Second Gen LIft the Right Way

[OSUFlatland]

Hey folks, I've been looking at lifting my '96 L wagon after a trip to the mountain, some wrong turns, and going where the passengers in the car were sure we'd be stuck. The most common lifts I've seen are Outback or Forester struts and Outback body spacers, but unless I'm mistaken, those at least mostly, if not solely, move the mount position of the springs on the struts, correct? Has anyone looked into other vehicle struts with longer travel, like some of the Loyale guys have? I was wondering if maybe a Mazda or Toyota pickup would have struts and springs that could give a bit of lift and increase travel at the same time.

I honestly don't need longer travel, I just figure if I'm looking at doing it in the first place, I may as well try to future proof it and do it right/all-in. I do realize the wagon is not going to be a trophy truck or rock crawling monster, I just want to see what's possible. Thanks, and I welcome the onslaught of criticism that I'm crazy! Also, by all means, flame me for not being able to search if it's been done, but I have been Googling it for about 3 days to no avail.

[1055]

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212685

[OSUFlatland]

Will forester struts actually increase travel, or only ride height? Everything I've read says they stiffen the ride up, which sounds like stiffer springs either the same length or shorter.

[1055]

Will forester struts actually increase travel, or only ride height? Everything I've read says they stiffen the ride up, which sounds like stiffer springs either the same length or shorter.

The strut bodies are longer. There is more travel, but maybe only 3/4" the true height is in overall length and I believe taller top hats

[OSUFlatland]

Any idea if it'll work well with the stock Lego springs? Or is there any info on the spring rates of each? Either way, it sounds like probably the best option for the buck with Outback body spacers and trailing arm brackets. Thanks!

[86bratman]

Forester front struts are exactly the same as 96-99 outback, Forester rear struts are almost an inch shorter. The forester springs are taller, and also slightly softer spring rate. You can't put a legacy spring on a Forester rear strut because the bottom spring diameter is larger on legacy than forester. You can however put Forester springs on outback/legacy struts as you can see in the link to my for sale thread that was provided above. The end result of this is slightly more than 3" of lift from the suspension alone.

[Wiscon_Mark]

I think we should clarify which gen Forester we're talking about here.

Both SF (98-02) and SG (03-08) suspension will work, and there are minor differences. My SG's struts & springs are considerably stiffer than a BG Outback suspension, from my experience. The Outback tends to ride a bit better, although that could be due to the Legacy chassis' longer wheelbase, among other things.

[OSUFlatland]

Yeah, I've read that the Forester struts vary by generation. And the Legacy/Outbacks do as well. While I'm still interested in the info, I may not be using it as soon as I'd hoped. Just got my brother his first car - an 87 GL with a broken timing belt. :) Keep it coming though! Ideally, I'd like long, soft suspension to more effectively abuse the wagon. . .

[OSUFlatland]

Alright, another question to annoy the masses: What would gain me the most height on stock Legacy L springs? Forester or Outback struts? Which generation? I think I'm giving up on trophy Legacy status for funding reasons for now. Also, it sounds like there isn't a longer travel spring/strut combo that will work well, or at least not one anyone knows about. Maybe I'll try scouting the junkyard for one from a Toyota FJ or small pickup or something next time I'm there.

[86bratman]

96-99 Outback if you're using the stock springs, as I said before legacy springs won't fit onto the bottom perch of forester struts.

The problem with your scouting for truck suspension to work on these cars will end dry, no truck that I'm aware of uses MacPherson struts, thus ending your search for a bolt in solution. The loyale suspension is completely different and really should be ignored from your thought process when thinking of your legacy.

[1996Battlewagon]

Here's a thought - you could pair Outback specific KYB GR2s with King HD Raised Springs (if you can find them). The springs themselves add about an inch compared to stock Outback springs but they are flat-out badass awesome. When I installed mine with GR2s the car came alive. They are really tough, strong and ample for offroading plus, they highly enhanced on-road handling.

This setup is about the highest your going to be able to get without a strut tower lift from a company like HighGuys.

[OSUFlatland]

I just referenced the Loyales because I found this kind of swap done on one or two of them. The Forester springs I've seen look like they could be used in the mod I'm thinking of if a suitable strut body could be found. Or, for that matter, I guess a Legacy, Outback, or Forester strut could be used if it had enough travel, and one cut the spring perch off and rewelded it lower. But I suspect the struts aren't, in fact, designed for the travel I'm talking about. It's entirely possible that nothing exists which can be made to do this, and I'm okay with that. I just wanted to see if anyone knew of anything beyond the stock answers of spacers and taller spring perches.

I'm not excited about the King Springs I've seen, because they look to be quite a bit heavier, meaning a significantly higher spring rate unless they're also shorter (lower preload). I want to preserve the relative position of the car in the suspension's travel, I just want more travel. So if, like in mountain bikes, the car rests 1/4 through the travel, I want to move from riding 1" into a 4" total travel to riding 1.5" into a 6" travel, or something equivalent. Again, not sure if anything exists, and I realize that it won't be cheap unless it's a stock item on some vehicle. I may just end up going with '96-'99 Outback suspension, since I haven't seen much difference in the spring perch location between that and Forester struts.