sayn3ver

Bought my 95 impreza L in april/may of 2004 after wanting an impreza for about 2-3 years before that. It had roughly 96k miles on it. It ow has 110k on it(i have a short commute to school and back and didnt get much time to travel this past summer. Anyways, what a dream. Its a turn-key motor with no issues what so ever(1st gen 2.2L's are amazing). Its smooth and quiet and doesnt burn or leak one fluid. I have a bit of torque bind, i think, but am looking to remedy that and only is noticable when driving around in a tight(almost at steering wheel lock) circle in a parking lot. I also have some rust in the rear quater panel, but will be fixing that shortly. mechanically tho, she is sound. I did have to replace a cv joint because i think i ripped the cv boot off road. Speaking of off road, wow. These cars are troopers. I pray for bad weather, seriously. My eyes light up when it snows, and rain = mud= awsome. I like the confidence of awd but know its limitations and that has kept me safe and happy and full of good times. Subarus are great. There are a few things to watch out for(like the gen1 2.5L motors) but really, good maintence will provide you will a long life for the car, even if you are alittle rough on it(off road is inevitable). I for one signed up for various message boards(rs25.com) because of all the positive things about subarus. I am a subaru freak and as long as we have gasoline to burn, i will burn it in a subaru.

sounds like the spring and or mount isn't installed/seated correctly.

sweet. thanks man. Now i understand what everyone means my fender trimming. But from the pics, did you trim any of the door jam panel(where the side skirts would mount on say a 2.5 rs) ?

I understand how the metric sizing system works. The problem is i don't know how to relate the metric sizing to the old LT system. The closest i get is that tool on tirerack? the diameter, circumfrence, and etc real quick by just enetering the metric size. I now know that a 215/75/15 is about a 28/8.4/5R15. It only took me a few days to figure that out(not one of my brighter moments). I suppose i could have just done the geometry but these forums tend to make one lazy. For that, i'd like to thank everyone, especially Zapar, for helping me out. One last request tho, is too see how you cut your fenders Zapar for the SUper Swampers. If you could email me any pics to jays_hobbyshop@yahoo.com, that would be awsome. I want to order tires and struts/springs soon. Also after doing some reading the outback struts/springs stilll seem foggy. Some people say you need to use the outback strut top/mount and modify the strut tower(drill it) on the car. What year did you use and what springs as well. The forester path just seems like the no brainer for definite fitmet with no issues.

zapar, thank you very much. I have looked around for the kyb gr2's and they have different part numbers listed for the outback and forester struts. My concern was everyone was saying to use outback struts and springs with the legacy and forester with the impreza, since they share the same body. Now for a real newb question, are 27x9.5 15's the same size as 27x9.5 14's? I dont have 14 inch wheels, i have 15 inch steelies but i am thinking i might just go with the 27x8.5inch14 swampers and find 14inch steelies. I'd feel more comfortable running them without spacers and the rubbing.

As of right now, i have some money to burn and would like to start modding my car again. Its still pretty much stripped. I have 2 gallons of herculiner and an undercoating air gun i am gonna use this summer to coat the inside of my car with. Its currently stripped down to the top of the dash, the 2 fronts seats and the shifter/ebrake. The radio and all the center peices are sitting in the attic, and the door panels are even off and all the tar has been peeled up. I have been meaning to get around to taking out the headliner but havent had time. I originally did this because i wanted to rallyx the car and the interior i had was all dirty smelly from the previous owner and thought herculiner would be nicer than scuzzy carpet. I want to wait till summer because i want to take it and get a 8 point roll bar welded in(i dont know how to weld and i do not own a welder) and then i am gonna herc the car once that is in. But for the time being i'd like to do some off roading(more serious than just small mud puddles) and plan on picking up some forester kyb's and some forester springs. I just need to know what size tires i can fit.

i daily drive my car but the commute is less than 10 minutes even with traffic. I am more worried about the size.

so will the 27inch super swamper ssr's (27x9.50 R15) fit with struts/springs? My understanding from here and just general subaru tuning is that due to our high offset and suspension geometry, width is and always will be the limiting factor on tire selection(wider tires are always need to autox and pavement racing and wider tires are nice in off road as well not to mention tire height is usualy only a percentage of overall width.) So i can't fit outback parts on the subaru(outback strut spring with impreza strut top?). If not, forester parts it is. Are the scorpion springs for the forester worth getting, or will they not fit(no one seems to have an answer. It seems that people think the ride will be too harsh/to stiff for decent off road performance. Requardless, i think for cost reasons, stock forester parts will do fine for my needs. Mmm, i can see it all now.

