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Lift Kit Complete - and installed

31K views 65 replies 19 participants last post by  Dirt_Rob 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all, finally, my lift kit is completed, my CNC work is done, and my kit is installed. More pics to be added soon.

2.2" total lift.
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Lift kit installed by me...
FRONT (2.3"):
1/2" Subtle Solutions top hat spacers
1.7" Eibach Lifting Springs
Nameless strut tower brace

REAR (2.3"):
1" Anderson Design and Fabrication top hat spacers
1.4" Eibach Lifting Springs
1" subframe spacers designed and CNC'd by me

OTHER:
Primitive Racing skids (front, front lip, mid armor, rear diff)

For those wondering why 1" + 1.4" doesn't equal 2.3", it is because the subframe spacers reduce the effective lift height. The shock acts as a fulcrum, and the lower control arm as a lever. The fulcrum gets moved down 2.4", but the inner end of the lever gets dropped 1". So, the effective lift is reduced a little.

Thus, ACTUAL effective lift is about 2.3" - that's due to the wheels being farther down the ends of the "levers" (control arms).

Alignment came out great, so, my math worked out right. Everything worked out within range, and, exactly as expected. My rear is loaded down for the trip, because I wanted to see if I was still in spec (yes, -1.0° in a range of +0.3° to -1.3°).

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Lift
 
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#5 ·
Very nice setup, Robert!

The one question that comes to my mind is how has this affected your total suspension travel/articulation?
 
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#6 · (Edited)
"The one question that comes to my mind is how has this affected your total suspension travel/articulation?"

Total travel (strut/shock) (fully compressed to fully uncompressed) is unaffected, but, full compression requires more force. That's something I was looking for, since (though the pics hardly show it), I do some extreme stuff where the Ascent will have 90-100% of its weight on only two wheels, thus compressing the heck out of two corners. It's a thing, for me, lol. I like doing shots like that (or having someone else get the pic), so, I look for places to lift wheels or compress the suspension to portray motion.

Thus, it's nothing special (or even a good thing) - I just tend to do it more than most people, because I intentionally do it, a lot, for photos and vids, lol!!!

...like this:

Most of the weight is on pass rear and driver front in this shot
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I am about 10 pounds (on the pass front corner) from being on two wheels here (hence the driver's rear is unloaded and driver's front is shoved really high, and pass front is in the air). I literally lifted the driver's rear by lightly pressing the passenger front.
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Also, I do a LOT of transitioning from four to two wheels and back, like in these in-motion shots.
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Since the struts and shocks only go to a certain length, regardless of my changes, max travel in relation to suspension is 1/2" more in the front, and 0" (zero) in the rear (subframe spacers of 1" canceling out the 1" top hat increase in bottom travel. Thus, I've nearly eliminated excess articulation on the CV joints (no more than 1/2" extra on front, and no changes in the rear).

Anyways, my needs may or may not be the same as others. Doing top hat spacers, and doing springs, and doing subframe spacers is probably the hardest mechanical method of lifting an Ascent, since it deals with everything. It was much easier to just do one thing, lol!

Ironically...
I know how well the Ascent balances on corners, and loads weight, so, I figured out a ridiculously easy way to install the frame spacers. It took 30 minutes to drop the entire subframe and its support brackets, and the sway bar mount, and install the spacers. Start to finish. And that included lots of pauses to film chunks of it for the 2nd and only other Ascent that will get this lift. That was the absolute easiest part of the job. I don't recommend my method, because a mistake can destroy the car. Literally. Unibody, gas tank, axles, you name it... but if someone is very mechanically inclined, I am sure they can figure out what I did.
 
#7 ·
@Robert.Mauro Nice work.

Personally, I have no off-road aspirations and the Ascent's on-road agility is right about my minimal, but nice to see what others can do.

Question: in the Drive article on Wilderness Outback, they mention that Eyesight needed to be re-programmed for the additional ride height. Have you seen any issues or have plans for Eyesight adjustments?
 
#8 ·
Alas, I cannot adjust Eyesight. It's programming changes that need to be made. Yes, Eyesight, especially things like Lane Centering and Lane Keep Assist, are affected. I am sure pre-collision braking is also affected (and thus adaptive cruise control) because of how closing distances are affected by the changes in angles and distances when approaching at the same speed.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Yep! Most people think that's just legalese, but, it's actually engineering fact. Until these systems can process these things like a human brain, things like differing angles and differing heights will affect how they "perceive" the world around them.

EDIT (June 2023): During my recent visit to Subaru Research and Development, I talked to one of the Lead Engineers working on Subaru's ADAS Systems (eg: Eyesight, and more I can't talk about). He says those things we discussed above are absolutely NOT legalese - he's no lawyer, and it's he and his team who wrote that stuff. They wrote it because it's mathematically and mechanically true.
 
