Replacement Struts & Springs for 05 Outback

I'm kind of suprise at the troubles your having with this strut lift, i thought it was pretty simple hence the appeal. I hate to sound like a naysayer but a full body lift kit would also solve these problems. I know its more expensive, and more troublesome to install but it maintains your factory steering geometry and suspension ride height. You get the same body clearance as your current setup too. The only downside you lose the diff clearance you get with justa strut lift, but thats not really a problem for cars with independent suspesion anyway. In my opinion thats a much more superior result. Its also how subaru make a liberty an outback, you'd just be taking it a few mm further.
 
I'm thinking it might be worth getting lift blocks for the body as well, to finish it off. However there are 4 things I'll need to sort out first:
  1. Confirmation that it would remain roadworth under Victorian law (especially in relation to the side air bags).
  2. Clarification of whether or not I would need an engineers certificate, AND an Engineer who would agree to provide same.
  3. Confirmation of availability of quality modified parts required - e.d. for steering column.
  4. Confirmation that my insurer would continue to cover me.
The absence of any of these would be a 'deal breaker'.

(Which is why I went the way I did. It will all work out in the end.)

Am doing a rotation and alignment tomorrow am, on a machine with correct model specs.

Will be interesting to see the results, and current condition of tread.

Will also check re: front cam bolts - i.e. if it currently has any fitted.




Barry
 
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Under current Vic law any lift up to 50mm over standard is fine. ADR's on airbags make bodylifts a no go area ifaik, having come from the land of the Patrol to Subculture i'm guessing if it's no good for a GU it's going to be no good for a Suby. Also and more note worthy body lift will not improve the ride of the vehicle, spring and (to some extent) strut lift will. personally i think body lift is only really suited to full chassis 4wd's that are running 35"+ rubber because you need (or want to) lift the guards as high as possible to allow the big rubber to clear and not foul on the body.
 
Barry, Here's the table of my angles following the wheel alignment (NB I have subtle 1" blocks and raised King Springs, exactly the same as Barry, hell, my car's even the same colour!):
alignment.jpg


I had a good chat to them before it was done, and asked them about their specs vs the logbook specs, and their camber difference was quite remarkable. (I recall the owner's manual lists 0 30') However, they were adamant that the camber that I had at the front was fine (and it's worse than yours Barry), and that only changing the tyres with service intervals would not cause a marked decrease in tyre life.

Perhaps more interesting is the fact that I had very little rear toe, and it was able to be corrected. Maybe I just got lucky. Does anyone know how I could convert the figure in MM (from Barry) to one degrees?
Would it just be based on the circumference of the whole tyre?
 
Thanks for those figures,
I had mine done today ... will call this a 'placeholder' ... to fill in the comedy of errors over the weekend.
Well, I didn't specify which weekend... :iconwink:

When booking in I checked their machine had specs for the 05 Outback. Was told 'yes', and that they do wheel alignment for the Geelong Subi dealer, so all good, I thought.

When I dropped off the car the next day I requested a print out of the results be provided to me. Was told "The printer isn't working, but the technician can show you the results on the screen." OK, a bit inconvenient, but I would be able to record the details. ...

When I returned to pick up the car after paying and waiting for the technician to return, the machine wasn't able to bring up the results for my car! Wasn't happy, but not much I could do... :sad:

Anyway, the technician was obliging, and advised that he had set toe to _-4mm. Apparently my LHS rear camber bot might also need replacing, FIIK what that is likely to cost, knowing what Subaru are like!

I know one tyre place in Geelong I won't be using again!
 
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Seems like a grey area for a body lift in airbag vehicles. There is nothing to say it is illegal, but i guess the vehicle stills needs to comply to ADRs. People have had them engineered, depends on the placement of the sensors (and more importantly what mood the engineer is in). Some insurers don't like modified vehicles, other like Shannons couldn't care less what you do as long as its "road worthy".
 
