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Primitive or Anderson lift kit?

('09-'13) 
5K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  FozzieBalou 
#1 ·
Trying to decide between primitive raving 2" lift kit that comes with king springs.
Or Anderson design 2" front 2.5" rear lift kit. Doesn't come with springs, but has "multilink spacers"
Does anyone have any advice? Should I change the shocks out also? (No problems now). I was going to swap for "heavy duty cv axles" but I have read that they all suck and to stick with subaru brand. Also should I get wheel spacers? 25mm or 30mm?
Anything else Im not thinking about?
Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Both come with multi link spacers. The adf have an offset which help with your OEM camber from what I have gathered. I went with adf because the primitive spacers don’t. I would definitely go with adf and if you need new springs and such them do them either before the lift or after. Also the king springs that come with the primitive kit are made for a heavier load rating so your ride will be a lot more stiff than the stock suspension. If that’s what your going for then I would just get the springs and still go with adf. Adf all day for a lift kit though. I have no complaints and it was very simple to install and I have no mechanic experience. Start with the front then the rear make sure you have all your tools you’ll need for it and possibly a strut spring compressor might help if your doing it alone. Btw Anderson has an account on here I’m pretty sure there is already a feed on this if not message him directly and he can fill you in on better explanation. One thing to keep in mind when lifting is while your under there it might be a safe bet to just either replace your a arm bushings before the lift or after the lift before you put the wheels back on cause I’ve been told those usually go first or your cv boots depending on the condition that they are in. You can either rebuild your OEM boots and repack them or get brand new OEM which are high in price. I myself like I said am not mechanically inclined and given I don’t have tons of money to spend on OEM parts I bought the HD cardone cv axles. There’s videos on YouTube if you haven’t done them yet it’s pretty straight forward and literally takes ten minutes each side if you already have your struts out. Rock auto is where I ordered mine from and got both for around $100.
 
#4 ·
The mild lift in the rear will alter the rear wheel centering based upon the physics of the suspension. As you raise the vehicle, the wheels will pivot forward in the opening. The bigger the "rise" the bigger the shift forward.

If you need proof of this, take a look at your Forester next time you get it on a lift. You'll see the rear wheels pivot forward some as the suspension swings down.
 
#5 ·
Thanks @FozzieBalou ! I've never done a lift before so I'm learning as much as I can before deciding what exactly to do. I really just want about an inch of lift so that I can fit larger AT tires, and stiffer springs in the back so that I can carry more weight. Sounds like I won't be able to do this safely without some sort of spacer or multilink kit in order to put the rear wheels back in their original (centered) position. I'm trying not to spend a ton of money, but it gets expensive fast!
 
#6 ·
I really just want about an inch of lift so that I can fit larger AT tires
One inch strut top lift will make very little difference, if any, to tire size options. Your tire size will be limited by the distance between the center of the hub and the bottom of the spring perch in the front.
 
#7 ·
Yes it does.

You may be able to find AT tires in the stock size (or not much larger) that can definitely get you around in the dirt, snow, mud, whatever. They're not going to be serious rock crawler tires (and honestly, a Subaru won't be) but ...

I use the Continental Terrain Contact AT and have no issues tooling around in the snowy/muddy trails up by Big Bear CA and out in the dusty sandy rocky trails down in Ocotillo Wells (also So Cal).

Tire Wheel Vehicle Car Sky


Cloud Sky Plant Snow Natural landscape


Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Plant
 
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