#12 ·
Yep! Most people think that's just legalese, but, it's actually engineering fact. Until these systems can process these things like a human brain, things like differing angles and differing heights will affect how they "perceive" the world around them.
To me it reads like the lawyers and engineers had one too many meetings. I know there's a lot of fact in there, but it also says "Do not install any wiper blades other than genuine SUBARU wiper blades. Doing so may affect the stereo camera’s field of view and could prevent the EyeSight system from functioning properly."
 
#13 ·
That's old, and largely due to the fad of oversized, flashy, glitzy, and sometimes lit up wiper blades. I think we're stuck with it, because there's still those who do it - like the STI that passed me on the Cross Bronx Expressway a while back. Whole car, ground effects, wheel wells, body, wipers and all, were lit up and glitzed and flashing. Of course, (1) he waved, honked and flashed hi, so I'm happy, and (2) STI's don't have Eyesight, so it doesn't matter - but it does for the rest of us who do have it, lol!
 
#15 ·
No, not really. Nothing different than stock feel in that respect. Everything remains pretty straight on the Ascent because it doesn't have frame spacers like the Outback, Crosstrek and Forester (well, mine does now, but the same size as the Outback's stock ones).
 
#16 ·
That info confirms to me the main cause of "the wobble" on a newer vehicle is rear subframe spacers that come with most lifts. Spacing doen the rear subframe mis-matches the rear differential and transmission output pinion angles. This one one reason why the Ascent doesn't seem to suffer as much. As CVT mounts and CV axles age, I wonder it will be more pronounced as folks buy used Ascents and lift them after significant mileage. I am always in search of feedback as I continually work on R&D and product refinement.
 
#18 ·
I'll back you up! It's the best way of navigating over the perils of such roads. 😂
 
#19 ·
Number 2 of 2 has been installed in a near identical 2019 Ascent Touring...

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11.25" clearance to the side rails/jack rails

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#26 ·
FlatOut has a few series ready, and, they're going to set me up with a custom camber mount for the front.

My next version of the lift will be 1" lift on the road, which will restore my gas mileage, and 3.5-3.7" lift off road.

Adjustable rear upper control arms will be used for rear camber adjustment.
 
#21 ·
Looks nice with the lift ,not to high, alignment specs look great, appears you put your ascent thru some rough conditions stressing the suspension, steering and unistructure of the vehicle, If your Ascent holds up well for you off road, the Ascent should hold up well for us on road users.
 
#22 ·
@Graves thanks! Yes, my Ascent has been through some crazy adventures pushing its climbing, clawing and travel limits, all over the country...


Next Friday, I head out on a 6,500 mile road trip through 5 national parks, and multiple national public use lands for my vacation, where I am also working on raising money for the National Park Foundation. It will have 1,000-1,5000 miles of off road travel.

 
#25 ·
Yes, I use OEM-sized width and circumference tires, so, they're automatically 29.5" or larger.

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#28 ·
The Flatouts have adjustable rings that increase or decrease the spring preload and move the spring base up or down. That'll handle height adjustment.


I plan on removing my rear subframe spacers as soon as I can get the rear upper adjustable control arms, and then I get it aligned at both heights, and mark the alignments.
 
#29 ·
@Robert.Mauro Regarding Eyesight, did you investigate having it recalibrated after the lift? I've seen a few posts on Crosstrek and Outback forums that alluded to that, but they provided very little detail. I ask because I'm contemplating a minor lift like the one from Primitive, but I don't want to have an adverse effect on the safety features. There's a lot of highway cruising between where I live and places I would actually utilize the lift. ACC and lane centering make those stretches much less tiring.
 
#30 ·
Yes, I did... sadly, there's no way of recalibrating it for the height, really. One can hope it calibrates, but that's not quite the same. There's no setting to change to let the computer know about the extra height from the lift. :(
 
#31 ·
Do you know exactly what kind of adverse affects it will have? I've never seen anyone say they noticed problems with it after a lift, but those are all subjective opinions. I'm curious what the experts would say the effects of it are. I don't want to do something without REALLY knowing its impact. Also, knowing that impact might drive my choice on whether or not to get a wilderness trim.
 
#32 ·
Increased difficulty with lane keep and lane centering functions, some oddities with adaptive cruise control.
 
#34 ·
Alas, no, there's no way to recalibrate. It's a software change that's necessary to deal with the car seeing less of the road around it. The higher it goes, the less it sees towards the sides and edges (eg: lane markings), which affects not just its ability to do LKA and Lane Centering, but also its ability to more accurately use ACC.

But yeah, either way, Subaru is probably not gonna do that for aftermarket parts.
 
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