SnatchedHatch

Hmm.. I might just put myself through such a tepid drive on the highway to see any gains. This winter I was running studs, so I never drove faster than 75mph , usually keeping it at 67-70 mph. THAT took getting used to, compared to my usual highway driving. Being said, I expected a higher mpg gain from that, but at the sametime.. studs :/ so it's a crapshoot. I'll try it out on my drive west today and see what's popping under the hood. I forgot, I need to add the mpg of the '11 3.6 Outback. It's gotta be below 30 lol, at least weighed down on long drives.

I do not see any issues with cv/steering if you are only going to bolt-in stock Forester struts (assuming you use one of the accommodations for the mismatching rear top bolt-pattern). You could feasibly stick with stock Foz struts and use top hat spacers (3/8") to achieve a little over a 1.5" lift without having to mess with re-situating the sub-frame. You would still need to get a trailing arm spacer, or use the Outback trailing arms. Thicker top hat spacers can be achieved but by replacing the top mount studs with longer ones. I can't stand by how this set-up holds up, I've heard claims of it being weaker than mounting the top-hat directly to the chassis. Maybe another member has experience with using them.

UltimateSubaru After putting WRX struts into my Wagon, I ran into a problem with the rear strut tower reverse-cone shape not centering in the designated chassis hole, as due to my make-shift changes in the bolt-up design, it was no longer a match. Rough fit before: Final fit with spacer: This prevented the (rear) strut from fully seating, which caused a minor side-affect, no saggy butt syndrome, but it also created positive camber (bottom of tire moved inwards = posi?). This was a huge problem as it affected the handling so, that I did not have much confidence in taking twisteys. I would have realized this if I properly prepared for the project, tutorials already describe this issue. I settled on some saggy butt spacers from Paranoid Fabrications for the 02-07 impreza top mounts I'm using, they took about two days to ship!! And, per their contact page, you can reach them on FaceBook and they did promptly reply. I threw them on and used some silicone grease between the spacers and top hats to prevent any unwanted noise. Worked like a charm! Rear sits higher now, the tires are stanced properly, and honestly I have a decent amount of clearance back there now. I'm about to measure my diff clearance and post later. HANDLING IS SOO MUCH BETTER now I'm working on getting some discounts for y'all... CHA-CHING PM me for a 10% discount for your spacer needs! http://www.paranoidfabrications.com/ Hey, it's something (10% off an order I believe). Here's some pics of how it went:

After putting WRX struts into my Wagon, I ran into a problem with the rear strut tower reverse-cone shape not centering in the designated chassis hole, as due to my make-shift changes in the bolt-up design, it was no longer a match. This prevented the (rear) strut from fully seating, which caused a minor side-affect, no saggy butt syndrome, but it also created positive camber (bottom of tire moved inwards = posi?). This was a huge problem as it affected the handling so, that I did not have much confidence in taking twisteys. I would have realized this if I properly prepared for the project, tutorials already describe this issue. I settled on some saggy butt spacers from Paranoid Fabrications for the 02-07 impreza top mounts I'm using, they took about two days to ship!! And, per their contact page, you can reach them on FaceBook and they did promptly reply. I threw them on and used some silicone grease between the spacers and top hats to prevent any unwanted noise. Worked like a charm! Rear sits higher now, the tires are stanced properly, and honestly I have a decent amount of clearance back there now. I'm about to measure my diff clearance and post later. HANDLING IS SOO MUCH BETTER now I'm working on getting some discounts for y'all... CHA-CHING PM me for a 10% discount for your spacer needs! http://www.paranoidfabrications.com/ Here's some pics of how it went:

While I see I may have been undertstood as saying Subaru sales have dropped, I meant they represent a marginal piece of the U.S. auto market. "By the usual measurements, Subaru should be no more than an afterthought in the U.S. car market. It sells just seven car and crossover models and accounts for a slim 2.3% of U.S. auto sales. By itself, the Toyota Camry outsells the entire Subaru lineup. For years Subaru has been essentially a regional brand — strong in the Northeast and Northwest but unknown in the rest of the country. No overnight success, Subaru of America — the U.S. arm of Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries — began selling cars in the U.S. 44 years ago and still ranks only 12th in size. Hyundai and Kia, which arrived two decades later, have developed broader product lines and sell several times more vehicles." http://fortune.com/2012/11/19/are-subarus-the-best-cars-money-can-buy/ As for how Subaru sales are measuring up to their track record, they're doing very well! The Outback and Forester really push the numbers, hell almost every Subaru... 7/10, I see in my area are new and old Foresters. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/09/14/whats-driving-subarus-american-sales-surge.aspx

