap on the rear diff?

[@1483Frenchman]

New garage?

[@powerofyourbrains]

Yep. Granny got a warehouse. She'll be turbo granny after we get the lift installed 🤘🤘

[@1483Frenchman]

@@powerofyourbrains Yes!! Granny gets a lung transplant.

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@1483Frenchman haha, and VTD! The granny jokes are seemingly endless. Tyler suggested we do methanol injection...I think you can see where that one goes

[@1483Frenchman]

@@powerofyourbrains lol. You boys are the Bill Murray of Subaru off roading. So good. One day my 04 H6 VDC Outback will make the journey from NY to WV to do some trails with you boys

[@bruceyyyyy]

12:40 Obscure Presidents of the United States of America reference?

[@powerofyourbrains]

Yes it was, but Tyler converted it into Twisted sister. This is the way.

[@bruceyyyyy]

@@powerofyourbrains This is the way.

[@chadhanson4369]

NEW SUBARUS HAVE CVTS At the start of every video you should show how your Subaru is way more capable than the new ones which could not do this due to their CVT and purely boring soccer mom design

[@powerofyourbrains]

It is nice to spin wheels without having to remove a fuse for the brake lights. Electronic nannies are the real issue.

[@Coordinator61]

Brilliant, trashing an old Sub like this.

[@powerofyourbrains]

well you make it sound sad bud. It only looks like we're trashing her

[@Coordinator61]

@@powerofyourbrains no not sad just go for it. Amazing how far you guys get with this old Sub.

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@Coordinator61 Well thank you. You are sort of right though; an old subi like granny would get trashed in no time without all the mods. We drive her hard to see what fails so we can make it better. Our experiences with the Blubaru taught us a lot about the failure points on these cars, and the solidness of granny is definitely evidence of that

[@Coordinator61]

@@powerofyourbrains Yes indeed the mods do help a lot. But a bit of a suspesion upgrade and mudtires plus sumpgard does the job. Older Subs are very strong. I love watchiung your trips in the woods. Sadly in the Netherlands off-roading is not allowed. We have to go to special parks to do that and pay for it. I mostly go to Germany and on holiday off-road in France with my Suzuki Grand Vitara. As a hobby i own a mint Range Rover 2 door from 1978.

[@powerofyourbrains]

@@Coordinator61 they are for the most part. Rear shock towers are probably the most significant weak point, especially if you have any rust there. Shame to hear about your situation there. You're not alone though. Even in the states there are large swaths of privately owned country. Luckily for us appalachia is somewhat of an off-road oasis on the east coast