Xt suspension or lift kit?

[jgardner9000]

So i've been thinking about going lifted on my 2004 wrx wagon for a winter/mud set up. I've checked out the jackson rally lift kit an emailed him a few days ago... still haven't gotten a reply. I've also looked into 04+ forester xt suspension for the lift.
I'd like to be able to fit some 215/65/ R16 tires under it (General Grabber AT2's) I'd like to be able to go play in the dirt and do some mobbin'.
I've heard good things about the Jackson lift kit, but not sure if it will allow me to fit those tires. I've seen an 06 wagon with forester suspension and he fits those tires, but i've also heard that the xt suspension tends to create some issues. Which set up do you guys think will work better for me?
One last thing, if any of you are running either of these set ups on a wagon do you get the saggy back end?
Thanks

I put this in the wrong thread earlier.... yea im an idiot sorry...

[em99sport]

I'm guessing that you're the same guy from flat4nc. If so, you'll get a little more feedback here. You can see pics of my car with the JR spacers and wagon Pinks by clicking on the car description to the left. As you'll see, the car was still pretty high, even with the mild lowering springs. With the stock stuff, you'd be fairly high. With OBS springs, you'd be even higher.

[jgardner9000]

Yup thats me.... didnt even know about this site until you mentioned it... thanks again for the help!

[Sundog]

I have an 06 wagon with 05 forester suspension. I fixed the camber issue with camber bolts in the rear, I also have OBX adjustable trailing arms in the rear. I have seen a guy on here have good luck using the the trailing arm mounts from a forester( search distorto )

[downpipe12]

So i've been thinking about going lifted on my 2004 wrx wagon for a winter/mud set up. I've checked out the jackson rally lift kit an emailed him a few days ago... still haven't gotten a reply. I've also looked into 04+ forester xt suspension for the lift.
I'd like to be able to fit some 215/65/ R16 tires under it (General Grabber AT2's) I'd like to be able to go play in the dirt and do some mobbin'.
I've heard good things about the Jackson lift kit, but not sure if it will allow me to fit those tires. I've seen an 06 wagon with forester suspension and he fits those tires, but i've also heard that the xt suspension tends to create some issues. Which set up do you guys think will work better for me?
One last thing, if any of you are running either of these set ups on a wagon do you get the saggy back end?
Thanks

I put this in the wrong thread earlier.... yea im an idiot sorry...

search GClark, he has gotten those tires to fit with only the jacksonrally lift kit. minor issues rubbing the stock fender liners which took care of itself in a few days if i remember correctly.

i was thinking of doing the same thing, i'm just not ready to commit to a lift yet or constantly running larger, heavier tires. from what i remember reading over the summer, the fxt setup is a higher lift, more like 3", but you need to do some mixing and matching with the rear suspension to get the tire back to the center where it belongs to run the tire size you would like. the jackson setup is a nice 1" lift which doesn't alter the suspension geometry so drastically; you'd just need an alignment after that.

good luck with whatever you deicide; i may be making the same decision at some point too!

[em99sport]

search GClark, he has gotten those tires to fit with only the jacksonrally lift kit. minor issues rubbing the stock fender liners which took care of itself in a few days if i remember correctly.

He has an OBS, though, so the taller springs help some.

[98obster]

So i've been thinking about going lifted on my 2004 wrx wagon for a winter/mud set up. I've checked out the jackson rally lift kit an emailed him a few days ago... still haven't gotten a reply. I've also looked into 04+ forester xt suspension for the lift.
I'd like to be able to fit some 215/65/ R16 tires under it (General Grabber AT2's) I'd like to be able to go play in the dirt and do some mobbin'.
I've heard good things about the Jackson lift kit, but not sure if it will allow me to fit those tires. I've seen an 06 wagon with forester suspension and he fits those tires, but i've also heard that the xt suspension tends to create some issues. Which set up do you guys think will work better for me?
One last thing, if any of you are running either of these set ups on a wagon do you get the saggy back end?
Thanks

I put this in the wrong thread earlier.... yea im an idiot sorry...

