Which is taller FOR or OB springs??

[superu]

Does anyone know if the Forester coil springs are taller or have a stiffer spring rate than outback springs?

 

I'm replacing the outback struts on my 95 legacy soon, and am thinking about a little taller or stiffer spring too. I've looked into the king/scorpion springs down under and like the idea of their raised spring, but the more i look into it the more confounds come to light. I think there are more complications when putting those springs in OB struts on my Legacy, with things getting pushed down too far for the "L" body and sub frame stuff.

 

THEN, there's the overseas shipping cost etc. Thus, to get a little more lift than struts alone, it'll cost something like $400- $600 U$D

 

 

 

BUT

 

if FOR springs are a touch taller than OB, that would be fine, especially when when compared to the 2 " lift of the king/scorpion raised springs and their complications...

 

I think, and please correct me if I'm wrong, pre-04 FOR coil springs are NOT tapered at the top, and would go right on OB struts.

 

Thanks!

[bheinen74]

I "think" that the OB springs are longer. The reason I think this is because the FOR is based on the Impreza chassis and they are usually a shorter, smaller breed.

But, since they are Legos, still works,...now, the Tribeca, thats a different animal but even it may work.

[superu]

I "think" that the OB springs are longer. The reason I think this is because the FOR is based on the Impreza chassis and they are usually a shorter, smaller breed.

But, since they are Legos, still works,...now, the Tribeca, thats a different animal but even it may work.

 

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I've had people tell me that when they did strut lifts (like on IMP of Lego), they did FOR and OB and someone (I think gloyale) said there was less clearance for a taller tire with FOR compared to OB struts. This makes me think the FOR springs are longer, to fill in the longer space and potentially slightly longer strut travel??

here is a pic of an old OB to a new FOR to an old Legacy strut. The lower spring perch on the FOR strut looks slightly lower (read: closer to the tire, when mounted) than the OB strut.

 

And here is a pic I took when doing FOR strut swap into an IMP

(left to right 98 FOR, 95 Leg L, 93 IMP)

 

From an older post AlpineRaven indicated that OB and legacy springs are the same, just that the OB strut shaft is longer, providing the lift. My question was just that if the shaft is longer, does that provide longer strut travel as well?

 

Tribeca, yup that's a whole other beast, one I know nothing about!!

Edited October 28, 2009 by superu
add picture of springs

[porcupine73]

Not sure if this helps but this pic is of a '96 Legacy wagon stock front vs. '96 Outback KYB GR-2 (with king spring but at strut fully extended it doesn't make any height difference)

 

[superu]

I've seen this picture on the forums (porcupine73), and this reminded me.

Have you checked out my thread looking for king spring owners' opinions?

http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=102561

I know I know, there are a lot of questions in there. . .

 

Anyhoo, I'd love to get your feedback on those springs.

 

Are those raised springs or regular OB springs?

I know the raised will lift the car an inch and a half to 2 inches, but i think that's too much for my non-OB subframe components...

 

Thus my thoughts that forester springs might be a touch taller than OB.. But I'm just not sue, never having had them both in hand simultaniously.

 

Thanks for the pic and for reminding me there's another king spring owner out there that, i knew there had to be more than the 2-3 people that chimed in to that thread..

[superu]

 

BTW, what are/were you running the GR2 OB strut king spring combo in? Do you have pix and such and would you mind looking at and maybe addressing some of my questions in that scorpion owners' feedback thread??

http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=102561

 

Thanks,

-mw-

[monstaru]

i was reading on outback.org that the forester struts from 04-05 will actually help lift an outback wagon, so they may be able to work with the outback springs on a legacy or imp.....but not with the forester springs , as they would be a stretch.

 

with the forester springs they say that the ride gets stiffer, so it may be comparable to the king spring swap.

cheers, brian

[superu]

i was reading on outback.org that the forester struts from 04-05 will actually help lift an outback wagon, so they may be able to work with the outback springs on a legacy or imp.....but not with the forester springs , as they would be a stretch.

