Lift Kits
08-09-2003, 10:26 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Lift Kits
Ok so I have been doing a little searching and the only thing I have found for our cars in the way of lift kits is the Scorpion 2" Body Lift Kit. Dude this thing is like $450-750. What the hell! If I had some POS Ford I could do it for like $80. Besides that I really want a suspension lift. I haven't found a thing for subaru lift kits. I was even thinking about those spring spacers. I don't know what they are really called, but my friend who has a dumped VW had to put them in cause he cracked 2 oil pans in a week. If anyone knows a way to lift a 1997 Subaru (BD?) 2.5 GT Sedan I would appreciate the help.
08-09-2003, 01:06 PM
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
It is a little hard to follow my friends in their Chevys down the trails. I like to go trailing, but I usually have to go find a new trail get lost and find my way back just to catch up with my friends. There is this one trail that we run a lot and I only need a little lift so I can run the whole thing and keep up if not pass them. I get better traction (probably cause I have weight in the back of my car un like them) and could easily run with them, but it is a little hard on my car right now. If I didn't have skid plates my car would be ruined, but since I have them my car has been fine, but the sound of my underbody rubbing on the ground isn't a happy sound. There is a handful of Subaru owners who have lifted their cars it is just really expensive. I may just end up doing a "hockey puck" lift which will give the clearence I need. I know a guy who did it to his jeep back in 1979 and it is just running fine.
08-09-2003, 03:27 PM
#4
Warm Fuzzy Admin
iTrader: (45)
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 13,799
Car Info: 97 LOB, 05 FXT, 03 Tundra
Keep in mind you're running a unibody, not a body-on frame, so body lifts aren't as easy; unibody cars don't have much tolerance for big changes like that, either.
Subaru has a totally different suspension under the Outback variants, for that reason; that said, if you can get ahold of some OB struts and springs (from a Legacy OB, mind you, or an SUS) you could get a much more worthwhile suspension lift; alla body lift does is let you fit bigger tires, and on cars like ours, it's the length of the wheelwell that's gonna foul first.....
If you're really attached to trail running, sell your GT and buy an OB, as it has all the driveline parts designed for a taller suspension, so you're not running at the outside limits of factory parts. OB's are usually cheaper than GT's anyways, for the same time period......
Subaru has a totally different suspension under the Outback variants, for that reason; that said, if you can get ahold of some OB struts and springs (from a Legacy OB, mind you, or an SUS) you could get a much more worthwhile suspension lift; alla body lift does is let you fit bigger tires, and on cars like ours, it's the length of the wheelwell that's gonna foul first.....
If you're really attached to trail running, sell your GT and buy an OB, as it has all the driveline parts designed for a taller suspension, so you're not running at the outside limits of factory parts. OB's are usually cheaper than GT's anyways, for the same time period......
08-09-2003, 03:34 PM
#5
Warm Fuzzy Admin
iTrader: (45)
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 13,799
Car Info: 97 LOB, 05 FXT, 03 Tundra
Also, note that the subframe spacers you'll see on OB's if you get down and look at them are for camber correction, and not a height increase, so putting any sort of spacers in those locations will do nothing except give you massive negative camber on a GT-spec car.
The OB struts and springs should give you around a 1.5-2 inch lift.
If it helps, here's my OB with RS wheels and 225/50's (that's the same OD as the normal legacy sizing, so with OB suspension, you should be looking at something like this in terms of ground clearance and wheel gap. I'm running shorter tires than OB stock, so you can get another ~1/4 of clearance by running a 215/65/16 on your GT wheels.
Hope that helps
Oh, 215/55/16 kumhos:
and the 225/50's
The OB struts and springs should give you around a 1.5-2 inch lift.
If it helps, here's my OB with RS wheels and 225/50's (that's the same OD as the normal legacy sizing, so with OB suspension, you should be looking at something like this in terms of ground clearance and wheel gap. I'm running shorter tires than OB stock, so you can get another ~1/4 of clearance by running a 215/65/16 on your GT wheels.
Hope that helps
Oh, 215/55/16 kumhos:
and the 225/50's
08-11-2003, 11:15 AM
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Exactly as stated above, the unibody cars are harder to lift than a pickup with an old school frame. And yes, the outback is the same car with taller struts and a few other little suspension pieces, so you can just switch those parts out for more clearance. The outback also rides on taller tires, but that will change your speedo if you put outback tires on your gt... The scorpion kit is the ONLY lift kit I know of for the outback. The long front nose makes it harder to rally or off-road so not many people make stuff for it.
08-14-2003, 02:47 PM
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Thanx for the info guys. The body lift kit is actually made for my car by scorpion. They use it on all types of subarus. But the Hockey puke lift is actually more of a suspension lift. But thanx guys. We'll see what I will do. I didn't know anything about the unibody stuff. You guys rock and that is why this site is so good. Thanks again.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
FLIWRX
Suspension / Brakes / Handling / Wheels / Tires
1
05-02-2010 12:44 AM
DCH Motorsports
Engine and Drivetrain
12
11-28-2005 08:25 AM
WorldONE
Vendor Group Buys/Specials
5
06-09-2004 01:06 AM
