Outback body lowering, and fender trimming/ rolling

[samuel082799]

Now before anyone says to read the official lowered outback thread, I have, but alot of it is from 2012 and most of the pictures are broken, from users no longer being on the forums.

 

I was reading through the body spacer removal thread and there was a list of parts that you need to get from a lgt to correct the steering geometry.

 

I feel like the drive shaft and transmission crossmember is a bit over kill. Your driveshaft may be at a less than ideal angle if you pull the spacer but it sure wont cause any damage or binding.

 

Also there is a bracket that attaches the driver side to passenger side subframe and bolts it to the spare tire carrier. If the spacers are removed that brace or braket cant be used. Im guessing you can just add the spacers on the bottom instead of the top of the subframe so that the braket can still be used.

 

So I'm trying to get a second opinion on my idea of the driveshaft and crossmember not being crucial.

 

Also as far as fender trimming I've been told to cut the bottom roe of clips off the metal part of the fender and then to grind the plastic flare back to the lip so there isn't that flat part underneath. Is this correct? If not what is the correct way of doing this. I want to fix my camber, because I'm eating up the inside of tires pretty quick, and I just got a new set and I want them to last.

 

Thanks

 

I'll post some pictures of what I'm talking about in a minute.

 

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[samuel082799]

My car is already lowered on bc coilovers, and I have the lgt upper control arms, and whiteline lower control arms.

 

So I plan on getting parts: 6,7,8,10,12,13,14,3,4,5

Reference to the picture below

 

The other pics are of that braket I'm talking about.

 

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[subisubisu]

If you want to retain that transverse bracket under the spare tire well, reuse the spacers under the subframe and above the bracket. If you do that, you can reuse the bolts that were there originally.

[samuel082799]

If you want to retain that transverse bracket under the spare tire well, reuse the spacers under the subframe and above the bracket. If you do that, you can reuse the bolts that were there originally.

Ok cool thats what I thought

 

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[samuel082799]

Does anyone know the answer to my question about the drive line components when the bosy spacers are removed? Has anyone removed the spacers without the other stuff?

 

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[cooji]

I don't think moving the subframe spacers to the bottom of the subframe would work if you have those aftermarket sway bar braces installed.

 

For what it's worth, looks like subaru removed that spare tire brace for MY07+

 

MY05-06: https://parts.subaru.com/a/Subaru_2005_Outback-25L-TURBO-5MT-XT/_54106_6029075/REAR-SUSPENSION-FRAME--STABILIZER-05MY-05MY/B13-201-01.html

 

MY07+: https://parts.subaru.com/a/Subaru_2008_Outback-25L-TURBO-5MT-XT-Limited/_54106_6029077/REAR-SUSPENSION-FRAME--STABILIZER-07MY-/B13-201-06.html

[samuel082799]

I think I'm going to skip this modification for now because it's looking like there is alot more involved in it than I initially thought. With that is also potential problems.

 

I went to the junkyard where there was an outback and legacy right next to each other which made it very convenient to compare parts. When I got there I realized that the front subframe where the motor mounts has spacers, and removing those would put the engine higher in the engine bay, and in turn require new transmission crossmember so there is no strain in the system.

 

Where this concerns me is that my aftermarket downpipe is already close to my fire wall and if I raise it up it will probably hit, I also made some blast plates for my 5mt and im afraid by moving the transmission higher those plates will hit the tunnel.

 

Where this leaves me is the front spacer removal will cause more problems than it fixes.

 

I'm wondering if the rear spacers could be removed to correct the cv axle angle since they are way out of wack where the front axles are still pretty straight. So I'm thinking of sacrificing a little driveshaft angle for some better cv axle angle and just getting a whiteline bump steer correction kit for the front.

 

Does anyone else think this approach will work?

 

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[reix]

I have lowered MY07+ Outback H6 on Legacy specB Bilstein B6 for about a year now. Only did the struts/springs, Whiteline swaybar, Legacy rear upper control arm with Whiteline adjustable bushing. Body spacers still in place.

Im about standard Legacy specB height and havent had any issues sofar just whole lot better handling .