Thank you. I was asking if any one kit is prefered for the ej, or is cost a good enough factor? So, is there a difference between outback and forester parts? If not, i am gonna order struts and springs(still might junk yard the springs if i can, going to go to a upull it this friday hopefully and see what i can come up with). I am not looking to go do serious rockcrawling with this rig, just some moderate off roadness. I dont live near any trails that i know of (south jersey) but we have quite a few mud holes and various forests/pine barren spots that a lift for the suby would be helpful/required. About skidplates, with the lift kit, will standard aftermarket ones work or because of the lowered engine, will i need to fab them up. I assuming just a big peice of steel that bolts to that lower radiator support bar and the jacking point under the engine will be good enough? So to recap, I think i am gonna do the struts alone first, with all intentions of doing the lift kit later this year(summer time is a good time) and not too far off. With only the strut lift, the biggest size tire i can fit is a 27(which is either what, a 205 or 215/75/15 all terrain? or will any mud terrains fit? If so what size. I heard the dunlop MT's are pretty good

well, how do the front axels get power then? How is the front diff powered to turn the axels. Could someone draw up a diagram for me. I am lacking comprehension.

wow, what a huge amount of info. Tire size isn't a big deal right now, i would like to run the biggested possible but i dont want to go to hell and back to do it. What does trimming the fender entail? My fenders arent mint and one already has a dent in it. It would be cool tho to show up to a trail run on super swampers and have my bro's truck buddies kinda stare. As for lift kit or struts, i undertand the AA kit needs the forester struts. would it be easier to do the kit while i am doing the struts anyway? I just dont know how much work is involved in getting the spacers in the subframes. The other reason i am shying away from the lift kit is because i dont feel like fabbing up a custom sump guard. I already banged in part of my oil pan and my tranny pan is somewhat funked up as well and definetly want a guard to be like top priority. I do have the $$$ for both struts and AA kit, but then i'd have to wait for tires. I planned on using the stock 15inch steelies(i have 2000 2.5 rs 16inch alloy wheels on them now). Is there a better wheel option available, considering i am a college kid only working a part time job(cvs pharmacy tech represent). Also, does anyone recommend another lift kit besides the AA. That kit seems to be better than the BYB one and i really havent seen any others besides the exspensive scorpion kit from australia.

I do not have the money and time right now to do everything. 1 thing at a time. I am wondering how much additional work isneeded to get the AA kit on and running. After doing some thinking, i think i'd like to start off with the struts/springs first, and progress from there after i spend some time with the additional ground clearance and see if i need to invest in the AA kit. Anyone with a new gen, will i need to fab up a homemade skid guard for my sump with the AA lift or will and of the numerous skid guards(like the primitive 3/16 inch) will work? I would most like to see if someone can give me an idea of whats involved in the AA kit install. Struts and springs are cake, at least i think so( i do most of the work on my imp). As for autos in the snow, i have never driven a manual suby in the snow. I have had some good experience(no serious off road experience) in the snow with m auto and love it. I have yet to get stuck anywhere and that was with bald all seasons.

Ok. First of all, hello to all. I am new here but not to board such as rs25.com I've been kicking the idea around of lifting my impreza? WHy? Because i spend more time off road then on. Second, its a beat up car, in various shades of primer, with a recently discovered rusted through rear quater panel(i have sanded, rust converted and spray painted for the time being, trying to decide the best way to fix the hole). So in essance, i love off roading, i do not have a cream puff body, and i am ready to bang, bust, and get down and dirty with no worries. I know i want more ground clearance. But how shall i obtain it. From reading and looking around, it appears i have narrowed it down to 2 options. 1) go with the AA lift kit for $600, use my current struts and springs(95L coupe) and achieve the 4inch lift. I have a buncha questions about this route. First, i understand its lifting the unibody from the subframe and lifting the struts. Will i have to modify hoses, linkages, etc for the body lift? I realize the engine will be sitting lower in theengine compartment and this causes concern about installation. I contacted AA and said they had no instructions i could look at online. 2). Go with the foster/outback strut and spring combo, lift car pretty good.My specific questions are, if i go this route, do i just buy struts and springs from outbacks/fosesters of the same year as my car(i realize the fosester didnt come out until 97/98, correct?) I know the forester shares the impreza platform. And since i have a coupe, will the rear strut mounting differ from the hatched impreza OBS? I want the most ground clearance i can get, so should i go with all outback parts? Can i use my exsisting strut tops with the new outback struts and springs? I did alot of reading and no one makes it very clear as to what exact model year parts to use. Most people just say use forester parts, but if the outback parts will yield me highler clearance, i would want to go with the outback parts. Last, tire size. What is generally considered the largest tire i can equip with no cutting/modifying of fenders. I mean, i have seen few tires that seem like they would fit. I thought 215/75/15 is the smallest extreme off road tire companies make. Will regular All terrains in 205/75/15 or 205/80/15 fit work as well? Also, for tires like super swampers with the non standard 3 number description(xxx/xx/xx), what sizes fit,(etc, 29inch? 30 inch?) Between lift kit and struts.springs, if overall lift height achieved is the same, what is more advantageous? I for one seem to lean away from installing a lift kit(would be doing so in my drive way) and towards the easier to install struts/springs. I have an auto also and do not know if that affects the difficulty or abilty to use the AA kit. Thanks for you time, i know this was a bit long.