Official 5th Generation Suspension Thread

^Nope, as I understand it.

What I read was the front strut spring perch is about an inch lower, which will result in the car sitting lower by that amount. It may also cause tires rubbing on the perch since the Legacy specs a larger diameter tire than the WRX.

That being said, the weight difference between a WRX and our cars was not that drastic from what I remember from that thread.

There is a thread somewhere here about that option, I would have linked if I could remember more about it to find it.

Tired of bottoming out my suspension when the car is fully loaded on speed bumps, etc... I am thinking '13 springs and Koni's all around... For the Koni's I need p/n 8010-1055S for the rear and 8610-1447S for the front. However, I thought i had read that the WRX fronts are more or less the same, except with a slightly longer max extension (so p/n 8610-1453S for the front) and the same shock body length.

 

You are absolutely correct, the 8610-1447S insert for the Legacy is valved a little stiffer for the added weight of the Legacy over the 8610-1453S WRX insert, however, I believe the difference (maybe 200 pounds at most) to be negligable. The plus side of using the 1453S, as you mentioned, is that it is 1/4" longer on the overall extension, so it is actually better for stock springs because it means you don't have to compress the long stock springs as much to get the tophats on. If you can find them, do the 1453S.

^Nope, as I understand it.

 

What I read was the front strut spring perch is about an inch lower, which will result in the car sitting lower by that amount. It may also cause tires rubbing on the perch since the Legacy specs a larger diameter tire than the WRX.

.

We are talking about Koni "inserts", the 8610 series of shocks that use the stock strut as a donor for spring perch location, not the 8710 series that are a "fully assembled strut" with perch and all. Yes, we can use the 8710 on our cars (wrxwhit did) but as you noted, the spring perches are about 3/8" lower than our spring perch and you just have to be aware of tire clearance and run a 3/8" tophat spacer to achieve the anticipated drop from the spring you're using.

GTEASER, as I understood he was asking about putting a WRX strut assembly on?

If he will be building on inserts you are absolutely right.

^Gotcha!

In that case I wouldnt mind chancing it as the weight diff and distribution difference is very minimal.

No - I was definitely looking for info on inserts. (there isn't a strut option for the Legacy) - I had read the WRX insert had more extension that might help with install. Couldn't find anything on the valving, though, hence the question. (the Koni-NA site has the part numbers, but doesn't really give any technical data)

Tired of bottoming out my suspension when the car is fully loaded on speed bumps, etc... I am thinking '13 springs and Koni's all around... For the Koni's I need p/n 8010-1055S for the rear and 8610-1447S for the front. However, I thought i had read that the WRX fronts are more or less the same, except with a slightly longer max extension (so p/n 8610-1453S for the front) and the same shock body length.

 

Is that correct? I am a little leery of exploring the WRX option as it's a lighter car and maybe the valving is different?

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Not sure if it's been mentioned but a cool dude from our tuning group makes custom molds of suspension bushings. He has all sorts of sizes on his eBay. 24mm front, 26mm front, 16 - 22mm rear ones.

He's working on BRZ's I think and the new Ascent. I watch him in group chat every week, working like Einstein on moldings

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cke-ssp-performance-bushings-19mm-20mm-rsb-267038.html

He does the transmission insert for the auto too: https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/cke-ssp-4eat-5eat-trans-mount-inserts-267054.html

You are absolutely correct, the 8610-1447S insert for the Legacy is valved a little stiffer for the added weight of the Legacy over the 8610-1453S WRX insert, however, I believe the difference (maybe 200 pounds at most) to be negligable. The plus side of using the 1453S, as you mentioned, is that it is 1/4" longer on the overall extension, so it is actually better for stock springs because it means you don't have to compress the long stock springs as much to get the tophats on. If you can find them, do the 1453S.

Has anyone built struts using the 1447S insert and OEM springs? I am going to be building my set up using 2014 OEM springs (already have them brand new, and sitting and waiting in their boxes!) - how rough is it to compress the springs enough to get the extra space needed for the Koni's?

