so i have looked around and found many contradictory thread on sites. i would like a simple and inexpensive way to lift my 04 wrx sedan for the winter i have been reading up on replacing mine with forester springs and struts. read that this can be bad on cv joints and axels, also read people run it for years without problems i think i would need trailing arms too or can i just run 1" spacers and have that work.
Well... how much are you looking to lift the car? 1 inch? 6 inches? Taller than your redneck neighbor?
Current ride height? Good gracious why? Buy some taller, narrower snowies and put them on Steely Dans?
just a bit not too much just enough to help put in the winter 1" works 2.5 is great if the forester suspension works
I would like to do the same but I would go for some nice coilovers and adjust the height for summer and winter. I should of bought smaller winter tires and wheels but too late. I was looking at the 1" spacers but coilovers would solve more than just height.************D
So one thing these lifting threads never go over is how do I relieve the stress on the drivetrain by screwing up all the driveshaft angles.
yea i dont want to stress stuff too much. i was reading about the front end spacers that foresters have that raises the whole assembly. i read coil overs are not a good idea because you would be essentially riding on the maximums for the whole time lifted up adn lowered down. I'm running a 225 45 17 for my winters just looking to clear snow piles. a big chunk of ice broke the lower part of my last bumper cover a few years ago.
Most of the cheap coilovers out there will NOT raise the car, even at their highest setting. BC's are still lower than stock, even when you raise them up all the way.
Well depends on where you live out in the boonies? Because most of the snow is plowed in the metro, you shouldn't have a problem if your at stock height
Even up in St. Cloud (which may be considered the boonies, I guess ) they are really bad about actually plowing. It's not uncommon to have to go through a foot plus of snow on my way to work, if I chose to drive rather than walk. In that event, it's pretty easy to bottom out and teeter totter. Current car is lower than stock height - hopefully won't need to, but I have springs (thanks again, idget) that should bring it back to normal should I need it... Have you had problems with ride height during previous winters? If not, I'd say just leave it the way it is. Just put snow tires on and get a cheap front lip to use as a makeshift plow! You can charge your neighbors to clear their driveways.
You could get an air ride kit (not that I would but its an option) http://www.airliftperformance.com/applications/imports/subaru-impreza-wrx-sti/
The higher the ground clearance, the deeper you go into the woods, the more stuck you get, just something to think about
I like the idea of a custom bumper that can push the snow out of the way. Mine has a crack in it from two years ago but it still is hanging on. Maybe this spring it might be time for a new one. I get by but it just takes one ice chunk and out comes the duc tape.
Funny thing is, the last time I seen your girlfriend I left her with a Pearl Lake... She thought it was kind of fun!!!
