dschultz Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) These tires are spec'd for mounting on 7.5" as the minimum wheel width. I snapped some pictures for you so you can see the clearances. With stock OBXT suspension you will have more tire height to spring perch clearance. Even an 8" or 8.5" wheel with the proper offset would still clear as the tire is wider than the wheel as you can see. What I suggest is that you find a tire shop willing to order in your chosen wheel and test fit it for you at no cost. That is what I did, because of my brakes and the shop could return the wheels to the supplier if they didn't fit and were not mounted. Pictures: Komodo (18x7.5 +45) by Fastwheels OEM stock LGT suspension (painted yellow by previous LGT owner) Tires Falken FK-452 245/45-18 Edited July 12, 2013 by dschultz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 for those worried about spring perch/tire clearance, using spec b takeoffs would get you that clearance since the bils have a a higher bottom spring perch in the front compared to regular LGT units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways the Seven Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 for those worried about spring perch/tire clearance, using spec b takeoffs would get you that clearance since the bils have a a higher bottom spring perch in the front compared to regular LGT units. I thought about that, but you're usually in coilover price range by the time you're shopping takeoff Bils. I'm not the biggest fan of the cheaper coilovers, but I've learned that a little time will get them where you want them. -Brandon 2007 Chevrolet Suburban LT3 1981 Chevrolet C10 LWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 ^meh, id never consider a cheap coilover ever. you can get moderate mileage full assembly spec b takeoffs for about $5-600 and the will be much more comfy than crap coilovers. an outback on stock spec b springs and bils will be plenty low if you are sticking with oem outback wheel sizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways the Seven Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 ^meh, id never consider a cheap coilover ever. you can get moderate mileage full assembly spec b takeoffs for about $5-600 and the will be much more comfy than crap coilovers. an outback on stock spec b springs and bils will be plenty low if you are sticking with oem outback wheel sizing. Agreed to an extent. I just don't like the idea of a used suspension very much. I've got my eye on the KW V2s. They're pretty good for a sub $2K brand and the rebuilds are free. -Brandon 2007 Chevrolet Suburban LT3 1981 Chevrolet C10 LWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 ^I dont like used suspension either, but getting a used set of takeoffs gets you going and then in a year or 2 you can buy HD's and put them in. new coilovers under $1500 are worse then used quality parts, and no coilover will be as comfortable as an OEM setup. For an outback, comfort is all that id care about other than the inherent lowering of LGT/spec-b units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted June 27, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 27, 2013 ^I dont like used suspension either, but getting a used set of takeoffs gets you going and then in a year or 2 you can buy HD's and put them in. new coilovers under $1500 are worse then used quality parts, and no coilover will be as comfortable as an OEM setup. For an outback, comfort is all that id care about other than the inherent lowering of LGT/spec-b units. The BC/BR coilovers for the outback seem to get pretty good reviews I'm not talking about tracking the car though, just in terms of driveability. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 The BC/BR coilovers for the outback seem to get pretty good reviews yeah, by people who have very limited experience with coilovers. i take those reviews with a gigantic grain of salt. most have never driven on good coilovers to know better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted June 27, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 27, 2013 yeah, by people who have very limited experience with coilovers. i take those reviews with a gigantic grain of salt. most have never driven on good coilovers to know better. Could probably be argued that most who don't know probably don't care. I'm not trying to argue with you as I trust you quite a bit on anything suspension related, I'm just saying. I would imagine that with outback-specific coilovers, the extra ride height probably makes lesser coilovers a bit more forgiving for daily driving. Again, not arguing that a cheaper coilover is ever going to be better for the track, but with a taller ride height it might be just what the dr. ordered for many DDs. I'm still waffling between bc/br coils and pulling the trigger on RCE Tarmacs. Neither will happen right away so I'll just ahve to assess budget down the road I guess. I'm leaning towards bc/br right now, because I think I'll get more out of $1k coils with $1k to upgrade my wheels / tires rather than just picking up $2k coils. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) ^i understand. If you really wanted to do it the right way with coilovers, call RCE and get Myles to put softer rates on the T1's with long springs. then you can preload them some to get the desired ride height but they wont be too stiff and you will still have all the travel you need. Edited June 27, 2013 by whitetiger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted June 27, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 27, 2013 ^i understand. If you really wanted to do it the right way with coilovers, call RCE and get Myles to put softer rates on the T1's with long springs. then you can preload them some to get the desired ride height but the wont be too stiff and you will stiff have all the travel you need. I messaged Myles about outback options and he basically said there was nothing he could do for me. I'm not exactly well versed in suspension language to be able to tell him exactly what I want, so unfortunately "customizing" their setup for my needs may not be an option unless he decides to be a bit more forward with the options and maybe throw out some specific suggestions (much like you just did). It seems a bit like he doesn't want to put his product in a situation that it's not specifically designed for, which to an extent I understand completely. