froej25 Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Well, I'm finally getting around to some much-need maintenance on my 2005 Outback XT with 137,000 miles. I'm looking for replacement suspension, but it doesn't look like there's a whole lot out there (guess I should have seen than coming, niche product that got killed for 2010...). I want to keep the ride height, improve handling a bit from where it was new (more neutral, less understeer), but not firm it up too much (I live in northern Michigan, with horrible pot-holed roads and drive the car on gravel / seasonal roads frequently). I would like to spend about $1,000 total, but if there was a good enough reason I'd go a bit higher. I checked the normal suspects- Koni, KYB, Tokico- but no one seems to have what I'm looking for. Rallitek makes a sway bar and springs, and you can order a JDM bar from them, but I didn't see any recommendations regarding struts. Cobb looks like they got out of the OBXT suspension business; niche market again. Anyone have any thoughts on my suspension situation? I'm suddenly jealous of you LGT people and your options. At this point I'm leaning towards the KYB GR-2 struts with the Rallitek sway-bar kit; ~$550 total. Sound good? Anyone have experience with these? While I have everything torn apart, should I also go ahead and get the Rallitek AVO RSB bracket and AVO sway bar endlinks (extra $180)? And I should replace the springs while I'm at it; looks like Rallitek has stiffer rear springs for $160, and I can get new fronts from Subaru. Also, and slightly unrelated, I'm planning on getting LGT calipers, brackets and rotors so the 17s can finally be filled the way they should have been from the factory. Probably get some summer wheels and tires too, use stock for winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 If you'd like to raise your ride height and also improve the handling, we have springs (all 4 corners) to do just that. Feel free to drop us a PM for more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorbrody Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 My 05 OBXT suspension mods in order of dollar to awesome ratio: 1. Whiteline 20mm RSB 2. AVO heavy duty RSB mounts 3. Megan Racing Outback coilovers (stock ride height) 4. Whiteline steering rack bushings 5. Whiteline strut tower bar 6. AVO heavy duty endlinks 7. Whiteline rear diff bushings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyDog Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 If you'd like to raise your ride height and also improve the handling, we have springs (all 4 corners) to do just that. Feel free to drop us a PM for more details. ok i'll bite... what are the spring rates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorbrody Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 BTW, the LGT brake upgrade is definitely worth doing. Big improvement, and bolts right up easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 For the OBXT we've got two suspension choices: (a) Lowering and (b) raising. (a) iON Sport Spec Springs front w/ HD Rear on OBXT (on Bilstein HD's & Factory Tire size 225/55/17): http://www.ionperformance.com/GB/iONOBXT.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorbrody Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 In the picture, are those the Legacy Bilsteins or the Outback ones from Japan? Do the raising springs use the stock struts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 doctorbrody - Those are Legacy Bilsteins. The raising springs use the stock struts or the JDM Outback/Lancaster Bilsteins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorbrody Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Any pics of the raised Outback? Sounds great for winter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoobySTi07 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 For the OBXT we've got two suspension choices: (a) Lowering and (b) raising. (a) iON Sport Spec Springs front w/ HD Rear on OBXT (on Bilstein HD's & Factory Tire size 225/55/17): http://www.ionperformance.com/GB/iONOBXT.jpgAny rubbing or camber issues? What's the most negative camber you can get on the car? Besides swapping out the suspension did you have to do anything else to the car to make that combination work? The Ridiculousness is no more But you can have your very own piece of it. **The Ridiculous Part Out.** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 ScoobySTi07 - No rubbing issues or camber issues. Camber range now put into Legacy wagon territory. The only other thing required was a trimming of the bumpstop in the rear of ~1" (Outback bumpstop is oversized) So exactly with our spring combination + the Bilsteins (proper Bilstein strut tops) that is what you'd get. doctorbrody - Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of the lift springs available installed on the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhBe1 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 So what do you have for stock or only slightly lowered (1" or less) ? 06LOB2.5i MT, JDMRSB, GYTTs, HPS, LGT Mufflers & Leather Wheel, SubiMomo Knob, Inalfa Moonroof, Clutch Switch Bypass, DeDRLd, DeChimed, & Straight Headrest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 OhBe1 - unfortunately there hasn't been a great enough demand for us to justify developing an OE or very close to OE height replacement spring for the OB, OBXT and the OB 3.0R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proflatlander15 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 iON, How much does your raising kit raise the OB? Can you PM me with prices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 proflatlander15 - the lift springs will raise the OB by 30-35mm (1.18"-1.38"). Please check your PM's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
