Bilsteins and RCE Blacks on stock wheels

Does anyone have pics of their car with RCE'S Billstein and Blacks on stock wheels?

 

I'd love to take a gander at them before deciding on my next steps...

The Bilstein part of that equation doesn't matter, you just need someone with Blacks and stock wheels to post a pic.

Search is your friend.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fs-ca-los-angeles-modified-2012-legacy-2-5gt-limited-240064.html?t=240064&highlight=RCE+Bilstein

Does anyone have pics of their car with RCE'S Billstein and Blacks on stock wheels?

You're looking at about a 3/4" drop from stock at rest, though the rears have a 5-position perch clip. I raised mine one step to compensate for the load usually carried in the trunk for work.

 

I see you live in Ohio. If winter makes your roads look like the Moon's surface, you might want to reconsider the Blackstein combo. I rode mine for about 18 months and 40,000 miles on the "roads" of Vermont and never did get comfortable with how they handled broken pavement. That's about 75% of the reason why I now drive a '16 FXT.

Roads in Cincinnati aren't as bad as say....Cleveland or Michghan. I'm thinking about either doing the Koni's and H&R's or RCE's setup with a slightly wider tire on stock wheels.

You could also do RCE Blacks with Konis [emoji16]

or RCE's setup with a slightly wider tire on stock wheels.

Whereas in my experience the snows on 17" rims with the extra sidewall gave the BlackSteins just a skosh more comfort, though clearly at the expense of flingability (yet the Hakka R2 snows on the '16 FXT have better dry-road grip than the usual crappy stockers). I know it flies in the face of why anyone buys BlackSteins, but unless you're on perfect roads all of the time the 17" setup will be more comfortable over time.

 

Don't get me wrong. On newly-paved roads that setup was golden, even to my then-50YO bad-back wide-ass carcass. On the yet-unrepaired Irene-ravaged VT roads (which were/are the best twisties stretches in VT), it was painful.

Here you go! 3.6 wheels on BlackSteins. This was right after installing them, but they settled maybe a quarter inch more after this.

 

They are great on corners and smooth surfaces, but so bouncy on minnesota's crater filled roads.

 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160401/e0099773e892b6326d35b01410f8bfa6.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160401/5aeffc97494979be597b050ecbbd1b26.jpg

 

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Here's a link to mine when I had stock wheels http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5046498

You could also do RCE Blacks with Konis [emoji16]

 

Zee I've been vacillating back and forth between Koni/H&R, Koni/Blacks, Bilstein/Blacks, or Bilstein/H&R

 

GTeaser tells me no one has done the Bilstein/H&R.

 

I like the height of the blacks on Koni's. Have you noticed any sag, or further drop since installing your blacks?

 

Would you guys put RCE Blacks over Eibach?

Eibach for sure, especially with Bilsteins. Less harsh and softer spring rate in the first inch of travel with stiffer progression.

Blacks with Koni's because stiffer spring rate but adjustability of the shocks can smooth everything out or firm it up tight for better performance.

Zee I've been vacillating back and forth between Koni/H&R, Koni/Blacks, Bilstein/Blacks, or Bilstein/H&R

 

GTeaser tells me no one has done the Bilstein/H&R.

 

I like the height of the blacks on Koni's. Have you noticed any sag, or further drop since installing your blacks?

 

Would you guys put RCE Blacks over Eibach?

I went with the Blacks cuz I wanted the least drop and stiffer springs. It ended up settling closer to 1" than the advertised 0.8".

 

But I guess road quality in your area would steer you towards a complimentary spring set

I can upload a picture of mine later if you want. Mine honestly aren't as bouncy as I had anticipated. I've ridden in my buddies STI a few times and I honestly think its much more bouncy than the blackstien setup on our cars. The roads in DC are absolutely awful so rough roads aren't always fun but most definitely not unreasonable. Those times when I get a nice smooth open road put the biggest grin on my face.

Yeah after reviewing the instructions on Koni's site for the Cut-A-Strut, the process is pretty simple. I can definitely do this at my buddies garage.

 

You win GTEASER

 

Now it's just a matter of choosing which spring to use..... ;-)

 

Now it's just a matter of choosing which spring to use..... ;-)

 

Check with Eibach...I think they might still have the sport springs on closeout available.

 

PRO-KIT Performance Springs

2010 - 2011 SUBARU Legacy

Part #: 7722.140

Availability: 3

 

http://eibach.com/sites/all/product_search/th-PKK.jpg

http://eibach.com/america/en/performance-suspension/closeout

This is for 4th Gens so the place you cut the donor might be a little different but everything else is the same.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/koni-shock-strut-epic-engineering-spring-install-145744.html?t=145744&highlight=koni+epic

Check with Eibach...I think they might still have the sport springs on closeout available.

