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How many bagged SH foresters are out there?

('09-'13) 
12K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  Subie_Doobie 
#1 ·
...And where are they at? :shrug:

ive been trying to research what air systems other people are running on their SH but i cant really find anything

Ive been mulling around the interweb and ive only seen some kits by Accuair, Ksport, and D2. i feel like im forgetting one too

i want something thats high quality so idk if i trust D2 and maybe Ksport. the accuair system is pretty pricey but if thats what it takes ill go with that.

Any info will help, thanks
 
#7 ·
I know of 2
Airlift is probably what you are thinking of
Jeff is one and I really dont know the other guys name.
Ive been thinking about doing this for some time now.
Yea ive seen that guys forester but hes on AirRex w/ Accuair and right now AirRex's website isnt functional, neither is Airlift actually.

There are some systems made for 08 and under 09- doesnt have many options

Theres also Universal Air Suspension but 2 of my buddies have them and they leak so those are too janky

My ultimate goal is to be able to have a set of winter wheels (where i will ride at stock height or maybe an inch less all the way up on the bags) and have a set of summer wheels (where i will ride lowered all the way down on the bags) In theory it seems like itll work, as long as the bags give me enough range.
I only plan on doing light snow driving on paved roads, the snow never gets very deep here in So Cal. And light trails, nothing too intense.
 
#8 ·
The issue is that the kit that the foresters use is the same as the WRX in which the rear does not have much travel... if you go all the way down, when i talked to bagriders they said your drive height will still be tucking tire, it has a very short travel distance. Fronts are fine.
Really the thing you have to worry about is the rear.
If and when I do air I will have my at 0 psi not totally maxed out on the ground because I would like to keep some functionality when im driving.
 
#11 ·
not to get way off topic, but since there are versions that incorporate more of a classic bag on top...
my ideal setup would be these basically. but after a couple emails it doesnt seem like there will be a push for a forester specific kit right away.
http://www.fortune-auto.com/airpistonliftsystem.htm
maybe we should all get to banging on the front door!!!!!

soon as theres a rear option for 08-14 wrx/sti i may pull the hook on all four corners.
 
#19 ·
Here are a few pics of the install and finished project..
I've cleaned things up a bit since I finished.. Didn't really document my install, just thought I'd share!
 

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#20 ·
How high up can it go? How does it ride? Are bags equivalent to a good coil over? I've never been a huge fan of bagged cars, but I now see it's not so bad without all the camber I'm used to seeing with it. Lost a lot of trunk space but if you don't need it then it's not missed!

Nice work regardless!
 
#21 ·
This setup is the STi kit from AirLift. I believe Airrex makes a forester specific kit with longer struts. But this kit allows me to keep my struts away from the front axels as I'm trying to achieve a low drop when I air out and don't want to have to compromise minimal space between the boots.
So from here in this pic, I can go about an inch higher and that's topped out. (Not a very good pic of the height profile. All I had ATM)
The ride quality is much better than I expected it to be. Fully adjustable struts, 30 way. Mine are set to 24clicks. I'm driving around town on 60psi up front, 75psi in the rear. But the stock tire height is pretty tall so I'm trying to keep away from rubbing. Still need to roll fenders. New wheels and tires will have much lower profile, so I'm shooting to be able to drive at 45psi front/60psi rear soon.Which will lower the ride, but soften it too.
There was an immediate difference in torque when accelerating with the added stiffness. Gives me memories of how my STi felt on the coils.. Which is a good thing ;)
As for the trunk space.. I do loose some storage height. But with a floating platform I still achieve the most trunk space possible.. The platform can also be taken down and be on the bottom in case I may be packing something that has some height to it.

More pics coming soon..
 

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#22 ·
Here is my driving height at the moment.... You can run 2" saggy butt spacers if you want to bump the rear up and plan on using a more practical closer to stock tire set up.. I'll be running 225/35 on some 9.5 wide. There will be PLENTY of room.
These stock tires are 225/60 so they are pretty tall for how low I am. I plan on swapping some 225/45's in the near cute for better clearance..
There is a little bit of grinding that needs to be done to achieve the perfect fitment.. I'll have to wait and see tho. My new wheels are in the mail right now... 18x9.5 +25 WatercooledIND LP1's...
 

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#25 ·
Might be too late if you dont have your stockers on but do you know the measurement between the ground and the highest point of the fender front and rear when you are aired all the way up? (on stock wheels)

And is there a lot of natural negative camber gained?

like this
 
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