jdmorris

sales@buyhardrace.com

The Hardrace brace arrived quickly and nicely double-boxed once Hardrace USA had it and the brace itself lined up nicely and installed quickly. Three mounting points on my '14 Outback 2.5i 6MT are threaded and ready to go. One isn't drilled (bottom most, closest to the firewall) and the last but likely most important mounting point is the other rear hole that comes out in the wheel well at the spring perch. Getting the bolt or nut in that goes into the wheel well is a bit annoying but the others line up and thread in quickly. I don't know how well the hardware will hold up to water and salt but it looks shiny for now. As for the function of the brace, I'm surprised every time I've installed one at how much difference it makes. I always mocked the braces as stupid until a friend did a blind A-B test with me as the driver in a '15 WRX. I learned that Subaru definitely cuts some corners on firewall rigidity! Anyway, I'm happy with it!

Not yet. Hardrace said some time in March.

I don't think I've posted this, elsewhere, but I used 1453's back in 2014 right when I found out they'd fit my Outback (it's now at Legacy height). With a stiffer front spring, they never provided enough dampening at any setting up to max. The 1055's in the back had no problem with the same 300lb/in rate and I run them well below maximum. The 1453's started to leak and lose damping a while back and since Koni doesn't certify 1453's for the Outback, my warranty was denied (they now require a valid copy of registration in addition to the receipt). I bought a pair of 1447's and swapped them in and their damping is significantly higher and better matched with the 1055's for my rates. I'm sure it's on this site or in the thread elsewhere, but Koni's published data is: 8610 1453sport Tested at .33m/sec (13in/sec) Compression – 900Nm, Rebound 1150Nm Tested at .13m/sec (5in/sec) Compression – 650m, Rebound 850Nm 8610 1447Sport Tested at .33m/sec Compression – 1100Nm, Rebound 1700Nm Tested at .13m/sec Compression – 850m, Rebound 900Nm If you're a suspension tuner you know those numbers border on useless for knowing how the shocks will perform, but they're definitely stiffer at high speed and in my opinion they're clearly stiffer at low speed, as well. I have no idea if they might be more digressive and assume their curves are roughly the same shape. In summary, having an extra fraction of an inch of extension is a very good thing and supports GTeaser's thesis to prefer the 1453s. However, the damping is very significantly "sportier" on the 1447s if that is something you are interested in and for people lowering with higher rates I strongly recommend them. Since they're OE-fit Konis they are definitely still very smooth and not harsh.

I just special ordered Hardrace's brace, found here: http://www.hardrace.com/Product_detail.asp?id=3544 $65 + $18 shipping. I'll post photos when it arrives. http://www.hardrace.com/UploadFile/Product/2016102715225915V22Z59NI.JPG

I'm not a frequent poster on the forums but have lots of engine, tranny, brake and suspension tuning on my Outback and finally have some free time to share some info. When converting the rear to Koni coilovers with the Koni perches on WRX shocks, I lowered the rear somewhere around 3". Camber went from the factory setting (which I neglected to measure but assume was around 0.7*) to an average of 1.8*. I wasn't entirely happy with the resulting tire wear over 20,000 miles, nor with the bad camber curve from having the lower control arms parallel to the ground, nor the reduced rear ground clearance because of the low subframe. So as SubaruSVXCrazy did, I swapped spacers and bolts, and camber was reduced to negative 1* with only a tiny increase in ride height (because I changed the location of the suspension lever arm but not the pivot point at the coilover). Legacy / WRX / BRZ upper control arms are required for body clearance with the change in subframe height but are identical in length to each other and to the stock Outback control arm based on the measurement jig I built to measure all of them. I used WRX / STI subframe reinforcement plates instead of the Outback specific ones for the forward subframe mounting points and a Kartboy / Torque Solutions XL / long exhaust hanger to hold the exhaust at the correct height now that the hanger is raised about and inch and a half from stock. Mission accomplished. The change in driveshaft length is inconsequential and the half shafts are still well within their normal range. Some pictures are attached below. Just a boring Legacy rear suspension, now!