Subaru Forester

[belladonna]

Deathkiss,

This is a very serious alteration to a vehicle. Please check with your vehicle insurance provider if this alteration is acceptable to your policy. Heard of people modifying vehicles, having an incident, making a claim and being told to go away as not an "approved" modification. get it in writing prior to modification.

Regards,
Ian

 

[DeathKiss]

Deathkiss,

This is a very serious alteration to a vehicle. Please check with your vehicle insurance provider if this alteration is acceptable to your policy. Heard of people modifying vehicles, having an incident, making a claim and being told to go away as not an "approved" modification. get it in writing prior to modification.

Regards,
Ian

Waiting for my insurer to reply to my email
thanks !
From what i get on their website, it states as following: Accessories and modifications

Bingle Comprehensive Insurance automatically includes cover for accessories and modifications that have been permanently fitted to your car up to the estimated value, with the exception of the accessories and modifications listed below.

Custom Paint or Specialised Paint (after market)
Nitro or Hydrogen Fuel
Petrol Turbo or Supercharger (when fitted after market)
Roll Bar / Roll Cage / Racing Harness

Your car 2012 SUBARU FORESTER 2.0D MY12 4D WAGON 6 SP MANUAL, 4 CYL DIESEL TURBO, 2.0L
Registration VSUBIE
Car colour Blue
Purchase date Sep 2015
Accessories and modifications Your car's accessories and modifications are covered (see exclusions for what we don't cover)

So yeah ... it seems that the car policy will not be affected, but better safe than sorry I will get confirmation in writing

 

[The Green Wanderer]

Looks pretty good,
just from personal experience though vehicles with macpherson struts and cvs dont take well to being lifted too high.
It creates severe angles and wears out both boots and joints quicker. Dont get me wrong though it can and has been done successfully.
When you increase the travel on a cv shaft there's only so far you can go before it affects other components. Diffs, transfer case drops to reduce binding of driveshafts, extended sway bar links, longer brake hoses and even steering rack spacers to keep the whole thing stable and disrupt steering geometry as little as possible.
Having cvs both front and rear on a subaru means more work from the installers point of view.

When I lifted my toyota prado I originally went too high and stiff with the springs causing the front to skip and wobble on tight corners. Made for very dangerous wet weather driving so I had softer shorter springs installed to bring the front and rear down.

I went through 4 pairs of cv boots in the first 6 months before changing springs. Also snapped both sway bar links and went through 3 sets of sway bar bushes.
Since bringing it down to about 2.75 inches lift I wear out a set of cvs every 12 months and a set of sway bar bushes in the same time frame.

Again im not saying it cant be done, it absolutely can but theres limits to think of.
Would love to see some pics of your subie if you decide to jack it up.

Best of luck,
TGW.

 

[DeathKiss]

Looks pretty good,
just from personal experience though vehicles with macpherson struts and cvs dont take well to being lifted too high.
It creates severe angles and wears out both boots and joints quicker. Dont get me wrong though it can and has been done successfully.
When you increase the travel on a cv shaft there's only so far you can go before it affects other components. Diffs, transfer case drops to reduce binding of driveshafts, extended sway bar links, longer brake hoses and even steering rack spacers to keep the whole thing stable and disrupt steering geometry as little as possible.
Having cvs both front and rear on a subaru means more work from the installers point of view.

When I lifted my toyota prado I originally went too high and stiff with the springs causing the front to skip and wobble on tight corners. Made for very dangerous wet weather driving so I had softer shorter springs installed to bring the front and rear down.

I went through 4 pairs of cv boots in the first 6 months before changing springs. Also snapped both sway bar links and went through 3 sets of sway bar bushes.
Since bringing it down to about 2.75 inches lift I wear out a set of cvs every 12 months and a set of sway bar bushes in the same time frame.

Again im not saying it cant be done, it absolutely can but theres limits to think of.
Would love to see some pics of your subie if you decide to jack it up.

Best of luck,
TGW.

Obviously will have a huge impact the 4' lift kit .... I found on the link provided by bundyjd the extra bits and pieces needed, so I apassed on to the manufacturer list of requirements and if they come with the kit:

Rear trailing arm spacers.
Lower control arm spacers.
Engine, transmission & diff crossmember spacers.
Diff outrigger spacers.
Custom diff outrigger support brackets.
Centre bearing spacers.
Custom engine pitching stopper.
Steering knuckle extension.
Stainless steel top radiator hose extension & T-bolt clamps (some models).
Replacement fuel & charcoal canister hoses (some models).
Handbrake cable bracket extensions.*Air filter box spacer (if required).
Complete set of high tensile, zinc plated bolts, nut & washers.

fingers crossed now ....
Rear camber bolts

 

[Creekbed]

CV's will suffer if you lift a subby to much. Even 2" lift can wear CV's on subaru's prematurely

 

[Wishfull]

Modifying a vehicle has to be done with a lot of thought. Manufactures go to a lot of expense to make their vehicle roadworthy and reliable so the max number of people will buy them. There are reasons why they don't put high lift, high toque or high performance on certain vehicles due to undue strain on some components. I'm not saying don't do it just take a good hard look at what your doing, other thing is that if it didn't come out like that its probably illegal anyway. And in most states it most likely will need to be inspected by a Govt. workshop inspection.

Just saying.

 

[Magilla]

Get a good supply of CV joints if you get one and learn how to replace them yourself.

