Official 5th Generation Suspension Thread

And the springs have cups in them....

 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160917/b28c585057b55986030072183df56671.jpg

 

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And the springs have cups in them....

 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160917/b28c585057b55986030072183df56671.jpg

 

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Chips...

It's time to play.......

 

What's wrong with this picture!!..

 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160917/1782d6eb0f6cf5b013781693ee3b48fd.jpg

 

What's wrong is that I specifically had my order spec'd to 9kF and 8kR springs!

 

And as you can see, after waiting a month since ordering, my coilovers finally come in with 8kF and 6kR springs!!!!!!

 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160917/d2fc84607f6551c05496f2097e7c69a8.jpg

 

[emoji17] WTF!?!???

 

I'm sick of waiting, and I really don't want to have to wait for these coilovers all over again.

 

 

 

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I went from tein street basis that were 6f 5r...to HKS hypermaxIV which are 6f 7r and I thought that was plenty stiff and middle settings for dampening. Why are you wanting such stiff rates? Planning on slamming the car static?

I just got my LGT back after having 2013 springs & Bilstein shocks/struts installed. The difference in handling is EPIC! With custom stage 2 tune the car used to squat massively in rear and front would rise up when I punched it in a straight line. Wallowing in corners and floating over bumps was the norm with 80K on the stock suspension.

 

Now the car feels tight, maybe even a little rough riding over irregular roads. I suspect this may improve as everything settles in over the next few hundred miles though.

 

I do have a question re: alignment that those with expertise may be able to answer. The shop performing the alignment is showing irregular camber on right front & rear wheels (see https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16137147/alignment.pdf), telling me there is no adjustment. Is this correct? Should I be concerned? Any suggestions for a fix?

Edited September 17, 2016 by cazwizzle
adding PDF link

I went from tein street basis that were 6f 5r...to HKS hypermaxIV which are 6f 7r and I thought that was plenty stiff and middle settings for dampening. Why are you wanting such stiff rates? Planning on slamming the car static?

I'm guessing they guessing they thought the specs were too stiff for the car, and changed them. I wish they could've at least asked me before going ahead. At least give me a 50lb split instead of 100....

 

I know swift springs are supposed to be good against corrosion, chips to down to the metal can't be good on any spring..

 

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I just got my LGT back after having 2013 springs & Bilstein shocks/struts installed. The difference in handling is EPIC! With custom stage 2 tune the car used to squat massively in rear and front would rise up when I punched it in a straight line. Wallowing in corners and floating over bumps was the norm with 80K on the stock suspension.

 

Now the car feels tight, maybe even a little rough riding over irregular roads. I suspect this may improve as everything settles in over the next few hundred miles though.

 

I do have a question re: alignment that those with expertise may be able to answer. The shop performing the alignment is showing irregular camber on right front & rear wheels (see https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16137147/alignment.pdf), telling me there is no adjustment. Is this correct? Should I be concerned? Any suggestions for a fix?

 

 

Seems a little strange to me that it's that different from side to side. Front camber is actually adjustable via the eccentric bolts in the shock mounts, but rear camber is fixed (without aftermarket parts). I'd ask them to investigate why your camber is so different from side to side, and assuming it's something simple like them needing to bounce the car a little after they drive it on to the track to settle the suspension, have them tweak the front camber to get it more even.

How soon after the install did you have the alignment done? I believe I waited around 500mi to let everything settle a bit before getting my car aligned Edited September 17, 2016 by Zee199969

Several guys have had this issue where the RR has a lot more camber than the LR, RailKill is,one I can think of and he went with adjustable LCAs to fix it. It was similar to yours, about 1* difference.

They are obviously a bit out of it though if they think the front is fixed.

 

Give the rear some time to settle.

 

Also, check that the perches are the same height in the rear. The Bilsteins actually have changeable ride height in the rear and if they are set different it could be sitting crooked.

 

Your left rear camber is low and right rear is high for oem height. That indicates the car was sitting crooked. Could be a similar situation in the front.

 

I'd make them second check that but since you need to let it settle down anyway and get another alignment, it's not a big deal.

 

Also, you have some cross caster in the front which is probably causing a slight pull to the left on deceleration, and you probably want to dial in about 1 degree of negative camber in the front, both sides for improved handling.

Edited September 17, 2016 by brandon.mol

^^^ The Legacy sits crooked from the factory. The only way to fix it is with coilovers.

 

One side is at least 3/8" lower. It is not the springs nor the install. It is the car.

Hey guys. I'm planning on buying the rest of my suspension parts and wheels and tires after Christmas and mounting everything up in the spring when the weather improves. I've pretty much sorted out what I need for the main suspension components, but I've realized there's a lot of other suspension parts that I don't necessarily know the exact function of, and if it would be advisable to pick up as well based on the setup I'm going for. I've never modified suspension before, so a lot of it is still new to me.