 

PRO-KIT Performance Springs

2010 - 2011 SUBARU Legacy

Part #: 7722.140

Availability: 3

 

http://eibach.com/sites/all/product_search/th-PKK.jpg

http://eibach.com/america/en/performance-suspension/closeout

 

Do these guys make more springs just to sell them on the closeout page or something? Guess it's better to not ask, maybe they'll stop doing it...

 

I hemmed and hawed and ended up missing out on the last batch because a few other people had more or less called dibs on those 3 sets, but I might have to go ahead and pull the trigger this time.

This is for 4th Gens so the place you cut the donor might be a little different but everything else is the same.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/koni-shock-strut-epic-engineering-spring-install-145744.html?t=145744&highlight=koni+epic

 

This is the how to guide i need. I am in the build process for the struts.

 

Do these guys make more springs just to sell them on the closeout page or something? Guess it's better to not ask, maybe they'll stop doing it...

 

I hemmed and hawed and ended up missing out on the last batch because a few other people had more or less called dibs on those 3 sets, but I might have to go ahead and pull the trigger this time.

 

I was one of the ones who scooped up on the first go round. The inventory number has stayed at 3. Give them a call to place your order. If you try it online it will come up around $350.

Yep, planning on calling them this afternoon. There quantity available stayed at 3 last time, they just pulled the listing when they sold out.

This is the how to guide i need. I am in the build process for the struts.

 

 

Here are some helpful hints:

 

The fronts donors after they are cut and deburred (the cut edge must be totally smooth), measured from the inside bottom of the donor to the top of the tube (cut end), MUST BE between 11-7/8" and 12". Any longer and the Koni will not go all the way in, any shorter and the nubs on the top of the Koni will not seat into the strut tube entirely.

 

Do not bang on the top of the Koni to get it started in the tube, banging will cause it to leak.

 

Get some hardened bolts from the hardware store in the same size and thread pitch as the one used by Koni to secure the insert into the donor. You need it to be 10mm-20mm longer than the one supplied. Use this to SUCK the Koni into the tube. You may need some large washers also to space it during the sucking process so it doesn't bottom out in the bottom of the insert. Only use the Allen Head bolt supplied by Koni for the final torquing, to 55 ft/lbs, and use Blue LocTite. The head of that bolt rounds out easily, so try not to damage it.

 

The rears are very straight forward and you probably won't even need a spring compressor for those. You will need to drill out your stock tophat center to 31/64" (12mm) to accept the slightly larger Koni shock rod, but no bigger than that otherwise you don't leave enough material on the tophat for the shoulder of the Koni shock rod to sit against.

 

Get a set of Pass-Thru sockets to disassemble the stock shocks from the tophat since you need to hold the stock shock rod with an allen key to keep it from spinning.

 

When tightening the tophats onto the Koni's, just get them as tight as you can. IIRC you can just use an open end wrench and smaller box end to keep the Koni shock rod from spinning. I have never torqued them and never had a problem.

 

Pay attention to the way that your stock assemblies come apart.

 

The rear Koni spring perch (silver stamped steel) goes down like a hat, not up like a bowl. Several guys have made this mistake and wondered why their cars were raised in the rear when they put it back on the ground.

 

When taking the rears apart, remove the outboard 3 bolts from the rear LCA. This drops the control arm down allowing you to pull the shock out. When reassembling, use a drift to line up the bolt holes and jack to push the control arm up, starting with the end link bolt, then the lower shock bolt, then the hub carrier bolt.

 

Torque Specs in foot pounds:

 

Front tophats 15

Front lower strut bolts to hub upright 114

 

Rear tophats 22

Rear end link to LCA 24

Rear lower shock to LCA 89

Rear hub carrier to LCA 59

^exactly all this. Get a pass thru socket set. I had fun turning the nut on the top hats for a good 5min before I realized I wasn't doing anything productive.[emoji51]

*cranks at nut for 15 minutes* "Hun, what are you doing?" "Working on my car." 2 hours later *sits in front of computer* "You all done?" "Uhhhhh...yeah." *logs on to LegacyGT.com*

Here are some helpful hints:

 

The fronts donors after they are cut and deburred....

 

output truncated

 

Torque Specs in foot pounds:

 

Front tophats 15

Front lower strut bolts to hub upright 114

 

Rear tophats 22

Rear end link to LCA 24

Rear lower shock to LCA 89

Rear hub carrier to LCA 59

 

those helpful hints above with the link to the guide would be perfect start for a 5th Gen KONI install sticky!!

 

Future member would have to sift through and probably wouldnt look in a Bilsteins and RCE blacks thread regarding KONIs.....JS

Wow.. $93.. I may have to grab those instead of blacks. And maybe think about doing the konis!

 

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