Advice needed on MY07 X lift

bene313

Forum Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
24
Location
Perth
Hi all

I just bought a MY07 X manual. I've done a tonne of reading and am still a little confused as to what lift option I should go with.

Vehicle purpose:

  • Daily drive
  • Weekend surf/fishing trips
  • Needs to handle 4x4 tracks to the beach
  • Needs to handle beach/sand driving
  • Will not be seeking hardcore offroad stuff
I am thinking king springs plus some bigger tyres will do the trick. Am I on the right track? Seems another option is the 1 inch subtle strut lift.

Don't want to lose too much on-road handling, and from what I've read king springs even help with on-road due to stiffness.

Do I need to consider issues with self-leveling suspension?

Opinions appreciated!

Ben
 
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Gidday Ben

A warm welcome to the ORS forum mate. :welcome:.

Can't help you with your question, but I manage fine so far with my 2006 XS with no lift at all.

If I were you, I would think first about suitable tyres if not already fitted.
Also a compressor (e.g. https://www.princess-trade.com.au/c...ngle-cyclinder-heavy-duty-air-compressor.html which I have)
A decent tyre gauge for airing down and up again.
A tyre repair kit (e.g. like the one I bought and reviewed here: https://www.offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=3261 ) ...
 
Hi Ben, welcome to the forum. Great to see another Perth member :ebiggrin:
Many of us are running raised springs (Kings or Dobinsons) with 1" Subtle Solution lift blocks too and usually slightly bigger tyres. The deeper sand tracks cause you to bottom out with stock clearance, as ive found with my thousands of km of sand driving in up north WA.

2" makes a nice difference and of cause means that your not scraping or dragging your body which could cause damage if you hit something in the sand (been there and done that more than once).

Some good tyres that aren't hardcore include Geolander AT-S (many of us on here are running them), Bridgestone Duelers 693/4 and a few others.
The more hardcore tyres are BFG's and General Grabbers.
2" lift by the springs and 1" blocks should make your handling better than stock due to the stiffer springs.

As RB siad those extra things you will need, if you don't have already. A small plank of wood is handy too if you get a flat or roll the tyre off the rim as you will need to be able to jack the car in sand.

I went and did more hardcore stuff without my lift but by the end of the year the car was in bad shape, it was costly to fix and since it (although I treat the foz bette)r I don't have any underbody damage other than some scrape marks.

Hope this is of some help.
Taza
 
Thanks for the welcome and replies. I will be getting the accessories mentioned.

Ratbag said:
If I were you, I would think first about suitable tyres if not already fitted.
Click to expand...

I did think of upgrading the rubber first and seeing how it goes before deciding on a lift. However isn't one advantage of doing the lift that it allows for larger tyres?
 
taza said:
Many of us are running raised springs (Kings or Dobinsons) with 1" Subtle Solution lift blocks too and usually slightly bigger tyres. The deeper sand tracks cause you to bottom out with stock clearance, as ive found with my thousands of km of sand driving in up north WA.

2" makes a nice difference and of cause means that your not scraping or dragging your body which could cause damage if you hit something in the sand (been there and done that more than once).
Click to expand...

Ok so if I go the option of springs and subtle blocks, will I need to modify anything else to handle the increase in height?
 
G'day again Ben

bene313 said:
Thanks for the welcome and replies. I will be getting the accessories mentioned.
Click to expand...

If you are ordering from Princess Trading, think about getting their exhaust/compressor air-lift jack. From what I hear (and what the WA Police recommend in their Aids to Survival guide - available free at any WA Police station ... ), these are ideal for extracting vehicles in sand and other very soft surfaces.

Check it out here:
https://www.princess-trade.com.au/cart/4-tonnes-4wd-4x4-off-road-exhaust-air-jack.html


I did think of upgrading the rubber first and seeing how it goes before deciding on a lift. However isn't one advantage of doing the lift that it allows for larger tyres?
Click to expand...

You need to be careful with tyre sizes. Anything that alters your speedo reading (tyre diameter, for example ... ) may make your car unroadworthy.

