Official Suspension FAQ - Swaybars - Struts/Springs - Coilovers - Alignment

Does anyone know if SUS springs will directly fit on a 97 legacy wagon without giving it a height increase??

No it will

 

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pretty sure sedan springs arent going to fit on your wagon

Yeah that's what I was thinking too. It seems impossible to find oem or even aftermarket springs for my wagon to pass safety.

 

Thanks for the help though guys.

Get H&Rs

 

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The problem with Outback/SUS springs on a sedan strut is that it's too large for the strut.

 

No after market company makes wagon specific springs anymore.

 

Go with full '04 STi assemblies and some spacers in the rear. Or, go with Raceland coils and adjust height as you want.

You are way better off with kybs and h&rs with spacers over cheap raceland coils any day. Plus they will last many more years

^ I loved that setup on my old wagon

 

srsly the best strut/spring combo for this gen.

As far as coils are concerned, I would never overlook Raceland. I've driven several different cars with them installed. If you're not concerned about track racing, they're damn good.

 

But, if you don't like coils, get spring/struts. Personally though, I don't think KYB struts have enough dampening.. At least not to my liking. But, it's all about the strut/spring combination and what you're looking for out of it.

 

I wish there was a way to easily install Koni's on our cars. I got a set of Koni's yellow adjustable's with Neuspeed race springs for the Honda.

 

Holy Sh#t..... Best suspension combo I have ever used.

Under $1000 coils last max of 2-3 years, while kybs and h&rs will last you 10 years.

 

You can put konis on our car easy, wrx stuff fits the same and they make them for the wrx.

Yes, but the Koni's are inserts and I hate screwing with that crap.

The KYB/H&R setup you guys mentioned is it legacy specific parts or WRX,STI parts???

The H&R and the KYBs will be for legacy's

 

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Ok thanks

Forgive me if I'm asking a repeat question, I've read the first page but not the 25 after cuz I'm on my phone. But here it goes.

 

So I understand a bigger rear sway bar, like 22mm, will help considerably with under steer (stock is a 16mm, right?). But if I replaced the front with, say, the 25mm tribeca bar, would I basically be back to square one with under steer? Since I'm bringing the ratio, so to speak, close to stock.

 

Also I have an 18mm rear bar from my old outback. I plan to throw that in. If I was able to source a cheap tribeca bar should I? Or would that be to unbalanced?

Edited March 7, 2014 by SockMonkey

I'm running that 25mm bar up front and a 22mm in the back, it's pretty balanced.

 

don't run these on stock endlinks though

How do you think it would be with the 18 in back until I could get a 22? Do you think I should hold off on the 25 until I could do both at the same time? Edited March 7, 2014 by SockMonkey

So I understand a bigger rear sway bar, like 22mm, will help considerably with under steer (stock is a 16mm, right?). But if I replaced the front with, say, the 25mm tribeca bar, would I basically be back to square one with under steer? Since I'm bringing the ratio, so to speak, close to stock.

 

Also I have an 18mm rear bar from my old outback. I plan to throw that in. If I was able to source a cheap tribeca bar should I? Or would that be to unbalanced?

 

How do you think it would be with the 18 in back until I could get a 22? Do you think I should hold off on the 25 until I could do both at the same time?

 

Yes, a larger rear sway bar will help reduce under-steer TENDENCY.

 

Yes, stock RSB is 16 mm.

 

Yes, if you replaced the front bar with a 25 mm Tribeca bar you will increase TENDENCY. The tendency would be much more prone to under-steer than stock.

 

I say tendency, because any car, properly driven to (and only to, and not beyond) it's limits will take any turn neutrally.

 

Yes, an 18mm OB RSB is perfectly fine to use. The difference is almost indescribable though. 2 mm on a hollow sway bar isn't enough to really notice. Now, if you are going to install it, make sure that you have the frame/chassis mount as you won't be able to install it otherwise.

 

Using a 25 mm hollow Tribeca FSB with an 18 mm OB RSB will still increase the tendency to under-steer. Why? The ratio is still biased. You'd then have a FSB that is 7 mm larger up front than the rear. Stock is 20 mm up front, so that's only a 5 mm difference. Will you notice the difference? Probably not, but body motions may be held in check a bit more than stock.

 

I would hold off on installing any sway bars until you can install both the hollow Tribeca 25 mm FSB and the solid 22mm RSB.

 

I'm running that 25mm bar up front and a 22mm in the back, it's pretty balanced.

 

don't run these on stock endlinks though

 

Agreed. Upgrade the end-links is very necessary.

 

This setup is more balanced, because the 25 mm hollow is nearer to the strength (if not maybe a bit less) of the 22m solid bar.

 

--

 

Remember, any car can be driven with a neutral balance. Changing the balance will only change how you need to control it, as well as change under/over-steer tendencies. On dry pavement, not being able to rotate a stock sedan as easily (if at all, really) as a stock wagon is annoying as hell!!!

 

Speaking of which, do you have a sedan or a wagon?

Thank you! That's basically what I was thinking. I figured I wouldn't see much a difference with the 18mm but since I have the outback I might as well grab it and the mount. I'll wait until I can do both and I'll work on sourcing a cheap Tribeca bar, though I can grab one on eBay now for $90, but that will have to wait.

 

And I have a 97 gt sedan. I'm working on a real right budget. This is my current plan for first suspension mod:

 

I already have a brand new set of 98 outback struts. I also have a 18mm rear sway bar from an outback to replace the 16mm gt one. Now I know the outback struts will lift the car an inch or so. But if I threw on a set of H&R Springs it would drop it back down to near stock hight. And if I used B&G springs it would actually be a little lower then stock by maybe an inch or so. So in the end I'd maintain a near stock suspension geometry but have a stiffer/sportier setup. Another advantage would be the higher spring perches of the outback struts would give some more room for, say, some 17x7 sti wheels.

 

What do you think? I don't really want to go lower, living in Maine these road aren't always forgiving. But this should tighten things up.

Edited March 7, 2014 by SockMonkey

i have a 95 wagon with stock L struts (no outback difference that year) and am running 17X7.5 drag specialties with 205/45 tires on them. i have room under the perches for a taller tire still, the 205/45 is about .24" larger diameter than the stock tires size or something like that, i forget

I had a 98 legacy Wagon and I threw some 16" forester wheels on it (stock forester tire size I believe) and the tires rubbed pretty bad on the rear spring perches. I'll have to check when I stop by my father's. He still had the tires.

Stock Forester tires are 5% bigger in diameter than 98 lgt tires, which is probably why you had the tires rubbing. Although the rim size is the same, it doesn't mean the height of the sidewalls are the same.

 

Forester uses 215-60 R16 Tires

Legacy uses 205-55 R16 Tires

 

I used a tire calculator to compare the forest tires to the legacy tires:

https://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator/205-55R16/215-60R16/205-55R16

Oh ya I know. But if I throw 17-18 rims on it I'll have more tire options with the outback struts.

coil over question here. if i install them and drop it a little and have it aligned, if i raise it back up for the winter, do i need to get another alignment or will the angles still stay the same? Edited March 8, 2014 by boattlebot

Any change, ANY at all will need an alignment. Especially with the ridiculous caster sweep our suspensions have. Yes, it sucks. Worn bushings and worn tires suck worse.

 

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