I went ahead and cleaned mine ( the window seals) and sprayed/rubbed them with silicone grease when I bought the car. Over time now, the only complaint I have is.. well, you should see me getting an auto-car wash LOL I have to hold a rag on a spot on each of the front windows haha Not too bad, it used to leak elsewhere xD

I was thinking about the endlinks, just because they are used, but didn't consider replacing them with anything besides stock spec parts. Won't metal endlinks make ride noise? As for rims and fitment, I already got that covered: 2001 RS rim specs: Size: 16x7" Offset: +53 1998 RS Rim Specs: 98-99 Impreza 2.5RS Size: 16x7" Offset: +53 EDIT: "the 98-01 RS wheels will clear the calipers, with no spacers. They're JDM STi wheels and were designed for this purpose." A 1998 RS rim with STi 4 pot brakes installed

I've found a full kit, for a front pair of brake calipers/pad/rotors/guards (everything) for the RS, I was wondering how much that's worth. From the few classifieds posts I've found on Nasioc RS25 and here, EDIT: turns out they are WRX calipers. I'm scooping for $90, fair deal? Another seller has the front and rear swaybars with all nuts/bolts/brackets/bushings for an early bugeye WRX wagon, for $80. Seems about right.. Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I get that you seem to be talking about Australia's market? ..but things are about to change on that point. Again, who knows what Subaru will be doing because their overall sales figures are low and every one-off car they make comes in even lower, so trend or not, they'll do as they please it seems (:/)! Mini pickups are hitting the US market next year, or if gas prices stay low, delayed until they aren't.. but it will make it. Dodge is releasing a small pickup based off of a current Fiat platform in Europe. It's selling points are a remarkably low price, and yeah.. Brat sized specs. All wheel drive, etc. Let me find the article for you, but to put it into perspective, all engine variants were 4 cylinder as I recall. http://www.autoblog.com/2014/11/01/ram-700-fiat-small-truck-mexico/ http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/16/dodge-mystery-small-pickup-fiat-rampage-spy/ http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/is-ram-bringing-the-dakota-small-pickup-back-on-a-fiat-1608582287 Can't quite find the original I read, but this is the Fiat in question. Seems Dodge has been playing with a small pickup idea for a few years now, and this is the running option.

Looks like that year still had frameless windows/car doors. On my older Subie, if I don't open the door while rolling the windows up, they struggle to close all the way and I end up getting some noise from the same area you mentioned. It could pay to inspect the rubber around this area (the window and door seals in general). Although, my car does also have dieing window motors and the window alignment is strange... make sure to check the latter on the Foz (open all the doors and compare the orientation of the windows).

Sh%t, is that a thing? I'm going to guess that it's normal for your PS to whine under duress, i.e. hard turns at dead stop. Edit: with oversize wheels installed*

Help! I was replacing my condenser and now all I can hear is whining! What gives, things are getting hotter in here

My 98 Impreza OBS 2.2l 4EAT auto gets about 22-23mpg while doing a combination of in-town and interstate (45-60mph) driving. I think it's about 19-20mpg purely in town, and capped at 26mpg on the Highway. My big Fozzie tires are to blame (215/60R16), On my stock sized tires (205/60R15), I was doing 22mpg in town and around 27mpg on the highway. I'm adjusting my false mileage readings due to them, fairly accurately using this handy tire size converter http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php?tires. Edit: I too drive like a hoon.

Youtube is the correct choice, I was about to do my brakes before winter and found a good video tutorial that emphasized taking pictures of your springs/brake parts before and as you break them down, so that you know where everything goes. That's really that hardest part about doing these drum brakes. To resummarize, or really just read through this short thread , Brake shoes Brake Cylinders Brake spring set Brake Fluid (dot 3/4) + Brake Cleaner //Bandages //ShiFty Clothes //Camera Phone //Daylight PLUS maddd Engine temp spray for maximum hp gains from putting a shine to your drums afters a scrub I got my hands on some bronzish looking engine enamel, just like STi brembo calipers!

