Thanks for this great forum. This is the reason I signed up here.
I've had my '05 Impreza for two months now, and next week I am setting off on a road trip through Lesotho. Some gorgeous views, and sticky roads will be the otrdr of the week, including Sani Pass, where people debate driving in Forresters. To make things worse, I will be carrying three people, two Jerry cans, three bikes, and enough food and luggage for camping, mountain biking and over night hiking... and I don't have the time to lift her properly.
So, my friend recently changed his self leveling shocks ('05 Forrester XS) for standard ones, and put in stronger coils... I nabbed his old coils and popped them into my standard set up.
Before the change my front arch sat at 27" and rear arch at 25" (unlaiden) afterwards 27" all around. The ride feels just as comfortable, but the rear body roll is less. I am not using camber bolts in the rear, as you can adjust camber but moving both adjusting bolts in the same direction. While they were adjusting the alignment I snapped these shots of my drive shafts. The front lean down slightly but the rear are still straight (meaning no strain for the CVs) These were taken unlaiden with the new coils (2" lift)
