Replacement Struts & Springs for 05 Outback

Barry

Barry

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Melbourne, Vic.
My 05 Model Year (2004 build) manual outback has 200k+ klms on the clock.

As I will soon be fitting a Subtlesolutions 1" lift kit, I'm thinking it would make sense to fit new springs and struts at the same time, to save on duplicating labour costs and need for alignment etc.

Questions I have are:

  • Will heavier springs 'increase' my lift?
  • Would any increased lift from heavier springs cause problems in terms of drive shaft angles, etc?
  • Should struts still be the standard length?
  • What springs & struts would forum members recommend? (As mine is the 'safety' model, the OEM struts are - were - 'self levelling').
If the effect of heavier springs would be to create a combined effective 2" lift, used with the strut blocks, that would be fantastic! :monkeydance:

Barry
 
When I put my raised/heavy duty springs in I had to replace the rear struts as they were the self leveling type (I ended up doing all 4x struts)

Once they (springs) were fitted I gained about 20-25mm all round. That, together with the 1" subtle strut tops I gained another 25mm.
So, by fitting both, I gained 2" of lift (or just shy of) in total.

As for effects & problems with drive shaft angles etc, when I fitted the springs, (about 3 years ago) I've had none.
As for both springs & strut tops, so far so good.

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
G'day Lads,

This is interesting, as I have decided to get real about my Subaru offroading and therefore desire a higher car....

Thing is, I have seen the 2" lift kits out there that are body lift only, and hence i wonder if a 25mm - 30mm spring lift would do much difference/is it legal(in QLD)/does it take your overall clearance to about 70-80mm with both lift concepts combined?

Suppose though, what would be best is that those of you who have had lifts done provide details and approximate costs from which suppliers/dealers so that the rest of us mere mortals can build our databases up of who to see, what to do, how much to pay, etc. Much like what Mr. Turbo has done above. Appreciated....

Cheers,

Aitcho
 
Any suggestions as to brands of springs, apart from King Springs, what other brands are available / recommended?
Likewise for struts?
 
Aitcho - Body + Suspension lift is the ideal solution and with an SF Foz you can do it (but not others)

Barry:
  • Will heavier springs 'increase' my lift? - Only if they are "raised" springs
  • Would any increased lift from heavier springs cause problems in terms of drive shaft angles, etc? - none for me yet.
  • Should struts still be the standard length? - probably difficult/impossible to find any that are not standard length off-the-shelf.
  • What springs & struts would forum members recommend? - mine are Kings and OEM struts (off a '99 Liberty specially modified with Koni inserts) You're probably stuck with KYB.
 
Kevin said:
  • ... OEM struts (off a '99 Liberty specially modified with Koni inserts) ...
Click to expand...

Kevin,

I'm interested in the reason for the koni insert mod. Was this necessary to fit the struts to the Fozz, or was it to improve performance?
Would it be worth me thinking about similar?
On the other hand, I don't suppose there is much point in changing from standard unless looking for a firmer ride. By fitting the strut tops, and therefore marginally loading the shocks [I think?] I presume the ride will be slightly firmer anyway.

Barry
 
^ only if you want to spend $2.5k on your struts :iconwink:

My struts are basically custom jobs now. They are reinforced, rears lengthened and have modifed spring perches.
 
Just priced raised King Springs for the 05OB at REPCO. $207 pr (front / Rear) = $414 for the 4 corners.
Plus fitting and Lib's "NEVER EVER" Tax (i.e. GST:madred:)
 
Hi, I am from Singapore and I am driving the SG5 (MY05) Fozzie.

I have Whiteline control springs - which lowers about 1 - 1.5" :( - but gives comfort and good control at the same time. Changed to KYBs at the rear, but front are back to OEM now (due to the KYBs dying on me after less than a year).

I have a 2.75" lift in front and 3" lift at the rear, thus giving me an effective lift of about 1.5" front and rear. Somehow I find that the KYB Excel Gs are not very lasting, though I am not sure why.

Anyway, I am interested in the Koni insert mods, as Koni doesn't have replacements for Fozzies. Does anybody have the part numbers for both front and rear?

Thanks in advance.
 
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Replacing self levelling rear shocks. 05-09 OB

I notice that the King Springs are not compatible with the self levelling shocks.
Is this solved by just replacing with KYB shocks, or does anything else need replacing as well?
For example, is the rear spring perch different for the self levelling shocks and the regular shocks? (Or is the spring perch part of the shock, and so the change in shock absorber will solve this?)
 