Last picture was pre-REXifying, my tires were simply taller and he's parked in the curb.. The WRX setup gave ~0.5-0.7 of an inch in lift over stock, I've just ordered some saggy butt spacers to center the rear struts, as they aren't + are messing with camber in a bad way. (Today the back lost grip in ehem.. an aggressive turn.) The spacers will set that up right and possibly lift the rear slightly higher. Should come out well and give me some good highway performance. For now, I'll wait til I finish up the project (next weekend) before I run it through it's paces.

To date, I've taken my Outback Sport and played mix and match with it and some other Subies. -I replaced the exhaust/muffler piping, cat back, with a low mileage 2004 WRX mid pipe/muffler. Dual tips with a growl, check. -Went up a size in wheels, because of an opportunity I couldn't pass up: 15" OBS to 16" 01' 6 spoke RS rims. -Picked up a set of matching used Goodyear Triple-threads.. sized for a Forester XT @ 215/60R16 Big beefy summer set, check. -My front seats weren't very comfortable for my long commutes, they lacked bolster and in general were worn and squishy. Swapped in some Black on grey RS seats... oh hell yeah, they actually match the black/grey dash and pushed the car away from that Granny-car grey color scheme. Also much cleaner, and the bolsters are bigger. Seats to keep me from sliding around My last update consisted of a new WP/TB and pulleys, and I repainted my hood scoop semi-gloss black. One last major change, I swapped out my decrepit struts and noisey front endlinks with a WRX set from 2004 with 75k. Just have my drums to service this weekend, and short of a better radio, my car is good. It's a nice feeling to just be satisfied with your car, not worrying about anything neglected or needing to be done. Ehem.. that bearing will call to me eventually. Pics: I have since peeled the Wagon Silhouette off, the "USMB" looks good opposing the Gold Outback emblem. Finally decided on the strut project after a nasty winter hit, knocking out the front stability. Last but not least, been spotting subies. It's gotta be a Subie thing, people are amazingly helpful.

Found some strut data, straight from KYB comparing the Forester struts and Impreza struts (sorry, maybe the Outback specs can be found).

I swapped out my decrepit struts and noisey front endlinks with a WRX set from a 2004 with 75k. Just have my drums to service this weekend, and short of a better radio, my car is good. It's a nice feeling to just be satisfied with your car, not worrying about anything neglected or needing to be done. Ehem.. that bearing will call to me eventually. Pics:

Perhaps an aftermarket strut? Not sure, I'd check the numerous Subie forums independent of USMB, not to mention the Aussie ones. I could see a forum dedicated to lifted Outbacks, that would be your best bet for info on such struts.

I see what you mean now, that makes perfect sense. For someone looking to set their lift for offroad capability, OB would definitely be the appropriate choice. I would have gone with Fozzie struts as I like the clearance but at most would be driving through a field or light trail, so the marginal travel would be optimal especially when considering the majority of my driving is on road. As a side note, if anyone is interested, I have a set of complete 2006 Forester struts with 120k miles not leaking in good but used shape. I'm listing them locally, but realized maybe one of you could use them. If you pay shipping plus the $50 i spent on them, they're yours. Got them off a Subie buddy that STi-ed his Foz.

I forget, do you have an OBS or are you referring to putting these parts on a genuine Outback? This is some useful info I wasn't aware of, I figured the forester struts were plainly taller that the older gen Outback sets. Do you have any info in the difference in ride dynamic on the two (LegOB/Foz struts)?

Edit:(keeping thread on topic)

Ehh.. don't bank on any speed or HP gain LOL. It's not like the scoop itself doesn't create drag. Just saying, if you're going to weather your engine bay, maybe you can get a few HP with an intake mod. I'm personally fine with keeping it all closed, but I do appreciate now knowing I'd have to sacrifice that for a strut bar (been thinking about getting one).

Oooo.. do they differ from the 2004 struts/tophats I'm running? Hmm I'll just... meander up to the top of this thread to the links I posted They do, using the second impreza master-thread link.

The springs should be a given, they're only like $10 for a paired kit. I'm about to change out my shoes on my 98 Impreza, I already bought the cylinders as well, but do you think it's worth replcaing them? I'll probably just go with "might as well"/for the low price it's worth the peace of mind.