Hello all I have a 1999 impreza outback sport with the 2.2 auto.

 

looks a lot like this with steel rims and rustier:

 

I want to get THESE on it so I can have a tiny bit more room underneath and trust it's off-road traction for camping.

 

What's the least I could lift it to fit these tires and not get any serious rubbing or loss of turning radius?

 

I think it needs struts soon and I was looking at these:

KYB Excel-G

...could I use these upgrade/replacement struts and a spacer? Or do I need the next model up KYBs which are adjustable...or do I need the 04 forester?  I really don't want to mess with the suspension geometry much if I don't have to.

 

 

I can tell you that my 27x8.5 R14 Maxxis tires barely squeeze in there, and scrub just a hair on the front mud flaps at full lock, but its just this weird part that sticks out and I never remember to trim it.

 

At any rate, I'm running 04 forester shock assemblies up front, and 99 in the rear if I recall correctly, and then I put in spacers up front to level the car, since the back end sat quite a bit higher.

 

If I recall, I think the combo you're looking at is significantly larger than what I run, and would probably at the very least take some massaging with a hammer and trimming to work, on top of the usual suspension lift.

 

I was actually going to run that setup myself, but found that in order to get a decent all terrain to fit without trimming/beating, I had to go down to 14" wheels, so theres more room for tire.

 

I'm running this tire, which is a great compromise between being a good street tire and off-road.

http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-6-104-bravo-series-ma-751

 

They also have these, which I may go for next time, as well as some other options.

http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-514-104-buckshot-mudder-ii-mt-764 

 

Hope this helps.

weird, taller struts and spacers up front? Mine sits lower in the back...Sounds like the forester strut swap is needed for any tire with decent off road tread.  Is that all you did? Did you do anything else like endlinks or the outback sway bar mount?  Have you had this done long and have you noticed any increased wear on parts?

 

edit: also, just to verify - you have 99 impreza struts in the back -- and 04 forester struts and springs up front?

Edited February 14, 201610 yr by pease

Wait!!! They make a KO2 now. Check it out!