Hi, last question of the day.  I installed the sturt towers and hubs from a 1998 Foorster on my 1996 Brighton Wagon and it made a bigdifference in the snow in the wintrtime.Now that I have the Legacy L wagon, I can barely get the aluminum tirerack.come floor jack under there to raise the car for service.  I'd like to do a smilar transplant with this Postal Vehicle, but wondering if ther would be an advantage to using Outback strut assemblies andhubs, or is there another way to add clearance?  TRibeeca suspension(like I'm going to find one of those in ajunkyard.....lol)

 

TIA

 

DM&FS

 

 

what year is the postal wagon?

 

not much of a difference between doing the outback struts versus the Forester struts - when all is said and done they will be virtually the same.

there are some that do a combo of strut from one, and spring from the other - but I have never done it myself.

 

on my 95 Legacy L, I just used the Forester strut assembly - strut, spring & tophat - no hub changes. works great. And fitted the Forester 15" wheels with 205/65R15 tires - no rubbing or anything.

 

In fact, got to test it out on some back woods trails today, hehe - had fun.

Tribeca is out of the question, virtually nothing interchanges with the older legacy. The only difference you'll have with doing the suspension transplant on the postal wagon versus your old Brighton will be that you'll sit in the other seat when you take it out for a drive lol.

Baja springs and struts could be a good swap. dunno if they are backwards compatible that far though.

Baja springs and struts could be a good swap. dunno if they are backwards compatible that far though.

 

fronts yes, rears no.

Thanks all.  Any after market springs to consider??  This ride has likely 283k on the OE  springs.....

 

DM&FS

some people toss around King Springs but, I have no experience with those.

King springs, if you can get them, will net a little bit extra lift - like a 1/2 inch or so according to their specs, but they are not cheap - over $200 a pair

 

OE springs can be found here: http://www.parksubaruoemparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=215943

 

cost is around $50 each, plus shipping.

if you don't care about the speedo/odo - you could run taller tires too.

i have recently read that the forester struts are about the same height as the outback struts,

but that the lower spring perch on the rear is lower than the outback.

this suggest that the springs on the rear of the forester is taller to fill in the extra length.

 

so installing forester springs on outback struts will give you a little more lift

since the taller spring will be more compressed,

creating more tension,   greater spring rate???, a little more lift?

 

anyway , i do not know if this is accurate,

but is is an explanation that answers some obw vs. forester strut questions.

 

thoughts?????????

So I just got in my 96-99 outback struts that I'm replacing the worn out struts on my 98 forester with. Here is a side by side comparison of the two with springs installed.

 

 

My camera angle is a little off, but the bolt holes are lined up and you can see where the extra time clearance comes in. Installed pic to follow.

Edited July 31, 201411 yr by 86BRATMAN

 

This is the strut to tire clearance with 205/75r15 general grabber at2s with the outback strut. Compare that to the picture below with the original 98 forester struts.

 

Thanks for the pics Bratman, but now I have confused myself.. I had thought I read that forester struts had more room under the lower spring perch, but this look like that is not right. Mabye I need to get outback struts for my 96 OBS instead of forester.. 

 

Anyone else have input on which struts (outback or forester) have more room beneath the lower spring perch?

my understanding it this,

outback are slightly taller, longer over all,

but forester are longer in the spring area

and shorter from the perch to the bottom.

 

this means larger tires with outback struts,

and slightly taller stance , ground clearance.

 

and i hear,

if you use the forester spring, taller, on the outback strut,

you get a stiffer ride and a taller stance yet again,

due to the taller spring compressed on the shorter outback spring section,

creating less sag due to body weight.

 

i'm not 100% sure this is all accurate,

but this is my understanding as of now.

Awesome, thanks for your input John.

Also good news for me as there seems to be more outbacks in the junkyards than foresters. 

Supposedly the 03-08 forester has longer rear struts similar to the outback. But I have never had a pair to verify. But there is a full inch difference from bolt hole to spring perch between 98-02 forester and 96-99 outback.

 

My forester will be the second vehicle I've ran this type setup under. For a while last year I ran my legacy with outback strut and forester springs. This is where I first made the discovery for myself.

Edited August 2, 201411 yr by 86BRATMAN