June 20, 200619 yr I read on here somewhere about being able to gain about 2" by using outback struts on a legacy Would this work on a 90 wagon?
June 20, 200619 yr No your springs taper and the outback ones are straight they will hit the body and your upper strut mount wont work on the outback struts, if your car was a 92 up it would work the outback ones would bolt right in. on my brothers 90 wgn we tryed. he went with aftermarket struts (not sure what brand ) he found and a wrecking yard and forester springs but they didn't fit right, it worked but wasn't right. he got about and inch of lift.
June 20, 200619 yr Disregard most of what Tubo Brat just said. No disrespect Turbo Brat. But. The 90-94 legacys are exactly the same when it comes to suspension. If you would have used the tops from the OB that the springs came from, you woulda been doing it right. And. Yes, they hit at the bottom, but if you install them right and beat back the inner wall a little where they're rubbing, you'll be fine. I read on here somewhere about being able to gain about 2" by using outback struts on a legacy Would this work on a 90 wagon? Curious where you read it? And yes you can. I believe there's a write-up in the FAQ just above this thread.
June 20, 200619 yr No disrespect taken .... but there is no way 90 to 91 rear struts are the same as 92 to 94 they have diff part numbers and the springs are tapered on the 90 to 91 and not on the 92 to 94 and every jobber we have here have different listings for both. front suspension is the same, Now the rear struts we put in my brothers car i think came off of an Impreza but we had to use his strut top off his 90 wgn we were putting 16" rims off of a 99 GT on to it as well and the imp. top may have had some thing to do with the tire rubbing the strut i can't remember ,maybe our sturts are different up here but I don't think so. and like I said the spring and the top didn't fit right it was so close it didn't matter but it wasnt right. and we didn't use a hammer, that might work. The other prob we ran in to was the 16" GT legacy rims rubbed the strut on the forester and outback ones we tryed but didn't with the aftermarket inpreza ones we found, My brother went with forester springs because he wanted the car to sit higher but with the Impreza springs it made the car sit lower. with the reg 14" rim size it may not be a prob i don't know. his car (my brothers) had to go for an inspection so we didn't want to use a hammer on anything Disregard most of what Tubo Brat just said. No disrespect Turbo Brat. But. The 90-94 legacys are exactly the same when it comes to suspension. If you would have used the tops from the OB that the springs came from, you woulda been doing it right. And. Yes, they hit at the bottom, but if you install them right and beat back the inner wall a little where they're rubbing, you'll be fine. Curious where you read it? And yes you can. I believe there's a write-up in the FAQ just above this thread.
June 20, 200619 yr Author thanks for the replies. I read it in the new gen subie forum, he was talking about putting outback struts on a 95 legacy. I was just wondering if it was possible on my car. Im not looking to go huge (not yet at least:grin: ) I was just hoping to gain a little clearance, maybe add bigger size tire.
June 20, 200619 yr i have 98 outback struts on my 90 legacy wagon and i gained roughly 1.5 inches... it did stiffen up the ride some, but not a whole lot...... i say go for it... its an easy swap. you do need to use the legacy springs and tops though.... or redrill the holes for the rears to mount up....
June 20, 200619 yr Author i have 98 outback struts on my 90 legacy wagon and i gained roughly 1.5 inches... it did stiffen up the ride some, but not a whole lot...... i say go for it... its an easy swap. you do need to use the legacy springs and tops though.... or redrill the holes for the rears to mount up.... What size tires are you running after doing that???
June 20, 200619 yr What size tires are you running after doing that??? this probably doesn't pertain to this whatsoever but i got roughly 3.5 inches from outback struts, legacy springs, and 205/75r15 rubbers on my 96. but, like i said, probably doesn't pertain because the 96 and 90 and different animals.
June 21, 200619 yr i have 98 outback struts on my 90 legacy wagon and i gained roughly 1.5 inches... it did stiffen up the ride some, but not a whole lot...... i say go for it... its an easy swap. you do need to use the legacy springs and tops though.... or redrill the holes for the rears to mount up.... So let me get this straight.... I can use the existing legacy springs and strut tops with the outback struts, and all I need to do is drill different mounting holes where the rear struts meet the body? Also, does anybody know how the legacy vs. outback springs compare for height and spring rate?
June 21, 200619 yr So let me get this straight.... I can use the existing legacy springs and strut tops with the outback struts, and all I need to do is drill different mounting holes where the rear struts meet the body? Also, does anybody know how the legacy vs. outback springs compare for height and spring rate? i'm running regular legacy springs with outback struts. it seems like i'm getting everything for the money. i don't think that outback springs would really help it any; i parked next to an SUS the other day to check heights and mine was just a bit (barely noticeable) taller because of the 205/75 tire as apposed to 205/70. the ride might be stiffer, but i highly doubt it would be any taller.
June 21, 200619 yr the ride might be stiffer, but i highly doubt it would be any taller. About an inch and a half taller I think. A little stiffer. The OB strut has a longer travel by 1 and 1/2 inches.
June 21, 200619 yr About an inch and a half taller I think. A little stiffer. The OB strut has a longer travel by 1 and 1/2 inches. nono. i meant with OB struts, without OB springs.
June 21, 200619 yr Yeah, I undstood. I initially put my OBS springs onto the OB struts when I put them on. The springs were so much shorter that I could put the tops back on by hand. The rump roast end was a little taller, but the springs clunked because the struts had more travel than the springs. So when I added the OB springs, it got waaaay taller and much stiffer. With a tank of gas and fully loaded it rides like a cadilac. But the legacy is probably closer to the weight of an Outback than an OBS so maybe the legacy (wagon) spring is stiffer than one on an OBS. But I think the OB strut is taller, so the OB spring should be taller to fill the extra travel.
June 21, 200619 yr Yeah, I undstood. I initially put my OBS springs onto the OB struts when I put them on. The springs were so much shorter that I could put the tops back on by hand. The rump roast end was a little taller, but the springs clunked because the struts had more travel than the springs. So when I added the OB springs, it got waaaay taller and much stiffer. With a tank of gas and fully loaded it rides like a cadilac. But the legacy is probably closer to the weight of an Outback than an OBS so maybe the legacy (wagon) spring is stiffer than one on an OBS. But I think the OB strut is taller, so the OB spring should be taller to fill the extra travel.
June 22, 200619 yr i'm thinking of puting outback struts on my 90 legacy useing stock tops and springs. does anyone know what size tire to use. i have the stock 14" wheels.
June 22, 200619 yr Steve, the OB springs are taller than the legacy springs Just like Forester Springs are taller than Impreza Springs. But when you get mixing things.... Zap's all over that Maybe i should try outback springs on my forester struts... eek!
June 22, 200619 yr Gotcha. This is what I'm talking about. I assumed the leg and imp struts were the same in a wagon. . . Who can say? The OB spring has more coils, they are wider and thicker as well.
June 22, 200619 yr Gotcha.This is what I'm talking about. I assumed the leg and imp struts were the same in a wagon. . . Who can say? The OB spring has more coils, they are wider and thicker as well. when i liad the legacy strut next to the outback strut, the silver shafts ('scuse the term) were the same length. more coils = softer ride = sits lower
June 22, 200619 yr when i liad the legacy strut next to the outback strut, the silver shafts ('scuse the term) were the same length. more coils = softer ride = sits lower You can have more coils, and have it sit higher, all depends on how you make the springs
June 23, 200619 yr Author Thanks to everyone who gave their opinion. I think Im going to do it. Ive been wanting to get more clearance for quite some time and this sounds like an easy way to get it.. I will post pics of my progress.
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now