 

with the forester springs they say that the ride gets stiffer, so it may be comparable to the king spring swap.

cheers, brian

 

Yeah, Brian, I think I read that thread too. Was that the one about raising an outback?? It was pretty good and had pics too (if its the same thread).

 

*edit* Actually the one I am referring to was on the DI forum,

http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6736&referrerid=3937 *edit*

 

But weren't they talking about the 04+ forester springs being different at the top? Like that year and newer were tapered coil (reduced diameter coil) rather than uniformly columnarIlike all in pic above)?

Then i think its the tophat for that tapering spring that ends up pushing the car up more.

 

I think it was Gloyale here that said tire clearance is less on FOR struts than on OB struts (lower spring perch is a hair closer to the mounted tire), when doing a strut lift on an IMP or older legacy.

 

I keep thinking (which is why I'm looking for varification that forester springs are stiffer than OB springs. Forester's tend to ride a bit stiffer than OBs and FOR and OB are comparably heavy compared to IMPs.

 

My wife's IMP (on forester springs in front and legacy springs in rear) is pretty bouncy (foresters are like 360 pounds heavier), but when full of passengers the IMP rides normal.

 

So if foresters are kind of stiff compared to outbacks, that's what makes me think forester springs in an OB or legacy would be not as stiff but similar to kings...

AND AlpineRaven siad (long ago in another thread) that legacy springs are the same as outbacks.

 

SO.... Ifthat's the case then Forester springs are taller than OB (as in my above pic ).....

 

BUT, this is still all anecdotal. If only I'd had my OB springs out when I did the wife's IMP

 

thanks,

-mark-

 

*edit*

PS: just found and read the OB.org thread

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17450&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

 

similar info as the DI thread with lots of info but some different and minor changes to the theme...

 

I'm interested in if FOR are taller/stiffer than OB, and now also if H6 (from OB or SVX) front are stiffer than H4 springs...

 

thanks

Edited October 28, 2009 by superu
added referring link AND a PS

[superu]

bumpity

[superu]

hopefully not apples and oranges, but when installing my new GR2s, and running out of time and not having ALL the right stuff to do my plan, i shot this quick pic.

 

So until I have a FOR front spring for a real side-by side, here's an OB front with sn SVX front and a FOR rear.

 

 

Turns out the SVX H6 coil tapers its diameter at the top, thus not fitting the OB tophat with the SVX upper spring perch.. I'm working on getting the SVX tophat and front FOR coils for some more fiddling. . .

[superu]

I (finally) Did it.

 

FOR spring will provide a touch more lift than OB spring (confirmed for rear strut thusfar).

 

I gained about 3/4 inch with gen 1 FOR springs in a gen 1 OB strut:

 

 

 

95 leggo on 98 OB struts and coils (with worn out 27x8.5x14 BFGs)

 

 

95 leggo on 98 OB struts and 99 FOR coils (with worn out 27x8.5x14 BFGs)

 

Given the extra half coil in the FOR spring, there may be a slight geometrical difference in the upper spring perch, so I also used FOR tophats, but when side-by side I couldn't eyeball any real difference b/t the FOR and OB tophats...

Here's the before profile (when the BFG's were new, 8-10-06)

 

 

and here's the after profile 6-23-10 and 40,000 miles on the BFGs...

 

 

I think, to the eye, it looks more like an inch so maybe i had some inconsistency in measuring.. I did the before measuring a couple of months ago, and the before profile pic above is also on slightly uneven ground, slightly. But maybe enough to compress the left rear a touch...

[superu]

MORE UPDATES

 

I've got a thread on subaruoutback that gives a bit more info

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/85-all-other-subaru-models/21168-taller-forester-springs-outback-springs.html

and here for more:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/81-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension/17450-using-forest-springs-struts-shocks-lift-1st-gen-outbacks-11.html