 

[GaryO]

And check with your insurance company before hand. It would be a bitch if you made a claim and they used the modified vehicle "get out" clause.

Gaz

 

[vstrom]

Legally 2" is all you can lift without engineering sati be careful and make 100% sure and get in writing had this prob once and got shafted by insurance and 4 inch lift will put a lot of stress on drive shafts and control arm Bush's .

 

[Occasional_panner]

2 inches is the max in Victoria, maybe look at buying a Patrol or Landcruiser if you want to tackle serious stuff.
The forester was designed for light duty work where traction was a issue sometimes. It was never designed as a high flexing serious off roader, but they are capable of some decent things. A locker will get you a lot further than a lift kit will in most cases. I don't know if ARB or TJM or Eaton make one for your model, but I think Uneek 4x4 have one in testing. BTW with CV joints, the further you raise them the more strain you place on them, and the strain is exponential past 1.5 in @2in it's say double @3in it's double again AND you need to extend brake lines and a whole list of crap, the price tag usually means it's cheaper to get an old GQ patrol, put it on club reg and just have that as a play thing.

 

[Nuggetbuster]

Deathkiss,

This is a very serious alteration to a vehicle. Please check with your vehicle insurance provider if this alteration is acceptable to your policy. Heard of people modifying vehicles, having an incident, making a claim and being told to go away as not an "approved" modification. get it in writing prior to modification.

Regards,
Ian

Waiting for my insurer to reply to my email
thanks !
From what i get on their website, it states as following: Accessories and modifications

Bingle Comprehensive Insurance automatically includes cover for accessories and modifications that have been permanently fitted to your car up to the estimated value, with the exception of the accessories and modifications listed below.

Custom Paint or Specialised Paint (after market)
Nitro or Hydrogen Fuel
Petrol Turbo or Supercharger (when fitted after market)
Roll Bar / Roll Cage / Racing Harness

Your car 2012 SUBARU FORESTER 2.0D MY12 4D WAGON 6 SP MANUAL, 4 CYL DIESEL TURBO, 2.0L
Registration VSUBIE
Car colour Blue
Purchase date Sep 2015
Accessories and modifications Your car's accessories and modifications are covered (see exclusions for what we don't cover)

So yeah ... it seems that the car policy will not be affected, but better safe than sorry I will get confirmation in writing

Pretty sure that the policy also states that the vehicle has to be kept in roadworthy condition... And often, lifting/raising the vehicle renders it unroadworthy (depends on State/Territory, I guess)

 

[Creekbed]

Maybe instead of a lift look at bigger wheel/tyre combo. It wont effect the CV's as much and will give you a bit more ground clearance.

Other option is as others have said get an older Patrol or Cruiser that already has good clearance stock and are easy lifted.

Cheers CB

 

[Tathradj]

In NSW the Max you can lift without engineering is 2".
Under the Modified Vehicle scheme the Max is 6".
This is a combination of tires 2", Suspension 2".
Body Lift 2".

 

[DeathKiss]

Maybe instead of a lift look at bigger wheel/tyre combo. It wont effect the CV's as much and will give you a bit more ground clearance.

Other option is as others have said get an older Patrol or Cruiser that already has good clearance stock and are easy lifted.

Cheers CB

To be honest I do t like them patrols as I find them way too big ...also I'm more than happy with my awd and I know what it can and the limits ....also it isn't too big the forester ...it's a medium suv

 

[bundyjd]

I've toyed with the idea of buying a bigger 4WD, but that was mainly so I could carry more sh*t, and I pretty much solved that problem with a 400L roof box.

I have yet to find a place I really wanted to go that the Foz wouldn't take me, in fact there have been a few times when I have squeezed through places that the big boys couldn't get through. The 2" lift has made a lot of difference and doesn't seem to have caused any issues with the drive shafts or suspension, which all get checked regularly just in case. I also fitted a decent sump guard for a bit of added peace of mind.

Putting on a set of Yoko Geolanders also made a huge difference in mud and sand, and like any other AWD/4WD running the right tyre pressure always helps. I carry a set of Maxtrax just to be sure, but have never had to use them so far. Well, not on my car anyway...

 

[Pickers]

I've toyed with the idea of buying a bigger 4WD, but that was mainly so I could carry more sh*t, and I pretty much solved that problem with a 400L roof box.

I have yet to find a place I really wanted to go that the Foz wouldn't take me, in fact there have been a few times when I have squeezed through places that the big boys couldn't get through. The 2" lift has made a lot of difference and doesn't seem to have caused any issues with the drive shafts or suspension, which all get checked regularly just in case. I also fitted a decent sump guard for a bit of added peace of mind.

Putting on a set of Yoko Geolanders also made a huge difference in mud and sand, and like any other AWD/4WD running the right tyre pressure always helps. I carry a set of Maxtrax just to be sure, but have never had to use them so far. Well, not on my car anyway...

Hi mate,

I know I'm late to the party but what size Geolanders did you pop on your Subie? I've got the 2" lift on order from Subielifts and looking at tires now

Cheers

 

[Redfin]

A mate went through the roof load capacity with a Subaroo a few years ago.
Max load was 70 kg in motion, that halved when off-road.
No idea if that has changed.

 

[Goldfreak]

Just watch the CV joints. I have heard lifting things too far can put a lot of ware on these. Does look cool though. I was thinking about getting a 2009 kia sorrento that still had proper 4 x 4 with low range and doing something similar.