I'm looking to attempt this lift idea. I have a 2005 Impreza RS PRO that currently sits on a lowered strut/suspension system with 17" wheels and lowpros that rides great, but can't handle the weight of a full car/trunk without getting too friendly with the pavement. I'd like to go the other way, and get plenty of clearance plus larger tires to be able to get off road. (I live in sand/snow).
I have a friend that is swapping out his Forester for full coilovers and has offered me his strut/springs ('04 XT) and I'd like to make the swap. The best I can tell, the '04 Forester to '05 Impreza strut install should be bolt-in simple. I understand that the trailing arm brackets need to be found from an '97-'99 Outback in order to correct the angle created by the lift to make the CV angle correct, but I'm not sure about what is required beyond that.
There is talk about sway bar adjustments, camber bolts and then a lot of spacers and bolts for adjusting for larger lifts.
If I'm looking to do the straight swap on the Forester struts - is all of that likely to be required? The way I can tell, it's about a 1.5"-2" difference between the two. Does that require all the additional spacers? Or is that in the case of a larger lift?
Looking at Jonty's post - looks like he straight-swapped the struts and didn't even use the camber bolts. Does that theory hold water? Any experience?
Thanks for the tips. I'm excited to give it a go.