ezapar

Once and for all. Both the forester strut/spring combo and the outback strut/spring combo will fit your impreza. They are virtually the same part #. If you'd do a little research, say in the vendor's forum, say on www.subarugenuineparts.com , you'll probably find this. Even a quick phone call to your local Subaru dealer or local Auto Parts Store can tell you this. Shoot, the FAQ I spent a lot of time putting together at the top of the page will hint at this as well. The OBs were out first, I say just go with them, aim for model year 96. I used KYB GR2's, I love them. Start there. If you still want lift, go with a lift kit. If you think the springs don't give you enough lift, try some Scorpion Springs. From my personal experience as someone who's added Outback struts and springs to my impreza: 205/70/15 225/60/16 27/8.50/14 27/9.50/14 I took a good look at my swampers and their relationship to the spring perches on the struts. I see no reason why a 29 wouldn't clear them as Shadyirishman pointed out. I've trimmed the forward part of my rear fenders about an inch. I did it carefully, you'll have to look real close to see it in person. If you can find used Outback or Forester wheels/tires, they will fit your car. They make great daily driver tires. BAHA WHEELS XT6 WHEELS With 27/9.50/14 Super Swampers. I had to add about a quarter of an inch worth of spacers to make the tires not rub on the struts in the rear. (only) The wheels are stock 14inch steelies. The only rubbing in the rear is on one of the bolt heads on each of the mud flaps. Only on big bumps or flex. The fronts rub on the mud guards in the front on turns. No damage from it though, just a shiny spot. To answer your Q about how it would look with stock size tires on it with strut/spring lift, here it is with my 185/70/14 snow tires. (Good Year Ultra Grip) Did I mention you get about an inch and a half extra travel per corner with the OB struts?

I'm one of those 2 or 3 still on dial up. I clicked it, it said loading. I gave it a long time. Came back in, there was just a white screen, but at the bottom it said done. Guess I'll just have to take your word for it. . .

I don't mind Reiters, but B-ham is just too far to drive for the day. . . It kills me to put highway miles on the Toy. lol I can drag a group out to the cabin any given weekend if you want. The mud hole there will swallow your Soobie right up.

He's asking about an imp. And you're saying that when you turn and back up, no rubbing happens, that you're able to leave the wheel wells the way they are stock? And that when you get off camber and turn the wheels no rubbing happens? You kept the plastic water guard right?

Stiffer yes, harsh ride no. The angle on the axles won't be so bad you'd worry about it.

They are longer out of the box. I'm talking about cutting them and adding length.

Nope, can see it being pretty hard to fit 29s. . .

I don't think you can get a 29 under even an outback strut. I can squeeze 27/8.50s, but only with a couple washers on each stud. Stock Soob wheels. Who can say? You'll get quite a bit of a lift with the outback/forester struts and springs. (probably the same part #) You can also add bigger tires that way. I'm kinda freaked out by the idea of adding length to the bottom of a strut to lift a car.

I couldn't have put it better. That oughta be our slogan.

XT6 wheels. 27/8.50/14 Kumho Venture MT You can price them thru tirerack.com and then get your local Discount Tire to price match.

Maybe 11 X 20. High res allow us to make them as big as we want.

Last couple times I've been against the idea of making it seem like it takes place in one certain place, but that is very cool! Gonna be hard to top indeed. If you put a "#8" in the place of Hood River, you can squeeze "Hood River Co. Fairgrounds" into the top area maybe. . . *edit* maybe not, doesn't look like it would fit.

PMing him is a good way to get a hold of him. I think he can check cell phone messages too. I think* he'll be finished in August, just in time to bring his big rump roast toyota down to try out in the mud pit. Once we get the info together, flyer design would be very cool. I was thinking about doing a video for Subaru as thanks. I'll contact you soon about that. Thanks.

Hood River Co. Fairgrounds, Hood River, Oregon. August 25-27. So get to requesting your days off/vacation time. We'll get more info out as we get plans finalized and stuff. There will definitely be the mud pit in the horse coral again this year. We'll be bugging the different boards for vollunteers and helpers soon.

Did your disty get wet? The water came up to my windshield in this video.

I bought mine for less than 3 hundred for all 4. I got a little better deal than you will, but you can get close to that. The springs should be around 50 bucks a corner. Look in our "Vendor's" section, http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/ should be able to hook you up with the springs. Used ones will do fine too. I got my set of 4 for 50 bucks. Look around your local craiglist. 600 bucks is plenty to get it lifted a little.

Can't argue with you there. You're kinda close to Seattle aren't you? They can be had for 3-4 grand for the 96's, Austin payed less than a grand for his 93. . . Should you go on a mission to get one, I'll help you find one local to me.

These are rugged little cars. The Older Gen folks tend to doubt and dislike them because they are unfamiliar with them. Once you own one, you realize it's still a Soob, but with more bugs ironed out. The suspension is pretty tough compared to an ea81 or 82. Good for you Andy, sweet pic.

Lates all go to Reiter's Pit. A day trip would be perfect.

Most likely cause of the knock. . . The new struts may be a bit bigger in circumference. Pull a tire off and go take a look with a light. You'll probably find that the struts are rubbing on the inner wall. Look for the shiny spot. You're gonna have to pull both assemblies off and pund the shiny spot in with a BFH. How do I know this? It happened to me too. And. . . I don't believe that legacy struts will lift your car much at all if any. Legacy Outback struts do that.

