Lift my Forester?

[BAC5.2]

The Forester, which is now in great running condition, has been my "project" for the ultimate daily driver. I want to be able to drive it wherever I want and not have to worry about something going kaput.

That's been the inspiration, at least.

Last weekend, I had been driving my sisters XTerra, and I really enjoyed it. I liked being able to turn around in confined areas by simply running up the curb. I also like the idea that I can not worry about bashing the oil pan on a curb or something. Not to mention my desire to be able to tackle snow banks and everything without nary a worry.

So I've been looking online... and I think I want to lift it.

There are lots of kits out there. One by Scorpion and another by some other Aussie company.

Scorpion offers a few kits. One is a body lift, which is actually pretty ingenious. It includes spacers for the engine crossmember, transmission crossmember, driveshaft bearing, rear diff crossmember, and strut tops (and a few other misc. spacers). Who woulda thought, a body lift for a unibody.

So I was thinking of that. It'd allow me to clear larger tires, as well as provide some body-to-ground clearance.

They also offer some "lifting" springs. Giving an additional 30mm of lift (for a total of 80mm).

Scorpion also offers a gangster steel bumper and beefy cast aluminum skid-plate.



I think it looks pretty sweet, and functional!

Check out this cardomain I found: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/792800

He also did an EA82 tranny and diff swap so he'd have 4hi and 4lo. I don't really want to do that.

I'd love to do the body lift, because drivetrain specs are still stock. But I'd be concerned with the suspension lift because of driveshaft angles and such.

My other concern is gas mileage. Obviously, being higher up will be bad for gas mileage, and with the 4.44:1 final drive, it's a little crazy. Bigger tires may help but at the same time, bigger tires are heavier and would decrease gas mileage too.

A final concern is all of the other stuff I would have to do at the same time.

If I got the springs to do the suspension lift, I'd need new struts too (because the new springs would be so stiff, the stock struts COULDN'T last long). Tack on $600 for some AGX's. Then Group N tophats, and probably new brake lines. Then tires too. Then I would also be putting my axles in geopardy.

The Body lift is around $800.

The springs are $400 (but after all of that stuff, it'd be more like $1800).

I'd also want a skid plate and diff protector (skid plate from Scorpion is $379, and the OE rear diff protector is $50).

So there's my question. Body lift would be badass, but it would be mostly a visual difference than a mechanical advantage. The bonus is that everything drivetrain wise would remain stock. The down side, I'm not actually gaining THAT much ground clearance. Though I AM getting the floor boards and sills higher off the ground.

With the suspension lift, I'm curious about the tire choice as well. As the car sits, it has 225/50/16 and they are pretty close to the struts. With 225/75/16 (29") tires, they would surely rub. I'm not sure how the cardomain guy got it to work unless he used spacers? He used 215/85/15 Swampers. I can't find much in a 215/80/16.



I am not a hardcore off-roader. If I was, I would have gotten the Jeep instead of my first Legacy.

So what are you guys's thoughts?

[azn2nr]

no. my moms legacy goes off road just fine in stock trim much less a forester

[sammydafish]

that one in the cardomain is freakin AWESOME! ... I've always wanted to go that to an old GL wagon

[vrg3]

I liked being able to turn around in confined areas by simply running up the curb.

I do that in my Legacy all the time.

Not to mention my desire to be able to tackle snow banks and everything without nary a worry.

I can do that in my Legacy.

I guess technically my Legacy is slightly lifted since the STi suspension puts it a little higher than stock... But in my opinion you really don't need a lift to do what you want with your Forester, which already has more clearance and better attack and departure angles than my car.

If you just want to lift it, that's different...

[J-MoNeY]

Sooo, gay. Don't do it. Just leave the lesbo mobile the way god intended her to be.

[corsair]

do I always have to post it... gah



do that Phil

[dzx]

They look like toyota's when you lift em, don't do it

[tonflo]

Get some 33 inch Dick Cepeks & some big Rancho shocks!! Now you're talking!

[0perose]

you should check out www.ultimatesubaru.net/forum

[evolutionmovement]

There's no practical advantage as, like Vikash, I routinely go over islands and sidewalks to avoid cellphone wanderers or other idiots in the wagon. Have no problem making remote job sites at water towers and such either. Damn Mazda, though, is frustratingly low. However, a lifted Forester with cut/custom bumpers to improve approach angles would be pretty cool. If you can find one, an old GL with the dual range would be possibly an even more badass off-roader and still cheap to run.

Steve

[BAC5.2]

Dang, so many haters of the lifted lesbo mobile.

Part of my reasoning is that I want to lift it. I think it'd be badass. Plus, I still have some off-road-ness in me.

I think the other part of it, is that I feel like my Forester is lower than everyone elses. I wanted to test the curb-around theory today, and I approached a curb at an angle and *scrape* and up the curb. The baby curbs are easy, but what about the big mamma-jamma's? In the Xterra, I drive over everything. Someone wouldn't let me get around them for a turn arrow, so I just hopped up on the relatively tall curb. Like it was nothin.

