broknindarkagai Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 This is my first post....so hello people! I'm not new to the Subaru game. I've owned 5 Legacys, and I know nearly all there is to know about them. I'm on several other Subaru sites John - IGOTASUBARU.com John - IGOTASTI.com broknindarkagain - legacygt.com John@TA - nasioc.com broknindarkagain - legacygt.org broknindarkagain - rs25.com and probably a few others that I'm not remembering off the top of my head. So some of you guys have likely seen me around. I've done everything there is to do with Legacys (from turbo builds, autox builds, daily drivers, etc)...but the one thing I haven't done is lifted one up. I know the basics of what suspension will fit what Subaru....and the tallest suspension that I can go with on my 96 Outback is Fozzy takeoffs....however I'm wanting to go a little higher then that. I would like enough ground clearance to pay around with. I live in the desert, so rocks, dirt mounds, etc are everywhere....so I'm looking to be tall enough to overcome most obstacles that I come across. I have several thoughts about how I can pull this off. The first one that I'm unsure of is welding extensions to the bottom of the strut (where the knuckle bolts go) to drop the bolt holes down a few inches...and then filling in the gap between the original tabs with a metal block for strength. Another thought is spacers on top of the strut and putting longer studs for the 3 bolts....however this would be a little more difficult to do with the equipment I have at my disposal. Here is a picture of my car. I was out playing in the desert the other day, and in order to get this picture I plowed my bumper into the dirt mound and broke one of my fog lights. Sure the ground clearance is decent for a wagon, but for what I'm wanting to do...I need more. And yes, my back tire is hanging almost a foot in the air. Im kind of curious as to what type of tires I can run on the factory 15 inch wheels...with what kind of lift. Thanks in advance for any info or help you can provide. I was referred here by someone else who said that there are a few people on this site that know all the answers I'm looking for. On a side note, I'm sure the answer to this is no...but I figured I would ask anyways. Is there push bumpers, light bars, skit plates, etc available for our cars from anyone? I'll likely just fab something up myself, but if there is something decent thats affordable out there I may just get it to save myself the work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) You are correct in the Forester struts. I believe the 03 and above generate the highest lift. I played with the idea of extending the strut bottom too, but welding and gas shocks just don't seem like a good idea to me. Strut top spacers have been done many times and aren't very difficult. Either metal or HDPE (I used a cutting board from Wal Mart for a 3/8 spacer on my Impreza.) You probably don't want to go very high if extending the bolts since the gap will put extra strain on them. Maybe an inch, inch an a half tops. Any higher and I'd fab up metal spacers and go with two sets of bolts. The limit I've seen so far on tires is 235 75 15 on a 15 inch rim with Forester Struts. Any taller and you'll be hitting the lower spring perch. Anything close to this size will of course require trimming/bashing to fit the tire. With 99 Forester struts/springs and 3/8 spacers I achieved about 4 inches of lift. Further 2 inches with 215 75 15 tires. I've got over 11 inches of grouncd clearance at the bottom of my rockers. Edited February 8, 2012 by AdventureSubaru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newsoobdude Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) Welcome to the board! I myself have a lifted 98 Outback on 04 Forester struts and springs as well as a HighGuys 3 inch body lift. If I were to do it again I would have gone another inch on the body and stayed with the Outback struts and gone with either King Springs or another extra inch on the strut blocks due to strut/ body interference in the rear and I cannot go over the 3 inch in the back which leaves me sagging. I have 215/70 16s on her and had to massage the lower rear corners of the front wheel wells with a BFH. Debating on whether I'm gonna sell my bumper and fab a new one or not, but if you can fab one yourself, do it as none are commercially available. Edited February 8, 2012 by newsoobdude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisbad Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 i have a 4" lifted 97 obw. i made wheel spacers/adapters to get my tires out from underneath the spring seats and am currently running 31" tires with some trimming required. so,it is possible to go larger than the 235/75's, not without spacing the tires however. curtis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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