sifu

very cool. Any idea on what you might try to get for it?

Very cool. Looks good. Nice to see a comparison against my own lift. What is the health on the struts you swapped into there? I.E. how old/many miles...

Along this line of thinking, I have an alloy rim that is a little warped...any ideas on how to straighten it out? I don't really have much of a problem, but the upsellers that did my tires seemed to...

show some pics budd. let's see how it turned out

I've seen some great deals on ebay for new struts, just not for my make. I'd suggest anyone looking to check out there, and have a little patience. As for an update on the quality of the ride- Took my 2 brothers across town for thanksgiving. Back tires seemed to be making a dull creak noise on just about any bump. Can't be sure if it's the tires hitting the sruts tops or just that the back struts and/or silencing cork needs to be replaced. Painting car this weekend. Will have updated pictures with new paint soon.

I've been dreaming of a lift on my 97 obs.. at work.at the gym. in bed with the missus. Yeah, that bad. Short of relocating, What would it take for you guys to part with that gen 2? Ordering up the decal, painting the car this weekend and next. It's gonna be badass.

I'm actually a bit more curious to hear how it's holding up on the road? How many road miles do you have on it after lift?

figures youre a cat person haha I'm wanting to build my own strut spacers too. I see yours look pretty home made. Mine will look way worse. (Who cares if it works?) Just want to know if your are worried about any extra rattling etc etc? If not, any idea where I can get my hands on some strut spacer specs?

Hey..off topic, but I think since you guys are cool enough to offer this to someone, I'd really be happy to put a cool USMB banner across my windshield when I finish with my subaru. I've notice a few people do it with dirty impreza.com. Any place where I can get the template or order something?

man, seems like I'm getting to the good stuff last. This car is badass. Nice work...and I now have a new model to work towards!

I put on a 98 FORESTER spring and strut set onto my 97 OBS with 215 70 15. You can see the pictures I've posted. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=127203 I got 3 inches or so. I've also read that 2nd gen Forester gives bigger lift. If you'd like more lift I'd be sure to consider the following before starting the work so you can save time and money: 1 Add top hat spacers 2 Add some of the body lift components from outback or buy a body lift kit from a place like SJR. Because SJR is too expensive for me, there is info in the FAQ and a post I recently started about fabbing your own: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=127730 Note that any type of strut swap alone won't mess the geometry up enough to worry, but with that and more lift (like from top hat spacers) you should consider correcting the geometry with step 2. Plus you get more lift along the way. This is my next undertaking. Still looking for details on how to. I don't know, but from what I've read, if the forester struts you are looking to swap are any less than good condition, don't bother putting them on. Go straight for the Forester spring/new outback strut. I wish I would've done this, because I'd like more lift, and now it means going back to pull/replace the struts and add top hat spacers. From my understanding, these things should give a really good lift, and maintain manageable geometry.

When you say rears, do you mean spring and strut? If possible, I'd rather just buy the strut to save money. I see some gabriel struts on ebay. Are they any good?

yeah, I can. I've got to say that I haven't had any problems with rubbing on strut, but like I mentioned, sharper turns are an issue. So far I'm about 1000 miles in. No issues. I'm planning on swapping the mentioned body components found on this link: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=104193&highlight=legacy+lift (REALLY WISH I HAD READ THIS POST FIRST INSTEAD OF LAST, and recommend anyone planning the lift to refer to this post) and putting on fresh outback struts plus top hat spacers to boot...it will be interesting to see how much more lift I can get. For the time/money invested so far, I might as well finish the job. I demand satisfaction! (Would really appreciate some insight on possible geometry problems or other unforeseen issues) Can anyone verify that I can put on outback struts on forester springs? (Just want to double check) Also- will there be any major issues with keeping used forester struts in front and new outback struts on back?

This thing is insanely cool. The paint is pretty ballsy... The camo stands out in the parking lot.

This is great. Thanks.And I really have done a lot of reading, I guess just in the wrong places. the FAQ is good.

cool. thanks. Thats a start! Will look up details about those. Have any links by chance?

So cool. I'm very impressed. :-p What did the paint cost?

That is really cool of you to do. I'd be a perfect canidate if I wasn't in Arizona. Like it was said- too bad I'm not closer. Still looking to get the body lift to go along with the struts and turn my mom mobile into a super sube.

bump? Want to lift more without destroying geometry!

Yeah, Already got the forester struts and springs...Got my 3 inch lift. Any more lift (from what I read) will probably damage the axls and CV joints. I understand a body lift will keep the angles the same, so will alleviate joint stress. Would like to get another 2" inches. A body lift like the one offered by SJR would be cool, but it costs hundreds for a couple pounds of metal. I think I can do better.

Would like to get started on one...Or find something more affordable. Anyone ever try this? It seems hard to justify 500+ being charged. What parts are used for a body lift on 97 outback sports, and anyone have the specs? Thanks

If it helps you can check out my build to see 99 forester swap into 97 obs. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=127203 The more I read, the more I'm thinking that a lift much higher than what I have would hurt the car. Can anyone confirm this? And by the way, It's been mentioned that "blocks" will lower the car and help with axl wear. Is this an anti-lift kit? Does it make much difference? What about Camber bolts?

The Update: Trailing arm brackets My guy Terry and I spent an afternoon replacing the rear arm trailing brackets. More info here- http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=126884&page=2 Even with an air compressor we had to take it down to Midas to get the bolts loose. Talk about frustrating. But.. It would have been more frustrating to walk away for the day with nothing done. When finished I thought it would push the rear tire back. Not so. Not at all. But it did seem to give the subaru a bit more lift in the back, so I guess the work was worth it. (50 labor, 20 for the parts). In retrospect, I probably wouldn't have opted to do this independently. It just didn't seem to do much. If you're planning on your lift, it would be worthwhile to plan this into the same day strut swap to save time and money. Tires Much more recently I ordered up some 215 70 15 Yokohama Geolanders from Fletchers Auto. Did a ton of searching for the best price on an A/T that will fit this lift, and settled on a price of around $470 out the door with 2 oil changes, an alignment and the road hazard protection. The Pictures: I had discount tire test fit (for free) the 205 & 215 75 15s. It was not even close to fitting. As it was I had to spend $30 for the guys at Fletchers to trim the back fenders. The result: Drives well. The front tires rub when making a sharper U-turn...I think this is manageable. (I wonder how some of the other guys got the 215 75 15s??!) The future: I'd still like more lift.. It looks a little too domestic for my hopes. Fabricated Spacer advice, anyone? And since I purchased unknown forester struts at the junk yard, I bet I can get a bit more lift with new struts. Sadly, the cost keeps adding up....Why should I even act suprised? And, I'd also like to do some body work. As you can see, I slopped on a new fender for $60 shipped in a couple hours. It's all a learning experience. The Summary: Cost of lift Struts + springs- $175 Terry (Mechanic)-$235 Tires-$470 Total: $880 ----- Wished the money would have gone further. There is still a lot of work to be done. My advice would be to plan carefully, and do more research (it seems). A lot of guys have posted what I had to learn the hard way. Anyway, will update with any major improvements!