I have been down this path, and found that I could drop my rim size to 15" and fit Bridgestone Dueler D694 LT tyres while keeping the rolling radius/circumference within legal tolerance. All up cost would be a bit over $2,200 ...
https://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/d694.aspx

At about this time, fitting a nice new set of Geolandar AT-s tyres to my existing 16" rims for around $900 suddenly became far more attractive ... :lol: :rotfl:.
https://www.yokohama.com.au/ourtyres/tyre.aspx?tyreid=204

BTW, the tyre calculator here is your friend:
https://www.inawise.com/tyre-calculator/tyre-size-calculator.html
 
G'day bene313 & :welcome: to ORS.

bene313 said:
However isn't one advantage of doing the lift that it allows for larger tyres?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately no it's not, but I wish it was :o
The problem is, even once raised (springs, blocks etc) the spring seat stays the same, which limits your choice of tyre size :(

bene313 said:
Ok so if I go the option of springs and subtle blocks, will I need to modify anything else to handle the increase in height?
Click to expand...

taza said:
Nope but a wheel alignment will be needed. It's pretty easy to put in yourslf too and cheaper.
Click to expand...
Like taza says, just a wheel alignment, should be sufficient :iconwink:

May I also add, a sump guard / bash plate of some type is also a good idea, especially for when driving on sand :)

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Hi Everyone,

I'm in a very similar situation to bene313, I've just purchased a MY08 (SG9) Forester x manual to replace my ageing (but awesome) L series (3 inch body lift with 27/8.5R14's) and am looking at installing a mild lift improve it's off road abilities while keeping it's road manners.

I'm leaning towards the Subtlesolutions 1" strut lift and king or dobinsons lift springs. Will i need to get camber bolts for a 1"strut lift and a 1" spring lift?
What are everyone thoughts on what lift method to do first if i don't do it all in one go?

As It's got brand new cooper tyres on it so they'll have to stay for the time being, might look into a sump guard aswell...

Sorry to hijack your thread bene313 but we've got pretty much the same car and the same goals :)
 
Sam - I've also got newish tyres and wondering what I will do with them!

From my reading a sump guard is pretty much the first mod required. Plus it's fairly cheap and can be DIY fitted.
 
sam85 said:
I'm leaning towards the Subtlesolutions 1" strut lift and king or dobinsons lift springs. Will i need to get camber bolts for a 1"strut lift and a 1" spring lift?
What are everyone thoughts on what lift method to do first if i don't do it all in one go?
Click to expand...
Thats what I have on my Forry. Subtle 1" strut lift and raised king springs & I didn't have to get camber bolts :)

If I was to do them separately, I'd go for the 1" blocks first, as you don't loose the wheel travel :cool:

bene313 said:
From my reading a sump guard is pretty much the first mod required. Plus it's fairly cheap and can be DIY fitted.
Click to expand...
Yes, the fitting of one is easy as :iconwink:
It should only take you about 5 or 10 mins or so, if that :ebiggrin:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Hi bene, I'm looking at lifting my 07 also and I think I'm going to go for 2" blocks with the stock struts and springs. Because:

Cheaper, save over a grand on springs and shocks to match them.

Comfier, not sure that's a word but kings can be a bit harsh when unloaded, esp over corrigations.

Better off road, the less lift in the springs, the more travel left in the struts so wheels can 'drop' into holes without losing contact with the ground. Also the soft spring rates will assist articulation.

Better geometry, camber correction built in to blocks (not subtle) giving better contact with road resulting in better handling and tyre wear.

Easier to fit, can be installed yr self without having to compress springs etc.

Easily removed When if you want to sell the car.

Resellabe, I'd buy secondhand blocks but not secondhand springs or shocks.

Bodge on here was making lifts but seems to have gone MIA. Crossbred does kits for $440.

They also do a sump guard but Taza knows of someone making steel guards in Perth.

Hope this helps.

PS I haven't done the lift yet do this is all guesswork and I'm happy to be corrected.
 
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Thanks stilson, good info and I've read your thread on lifting and camber.

So now -- HD springs/1" blocks combo vs 2" blocks only. Hmm.

With HD springs and 1 inch blocks I didn't think we needed to replace the shocks...?
 
I'm pretty sure different spring rates require different dampening for your suspension to work at its best.

I'm certainly no expert in the dark art of suspension tuning however.
 
thunder039 said:
running the stiffer springs with the stock struts will not be an issue
Click to expand...

It has been an issue for me, see my blown top hats thread.

The stock/kyb struts do not have the dampening abilities to control the HD king springs. I would have to agree with stilson and say that 2in blocks and stock suspension is the best bet for offroading. With my king springs I don't have very good articulation (even with the sway bars removed 100% of the time).

If you are looking for a good offroad setup I would suggest 2in strut top and BFG AT. (see bluefox forester) with this set up you can also instal quick release sway bar end links. You will maintain the best articulation without sacrificing much driveability.

...although I know with the price of tires out there the BFG's might be a long shot for you

Good Luck!!

-garrett
 
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