Just my thoughts...I'm thinking forester stuff ('04) would be worth a shot if you could find a set cheap (there are fozzy folks who actually want to lower them). I didn't get saggy rear at all on my fozzy stuff on my OBS ('99 on '98, respectively) but I did lose about an inch in the rear when I put '08 FXT stuff on my '97 OB Ltd. I think since both FOZ and OBS are impreza based there's not so much an issue. Spring rates may also come into play tho. Camber and caster issues in the rear are the biggest limiters without a body lift. if you want to just experiment then go for a cheap, gently used 04 setup. but much more than 2" is a pain to zero out alignment on. have a blast and let us know when your "lift kit" is in.

[jgardner9000]

Thanks for all the information guys, its helping a lot. Still not so sure what I wanna do, it looks like the fxt suspension would dave me the rubbing issue and be higher... but it looks like i need to buy more stuff. I will be able to see what I am able to spend after christmas.... lets hope santa is generous this year :mrgreen:

[CRF136n]

So, a bit of an older thread...but its right along the lines of the situation I'm in right now...so I thought I'd bring it back to life.
So I wrecked my '08 impreza a couple weeks ago... -driving too fast on the first snow of the year, crappy tires, icy turn; you get it...totally my fault-
So while I was out a vehicle, I was borrowing my moms 2005 Saab 9-2x (Saabaru). Wouldn't ya know, as luck would have it within two weeks of my first incident, some lady was drunk, ran a stopsign (leaving the bar) and broadsided me, in my moms 9-2x :angryfinger: Even though it was very obviously HER fault, she has decided to not communicate with her insurance company, and is not returning their calls...and her insurance company claims that they need to speak to her before they continue with the claim :machinegunleft::pissed::pissed:
SO, Saab story aside (:lol:) My angry mother has 180'd and decided she wants a new car anyway, so the Saab is now mine as I'll buy it from her for trade-in value. Its still perfectly driveable, and quite honestly the damage really isn't that bad...all the doors and windows work, etc. I'm just gonna pocket the insurance money when I finally get it (through the legal system or not) and drive it as-is and make it my new off-road ride. First things first though, I GOTTA LIFT IT!
I still have my two sets of 215/65-16 General Grabber AT/2's that I had gotten for my '08 Impreza...lol, they rubbed a bit on the Saab without a lift. Assuming from the roumors I could run Forrester suspension for a lift, I cruized down to my local Subaru salvage yard and picked up a complete set of Forrester struts. The only decent complete set I could find were off a 2002. The fronts went on fine, and the front end is sitting right where I want it to be, with the top of the fender well exactly 29.5" off the ground. I am very happy with the added clearance between the tire and strut, as running the stock struts was a very tight fit...I also like the slightly softer ride. The rears, however, didn't work so well. They will 'theoretically' bolt on, but it is a HELL of a fight to get the last spindle bolt in, not sure I'd be comfortable running stuff that tight. Sure, the wheel drops foreward a bit, but I'm sure with a little modification I can cure that clearance issue. The BIGGEST issue though is the tire will rub on the strut as the offest isn't good enough. I already got aftermarket wheels with a slightly deeper offset. I noticed that where the holes are that the strut and spindle mate are drilled about 1/4 inch closer to the strut on the fozzy suspension :?
So as it stands, the rear of my 9-2x is sitting exactly 2" lower than the front (talk about sag :shock:). I suppose I could swap the front struts out again, but I'd rather get the rear high to match. What can I do from here?
I'm considering having some lift blocks fabricated like I did on the Impreza...I'd feel o.k. going 1.5" on a spacer block (thats what I had on the Impreza sedan). The guy at the wrecking yard was saying I could get some sort of suspension rack spacer that the Outback Sports have, and it should give me an additional .5" ??? Ideas? Thanks!