 

Here's the main setup I will be going with:

 

-Koni Yellows front/back with KYB donor fronts

-Eibach Pro-kit Springs

-19x8.5 rim between +35 and +45 offset (undecided rim choice)

-245/40/19 tires

 

Based on that setup, I was hoping you guys could tell me what of these other suspension parts would be advisable to pick up as well, or if they're not exactly necessary, or if they'd be completely superfluous. (I am looking through the list of HardRace parts to base this list on. Wouldn't necessarily be buying HardRace, just referencing.)

 

-Rear Trailing Arms

-Rear Toe Control Arms

-Rear Lower Control Arms

-Rear Lower Control Arm/Camber kit

-Rear Upper Camber Arm

 

Also, I don't know the difference between pillow ball and hardened rubber for each of these. Which would be preferable?

 

I somewhat understand the function of most of these, but not fully, and am looking to find out what would I need, what's a good idea to have, and what I don't need at all. Also, if there's any other components I should include that aren't on this list.

 

Thanks for any and all help guys!

Edited October 19, 2016 by Humble Rumble

All of those parts can be installed. It would be really nice to have all of those parts new as you would have nice new bushings for your whole suspension. That being said you do not "need" any of it. The rear caber kit would be nice though. I know that I am planning on doing something for my rear camber. Mine is fine where it is, but I would like to have some adjustability to get it dialed in exactly how I want. So imho, you don't need those parts, but man would it be sweet to have all new everything.

I have a set of SPC LCAs that will be going in when I get around to installing my Koni/Eibach combo, either those or the Whiteline equivalent would be a good, relatively-inexpensive rear camber correction solution. They're pretty much identical aside from color, but the Whiteline kit includes a pair of eccentric toe bushings, which could be useful.

I did the Koni/RCE black route and the RR camber was out of limits. I ordered, (2) SPC Performance 67660 Adjustable Camber Arms, and all is good in the camber world again.

I have a set of SPC LCAs that will be going in when I get around to installing my Koni/Eibach combo, either those or the Whiteline equivalent would be a good, relatively-inexpensive rear camber correction solution. They're pretty much identical aside from color, but the Whiteline kit includes a pair of eccentric toe bushings, which could be useful.

No, the SPC kit includes the toe bushings. The Whiteline kit which I have in my Forester, has an eccentric inboard LCA hard bushing for more camber adjustment.

Could you guys possibly clarify the difference between some of those extra parts I posted? A lot of them seem redundant to my layman brain, and I tried researching them on wikipedia but much of the language there was still too technical for me. For instance, how does a rear lower control arm differ from a rear upper camber arm in function? Seems to me like they both adjust the same thing. And how does tossing the camber kit into the LCA change it? Very ignorant to the specifics of these type of things.

 

Edit: Actually, forget the camber kit, it was mentioned for "Extreme low use". But the LCA and UCA do still seem redundant to me.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Humble Rumble

Yea I was figuring if the camber adjustment is about the same, you could go with either the rear LCA or rear UCA. Though the rear UCA seems to be fewer bolts so that might be less time consuming to do

Normally you would remove the LCA to replace the strut/spring anyways.

I went ahead and emailed for pricing on all the parts anyways besides the extreme low LCAs, cause I'll be damned if I don't love that HardRace blue, and now BBPeik has got me thinking about how gorgeous all that blue will look underneath my car and DAMN IT BRANDON.

No, the SPC kit includes the toe bushings. The Whiteline kit which I have in my Forester, has an eccentric inboard LCA hard bushing for more camber adjustment.

 

Moral of the story, trust the guy who has actually installed the parts, not the guy who has them taking up space in the garage...

FWIW, correcting camber with an adjustable LCA is easier, and until the new Hardrace adjustable UCA, it was really our only feasible option. The downside of pulling the tires in with the LCA to correct camber, is that you reduce the rear track, and some suspension gurus don't like doing that. With the adjustable UCA, you retain factory track, but exacerbate fender clearance issues with wide tires.

Just a follow up on my Fortune Auto 500 coilovers since I've installed them.

 

Specs:

 

Springs:

Swift springs with 9k up front and 8k on the rear.

 

Valving:

Valving for shocks is 11k up front and 10k in the rear.

 

Despite the stiff springs the ride on full soft is amazing. I would liken it to an BMW M5 MFY 2002. So supple, but firm will very minimal body roll in the turns.

 

THE VALVING IS A WORK OF ART!

 

Seriously, I thought, the valving was going to make this set totally too stiff or soft and bouncy.

 

Wrong, the damping is perfect, so perfect in fact, that I don't even want to move it from full soft.

 

I do need to fix my ride height one more time, and when I do, I'll probably increase my damping just to see what kind of change is felt.

 

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I went ahead and emailed for pricing on all the parts anyways besides the extreme low LCAs, cause I'll be damned if I don't love that HardRace blue, and now BBPeik has got me thinking about how gorgeous all that blue will look underneath my car and DAMN IT BRANDON.

