Wagon Suspension

I am looking at new shocks and struts for my 2.5i wagon. I want to tighten things up a little without changing the ride height on my car. I'd like to keep the stock springs but I am not ruling out a spring change....are there springs out there that don't change the ride height?

 

Looks like my choices are Bilstein HD'S or Koni Sports. Both are pretty close in price. Not looking for super tuned anything, just a little stiffer on the compression an improvement in dampening over the stock setup.

 

 

 

Anyone have opinions on this:rolleyes:

 

Hanger, what have you done in that dept?

I thought all the aftermarket shocks required aftermarket (shorter) springs? There was a long thread on the HD's and what springs would/wouldn't work. I am in the same boat, I wanted to stiffen up the ride but keep the ride height so I don't drag the hitch and can go down old carraige roads to trails heads. I was looking at coilovers but thought they would give up too much comfort but then BJ started carrying the MR outback coilovers. They use stock rubber tophats so they won't be as harsh and allow height adjustment from slightly lower than Outback to I think slightly lower than GT. I would have them on my car if I had the cash.

shorter springs would be lame if that is the only option.

i have the bilstien HDs with pinks and they are great. I have not seen any aftermarket springs that won't lower the car. and if you use any of the Bilstiens with your stock springs you will likely raise the front by around 1/2" because the bilstien specific front mounts are thicker.

 

You could call Rallispec and ask them if they can get JDM GT wagon springs. Not pinks, stock JDM GT wagon springs. Those would work very well with the HDs and your ride height wouldn't change. if you call Rallispec they can probably get them for you for the same price as the pinks (~$400.) not cheap, but it would work well. just make sure you get wagon springs because sedan rear springs won't work well on a wagon. i almost took this route but decided to get the pinks.

 

your other option is to see if the Koni inserts would fit in the 2.5i struts. then you could use stock springs or get some USDM GT wagon springs.

unfortunately i don't think anyone has tried them on a 2.5i so you may have to cut up a strut to find out if they work. it's only the fronts that have to be cut, the rears aren't inserts. but again, i don't know if anyone has put them on a 2.5i yet.

I think your setup is were I am headed. The pinks only lower the car 15mm front and back. I can probably live with that...gotta put my winter wheels on just to verify.

 

So that setup is pretty nice for daily driving?

I personally love this setup. it is exactly what i wanted. more firm than stock, but not too firm (at least not for me.) i'm running 225/45/17 eagle F1 tires which have a fairly soft sidewall, and slightly more sidewall than the stock tire size (215/45/17). you feel bumps more, especially at low speeds. i've spilled my coffee a couple mornings by hitting bumps while trying to drink it. but the car handles so much better it's more than worth it. there is far less lean, and far less squat and dive. The car is really secure now when you're moving fast. i was afraid to drive this car fast before because the back end was so unpredictable. you would hit a bump and the back end would take off. now it stays planted. and my rear sway is only 20mm and I still have a stock front bar on.

 

the only down side is that it does lower the car. i think it lowers it more than 15mm, i would say almost an inch. if you will be loading up the car with 4 people and filling the back with luggage you might hit the bump stops more than stock. for me this isn't really an issue because I have a good size car seat center mounted in the back and it pretty much takes over the back seat. no one would want to try and squeeze in next to it. when we go on vacation we take my wife's accord because it's so much larger inside. if you will be loading up the car a lot i would consider getting the JDM GT wagon springs. I'm sure they will work just as well. or you can put an extra spring seat in the rear which a couple other people have done with some success.

sounds like what I am after but lowering it an inch could be too much. It's hard to say but I am going to put my snow wheels on a check it out. I am more concerned about snow and ice buildup in the wheel wells than I am about carrying extra weight. JDM GT wagon springs, hmmm?

 

drop this an inch and it might be lame in the winter...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b179/aboone1970/car2.jpg

2.5i + Bilstein HD + OEM springs = this:

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_OEM_springs/DSC_8415.jpg

 

I had a spring maker reset the OEM front springs 13mm lower. The ride height is now perfect & handling balance sublime (better...much better...than when running Whiteline Control springs).

looks like an outback...

 

so what exactly is involved in resetting the front springs?

No, it looks like a 2.5i.

 

This is the final result:

 

http://photos.all.id.au/ALBUMS/SJ_RT615/DSC_8948.jpg

 

AUD$70 to reset the springs. Easy as.

 

Here's my thoughts on how much better it is now:

 

Ride

 

First getting into the car the ride height change is noticable. No more falling down into the seat...back to the way it was. But without the slight wallow the OEM spring/damper combination used to give. Things are looking up. Moving down Maianbar Drive & tackling the broken tarmac that used to result in real punishment & fabulous...the car is now flowing down the road, not beating up on it! No pitch, no yaw, just arrow-straight tracking. Indeed, the steering feel & response is now better. Huh? Well, w/ the lowered springs the car was almost constantly restless, shuffling about & sometimes exhibiting an odd diagonal pitching motion across certain bumps that seemed to indicate poor front/rear spring rate matching. Now, the car seems to absorb the imperfections & maintains a stable platform that I so love in the Fiesta.

 

Primary ride (aka: float) is a total non-issue, as is power-off-the-line pitching which was a queasy by-product of the OEM dampers. The ride simply feels polished but in a way I haven't felt in any other GEN4 Liberty offerings (and my experience includes 2.5i's, H6's (KYB & OEM Bilstein) & MY04 2.0i's). I know that my Bilstein dampers are the same specification as the "Tuned by STI" model (they came in the same shipment from the same factory, the OEM R-B ride is noticably softer than mine ever was & Jasper was forced to revalve to meet family requirements) & I honestly feel the 2.5i OEM spring w/ this model damper is the way to go.

 

Steering

 

The steering is more delicate but with improved feel. I think that may be somewhat due to increased caster - the WL Control springs addressed the typical but subtle Subaru nose-up attitude but in doing so reduced the static caster value. Yes, the car now looks slightly geeky returned to OEM ride height but I don't give a damn. It rides substantially better, deals with road imperfections with disdain & maintains a better platform with which to push through corners, onto which...

 

Handling

 

This was the aspect I was most worried about. Surely the ride would be better, but would the handling trade-off be too great? Absolutely not.

 

First, to the only detrimental aspect I can find...through slow corners the nose pushes wide more readily than it used to. But big deal - we are talking 90 degree sharp bends at 50-60km/h & so what? Once I get camber sorted (raising the car has visually reduced negative camber) it'll be close to the way it was but it's improved in every other aspect.

 

High-speed turns feel more fluid now with no reduction in grip & certainly improved stability. As discussed in the ride section, I felt a spring rate mismatch in some corners resulting in a subtle diagonal pitch but that's vanished. Corners with bumps (and that describes 99% of Sydney's roads) are simply sucked up & spat out the back. No more pummelling. This is fcuking great!

 

What's even more surprising is that roll seems to be better dealt with. Perhaps even the small lowering vector (30mm at the most) resulted in a roll-centre detrimental change? The car leans for sure, but seemingly less than before. This has got me beat. And again, if there's a loaded-side bump to deal with, available suspension travel is now more than adequate - no more bottoming out! Yippee!

 

Finally I can keep pushing on ugly roads but I can't see a trade-off with cornering speed or traction.

 

What can I say...what an idiot. I've just wasted the last two years thumping about on lowered springs when I would have been far happier this this combination.