froej25 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Thanks for the input- I had never heard of Whiteline, so that's a resource I'm happy to find. I had read a little about Megan Racing in some of the other threads; they're a bit more than I had intended to spend, but I guess its only an extra $300-$400, so not such a big deal- as long as they're worth the premium. Any idea if these are rebuildable, or how long they last? I don't really need the ride-height adjustability, I like the car where it is now, but still a good feature to have. Regarding Ion Performance; do the Legacy dampers have the same stroke length as the Outback, or is travel limited by the dampers? Any estimate on cost for the setup using JDM Legacy components? I couldn't find much on the Ion website regarding price, and not sure where to find JDM Legacy suspension components, other than the swaybars which I found on a couple sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorbrody Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I was concerned about whether I'd like the MR coilovers, but my suspension was really soft at 100k miles, and I needed to do something. I think the coilovers made the car infinitely more fun to drive, even set to stock ride height and the softest damping level. They are rebuildable at a reasonable cost (I think new cartridges are like $85) and MR recommends a rebuild every 20k miles or so. I've had mine for about 10k trouble-free miles, and they already had about 5k on them. I found the coilovers, along with 4 new cartridges, for about $700 used. They're not common on the used market, but keep your eyes peeled for them if you're interested. There's also a JDM Bilstein setup available (from Japan) that maintains stock ride height, but it's very, very expensive. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114243 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby2.5 Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I just added Cobb swaybars to my Megan setup and I love it. have the Megans set to 12 from full hard and the Cobb sways with AVO endlinks. Great setup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhBe1 Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 ...MR recommends a rebuild every 20k miles or so. ... Rebuilding shocks every year makes it a non-starter... ... There's also a JDM Bilstein setup available (from Japan) that maintains stock ride height, but it's very, very expensive. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114243 Quality, but pricey. And difficult to source from one place. 06LOB2.5i MT, JDMRSB, GYTTs, HPS, LGT Mufflers & Leather Wheel, SubiMomo Knob, Inalfa Moonroof, Clutch Switch Bypass, DeDRLd, DeChimed, & Straight Headrest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgtsoon Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Thanks for the input- I had never heard of Whiteline, so that's a resource I'm happy to find. I had read a little about Megan Racing in some of the other threads; they're a bit more than I had intended to spend, but I guess its only an extra $300-$400, so not such a big deal- as long as they're worth the premium. Any idea if these are rebuildable, or how long they last? I don't really need the ride-height adjustability, I like the car where it is now, but still a good feature to have. i have a set of megan outback coilovers i will be selling. if you are interested send me a PM and we can talk specifics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET3 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 iOn Performance, How do they ride, the lowering springs that is. Is it livable on a daily basis, or is this setup on the more extreme side, designed specifically for auto X and track. How are the Bilteins compared to other shocks out there, like Eibach and such. I don't mind stiff, but I also use my car as a DD. And did you match your springs to the Bilteins specifically? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 ET3 - The set-up is very liveable. We advise this particular set-up with the Bisteins due to the fact that they're more robust then the other options available. Especially if you don't need adjustability. For our Sport Spec springs for the OBXT, yes we designed them to use the Bisteins in mind. The following links are to posts of one of our customers and their review: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1519770&postcount=10 http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1498547&postcount=8 http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1506471&postcount=9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDW25gt Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Is 20k miles about std for the time to rebuild? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schwartzki Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Can you shoot me a PM about cost for what all I need to make this happen: (a) iON Sport Spec Springs front w/ HD Rear on OBXT (on Bilstein HD's & Factory Tire size 225/55/17) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steph01 Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 can you shoot me a pm about cost for what all i need to make this happen: (a) ion sport spec springs front w/ hd rear on obxt (on bilstein hd's & factory tire size 225/55/17) twice here to !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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