The vid showed up today!! Just finished watching it. You guys definitely had more fun wheeling than I did! Thanks a bunch. EZ

Welcome. Appreciated. If you can't find the answer, we can probably help.

That'll do it.

mmmmm. . . Video. Can't wait Rollie.

Snow Submitted by zyewdall Just a quick writeup of my experience Offroading in the winter often means snow. Which means you have issues with ground clearance, traction, and visibility. Visibility: You can't see what is under the snow. Sometimes what looks like a bump is actually a hole, the edge of the road cut -- or even an iced over stream. What looks flat could be a basketball sized rock to take out your oil pan, or a buried tree across the trail that will smash the front alighnment up. It's best if you've seen the area without snow, and know what's under there. Ground clearance: In snow, you are often not only dealing with low traction, but also dragging parts of the car through snow plowing a trench. If you've got enough traction, this can be hard on clutches and engines because they are working alot harder. If you don't have enough traction, you can end up stuck, sometime without enough weight on the wheels to move. See types of snow below. Ground clearance is usually what stops my subaru in the snow, not traction per se. Traction: In general, narrower tires are better in snow. Higher ground pressure packs down soft snow, and can allow you to dig through to dirt or gravel underneath. However, certain conditions (spring drifts) are better with wide tires. In driving in snow, be prepared to suddenly have the car do strange things -- slide sideways, turn by itself, etc, depending on which particular wheels have traction and which don't, and which way the underlying ground is sloping. Type of snow: Fresh cold powder. The easiest type of snow to drive in. If you've got good snowtires, the car may not even feel the snow. But watch out for buried obstacles. It's easy to be blasting along through a foot of powder like it's nothing, and run into a rock or tree stump that you didn't see. Old windblown power. This type of snow acts more like sand, being rather heavy, and flowing like a pile of sand. It's not hard enough to drive on, but too hard to easily go thorugh, and it won't pack. You'll often be driving along perfectly fine, then encounter a deeper drift on a corner, and grind to a to a stop. Spinning the wheels and digging/churning your way through can work if you don't get high centered. It can be hard to get a good track established in this, because the wheels just churn the powder from front to back, rather than pushing it aside or packing it down. Fresh wet snow. This type isn't too bad, but is quite a bit slipperier than fresh powder. Keep speed up. Often this type of snow brings alot of small trees and brush down on the trail when it falls, so watch out for that. If this stuff is deep enough, it can high center you (especially with uneven terrain underneath), and it's so slippery, that it doesn't require too much weight taken off the wheels to start them spinning. Spinning the wheels in this type of snow is usually not good -- it gives good lubrication so they'll happily spin with no movement of the car, unless you can dig through to dirt with agressive tires or chains. Old wet snow. Heavy dense stuff that is like driving through pineapple jello. Often has layers of ice in it too. Often the way to get through this is to have chains and a low crawling gear, in order to slowly crunch through layers and pack them down into a useable track (and if it's too deep, watch the ground clearance). Spring drifts. This is what the old windblow powder turns into by April or June when all but the deepest drifts have melted away. These drifts are often frozen solid at night (or in the early morning when you head up a trail), and you may be able to drive right over them. During the day, they thaw, and turn into the wet version of old windblown powder. Still a heavy unstable substance, but really slippery now too. These drifts are often off camber, and the top will thaw first, so you may be able to drive up onto a drift, then slide off the side. Or it may be frozen just enough to drive up on top, then break through and sit on the frame with the wheels in soft holes -- these can be suprisingly deep too -- sometimes what looks like a short section of snow is actually 4 feet deep in the middle. Multiple vehicals with winches are usually needed for these. ATV'ers like these conditions, because they can run over the top of many of these, being lighter with large tires. Ice mixed with snow. Often you'll encounter snow with iced over tracks in the bottom from where someone who drove through in the slush which then froze. A light covering of snow can disguise this ice, but will make great lubrication. You may think you can spin the wheels a little and dig down to dirt, only to find a layer of glazed ice at the bottom. Chains can dig in and let you still move. You can also encounter snow with an ice layer on top -- if it rained then refroze. This is nasty, as the ice layer is exactly where you are dragging your undercarriage and can grab on and stop you. Streams combined with snow are a challenge. Often they are still flowing underneath, but are frozen on top. Is it strong enough to hold the car up, or will you break through into little water filled holes? If it's still open flowing water across the trail for a while (a stream fording for example), it often has ice shelfs at the edges, which can blow out tires, or just be too high an obstable to climb back out of the open stream. And of course, it's cold -- what may have been fun squishy sounding shoes from having to do a water recovery in the summer, may be more like frostbitten frozen feet in the winter. Streams can also flow across a road and freeze into a glazed ice layer which gives zero traction (especially if it's still got a little liquid water on top) And one fun aspect of snow is that if you abandon a stuck vehical with ideas of coming back tomorrow, it may snow another foot over night, and it may be permanently stuck till spring. Keep this in mind if you head out without sufficient recovery capability. Winter driving equipment that you should carry. In addition to normal stuff. Big scoop shovel Chains cross country skiis (they are pretty fast to get back out if you need to, compared to walking) Down sleeping bag.