Lift Kits with Fitting Position Front and Rear, Front for 2024 Subaru Forester Premium

Crossovers and wagons leave the factory with enough ground clearance for a gravel road and not much more.

A lift kit for your Subaru Forester changes that, and on a car based platform the right kit adds clearance and travel without turning a comfortable vehicle into a compromised one.

What Is a Subaru Forester Lift Kit

A suspension lift kit is a matched set of components that raises a vehicle's ride height and keeps the suspension working properly at the new height.

On a crossover or SUV that means new struts and springs at all four corners, specified together, rather than spacers pushed under the existing hardware.

The difference between those two approaches matters a lot. A spacer raises the body and leaves the original dampers controlling a suspension that now sits in a different part of its range. A complete kit replaces those dampers with units valved for where the vehicle now sits.

Typical lift on a car based platform runs from around one inch to just under two. That sounds modest next to a truck lift and it is a meaningful change on a vehicle with limited clearance to begin with.

How Does a Subaru Forester Lift Kit Work

Height itself comes from the springs in the kit. A taller or higher rate spring holds the body further from the axle, and that is the lift.

Control comes from the dampers working with them. A longer bodied strut gives the suspension the travel it needs at the new height, and valving matched to the spring keeps the vehicle settled rather than floating.

Geometry correction handles everything that the lift has changed. Raising a vehicle moves the suspension arms through a different part of their arc, which alters camber and caster, so a proper kit supplies the hardware to bring those back.

On some platforms that correction extends further, with subframe spacers, replacement arms and longer links included where the lift height requires them.

All three of those parts have to work together as a set. That is what separates a kit from a collection of components.

Lift Kits for Crossovers and SUVs

Car based platforms need a different approach to body on frame trucks, and the kits reflect that.

A unibody crossover carries its suspension on a subframe rather than a ladder chassis, and the suspension travel available is shorter to start with. Lifting one is about recovering usable travel and clearance rather than adding large amounts of height.

Ride quality matters a great deal more on these vehicles too. These are vehicles people drive every day, so a kit that gains clearance at the cost of a harsh ride has missed the point.

The result is kits engineered around moderate lift with dampers specified for the road as well as the trail, which is why the lift figures look small and the component quality does not.

Lift Height and What It Buys You

On a car based platform the numbers are smaller than a truck lift and the gains are real.

Ground clearance improves by roughly the lift figure at the lowest points, which on a crossover means the difference between clearing a rutted track and dragging the underside through it.

Approach and departure angles improve alongside it, which matters more than raw clearance on a steep driveway or a washed out edge.

Tire clearance opens up in the wheel wells, and on most platforms an inch of lift is enough to fit a slightly taller all terrain tire without rubbing. That tire adds clearance of its own and does more for traction on loose surfaces than the lift alone.

Suspension travel is the gain people forget about. A longer bodied strut gives the wheel more room to drop, which keeps it loaded on uneven ground where a standard setup would lift it.

The combination is what makes a modest lift on a crossover worth doing. Each individual change is small and together they compound.

Assembled Struts and Why They Matter

Every kit in the range supplies assembled struts rather than loose components.

That means the strut, spring, top mount and bump stop arrive built as one unit for each corner, ready to bolt straight in.

The practical benefit is that nobody has to compress a spring. A coil under compression holds serious stored energy, and releasing one unexpectedly causes severe injury, so removing that step from the job removes the main risk in fitting a lift.

It also guarantees the spring and damper are a matched pair, specified and assembled together rather than combined on a workshop bench.

And every wear item in the assembly is new. Top mounts and bump stops are the components most often carried over on a cheaper install, and they are usually the ones that fail first afterward.

Camber Bolts and Alignment Correction

Raising a vehicle moves the alignment immediately, and a kit that does not account for that is incomplete.

Camber bolts are supplied with several kits for exactly that reason. An eccentric cam in the bolt lets the hub be moved relative to the strut, providing camber adjustment the factory did not give you.