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 thats unfortunate, but perhaps if you are more specific about how you will take a LGT set with softer rates, he may respond differently. the only real way to make a outback option is to have the shock bodies elongated similar to Meagan racing ouback units(those suck BTW). Myles doesn't custom build shock bodies AFAIK, so he cant offer that. But selecting custom spring rates and lengths for an existing platform and having the shock valved for them is somthing he does and does very well. Id give it another shot with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted June 27, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 27, 2013 thats unfortunate, but perhaps if you are more specific about how you will take a LGT set with softer rates, he may respond differently. the only real way to make a outback option is to have the shock bodies elongated similar to Meagan racing ouback units(those suck BTW). Myles doesn't custom build shock bodies AFAIK, so he cant offer that. But selecting custom spring rates and lengths for an existing platform and having the shock valved for them is somthing he does and does very well. Id give it another shot with him. I absolutely will. When I'm serious about picking up a set I'll be sure to give him a phone call instead of just emailing. Why the softer spring rates? Do longer springs need softer rates? "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 no, the other way around. softer springs need to be longer. the soft rates are for comfort. but that means the car will sit lower because the spring need to compress more to build up enough force to hold the car up. having them longer will allow you to preload them(compress them) to get back the ride height lost if you were to have bought shorter springs. OEMs do this alot with stock springs on cars. On my MX-5 for example, the springs are very soft at around 100lb/in a corner. So to hold the car off the ground, the spring is compressed like 5" when installed on the shock assembly making the spring support 500lbs before the car's weight is actually on it and compresses it another 2" or so. you can use this trick to use softer springs and get a compliant ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways the Seven Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) Hmm..now I have something else to consider. The more I think about it, the more confusing it becomes. Lol. I'm not looking for ground-scraping ride height, but I'd like a nice stance and good handling with good DD drivability. Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk 2 Edited June 27, 2013 by Sideways the Seven -Brandon 2007 Chevrolet Suburban LT3 1981 Chevrolet C10 LWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 thats why i like spec-b take offs in this case. all the thought is done for you by subaru and you get the expected lowering and comfort that is already well known. trying to do something with a coilover requires a lot of trial and error since vendors are not gonna do it for you for the outback platform. That is why you get stuck with LGT options that are too low and stiff and poorly made(the cheap ones). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschultz Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Just as an FYI, I had BC coilovers on my OBXT. I used the model spec'd for a LGT. I had no problem reaching a decent ride height with them. But in doing so left only a few inches of travel which does not work well on public roads. When I switched to the LGT OEM suspension with the Koni inserts I found the stock LGT spring rate to soft or the spring too short. So I removed them and put the OBXT stock springs in. So what I have now is LGT bodies, Koni inserts and OBXT springs. This is the best setup I've tried on my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted June 28, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) Just as an FYI, I had BC coilovers on my OBXT. I used the model spec'd for a LGT. I had no problem reaching a decent ride height with them. But in doing so left only a few inches of travel which does not work well on public roads. When I switched to the LGT OEM suspension with the Koni inserts I found the stock LGT spring rate to soft or the spring too short. So I removed them and put the OBXT stock springs in. So what I have now is LGT bodies, Koni inserts and OBXT springs. This is the best setup I've tried on my car. Haha, so I should just swap my stock outback springs onto the tokico's and save an ass-load of cash and headache then (in all reality it's probably a pretty good idea...) EDIT: doing this is essentially like taking longer springs with a softer spring rate and preloading them on the LGT suspension, correct? Sound similar to what whitetiger is recommending for the coilovers as well. Edited June 28, 2013 by BarManBean "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 EDIT: doing this is essentially like taking longer springs with a softer spring rate and preloading them on the LGT suspension, correct? Sound similar to what whitetiger is recommending for the coilovers as well. pretty much. id be interested to see the ride height with this combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCASEYS Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 so to clarify, OBXT and LGT front struts are the same and KYB Excel-G's are a better than stock replacement? I ask because I have my old OBXT fronts a potential Koni donors. I donated to LegacyGT.com which allows me to have this nifty signature. If anything SCASEYS posts ever becomes a sticky i'm gonna light this whole place on fire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted June 28, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 28, 2013 so to clarify, OBXT and LGT front struts are the same and KYB Excel-G's are a better than stock replacement? I ask because I have my old OBXT fronts a potential Koni donors. No. OBXT and LGT struts are not the same. OBXT struts are longer are will not work for konis, AFAIK. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) ^correct, however, since front konis are just inserts, as long as the piston stroke is the same or similar, i have an idea on how to make them fit on OB housings. ther rears are full units so you cant use them on an outback if you keep OB frnt strut housings unless you get some sort of super thick saggy butt spacer. Edited June 28, 2013 by whitetiger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways the Seven Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Interested to hear your solution as my ideal setup would be OBXT strut bodies with upgraded dampers and lowering springs. Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk 2 -Brandon 2007 Chevrolet Suburban LT3 1981 Chevrolet C10 LWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted June 28, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 28, 2013 Just as an FYI, I had BC coilovers on my OBXT. I used the model spec'd for a LGT. I had no problem reaching a decent ride height with them. But in doing so left only a few inches of travel which does not work well on public roads. When I switched to the LGT OEM suspension with the Koni inserts I found the stock LGT spring rate to soft or the spring too short. So I removed them and put the OBXT stock springs in. So what I have now is LGT bodies, Koni inserts and OBXT springs. This is the best setup I've tried on my car. Can you measure your ride height front/rear from hub to fender and post up the numbers? "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 OK, and this is just for the fronts, to install koni insets in OB strut bodies, you need to take up the extra space on the bottom of the strut with a spacer and then use a longer bolt to secure the space on the body. no sure how long the spacer needs to be but if i had a koni insert, a lgt shock and an OB shock, i could measure and find out. this is assuming the tube diameter of the shock bodies are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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