Bea ha ha ha.

 

By the way. ZERO benefit in replacing your rear trailing arms since 2012 cars come with pillow ball from the factory. Leave em be.

 

Hardened rubber is more durable and will probably last forever. Particularly a good idea on the lower control arms. I have pillow ball Megan toe arms and they have been no issue however we don't have a lot of salt and I burry them in axle grease.

 

I'd choose poly or hardened rubber parts over pillow ball all day long for a daily driver especially if it sees salt.

 

By the way, Megan parts with pillow ball bearings are identical to Hardrace parts with pillow ball bearings, with a different sticker applied. Same manufacturer. Hardrace offers the hardened rubber variants but their prices are steep compared to Megan, and generally less available.

 

I think the best rear suspension linkage mod you can do is a set of adjustable toe links and an SPL lockout kit to eliminate eccentric bolt movement. After that it's literally impossible for your rear alignment to change unless parts break/bend or bushings take a crap.

Edited October 20, 2016 by brandon.mol

Kinda curious to what setups we are all using... Its about time we had a thread like this anyway.

 

Currently available suspension options. (AFAIK) Please feel free to add

 

Coilovers :

Racecomp Engineering Tarmac 0 Coilovers

Racecomp Engineering Tarmac II Coilovers

BC Racing Coilovers

Megan Street Coilovers

KW Version 3

Fortune 500 Coilovers

Tein Flex

JRZ RS1

 

Aftermarket Springs :

 

Tanabe NF210 Springs

 

Swift Springs

Front 3.4Kg/190Lbs

Rear 4.0Kg/225Lbs

Drop (Approximate) 1.3"

 

Tein S Techs

Front 3.9Kg/219Lbs

Rear 4.3Kg/241Lbs

Drop (Approximate) 1.6"

 

Racecomp Engineering "Blacks"

Front 240lbs

Rear 245lbs

Drop (Approximate) 0.8"

Eibach Springs

Front 200 - 296lbs (Progressive)

Rear 214 - 274lbs (Progressive)

Drop (Approximate) 1.0"

 

H&R Springs

Drop (Approximate) 1.3"

 

Aftermarket Struts :

Racecomp Engineering/Bilstein Struts (PM RCE for orders)

2008+ OEM WRX Struts ( http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2009-wrx-oem-setup-2013-legacy-6mt-200789.html )

2013 Legacy Struts with 08+ WRX Koni Inserts (Front and Rear) ( http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/koni-inserts-built-13-oem-housing-205705.html?p=4389294 )

 

Swaybars :

2008+ STI Rear Swaybars (OEM, Whiteline, Perrin, RCE, etc)

2010+ Outback OEM Rear Swaybar

Whiteline BSF41XZ 26mm Front Sway Bar

 

Misc : (Bushings, Endlinks, Etc)

08+ WRX/STI Perrin Anti Lift Kit

08+ WRX/STI Endlinks (Rallitek HD, Kartboy KAR KB-017-F KAR KB-017-08)

08+ WRX/STI Whiteline KCA326 Rear Camber Bushings

08+ WRX/STI Adjustable Rear Lower Control Arms (Megan, Cusco CUS 692 474 L)

08+ WRX/STI Adjustable Rear Toe Arms (GT-Spec GTS SUS-1407)

GT-Spec Rear Rear Strut Brace (GTS-SUS-1425)

KCA313 Roll Center Kit

KCA406 Front Control Arm Inner Rear Bushing and Positive Caster kit

KDT905 Rear Differential Positive Power Front Kit

W63225 Rear Upper Inner Control Arm Bushing Kit

W0568 Rear Trailing Arm Front Bushing Kit

KB-017WLS Kartboy Whiteline Front Swaybar Spacers (For Compatibility with Kartboy Front End-Links) (Hat tip to fredrik04087 for expanding on this list)

 

 

Any questions regarding numerous suspension setups should be posted here to create a database for all users...

 

 

 

 

 

Post pics and specs of your respective setup!

 

I'm looking at these two bars:

http://subaruonlineparts.com/subaru-legacy-rear-20mm-sway-p-4226.html

http://subaruonlineparts.com/subaru-legacy-rear-19mm-sway-p-3892.html

 

I am not sure if any member has experienced with either one of them. I saw a post saying 20mm causes a 144% increase in stiffness compared to 99% in the 19mm. Any thoughts on which I should get?

I have the 20mm bar, you definitely wouldn't be unhappy with it. The 22mm Whiteline option may be a little better option if you have a heavier front bar, but with stock suspension and the stock '10-'12 23mm FSB, it's a huge improvement over the stock 16mm noodle.

 

Also, there's a chart either earlier in this thread or in the suspension sticky that lists out the differences in stiffness for various bar diameters, which would be where those percentages you referenced probably came from (unless you grabbed them from there yourself...).