In my quest to have the ultimate daily-driver, I guess a lift doesn't fit much into the cards other than wanting it because I think it'd be cool.

[vrg3]

Yeah... you can get up pretty high curbs by steering into them, but you risk scraping more than if you go diagonally up them.

If your Forester is lower than it should be, maybe just fix that with new struts and fresh springs...

Heh, this kind of reminds me of right after I put my current wheels and tires on (+48mm offset rims and 205/55R16 Blizzaks). My brother asked me how well they fit, since the offset was a little low and the diameter was a little large, and I told him they did fine except that they rubbed a little when I jumped off a curb too fast. He laughed, saying I was, "such a Subaru owner."

[wiscon_mark]

They look like toyota's when you lift em, don't do it

what's wrong with toyotas?

[evolutionmovement]

I miss being a Subaru driver. Friggin' Mazda's soft springs, stiff shocks, low profiles, and lack of suspension travel really restrict my speeds on bad pavement. The Subaru would hit shit and laugh that would crunch the 3s undercarriage. Riding five up is really bad - have to drive like an old lady over bumps and it still bottoms out on the bigger ones. I forgot how woosy regular cars are and this one's really not as bad as I make it sound, it just has the misfortune of following up a Subaru. It's like any poor broad since my ex. I suppose I'd even find an Aston Martin lacking ... though I'd like the chance to find out.

Steve

[BAC5.2]

I tested the Forester again tonight.

Went up a 6" curb, diagonally. Right rear was like a cm off the ground, and the exhaust was dangerously close to the curb. The mudflaps, obviously, hit.

Then I found a little off-road segway from the road and drove there. I was again, disappointed in how much the mudflaps dragged on the ground, and I heard lots of scraping of the plastic splash guard. It seems that the exhaust hangs pretty low also.

I guess it's not bad, but I think a little higher up could help.

The other lift kit I saw claims 240mm clearance under the diffs. I'd imagine that's with stock tires (maybe?).

How can you say that this doesn't look awesome?

[Binford]

I'm not a fan of that last one, maybe if it was all black, with no chrome, but it just looks too showy for my tastes. I LOVE that green one, he's also on the USMB. I see no reason not to lift it. You already have a street warrior, so why not go the other way with this? I say lift it, forget about all the other wussie comments above. J/K guys!

I think you know what the right thing to do is.

[Fishy]

... I LOVE that green one, he's also on the USMB. I see no reason not to lift it. You already have a street warrior, so why not go the other way with this? I say lift it, forget about all the other wussie comments above. J/K guys!

I think you know what the right thing to do is.

+1

[evolutionmovement]

That looks badass and was just what I was picturing for a new front bumper. I agree I'd substitute flat black for the chrome.

Steve

[legacy92ej22t]

I say lift it! It would be badass! Just don't lift it too much, then it would be gay.

[wiscon_mark]

I say lift it! It would be badass! Just don't lift it too much, then it would be gay.

not gay, lesbian.

get it righ, jeez

[azn2nr]

you have some big fucking curbs back east then.

if you do lift it just get the top hat spacers or whatever they use these days. i saw a legacy on nasioc with 3 inch spacers. looked pretty good. just if you do, please get tires to match

[entirelyturbo]

[random point]I

believe that green Forester in your first post belongs to a USMB member, who had mudrat79 (the guy who makes EJ-EA tranny adaptors) put an EA82 dual-range tranny in it.

[/random point]

[1-3-2-4]

I went over a curb that was 4 Inches high when I had my 98 Forester L no issues, but I thought for sure it was going to scrape but it was ok.

[0perose]

fwiw... my stock legacy wagon does fine offroad.. all of you build your legacies for speed or handling or whathaveyou.. I don't really have any money to mod my car but when I do it will get outback struts and 27" tires.. maybe an ea dual range tranny?

anyway, my point is that my car keeps up in the woods with pickups, jeeps, and does way better than SUV's.

I'll post pics this weekend as we're going on a trail ride, but I've been through mud over the hood, over 8" stumps in the middle of a trail, driven over logs, hillclimbs, over snowbanks, whatever. I just have to REALLY pick my line, and be willing to do damage to rocker panels, exhaust, tires, mudflaps, bumpers, by possibly hitting things with some speed, if you get my drift

but the end-all-be-all of offroading in these cars is knowing when you've gotten yourself in too deep, and finding a damn spot to turn around (or a way around that obstacle you can't get through)


(my xt6 will be my speed/handling fix)

[sammydafish]

I'll tell you this, when you're in the slow going of off road, having LSDs makes a big difference. In the snow and on the gravel trails at any rate of speed, my scoob kills all, trucks, audis, anything... but when the going gets slow and the trail is muddy, locking in an axel makes a BIG difference.