Spec b susp issues please help

I knew the spec b had a few different goodies but I am a lil annoyed with the susp. I bought Monroe struts and h tech springs. Monroe didn't fit. H tech gave me 1" drop in rear. The front hasn't really dropped at all. My car looks stupid now. My bilsteins are in good working condition so we just installed springs. Now that I look back at a picture the legacy sits a hair lower in the rear before we dropped it. Why Subaru did this is annoying. Rally whatever the car is built for the street not a track and it looks stupid. At this point I am willing to sacrifice my oem susp and get coil overs or can I get usdm strut towers so the Monroe fit? What are my options? 2" drop in front only? We even took 2 out of 3 bump stops out car didn't drop at all. I don't need the pep talk about how great bilsteins are I want a lower car with aggressive look that's it simple. I don't like wheel gap end of story. So please educate me guys

Monroe's are oem replacment for the lgt not spec B so you would need new tophats.

 

For not liking wheel gap you bought springs with the mildest drop.

Also check the stickies for recommendations

I wanted a mild drop all my vehicles have about 1" drop which is enough to get rid of wheel gap. What are stickies?

 

Where can I buy top hats and will that let me use my Monroe struts and will I have an even drop front and back or does the 05-09 lgt just sit higher in the front meaning non spec b and well?

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/lowering-springs-recommendations-suggestions-please-111909.html

 

With your spec.b you have thicker harder top hats then the non spec.b legacy so the front is gonna sit higher. The non spec.b tophats can be be bought from any auto parts store I would imagine.

 

Your tophats are meant to run bilstein struts only. I have also not heard of anyone using Monroe struts most people use kyb, koni or bilstein.

My mechanic says my Monroe don't look look like they will fit even after I get top hats. He says there is no bracket for brake line etc. Part number matches napa I'm lost now

I'm about to just buy another set of springs with 2" drop and install in front only lol

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/lowering-springs-recommendations-suggestions-please-111909p69.html

 

See post 1026

idiot4hire, you have the patience of a saint. Or maybe I've been spending too much time on 4chan. heh

I see a wagon on post 1026?

That would be the correct post... that wagon has stock struts and H-tech springs.

 

I haven't heard of anyone else using Monroe struts on legacys. And as already stated the bilstein top hats will not work with anything that isn't bilstein.

 

Removing bump stops increases the possible travel of the struts but will do nothing to the ride height.

 

I wouldn't recommend mixing front and rear springs. Your ride comfort and feel will be way off.

Dude the wagon has nothing to do w me. I have a legacy gt spec b not a reg legacy gt or a wagon. All I'm trying to do is bring my front end down an 1"

I just did bilstein hd's with tein h-techs on my 06 wagon and have a similar issue. I used a 3/8s spacer in the rear and it sits how I want but the front has a noticeable larger gap. I haven't measured but I'd say rear is about 1 finger and front is 2 to 3. I used new bilsteins with spec b tophats.

 

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Dude the wagon has nothing to do w me. I have a legacy gt spec b not a reg legacy gt or a wagon. All I'm trying to do is bring my front end down an 1"

 

That wagon is using the exact springs you have. That is the stance you should expect to see on your sedan. The fact that that's a wagon makes VERY little difference. Wagon's will have slightly more weight over the rear wheels, spec-Bs have slightly more weight over the front.

 

If you installed the springs correctly and don't like the way they sit, buy different springs.

The front won't be any heavier the 06 spec.b still has the 5speed so it will basically look the same as that wagon.

Stop comparing my car to non spec b models. Obviously my car sits differently than a wagon regRdless of the fact they used the same springs and struts. The swift springs are .2 .3" lower in the front. I need about an inch more in the front. Something about the spec b makes the front sit higher a lot higher. Even oem the front ..Ya I can raise the rear then my car will be .5" drop almost useless and front will still be .5" too high. That wagon looks pretty even tho. Maybe rear spacer and swift springs and I'll sell the h tech

Discojon can u post a side shot of your car?

This is with a 3/8's saggy butt spacer. I'd like the front to be about 1/2 to 5/8's lower.

 

Front fender height is 25.5 inches rear is about 25 inches

 

I too feel something about the bilsteins makes the front sit higher. I used all new parts. Everything is bilstein HD except for new OEM rear tophats. I didn't check the amount of bolt on the shaft that was protruding past but they are torqued properly.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/11/9a6eqa2a.jpg

Ya i ordered .25" rear spacer and s tech for front 1.5" drop should offset it nicely I think

 

so 1.5" drop in front

.7" drop in rear

I'm going to take these h techs off and get pinks. Apparently the pinks are made for bilstein struts and h techs are for kyb style. Anyone wanting like new h techs pm me.

 

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Just to chime in here...

 

On my Spec.B I'm currently running:

 

Swift Sport Springs (Highly recommended.)

Bilstein Spec.B struts (Rebuilt and revalved to match Swift spring rates by Bilstein)

Paranoid Fabrications 3/8" rear spacers

Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/40/18

 

Unrelated suspension items:

Perrin sway bars

Kartboy solid endlinks

Perrin Stout Mounts

Whiteline LCA caster bushings

Whiteline bump steer kit

Whiteline LCA front inner bushings

Whiteline rear control arm bushings

 

Here's what this all looks like:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/ERLoft/20140211_102912_zps2qtvhsvr.jpg

 

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/ERLoft/20140211_102901_zps7x2vk3gc.jpg

 

In hindsight, I might have gone for the 1/2" spacers instead of 3/8", but otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it.

 

I had stock LGT struts on for a while during the rebuild period on the Bilsteins and the car was another 1" lower, which made for scraping issues in and out of parking lots as well as poor ride quality...

Holy crap someone with an issue like mine same car! Sure u don't wanna gimme useless advice lol. I'll post pics after I install s tech and rear spacers

He has a 6MT. Not the same.

Holy crap someone with an issue like mine same car! Sure u don't wanna gimme useless advice lol. I'll post pics after I install s tech and rear spacers

 

We were giving you advice based on you switching from bilsteins to lgt struts. Also if you go that low on Stechs a whiteline bump steer kit is highly recommended. Stechs bring the car lower then the suspension was designed for.

Dude the wagon has nothing to do w me. I have a legacy gt spec b not a reg legacy gt or a wagon. All I'm trying to do is bring my front end down an 1"

 

You are quite the character, clearly there are people here trying to help you. Spec.B vs. LGT has been well documented on these forums. How the F you ended up with Monroe shocks is beyond me. H-Techs are not great either (and don't buy the S-techs). There is relevance in some of the recommendations above, so don't be so quick to dismiss if they share wagon information. The spec.B is a little different, but you are not the first person to put refreshed suspension on one, so do some reading around here (some people have even shared good links to get you started).

 

STi pinks will not give you the drop you desire if you want about an inch (they are about 3/4"). Get the Swifts and thank me later. If you want it to appear even, get the wagon Swifts and forget the spacers. I have sedan Swifts on Bilsteins and my car is even front to rear, but the wheel arch gives the visual effect it's slightly lower in the rear (I've measured and it really is even). The Swifts have a more aggressive drop in the front to make up for the different top hat design used with the spec.B Bilsteins. Both Swift and STi pinks are designed for the inverted mono tube Bilsteins. Tein, H&R, Epic/Eibach and the like are designed for the standard LGT KYBs.