if you aren't interested in spending loads of money and replacing the full suspension system you should check these out http://www.amazon.com/Superior-18-1601-Rubber-Spring-Booster/dp/B000AMBOFS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1428688176&sr=8-2&keywords=spring+spacers i'm not for sure if they are that good or not as mine have not yet arrived but they aren't that expensive
97 Accord doesn't have struts. It's a shock with a spring around it. The suspension is upper and lower A-arms which is superior to struts. You could raise the car up a little with stiffer springs but the upper limit to the lift is when you run out of shock travel.
Imagine the shock piston floating about in the middle position of the shock at normal ride height. When you raise or lower the car, you're moving the piston closer to either end.
Center jack the car up, as you raise the front, note when the wheel lifts off the ground. Then measure fender to the ground. Then lower the car back down again. Measure again. That's how much potential lifting you have with the stock suspension. I'd think an inch would be doable
https://www.amazon.com/Superior-18-1601-Rubber-Spring-Booster/dp/B000AMBOFS/
https://www.amazon.com/JEGS-Performance-Products-Spacer-Boosters/dp/B01D57JJEM/
I might try some of these. They're cheap enough to experiment with.
RUBBER COIL SPRING BOOSTER, Regular https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AMBOFS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_np.VFb9WM58ZJ
Get some of these.
Two things I've done will make a world of difference for you. One is cheap, the other, not so much. The clutch engagement point on my WRX feels like it's nearly to the floor, and the stock throttle mapping makes it much more difficult to pull away smoothly from a stop or at low speeds. The clutch engaging so far down makes it so I either have to sit a couple notches closer to the wheel to make sure I get the clutch in all the way, or suffer with feeling like I'm learning all over again.
Solution 1, the cheap helper: Find yourself a cheap set of pedal covers that you can love with the look of, unless you don't care. I bought these. Then buy some rubber coil spring spacers. I bought these from a local auto parts store. Third, buy some 2"x1/8" flat head philips machine screws and teflon lock nuts from a hardware store. Out the door with all three you should spend less than 25 bucks. Now comes the fun part.
Get a drill and preferably a titanium drill bit. Take off the clutch pedal cover (no tools needed, maybe just strong fingers as it wraps around the pedal), then drill a hole in each of the 4 corners of the clutch pedal itself. I believe a 9/32" drill bit is the size I used, just a little larger diameter than the machine screws. Drill close to the edges, but make sure you don't accidentally cut the corner or you'll have an incomplete hole that may eventually give out.
Once you've drilled your four holes, put the 4 machine screws through the designated holes in the pedal covers and through the holes you made in the clutch pedal, then attach the lock nuts finger-tight. Now, pull the pedal cover away from the pedal and put one of the rubber coil spacer blocks between the pedal and cover. Grab a wrench or vise grips and clamp down on one nut, then use your drill with a philips driver to screw one corner down until it makes contact with the spacer block. Repeat on each corner, but only until it makes contact.
Now adjust the block so that it is more or less centered underneath the pedal cover (I have the bottom of my block almost sitting on the bottom screws, since that's where you're going to be applying pressure with your foot most of the time). Then go from screw to screw, tightening each a little more, until the pedal cover doesn't move back and forth at all. You'll want to do this gradually to make sure you don't have too much pressure on one screw and not a lot on another. It doesn't have to be perfect, but try to make it as even as you can.
Now that you've finished, you have an additional 1.5 inches or so that your foot doesn't have to travel to fully engage the clutch, and as small as that seems, it makes a big difference. Go take a quick test drive if you don't believe me. They actually make an aftermarket kit like this for the Ford Mustang, but not for Subaru.
Solution 2, the expensive (but oh so fun) fix: Buy a Cobb Accessport. Why? Well, it won't shorten your pedal travel, but it will completely change that annoying stock throttle map and replace it with a 1:1 mapping, which means if you push the gas pedal 20%, you'll get 20% throttle, not way more like the stock throttle map gives you. That alone makes it so much easier to pull away smoothly from a stop, roll smoothly in bumper to bumper traffic, and react with less worry about how you're going to manage the clutch. You will find it much easier to drive in ANY kind of traffic, especially where you're having to switch gears frequently.
You can choose to use the Cobb Stage 0 map, which essentially imitates the stock performance map (not sure about the throttle mapping ratio on that one), or you can use the Stage 1 stock map which holds the boost back until around 3k rpm instead of 2k, which will help even more to handle stop and go driving. It also smooths out the power band, and when you hit the higher gears and higher RPMs, the car will no longer fall flat on its face after 4k-4.5k rpm, but will pull hard all the way to the redline.
Yes, it's an expensive purchase at $675, but absolutely worth it in terms of daily drivability, in my opinion. I've had the AP for about 3 weeks, and posted my detailed impressions on the before and after performance in most aspects, not just speed and acceleration. FYI, should you decide to go this route, at any point in time, buy it through MA Performance, because they also include their own Stage 1 map that would cost you $75 separately, and why not get a $75 gift? I'm actually running their map right now, but haven't had a chance yet to do the testing I want for another post.
So, there you have it. A cheap and easy aid to help you handle the clutch better, as well as a tuner solution that will add a lot to the car besides making the clutch easier to handle. The two in combination have easily doubled my enjoyment of the car, and honestly, I probably could have been happy with the DIY clutch pedal extender, but I had budgeted for the AP as well, so why not get it, you know? Anyway, I highly recommend the DIY clutch pedal extender, it's amazing how much it's helped me in terms of comfort, driving position, and smoother rollouts and traffic situations.