sifu

Thanks impoutback, that's the advice I was looking for. Top hat spacers I saw around here were fairly expensive ($300?) And that's a bit more than I want to spend in addition to my lift. Any ideas on cheaper alternatives? And besides, while the forester struts may not be the ultra lift I was expecting, I'm still happy with it if I can fit the tires. Speaking of which- Yes, Car rides and handles well with the lift, the true test will be with the new tires. Will absolutely keep you updated. Here are the tires I'm thinking of putting on. http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com/Discount_Tires.cfm?pID=2862&pn=DLP-290110241 I'm a noob, and would hate to order tires that don't work, so just want to double check the ones I mentioned above.

so far so good. I've driven it about 50 miles and it rides and handles just as well as stock. The true test will be with the new tires. Speaking of which: I could really use some advice on these tires: http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com/Discount_Tires.cfm?pID=2862&pn=DLP-290110241 $88 a tire and a $40 discount with all four. Good deal? based off the pictures, think my car can handle 205 75 15?

After a little advice and inspiration from the board, I decided to go ahead with my project. Here are the details: Working with a guy named Terry F. out of PHX. AZ We took to the yards Saturday AM. Here is what we found: 98 Forester L. Unknown miles. Turns out that the backs are OEM and fairly shot, fronts were replaced, seem ok. 4 struts and springs x $ 40+tax = $175. It was a gamble... I didn't take before photos. Here is a good idea of what I'm starting with: THE BUILD We worked through some of the details already mentioned on the board. For clarity here are the issues with the swap we had to address: 1. Top hats were not compatible. Had to swap back my OBS top hats. The swap back was a nightmare. These are OBS vs. Forester Top hats. Wonder how much height opportunity I'm losing by keeping the OBS hats? Anyone know about top hat spacers? the top hat work required one of many additional trips to Autozone to pick up some spring compressor clamps. Required a $60 deposit. No biggie. 2. Front struts brake line bracket had to be cut to remove old struts, and cut again to fit new struts on. Rear brake lines were bled. 5 bucks in brake fluid. No biggie. 3. added 2x 1,27 cm washers on top of each rear top hat to fix rattle bump. Took about 1/2 hour to get all four filed with dremel. More info http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=109375&page=3 We went through here to pop the spacers on. Because of course, discovered the rattling after everything was already done. Anyway, prevented a good amount disassembling and saved some time. Here is the final product. Still need to pick up a trailing arm bracket to recenter the rear wheels. I'm a little disappointed with the swap, because looking at it next day, I just didn't get the lift I expected. I'm thinking that now that I've got the springs I might just buy some new struts. Any other ideas on how to perk up the ride? Keep in mind that the subaru I really want to emulate is here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=109375&page=8 Anyone have some ideas on what kind of A/T tires I can still get away with? If I don't need to do anything more, I won't. Finally, big credit goes out to my man Terry F. So far the job has been a nightmare, but nothing involving him. The guy gave me 12 hours (yes, this took ALL DAY) of his time and only took $160. Price recap: Dremel tool-$22 Wrench (replacement tool)-$15 Washers-$2 Brake fluid-$5 Struts + springs- $175 Terry (Mechanic)-$160