Help wagon too low!!!

[joseabbott34]

Hey guys so I lowered my 98 legacy outback wagon on some 04 wrx struts and lowering springs. Now my issue is that it's too low and rubbing heavy in the back and eating away at half the tires. It's also doing it to the front tires but on the inside vs the outside in the rear..... HOW DO I FIX THIS...? OEM springs? Fender rolling..? Help!

[foohfooh]

Hm. I would like to help

What springs did you match with the wrx struts?

Did you keep your oem 2nd gen outback wheels and tires?

Fender rolling the rear guards might temporarily help so you dont shred your tires.


Im assuming you cannot revert to stock setup. That would be ideal until you can source some new tires/wheels

[CaleDeRoo]

Yeah tire info would be helpful.

[joseabbott34]

The lowering springs were for an 04 saabaru I believe. I'm running the same stock tires. 15". And no I don't have the stock setup anymore which only makes things worse. Nothing like running through tires every 2 months.

[foohfooh]

Ya man. Ur probably running lkke a 225 60 r15. New tires need to be itty bitty wrx tires. 205 55 16 or something.

Cruise craigslist and pick up a new wheeel and tire setup for like 300. Condition dont really matter at this point because ur handling at this point is shot/any "rollers" would be less dangerous than what you have on now. Goodluck!

[meepers]

Hey guys so I lowered my 98 legacy outback wagon on some 04 wrx struts and lowering springs. Now my issue is that it's too low and rubbing heavy in the back and eating away at half the tires. It's also doing it to the front tires but on the inside vs the outside in the rear..... HOW DO I FIX THIS...? OEM springs? Fender rolling..? Help!


Wagon too low.... How dare you say that! As others said, tire sizes would be helpful. Maybe find a set of 02-04 rex stock wheels/tires, or just buy a used set of tires in the size you need 205/60r15 or better yet, get later 16" (boo) or 17" LGT wheels/tires rex shoes.

Now be aware, if you drive an auto, you shouldnt notice much change in your highway driving with the smaller tires. IF your car is a manual, 75 on the freeway is going to suck! Roll and pull your fenders and quarters. Easy peazy.

[joseabbott34]

Okay guys so I found a guy selling 02-04 wrx wheels for 160$. Will I need to roll my fenders even after this it will just the new wheels and tires be enough to solve my issue..?

[Alphius]

They will probably not rub anymore if they have the stock WRX 205/55/16 tire size still on them. Hard to say for sure though.

[joseabbott34]

So I can't run that 205 55 15 on my outback wheels...?

[meepers]

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html this will give u an idea

[foohfooh]

205 55 16 is for a 16 inch wheel. If your on 15s it will not fit.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Did you get it aligned? It sounds like you're experiencing uneven wear in the front (unless I read something wrong) which could just be an alignment issue.

You could always go with strut spacers for the rear if you want an easier fix - but if everything is way off, don't expect 1/4" to help much. Any longer than that, and you'd likely need longer strut mount studs to go with thicker spacers.

[nepbug]

First I'll echo everything else said here. Smaller tires and an alignment are needed.

I'll add, you need to figure out exactly what parts you're putting on your car. "Saabaru lowering springs" doesn't exactly narrow it down. This is something that should have been known before the install.

If you want to stick with your 15" wheels then 205/60R15 tires are pretty close to the same size as 205/55R16.

[Dead91silvia]

I'm going to assume you lowered it wrong also. To lower an Outback proper, you need to remove all the factory lift parts and replace them with non lift parts.

[meepers]

I'm going to assume you lowered it wrong also. To lower an Outback proper, you need to remove all the factory lift parts and replace them with non lift parts.

What he said. And lemme tell you, it is a VERY involved process. I ran my car for 2 years with JUST stock 04 WRX suspension (down about 2" from stock, and a set of stock 06 WRX wheels and tire size. My car was an auto, and I never really had any issues with highway cruising with the smaller diameter tire, my speedo was off by approx 4mph at 65 going off my GPS.

I went through outer CV boots pretty quick just like that.

When I switched to my STI suspension with RCE blacks after my WRX 5speed swap, I did the full non outback conversion. It requires removing all the spacers, replacing several brackets, the trailing arm mounts, sway bar mounts in the back, changing the drive shaft or the carrier bearing, changing the steering column and the rag joint, and a whole lotta labor. Also removing all the heat shield spacers or just removing the shields.

De outbacking my suspension took me a whole weekend of work and lots of swearing. But the handling is night and day, and I thought it handled well with just the REX suspension!

[nepbug]

Yep, here's pretty much all the parts that need to be removed/swapped when you lower them:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/06/lI0y26d-1.jpg

The following is a list from a post I made about adding all of these to an Impreza I lifted (that said, I should have everything you would need to go the opposite direction then, I think I still do at least.)

96-99 Outbacks:
Engine crossmember spacers (30mm)
Longer engine crossmember bolt Longer pitch stop
Offset transverse link bushings (rear of the control arms)
Longer steering linkage
Transmission crossmember with integrated spacers
Shifter linkage optimized to account for transmission to be mounted lower in relation to the body (applies to 5MT cars only)
Drive shaft with different carrier bearing that lowers the shaft
Rear differential carrier forward spacers (the T-bar the diff mounts to)
Offset mounting plates for above
Rear crossmember spacers (30mm)
Longer rear crossmember bolts
Lower mounting point trailing arm brackets (not really drive line drop related, but good to grab to help your geometries get sorted out)
Lower mounting point rear sway bar brackets (not really drive line drop related, but good to grab to help your geometries get sorted out)
And the things not pictured, the drive shaft carrier bearing (pretty much need a drive shaft swap) and the steering column.

[foohfooh]

And that is dedication. Its nice to see that picture nepbug.