Came on to this thread late. You really want to avoid positive camber, as the car will be running on the outside edge of the tyre even before you turn the wheel. With more lean angle generated by a higher C of G, the tyres will have a harder time as they flex and the sidewall ends up doing what the tread should be doing- gripping (or trying to grip) the road! I'd also be aiming for zero toe at the front- and probably the rear as well.
 
Venom said:
What was the outcome of your alignment Barry?
Click to expand...
Have completed my post of 22 Oct.
Will rotate again in about 5 weeks, at a tyre place that can first demonstrate to me that its equipment which BOTH has the specs for my car AND can provide me with a print out of the specs and my alignment, before and after!
No sign of adverse wear.
 
Am thinking about fitting a second eccentric bolt to the front end, to assist in correcting the camber.

Are there any issues with doing this to a road registered car?

I don't 'flog' it, so don't think they would be placed under any great stress. Is this safe, or would it be more likely to fail?

All advice gratefully received. ;)
 
Not sure how effective it would be, as the angle would be much less. Might be more effective to enlarge the hole in the existing one
 
Rally said:
Not sure how effective it would be, as the angle would be much less. Might be more effective to enlarge the hole in the existing one
Click to expand...
Want to avoid structurl modification if I can. Also, there would be a fair bit of 'strip down' required to get the mount off to accurately align for drilling.
I was hoping that a second bolt might be a 'solution' until Whiteline produce adjustable strut tops.
 
Whiteline adjustable rear camber bushes (outer bolt location) fitted today at Suspension City, Nth Melb.

Unable to fit new toe adjuster rear bolt (inner location) due to Subaru providing the wrong washer - you would think they would know which washer goes with which car, given that I provided Subaru with the car's VIN!:shrug:

Unfortunately, the Whiteline adjustable sway bar ends were too short to fit. Still don't know what to do in that regard.
 
Camber solution for lifted Gen 4 front end!

Apparently the 'solution' for the Gen 4 front camber is to fit Gen 3 top perches and Gen 3 model springs (inc. Gen 3 Kingsprings). See this response to my query on subaruoutback.org (Gotta love the net!) https://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/...tml#post299774
Can then fit Whiteline Gen 3 adjustable top mounts, which will solve the front camber issue.

Looks like I will have a set of 2nd hand Gen 4 King Springs for sale. They work fine on their own, just not with the additional 1" strut lift.
 
Fabricating 1" strut lift with off-set bolts / studs...

Does anyone have any info on what off-set (either mm / inches) is required for each inch (25mm) of lift for the front end?

  1. Is this the same for all models / years?
  2. Is it a constant ratio? I.e. 1" lift, half the off-set of 2" lift?
  3. As I also have raised King Springs, should I include off-set for the total off-set? (My initial thinking is 'yes'.)
  4. So what would be the necessary off-set for a total front lift as follows?

  • Top of guard / fender from road:
    Stock: 730mm.
    KSRR: 755mm +25mm on stock
    Combined: 795mm +45mm on stock, +20mm on spring lift.
  • Front camber with this set up is:-
    • LEFT +1 deg. 46'
    • RIGHT +1 deg. 20'
(Camber outside spec of +/- 0 deg 30')
​
  • Front toe is:-
    • LEFT -1.0mm
    • RIGHT -1.0mm
    • Combined -2.0mm
(Toe all within spec.)
​
I am thinking of getting 1" front lift blocks fabbed - probably by Jeff at Crossbred - to bring my front camber back into spec.

Therefore, need to reduce camber by a minimum of

  • Left 1 deg 16'
  • Right 0 deg 50'
Would like to fabricate front blocks to reduce camber on both sides by approx. 1 deg 30', so ... what off-set would I need to achieve this?

(Apologies for the cross post, but hey, it is my thread! :iconwink:)
 
Hi Barry,

Someone sent this to me reagrding adjustable strut tops for your car. Note- it is their appraisal, not mine, as I know nothing about them. But I guess it is a good sign.

Try wilkinsonsuspension.com.au from WA, their service is pretty good to,

I think the part # is WSC4003S
 
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