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Problem fitting 1" front strut block to 05 4cyl Outback

mr turbo said:
When I put my raised/heavy duty springs in I had to replace the rear struts as they were the self leveling type (I ended up doing all 4x struts)

Once they (springs) were fitted I gained about 20-25mm all round. That, together with the 1" subtle strut tops I gained another 25mm.
So, by fitting both, I gained 2" of lift (or just shy of) in total.

As for effects & problems with drive shaft angles etc, when I fitted the springs, (about 3 years ago) I've had none.
As for both springs & strut tops, so far so good.

Regards
Mr Turbo
Click to expand...

Mr Turbo,

I have run into a problem fitting the front (3 bolt) 1" subtlesolutions lift block to my 05 manual Outback.

There is a radius on the top hat flange, so the strut block won't seat on the top face of the hat.
Front Top Hat radius (Large).JPG Front Top Hat radius - 2 (Large).JPG

So:

  1. What year & model is your Subi?
  2. Does your front top hat not have this radius / flange? If not, do you have any idea whether it would fit the 05 Outback?
  3. If you have the flange, did you need to modify the strut block to fit? If so, how?

Any assistance / suggestions welcome.
 
Barry I have a MY05 XT Forester.

As for my front top hats I don't know whether or not mine have the radius / flange there.

When I had my Subtle strutt tops fitted, I just took my Forry to a suspension specialist & had them fit them. As far as I know, there were no modifications needed / done to make them fit.


Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Thanks Mr T,
As a first step I'll try and see whether the 05 XT top hat is compatible with the 05 Outback.
Perhaps Hondaslayer will know.
 
Barry said:
Hello Brad,

Had new King Springs and rear struts fitted at the weekend and intended fitting the strut lift at the same time, but ran into a problem with the front spacers.

There is a radiused flange on the top hat (see photos) and the lift blocks won't clear the flange.

I'd be interested to see any pics you might have of fittings of front spacers to top hats, in case there are differences between models / years / USA vs Aus.

Thanks mate, and just so others are clear, this is in no way a criticism of the blocks. They are fantastic quality.

Barry


View attachment 610

View attachment 611
Click to expand...

Our US top hats have the same radius and the spacers fit just fine. The cheapest/easiest solution is to stack a few M8 washers in between the spacer and the top hat to lift the 1" aluminum block vertically just a hair to clear the radius.

You can see the radius here:
1inchLiftKit-GRandSH002.jpg
 
Thanks Brad,

I'll try and source a second hand top hat, so I can sort out exactly what the issue is.
Given that I wasn't working on it myself - just taking photos of others doing so - I'm not sure precisely what the issue was. From looking at my pic and the one on the subtle solutions web page mine seems to also have a 'lip' on the top edge that doesn't appear to be there in the US hat. (The US hat seems to be more of a constatnt taper and perhaps also slightly taller, but that might just be the nature of the photo.)

Anyway, will continue to work through it in this thread. I'm sure it will work out fine.
 
To be safe, our next production run will have a 4.875" clearance hole in the center. The original hole size for the (05-09) Legacy was 4.50". Hopefully an extra .375" will prevent this from happening in the future.
 
05 - 09 Outback front lift blocks.

Subtle-Solutions said:
To be safe, our next production run will have a 4.875" clearance hole in the center. The original hole size for the (05-09) Legacy was 4.50". Hopefully an extra .375" will prevent this from happening in the future.
Click to expand...

Based on https://manuelsweb.com/in_cm.htm

That will be an increase from 114mm to 124mm.

I'd think that should be enough to achieve adequate clearance.



Brad,
  1. What is the clearance hole for the Forester, as supplied tp Pedro - see his pics (top of page) here: https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=1078&page=3
  2. Do these blocks have the same bolt hole spacing as the Outback?
Barry
 
Last edited:
Barry said:
Based on https://manuelsweb.com/in_cm.htm

That will be an increase from 114mm to 124mm.

I'd think that should be enough to achieve adequate clearance.




Brad,
  1. What is the clearance hole for the Forester, as supplied tp Pedro - see his pics (top of page) here: https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=1078&page=3
  2. Do these blocks have the same bolt hole spacing as the Outback?
Barry
Click to expand...

I agree, I think that will be plenty of clearance.

1. 4.5" on the (98-08) Forester - Front Spacers

2. No. They are completely different spacers. Although they do look the same, your (05-09) Legacy Front Spacers are significantly larger.
 
Thanks Brad, good to clear up that the Forie & Outback front spacers are completely different.
 
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