BC Coilover are Installed

First of all I want to thank dschultz, Duffman, OB2.5XT, Sublimejoe, Scoobyscoodle and all the other people who posted information regarding the lowering of an Outback. I purchased my 2007 OBXT a year ago and I have spent the last year reading all the post from how to install them to which system was better. Well after all my research I decided to buy the BC Coilovers with the 1” longer housing because the final cost was less than any of the other solutions. I have had them on for about a week, I have not gotten an alignment yet, I am still trying to get to the final height. I am right now at 14.5” in the front and 15.5” in the rear.

My daily commute is from an urban area to a suburban to a rural, over mostly two lane roads. I live in Hartford, Connecticut; the roads are a mix bag of typical city pot holed roads with some new asphalt to suburban patched rolling rough textured surface to rural rolling mixed surface roadways. With expansion joints, roller coaster type hills to a mountain whose road is a fast moving hill climb with sweeping left and right turns over new and old asphalt. The speed is from 30 MPH to as much as 60 depending on the time of day. I had a local mechanic install them for me, he was great and it took them about 2 hours. He just installed them right out of the box; I checked that the coilovers were set to the same length for each pair. I purchased them from Image Import Racing because of all the positive feedback that I read on this forum, and they delivered.

My driving style is spirited to plan out scary fast, so when I purchased the OBXT it was a compromise because I had been looking at an Audi Allroad and a S4 wagon but the higher mileage and repair cost did not make sense. My first purchase for the OBXT was new Rallitek front and rear sway bars, end links and AVO Rear Bracket Reinforcement which help with making the OBXT handle better. I then upgraded the brakes and rotors to legacy calipers and larger size rotors which helped in the braking department.

I will have to say, putting the BC Coilovers on has dramatically changed the way the OBXT handles. It is flatter, quicker and more predictable when driving. I am running 225/55/17 tires. The ride quality is stiffer, but not bone chilling, more like what one would expect from a sport sedan. I followed Scoobyscoodle’s recommendation for the setting on the Coilovers and they worked well for my driving situation. I will be adjusting the height to 15” all around and then get a wheel alignment. When you come around a sweeping right hand turn that is also going uphill at a fast pace the OBXT sticks to the road and follows the line, no more body sway and the rear end is more planted. High speed quick lane changes are uneventful. The coilovers react well to road surface changes, like roller coaster bumps, the tires feel planted. On some potholes you can definitely feel the jar, but you would if you were driving a BMW or Audi. I feel comfortable pushing the OBXT faster through turns and quick maneuvers don’t upset the OBXT.

The BC coilovers are IMO worth the investment, they went on easy and they ride great. They make the OBXT drive more like a sport sedan than a wallowing wagon.

And again thank you to all the people who posted about their experiences and knowledge about lowering the Outback.

 

Nelson

Welcome. Feel free to post up some photos.

Glad you are enjoying them! Lets see some pics.

yea, pics

Here are some pics. I am trying to get the struts adjusted and an aligment, but the Subaru dealer is trying to tell me you have to take the whole strut off to adjust the height. I gave them the instructions and they are saying if you do it the way BC says it will change the compression of the spring. I read the instructions viewed a bunch of Youtube videos, I have no idea what they are talking about.

 

Enjoy the photos, I will post more once the alignment is done.

 

 

Nelson

I'd take it to an alignment shop, not the dealer. I don't mind having to instruct the dealer how to do something specific if it's out of the norm, but if they're struggling to adjust the height after being shown how then I'm not sure if I'd want them setting the alignment.

When I went to pick up the car, the tech was again telling me I was wrong and that you had to take them off to set the height. I told him I spoke to Import Image who sold me the coilover and showed him in the instructions what to do, but he said no. They also told me because one of the front boots was ripped I had to have the whole axle changed. I won't be going there again.

 

I ended up at a shop that adjusted the coilover and did the alignment for me. They also found that the rear arm were frozen, which could explain some of the noise I was getting out of the rear end. Ron's, the shop I went to did a good job and a fair price.

 

Center Subaru of Torrington, CT will not be getting anymore business from me.

Nice. I've got BC Outback coilovers (longer springs and strut/shocks) on my LGT with 15.75" height all around. Whiteline bars, KB endlinks and Perrin braces.

 

You probably get some weather there in CT, so I'd slather those up with anti-seize if you want to be able to work on them down the road. Too bad they're on now. It's easier before. All the threaded and mating surfaces need it.

 

The struts definitely need the lower strut bolts loosened to adjust spring preload and ride height while on the car. I'm not particularly fond of the ride at a variety of settings, but the handling is good and I like the adjustability and modularity. I might play with different lengths, springs, height and damping when/if I refresh them. They don't appear to need it anytime soon.

Once you get it where you want get an alignment quick. When i lowered my obxt i thought itd be fine for a while and it was far from that. My rear toe was so bad that my brand new tire became bald. This is pretty much my fault though. I probably put 3-5000 miles on it before doig the alignment because everywhere i went they told me they couldnt do it. My rear toe bolts were rusted in.

I had Ron's Automotive of Torrington, CT adjust the BC Coilovers and do a aligment. They found the rear adjusters frozen, so new rear links and adjuster were put in. Ron's got the height adjusted to 15 inches from center of wheel cap to bottom of wheel arch. The car rides great. I had him use the TSB for the alignment which worked well. The car tracks straight, it hugs the road, the coilovers work great. And with the sway bars the car goes around curves nice and flat.

 

 

Nelson

I had a set of Megan Racing coilovers on my 06 Outback and found them too harsh. Finally decided to put on the original suspension back on. Are the BC coilovers harsh?

I would say they are stiff. The car does not bounce, it is more like a sport sedan. If you hit a pot hole you are going to feel it, but other wise what you get is more of a sense of the road surface. If you hit a bump or a dip the coilovers don't continue to bounce afterwards. They react and that you just continue on.

 

With the OBXT.07 now two inches lower, I am at about the same height as my wife's Legacy 3.0R and it drives about the same. You get a little more forgivence because of the extra height of the side wall. But you can go around the corners quicker and there is no body lean. The car also handle better, if you are going around a corner with a inside dip and an outside hump, the car is more controled. High speed lane changes are not scary anymore, so keeping up with the traffic is easy. Last Saturday I had load of about twenty cases of beer in the back and the car at highway speed (80 mph) was steady, it did not float, or bounce. The OBXT.07 is now a diffrent car, it is planted and is great to drive. The BC Coilovers work very well and they are top quality.

 

Nelson

I don't know if they make them for your car, but you may want to consider a. roll center kit. Makes a big big difference in the twisties.

 

Check whiteline.