Lifting my 2009 Outback 2.5i (completely stock)

[gogogimbo]

Hello all!  This is my first post, marking my foray into modifying my currently factory stock 2009 Outback 2.5i Wagon.  

 

I live and work in Los Angeles, so I do most of my driving in the city.  However, I have been making more and more trips into Death Valley, Mojave, and other desolate, rugged desert locations, and have been tackling some pretty rough terrain in return.  I've shredded two tires in the handful of times I've been out there, both times from very large rocks.  I'm interested in lifting my Outback, as I don't want to do permanent damage to my car (like I said, lots of very large rocks and rough washes), but I am a complete novice when it comes to knowing about cars, so I'm looking for some advice!  

 

Where do you think I should start?  Larger tires would require a lift kit I imagine, also thinking about a skid plate, etc.... Pros and cons?  Thoughts?  

 

Thank you all for any help!  

 

Cheers,

Jack

[gbhrps]

gogogimbo,

 

Do a Google search for "Subaru OutBack Lifts" and you'll find some of what you're looking for. Good Luck!

[AdventureSubaru]

There's a sticky in the off road section called the "unofficial how to lift your impreza"

 

Most of the same will apply to yours. I lifted a 97 Impreza using forester struts and springs and HDPE spacers and gained a lot of clearance with 28 inch tires.

 

With outback/forester suspension on yours you'll clear about a 27 inch tire with no rubbing. You can go bigger with a little trimming.

 

If you need to go even bigger it takes a body lift - SJR and Anderson Design/Fabrication both make them.

[Numbchux]

Well, the 2000-2009 Legacy/Outback rear suspension is a bit unique. You can find information up the yazoo on lifting the Macpherson rear ('90-'99 Legacy/Outback, '93-'07 Impreza Forester), and even a bit on the newer multi-link ('10+ Legacy/Outback and '08+ Impreza/Forester), but not nearly as much as the early multi-link

 

I've seen several '00-'04 Legacy/Outback models with a considerable lift, but I can't think of any '05-'09s, and while the basic suspension design didn't change, it's possible that the details would be different.

 

So, you have some options...

There are several companies that make small strut spacers (ranging from 1/4" up to 1 1/4" or so, depending on the company. Usually made of HDPE). These do not allow for camber correction in the front, which is more of an issue the higher you go. So IMO these aren't usually worth the trouble...

 

Primitive racing is a distributor of King springs, which make HD lift springs for most Subarus. I'm not a big fan of lift springs, though, either. They are stiffer than stock, and make for a harsher ride. It's usually a minor difference, and only you can know whether this is acceptable for you uses or not. Primitive does sell a kit that uses springs and spacers for a decent compromise.

http://get-primitive.com/9-suspension-lift-kits

 

I plan to use this kit with my '04 Outback:

http://sjrlift.com/index.php/catalog/lift-kits/0-2-lift-kit-2000-25-detail

 

That should work on a '09. The strut tops will, and I'd put about 80% odds that the trailing arm spacer would be correct. This has camber-corrected front spacers. And the trailing arm spacers not only correct the cosmetic side effect of lifting a Subaru, which is the rear wheel being pulled forward, but on the '00-'09 Legacy/Outbacks, the trailing arm and knuckle are one piece, so an angle on the trailing arm turns into a rotation at the knuckle....which I really don't like for the sake of the other links.

 

 

With a 2" lift, you should be able to run a 29" tire, which opens up your options for all-terrain tires fairly considerably. I'm planning on a set of 235/65r17 Kumho Venture AT51s.

 

If you're having trouble slashing tires on the rocks, air them down. This will allow the tires to flex around sharp rocks instead of concentrating the force on the point of a rock. Pressures vary, but typically around 15 psi for this type/size of tire (My 4Runner has very wide tires, on relatively narrow wheels to prevent debeading, and being load E tires, I run them at about 7 psi on the rocks). Here's a mediocre picture of our Outback at the offroad vehicle park up here in northern MN, which is an old iron ore pit mine, so the rocks are very sharp:

 

You'll want your tires to squat about a 1/3 of the sidewall height out. Just be aware that the sidewalls will be more vulnerable, and you can't go very fast or heat and debeading can be a problem. So how far you have to travel before you can re-inflate needs to be considered (and depending where and how often you go, some sort of on-board air compressor might be worth considered

[AdventureSubaru]

I think for 2000+ the impreza and forester rear suspension remained the same/compatible where the legacy/outback were different

[gogogimbo]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the feedback!  I totally forgot about this and returned to the forum to ask some questions again, stumbled on my old post and here we are.  

 

I am now thinking of skipping the lift, and just settling for new 17" wheels, wider, with thicker tires, as well as adding the skid plate below and ditching the cheapo plastic thats currently there.  Do you guys think that's enough?  Just trying to weigh my options as I think getting a lift as well as new wheels/tires is just too much $ for me right now.  Again, thanks for the feedback.  Looking forward to hearing from you guys.  

 

Best!

Jack

[idosubaru]

Slid plates are cool but kinda annoying for limited functionality... but I get it too.

 

Id get just the lift. I'd go with SJR as well Ive bought his stuff before.

 

The SJR stuff is reusable, granted not an issue for most people but there's no wear issues like springs and you can easily remove, resell, reuse them in the future. I've had the same lift on multiple Subarus before.