Without that adjustment, a lifted crossover sits with camber outside specification, loses grip across the contact patch and wears the inner or outer edge of the tires accordingly.

Some applications need more than a bolt can provide, which is why certain kits include replacement arms and longer links to recover the geometry across a wider range.

An alignment after fitting is required rather than recommended, and it should be done once the vehicle is back on its wheels at the new height.

Heavy Duty Options for Loaded Vehicles

Rear spring rate decides whether a vehicle holds its lift under weight, and standard rate springs are specified for a vehicle carrying very little.

Heavy duty variants use firmer rear springs rated for constant loads of around 440lb, which covers a roof setup, drawers, recovery gear, a dog crate and the rest of what a touring crossover ends up carrying.

Fitting a standard rate kit to a vehicle that permanently carries weight gives you the advertised lift on the forecourt and a sagging rear once the gear goes in.

Fitting a heavy duty kit to a vehicle that runs empty gives you a firm ride for capacity you are not using.

Choose around what the vehicle actually carries day to day rather than what it carried the one time you packed it to the roof.

How Much Is a Subaru Forester Lift Kit

Cost on a crossover lift kit sits well above a spacer kit and the reason is in what you are buying.

A spacer or leveling kit is machined aluminum and bolts, and it reuses everything already on the vehicle. A complete lift kit supplies four assembled strut units, springs, correction hardware and in some cases replacement arms and links.

Premium damper options push the figure higher again, with name brand units costing considerably more than standard replacements and lasting accordingly.

Installation is a separate cost and it varies with the vehicle. Assembled struts cut the labor substantially compared with a conventional rebuild, since the spring work is already done.

Budget for an alignment on top of both, since it is mandatory after any ride height change.

Does a Subaru Forester Lift Kit Void Your Warranty

A common question and the answer is more nuanced than the rumors suggest.

In the United States, a manufacturer generally cannot void an entire vehicle warranty simply because an aftermarket part has been fitted. Protections exist around that, and the burden is usually on the manufacturer to show the part caused the failure.

What can happen is a specific claim being declined where the modification is shown to have caused the problem. A suspension related failure on a lifted vehicle is the obvious example.

Dealer policies vary and interpretations differ, so the practical advice is the same regardless. Keep documentation, use quality parts with proper fitment, have the work done competently, and have the alignment done.

Check your own warranty terms and talk to your dealer if a vehicle is still within its coverage period.

Subaru Forester Lift Kit Against Leveling Kit

Both raise a vehicle and they are built around different goals.

A leveling kit raises the front only, by a small amount, usually with spacers, to remove factory rake. It is inexpensive and leaves the rear and the dampers alone.

A lift kit raises the whole vehicle with new springs and dampers, and brings correction hardware for the geometry that changes.

For a crossover chasing clearance and travel, the suspension lift kit is the answer. A leveling kit is a stance change on a vehicle that already sits level, and a body lift raises the shell off the chassis without moving the suspension at all.

Installing a Subaru Forester Lift Kit

Assembled struts make this a straightforward job by lift kit standards, and the checks still matter.

Support the vehicle properly and take the weight off the suspension before anything comes apart.

Work one corner at a time where possible, which keeps the vehicle stable and makes it easier to confirm everything is going back where it should.

Use the fasteners supplied, since kit components frequently change the stack height and factory bolts will run short.

Check clearance at full droop and full compression for brake lines, ABS cables and the sway bar links before the wheels go back on.

Book the alignment before the vehicle returns to the road, and recheck the ride height after a few hundred miles once the springs have settled.

Find Lift Kits for Your Subaru Forester

Select your Subaru Forester to see the lift kits available for it, with assembled struts, matched springs and the alignment correction the lift requires. Choose heavy duty rear springs if the vehicle carries weight permanently, and plan for an alignment once the kit is fitted. Every part ships within 24 hours with 30 day returns and a US based support team.