From my research removing the body spacers gives you bit more ground clearance under engine and rear diff (which i would need since adding Raptor headers, they hang quite low) other than that if your not super low the geometry should be quite fine.

 

But my thinking is that having engine, trans, diff lower to ground than your average Legacy would give you better handling on the corners .

 

But this thread finally answered the mystery of missing spare tire brace thing. I had an MY05 Legacy wagon before which had it and the OBK does not. Always thought someone had removed it, but the body does not have bolt holes either.

 

One thing i did notice after having the car lowered and AVO swaybar braces installed is that going high speed straight line and steering little bit sharply left-right or right-left the back of the OBK feels weird, like somehow there is slight delay in seering. Thought it could be because of the missing brace but not sure (didnt notice before since i had worn-out OBK things under it and felt like a boat).

And i dont recall my Legacy having this, it only had stock suspension components but felt solid on speeds.

Any one noticed this?

[samuel082799]

I have lowered MY07+ Outback H6 on Legacy specB Bilstein B6 for about a year now. Only did the struts/springs, Whiteline swaybar, Legacy rear upper control arm with Whiteline adjustable bushing. Body spacers still in place.

Im about standard Legacy specB height and havent had any issues sofar just whole lot better handling .

From my research removing the body spacers gives you bit more ground clearance under engine and rear diff (which i would need since adding Raptor headers, they hang quite low) other than that if your not super low the geometry should be quite fine.

 

But my thinking is that having engine, trans, diff lower to ground than your average Legacy would give you better handling on the corners .

 

But this thread finally answered the mystery of missing spare tire brace thing. I had an MY05 Legacy wagon before which had it and the OBK does not. Always thought someone had removed it, but the body does not have bolt holes either.

 

One thing i did notice after having the car lowered and AVO swaybar braces installed is that going high speed straight line and steering little bit sharply left-right or right-left the back of the OBK feels weird, like somehow there is slight delay in seering. Thought it could be because of the missing brace but not sure (didnt notice before since i had worn-out OBK things under it and felt like a boat).

And i dont recall my Legacy having this, it only had stock suspension components but felt solid on speeds.

Any one noticed this?

I like your idea that the lower center of gravity will make it handle better.

 

As far as the rear end feeling at high speeds I do not experience that. I installed a whiteline rear swaybar and drove it like that for a while, then I made those sway bar braces and it actually made the car feel like it had more direct steering. The difference may just be because the outback is a wagon so its got more weight to throw around than a lgt.

 

I've also noticed that your tire sidewall can play a big part in your body roll.

 

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[reix]

Well my previous Legacy was also a wagon. So basically the same thing. It might also be due to rear subframe bushings being too old. Most moving parts have poly bushings. And my tyres are 235/40 18 so that probably doesn't roll too much

 

When i had OBK suspension and 225/55 17 it felt like jelly compared to now

[samuel082799]

Well my previous Legacy was also a wagon. So basically the same thing. It might also be due to rear subframe bushings being too old. Most moving parts have poly bushings. And my tyres are 235/40 18 so that probably doesn't roll too much

 

When i had OBK suspension and 225/55 17 it felt like jelly compared to now

I got the stock tire size right now, and all my stuff is poly and I'm on bc coilovers. When I grab the roof rack and pull the car back and forth the only movement I see is in the tires. I figure once I have money to upgrade it will feel alot better

 

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[boxkita]

55 series tires are going to have a lot of play. If your bushings are old, it'll be worse. If you get the wagon tail swinging, it'll be more worse. If you get the tail swinging more, you can spin it. That's way more fun

[samuel082799]

55 series tires are going to have a lot of play. If your bushings are old, it'll be worse. If you get the wagon tail swinging, it'll be more worse. If you get the tail swinging more, you can spin it. That's way more fun

I've definitely spun it a few times, but the new tires definitely made it better. I have bf goodrich g force comp 2 a/s, and they are really sticky for an a/s for $130. After I get them warm doing some canyons I can here the tires sticking to the ground like I'm on a drag strip. Im probably not going to upgrade wheels and tires until my car is mechanically done, and were i want it

 

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