machine1

Went out to the local OHV park to do some testing:

Thanks! I've gotten used to the handling ever since I went up on tire size and then it was a gradual step when the sway bars came off. I removed the front sway bar because my endlinks started to clunk. Also, they look like they'll get in the way when off-roading without them connected to anything. I could probably do a quick disconnect for the rear bar, it is still there but just zip tied to the subframe. Seeing how much flex I can get: IMG_0371 by Vinay Sisoukraj, on Flickr IMG_0373 by Vinay Sisoukraj, on Flickr

I will outline a guide for installing the kit, this is not a step-by-step only pointers and minute details. I would recommend having a friend around to help, especially when working on the rear subframe spacers. I did the rear subframe at the shop using a jack designed to remove entire subframe assemblies with the engine/transmission attached, so I was able to do it by myself. Doing the install at home I would recommend 4 jackstands and a heavy duty jack. The spacers after sitting on my garage floor for a few weeks I would recommend painting them as soon as you get them in to prevent any surface corrosion, or store them in a dry place unlike what I did. I marked the material before installation (D for driver side, arrow noting front of the car) Instead of painting my spacers, I decided to go one better and get them powdercoated black. Fresh from powdercoating REAR INSTALL I started with the rear first because I knew it would be harder than the front. Here some notes: *When popping out the covers to access the upper rear strut bolts, pop them out from the bottom of the covers instead of the top *Unhook the parking brake cables from the control arms and reinstall them when you're done *If you have HID's, cut the tape holding the wires together for the rear level sensor so that it can extend *Pop out the clips for the wiring for the ABS sensors from the subframe but make sure not to break them, you will need to clip them back in after the install *The front hangers for the mufflers (towards the front of vehicle) will have to be removed to allow clearance between the exhaust pipe and the subframe Exhaust clearance The picture looks bad but it doesn't make contact. I will have to retake this picture later. Rear Strut with strut spacer installed The hardware for the spacers are standard thread, so please don't try to use the nuts for the OEM struts on the threads for the spacers. REAR BRAKE LINES Brake line extension bracket and hardware The kit includes extension brackets for the rear brake lines because at full extension the brake lines will be stretched, make sure to unbolt the brake lines from the calipers before dropping the subframe. Right rear wheel brake line You will have to remove the ABS sensors and route the wire under the brake lines so that they don't rub against each other. Bracket installed The front of the vehicle is to the right, install the brackets as shown with them leaning towards the control arm. REAR CLEARANCE In the air On the ground Rear strut and subframe spacers installed FRONT The fronts are very straightforward, take the struts out, install spacers, re-install. Make sure to mark the upper bolt, it is a cam bolt and if you install it differently than when you took it out your alignment will change. Front strut spacer When people say that 2" is the max, I do tend to believe that. Everything is stretched to its limit at full extension. Front suspension at full extension Since the rear subframe is lowered 2" along with the struts, you do have a little wiggle room to go higher than 2" in the rear. The driveshaft angles are the same as stock in the rear. ALIGNMENT The ADF kit is designed with compensation for alignment. This is what the initial readings for the alignment were before any adjustments were made. I only corrected toe on the front just a little bit. The rear camber is most likely from me bumping around the trails and tweaking something, it is not factory adjustable but I think there are shims to correct it. I did not mess with the rear camber or toe. MORE PICTURES If you are wondering how it rides, I can tell you that it rides the same as it did before the lift. I will let you know that my Forester does not have sway bars front and rear (Off-road baby!) so if you ask me how it handles I will say like a truck. My tires are Cooper Discoverer AT3's in 235/60R17, 28.3 inches in diameter. Stock tires are 26.7 so it's a little bit larger and provides 0.8" of extra lift. I've had the lift since the end of March and am very happy with it. Soon I will be able to test it out at our local OHV park, stay tuned for more pictures. Future: ruler measurements at front skid and rear diff

Lifted 2" After much waiting and research I decided to lift the Forester a full 2". I ran into the lift kit one day when an Anderson Design & Fabrication picture with a lifted SH Forester was tagged on our off-road group Instagram. I decided to look further into it and contacted him on Facebook. http://https://www.facebook.com/ADNFAB?fref=ts Before and After DSC_0045 by Vinay Sisoukraj, on Flickr DSC_0048 by Vinay Sisoukraj, on Flickr DSC_0047 by Vinay Sisoukraj, on Flickr DSC_0203 by Vinay Sisoukraj, on Flickr DSC_0202 by Vinay Sisoukraj, on Flickr The kit was $500 shipped(Please contact him for current price through his Facebook page or email-PM me for his email) and comes with four strut spacers, subframe spacers, and all hardware. In the next post I will post pictures of some of the install.

