i have registered on here as there seems to be plenty of modifications available in australia for the forester.
i would really like to increase the ground clearance on my foz which is regularly used off road.
can anyone give me any basic advice on what is available to increase ground clearance ?
i'm currently running 205 70 15 hankook dynapro atm tyres
thanks
i do have a relative in australia due to make a trip over to see us and i'm hoping he could maybe bring some parts for me.
lift options for my 2001 2.0
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El_Freddo
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Welcome to the forum robs5230!
There are two main ways to lift your forester - 2 inch strut lift or a full body lift of your choice of height - most go for 2 inches over here as it's legal to do so and easy to engineer if needed.
Both have their pros and cons - I'd be leaning more to the full body lift if I were building one, read on for the reason:
Strut top lift: This lift pushes the struts down thus raising the vehicle's ride height. The down side to this is increased CV angles and you could loose out on a bit of droop/suspension drop - essentially a loss of articulation. Add a set of lifted springs (typically 30mm) and you'll add to both of the above issues. A lot of people run with this as it's easy to do and relatively cheap.
The full body lift: This lift uses the strut lift but also lifts the body off the drive train to keep CV angles and suspension geometry very close to stock. Add in a set of lifted springs and you've got good ground clearance, good articulation. The down side is that it's more work to install and costs more due to the extra parts required. This is my preferred method and is the same used for the MYs/MVs and L series subarus.
There's also something about the rear struts, but I'm not sure about this one for the exact details. It's something to do with a specific set of struts that raise the spring seat so that larger diametre tyres can be run without scrubbing issues. I don't know what model they're from or what they can fit though. I'm sure someone on here will
Cheers
Bennie
There are two main ways to lift your forester - 2 inch strut lift or a full body lift of your choice of height - most go for 2 inches over here as it's legal to do so and easy to engineer if needed.
Both have their pros and cons - I'd be leaning more to the full body lift if I were building one, read on for the reason:
Strut top lift: This lift pushes the struts down thus raising the vehicle's ride height. The down side to this is increased CV angles and you could loose out on a bit of droop/suspension drop - essentially a loss of articulation. Add a set of lifted springs (typically 30mm) and you'll add to both of the above issues. A lot of people run with this as it's easy to do and relatively cheap.
The full body lift: This lift uses the strut lift but also lifts the body off the drive train to keep CV angles and suspension geometry very close to stock. Add in a set of lifted springs and you've got good ground clearance, good articulation. The down side is that it's more work to install and costs more due to the extra parts required. This is my preferred method and is the same used for the MYs/MVs and L series subarus.
There's also something about the rear struts, but I'm not sure about this one for the exact details. It's something to do with a specific set of struts that raise the spring seat so that larger diametre tyres can be run without scrubbing issues. I don't know what model they're from or what they can fit though. I'm sure someone on here will
Cheers
Bennie
Hey mate, I have 2" blocks all round, raised springs (1") and 225/70R15 tyres..
This is my Forester. I had a 2.0l but have just changed to a 2.5l from a newer Forester. Very happy with my clearance. Due to have lots of beach sand, dunes and basically deserts in the part of Aus I'm from I went for strut lift as having the extra clearance under the engine and drivetrain means you don't bottom out in the deep sand tracks and dunes. I've done over 100,000km with my CV's and only just replaced the front 2 due to the boots ripping but they are original CV's that were on the car..
This is my Forester. I had a 2.0l but have just changed to a 2.5l from a newer Forester. Very happy with my clearance. Due to have lots of beach sand, dunes and basically deserts in the part of Aus I'm from I went for strut lift as having the extra clearance under the engine and drivetrain means you don't bottom out in the deep sand tracks and dunes. I've done over 100,000km with my CV's and only just replaced the front 2 due to the boots ripping but they are original CV's that were on the car..
G'day robs5230
The rear spring mod is actually the strut, replacing the SF strut with an SG strut. You get more wheel-to-spring perch clearance so you can run bigger tyres. As the spring perch sits higher you also get slightly more ground clearance.
I went for the full body lift kit with my raised springs as I still think it puts too much strain on the front CVs. The rears are ok as they almost sit flat but the front bend down & forwards.
Doing a full body lift also keeps a lot of the weight down low so I found very little extra body roll, even with the rear swaybar disconnected. Low weight distribution creates better handling & greater stability, a feature of Subarus mostly due to their low mounted flat four engine
The disadvantage is there's no gain in ground clearance under the engine, but better approach, departure & ramp over angles.
The rear spring mod is actually the strut, replacing the SF strut with an SG strut. You get more wheel-to-spring perch clearance so you can run bigger tyres. As the spring perch sits higher you also get slightly more ground clearance.
I went for the full body lift kit with my raised springs as I still think it puts too much strain on the front CVs. The rears are ok as they almost sit flat but the front bend down & forwards.
Doing a full body lift also keeps a lot of the weight down low so I found very little extra body roll, even with the rear swaybar disconnected. Low weight distribution creates better handling & greater stability, a feature of Subarus mostly due to their low mounted flat four engine
The disadvantage is there's no gain in ground clearance under the engine, but better approach, departure & ramp over angles.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Owner SubieLiftOz, lift kits for Subarus
'97 Forester: EJ22E; 4" Custom Body Lift; JDM STi plated LSD; 20mm WRX RSB; Snorkel; Kings
Owner SubieLiftOz, lift kits for Subarus
'97 Forester: EJ22E; 4" Custom Body Lift; JDM STi plated LSD; 20mm WRX RSB; Snorkel; Kings
no mate i have the dynapro atm . the all terrain one . in 205 70 15taza wrote:In a muddy with stock suspension all you could get is 205/70r15.
I am running 225/70r15 which is a few inch bigger but qm soon changing to 215/75r15 in Hankook Dynapro MTA's.
Isn't that what you have but in a smaller size?