May 20, 200421 yr I have a '97 legacy outback. i want to raise it. Anyone raise a newer outback? basically im looking for information on specifics, like how much goes into lifting a car? are there any mods i would have to make to the exhaust, steering columb, ect... i have heard of people using hockey pucks on jeeps for spacers, seems like a bit of a money saver compared to ozified or scorpion, but im just generally interested in talking with someone who has lifted a newer non 80's subaru. my email is listed, anyone willing to answer questions would be greatly appreciated, thanks. -Brady-
May 20, 200421 yr Mudrat79! http://www.oregonoffroadsubaruclub.org/index.html John is the only one I know of that has actually lifted the newer models. Good luck Glenn 82 SubaruHummer 01 Forester
May 20, 200421 yr There is at least one company in Australia (where Subarus are used much more as true off-road vehicles) that sells suspension lift kits for later model Outbacks and Foresters. I can't remember the name or the URL, but someone on here knows it. There are some very cool pictures of lifted Outbacks and Foresters with big skid plates and brush guards on the site. Don't know if they sell their parts in the US, but I'd trust them before I'd trust a home-grown body lift.
May 20, 200421 yr ya talk to mudrat79 (John in Oregen)... he does great work... check out his photo gallary... http://usmb.net/gallery/albuo13 lots of pics there... check out his baja bumper... it is very sharp! good luck.
May 20, 200421 yr I believe the company is called Scorpion Lifts, but be forewarned, they aren't cheap, and the shipping is high also. Mudrat would probably be a better deal (and you'd be helping out a board member).
May 20, 200421 yr I have heard of people using hockey pucks on jeeps for spacers, I had these on my jeep, worked great and cheap, but isn't the subaru a unitized body construction? Body lifts will only work on frame on body type vehicles.
May 21, 200421 yr I've been really happy with the Scorpion Springs. I got them from http://www.isrperformance.com/ they were great to deal with. With the new struts and springs the car rides a little stiffer, but handles much better. The difference off-road is amazing. Much better at taking the bumps and dips. Good luck with whatever you choose.
May 21, 200421 yr By the way, ISR Performance is in the states, so you don't have the big shipping expense of buying directly from Scorpion in Australia. They also sell body lifts for the OBW's.
May 21, 200421 yr rweddy: I had these on my jeep, worked great and cheap, but isn't the subaru a unitized body construction? Body lifts will only work on frame on body type vehicles. Nope. The 80's Subaru's that are lifted are 99% body lift kits and the newer model kits are engineered the same way as the old ones. Patrick at Ozified.com was working on a Legacy Lift kit. I can't wait to see more cars in the Newer Generation forum that are lifted. So many of the obsticles we deal with on our 80's models are not issues on the new gens. Wheels and tires being the #1 problem as our stock size 13" wheels don't have offroad tire options.
May 21, 200421 yr Here are the only choices I'm privy too: Back Yard Boys lift out of Australia: http://users.bigpond.net.au/bybsubi/ (i dont think patrick (http://www.ozified.com/) yet distrubutes new gen lifts out of the US?) Scorpion lift again out of Australia but here is a US distrubitor: http://www.isrperformance.com/main.html (click on Offroad Accessories on the left) I dont know if mudrat79 (john) does contract work but he might whip one up for you if the price is right! Email him and find out. Good luck and I'm happy to see some new gen folks starting to climb out of the box
May 21, 200421 yr if you want to keep your car in this continent then i would definatly go with john... he owns his own subaru shop so i guess he does contract work... at the moment he is the only person i will let do actual work on my car... i got a clutch job done at school and they broke stuff... like my flywheel bolts... who would have though you couldn't torque a flywheel bolt ot 140ftlbs??? and he didn't just do it to one... he did it to all 8! stupid kid... anyway... i would go with john!!!
May 21, 200421 yr I've been really happy with the Scorpion Springs. I got them from http://www.isrperformance.com/ they were great to deal with. With the new struts and springs the car rides a little stiffer, but handles much better. The difference off-road is amazing. Much better at taking the bumps and dips. Good luck with whatever you choose. Jeg: Do you have any pictures of your lifted OBW? The little one on your icon isn't too easy to see. I'd like to see what a lifted '95-'99 OBW looks like. Also, did you then go to bigger tires, too? If so, what size?
May 24, 200421 yr I'll see if I can get some pictures to post on here. My icon is actually the Suba-Xtreme Outback from down under. That's what I want to make mine like. I went with 205-75-15 Force-4 AT's. The problem with much bigger diameter tires is front to back room in the fender wells. I'm not ready to start cutting body panels yet. http://www.users.bigpond.com/subaxtreme/
May 24, 200421 yr My favorite Sub is the White Forester from SubaXtreme. Too bad we don't have the Dual Range tranny available to us. Without a D/R Tranny I'm not liftin... ...........so how do I get a D/R?................ Dreaming, Glenn 82 SubaruHummer....D/R tranny........ 01 Forester....dreaming.......
May 24, 200421 yr I'm debating whether to keep mine and lift it or get a 2005 Outback XT. It is already 1.5" taller than the 99 and it's a turbo Will light truck tires work in the 99 OBW without too many problems? I'm not sure how to figure out what size they would need to be from a 205/70/15. I think it would be a 29"x8.5", is that correct?
May 24, 200421 yr I've heard that a 27X9.50X15 will work. That's about a 225-70-15. I don't know if it will clear the fenders front to back. A stock tire is about 26.5 inches in diameter. You'd need a wider rim for sure.
July 6, 200421 yr I got a 2" Scorpion Lift kit from ISR in California for my 98 Legacy wagon. It left a sour taste in my mouth because they claimed the kit would allow for larger tires (it doesn't because of the low spring seats). Now I'm left with a huge wheel well gap between the tires until I can scrape the money together to replace the struts with ones from an Outback. My word of warning would be that when you get into this with the more recent model years you are pretty much on your own. That all being said, the lift kit did make a big difference this winter clearing the snow banks around our place and it'll look pretty cool once I can get the struts replaced and get bigger tires on there.
July 6, 200421 yr My favorite Sub is the White Forester from SubaXtreme. Too bad we don't have the Dual Range tranny available to us. Without a D/R Tranny I'm not liftin... ...........so how do I get a D/R?................ Dreaming, Glenn 82 SubaruHummer....D/R tranny........ 01 Forester....dreaming....... Just like they do EJ22 swaps using 5spd dual ranges.... adapter plate and modified crossmember Prolly wouldnt want to do any clutch dumps on pavement tho!
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