I will have to say, wow to the suspension under the Outback. Totally unexpected. Let me know if you plan on stopping by North Texas, I definitely have to see this thing in person.

Some Texas wheeling from March: DSC_0129 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0069 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0062 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0084 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr

My 2013 SH9 XT with an ADF(Anderson Fabrication & Design) 2" kit with rear subframe spacers DSC_0224 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0203 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0202 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr

Installed a 2" ADF Anderson Design & Fabrication lift kit recently. DSC_0224 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr Waiting to get some trail time and possibly some even larger tires.

Yes I'm on there.

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this. Here are my latest pictures: DSC_1053 by jasplund91, on Flickr DSC_0004 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0096 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0144 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0117 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0331 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0329 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0402 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr 10530506_355315674619956_1044966080181352499_o by machinecrewchief, on Flickr 10497044_355315701286620_7019528918129194876_o by machinecrewchief, on Flickr DSC_0482 by machinecrewchief, on Flickr My latest video:

In our group we had a 2014 2.5 Manual and two 2014 XT's. The manual had to get some speed going to get up the hills, that's why on one of the pictures both front wheels are off the ground. The XT's climbed as good as my SH9 4EAT does. They even have that fancy X-Mode with their hill descent feature. If I was going to get an NA CVT, I would get the one with the X-Mode. Here's a video from our trail ride, both camera cars were the 2014 XT's. Here's my XT climbing a level 3(From 1-5) hill at the park:

DSC_0475 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0476 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0478 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0480 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0492 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0497 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0500 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0505 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0511 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0521 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0530 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr

DSC_0245 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0256 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0279 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0289 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0305 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0306 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0317 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0324 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0330 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr

DSC_0073 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0075 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0086 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0090 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0093 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0096 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0099 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0100 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0110 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0119 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0149 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0154 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0159 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0162 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0176 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr

The following pics are from our friend Shansen on Subaruforester.org: DSC_0007 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0008 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0011 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0012 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0013 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0022 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0026 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0033 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0036 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0046 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0048 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0051 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0064 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr DSC_0072 by Puzzles Photography, on Flickr

Our latest off road trip during Spring Break:

Texas Oklahoma Off Road Subaru's Spring Break Soft Road Meet 2014 at Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport Texas.

Once my ABS starts to chatter, that tells me that I'm not going to be stopping any time soon. At that point you better know what steering with the throttle and oversteer is.

Full version of the Three Diamond on the previous map:

I've been mapping out my trail runs using my videos and the provided trail maps and google maps of our local OHV park in Bridgeport TX. The camera vehicle is a Dodge Dakota 4x4 and the lead vehicles are a Subaru Forester XT and Jeep Liberty 4x4 Diesel. Here is the video: Complete trail map: Trails are rated from 1 diamond (Green) to 5 diamond (Black). Sections: * The West Quarry consists of a bunch of shallow water crossings * Three wheel junction will cause you to bottom out if you don't crawl through Another view of the two hills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O83i9ObP_p0 Why I call it Three Wheel Junction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_JxSczAtLg * I took the wrong line at 7:01 causing me to struggle getting over that rut Side view of the Four Hills section of the South Loop: * Took a swim in an unexpected bog hole (26:00) * This section is named the Spider Web and likes to swallow vehicles (29:27) * A couple of Raptors jumping the Raptor hill This was a 3 Diamond Trail we went down into... The X on the map is where the video is focused on: Enjoy. I will add other videos and sections later.

Sorry, I didn't take that many this time around. Since there were only three of us we were constantly on the move. These were from our trip last Fall...

So far we have 15 vehicles going on our March trip, four of them Foresters. My Forester is the trail lead because I'm hosting the group. It'll be funny seeing a bunch of Jeeps and 4x4 trucks being led into a trail by a Subaru.

Here's a closer view of my attempt at a Level 3 climb. I did it in one try, the Liberty and Dakota took multiple attempts.

We are having a gathering Spring Break, come join us if you are local... https://www.facebook.com/events/722998691052450/