Joe, haven’t been on here as much but why are we still doing inserts when we have a fantastic late model wrx Koni strut which is a better viable solution than trying to throw inserts into doners? In combo with oem legacy top hats/washer and dust boot for front and dust boots for rear and 3.6r H&R lowering springs, you have a perfect setup!! Is there a benefit with inserts besides cost if you already have doners?

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Joe, haven’t been on here as much but why are we still doing inserts when we have a fantastic late model wrx Koni strut which is a better viable solution than trying to throw inserts into doners? In combo with oem legacy top hats/washer and dust boot for front and dust boots for rear and 3.6r H&R lowering springs, you have a perfect setup!! Is there a benefit with inserts besides cost if you already have doners?

 

 

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iirc, the front WRX bottom spring perch is a little lower than the legacy so there'd be an issue with clearance if you ran higher profile/wider tires. Also there'd be some rake if that matters to you

Mine have zero rake and sit perfect! I also run 255/40/18 on Miro 8.5” wide wheels with a 30 offset, still have a bit of room in there . I you want more aggressive than that, but a different car lol!! I gave a pic of the clearance somewhere. I think it’s in the Koni thread somewhere...

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Mine have zero rake and sit perfect! I also run 255/40/18 on Miro 8.5” wide wheels with a 30 offset, still have a bit of room in there . I you want more aggressive than that, but a different car lol!! I gave a pic of the clearance somewhere. I think it’s in the Koni thread somewhere...

 

 

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I haven't follow the WRX Koni assemblies, but did Koni resolve the difference between the 08-10 and 11-14 strut assemblies? (the spring perch height are different) Koni initially made only one set for 08-14 but those only fit one of the variations perfectly.

Has anyone built struts using the 1447S insert and OEM springs? I am going to be building my set up using 2014 OEM springs (already have them brand new, and sitting and waiting in their boxes!) - how rough is it to compress the springs enough to get the extra space needed for the Koni's?

You don't have rake because you used 3/8" top hat spacers also.

Haha your right, I totally forgot that Joe lmao!! I even installed everything myself..

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You don't have rake because you used 3/8" top hat spacers also.

Haha your right, I totally forgot that Joe lmao!! I even installed everything myself..

The amount of information lodged in GTEASER's mind is quite astonishing. He knows what other people have done to their vehicles and it's implications better than the owner's sometimes. Hats of to you. You've been a huge help to the community!

but I wouldn't hesitate to use the 1447 with lowering springs and would pair the stock springs with 1453s.

why did i think they stopped making the 1453s?

I believe they were originally planning on stopping production on the 1453 inserts when they released the new WRX complete assemblies, but we (and by we, I mean GTEASER, IIRC) told them that the inserts are also compatible with the 5th-gen Legacy where those complete assemblies are not, so they decided to keep making them.

The amount of information lodged in GTEASER's mind is quite astonishing. He knows what other people have done to their vehicles and it's implications better than the owner's sometimes. Hats of to you. You've been a huge help to the community!

I have one of those ridiculous memories myself, and I bow to his greatness.

I believe they were originally planning on stopping production on the 1453 inserts when they released the new WRX complete assemblies, but we (and by we, I mean GTEASER, IIRC) told them that the inserts are also compatible with the 5th-gen Legacy where those complete assemblies are not, so they decided to keep making them.

I know there was at least one long stretch of time when they were no longer available. glad to see they are again readily available. these may be on my Christmas list to myself

Thanks for the props....but my uncanny memory for car stuff is an illness, and much to my wife's chagrin, does not extend to the rest of my life.

Koni made the full assemblies with the intent of replacing the 1453 insert for 08-14 WRX. When they found that 08-10 had a different perch height than 11-14, and the full assembly would not work for all WRXs, they brought the 1453 back into production to recapture the 11-14 market. Along the way they verified that 1447s were appropriate for 10-14 Legacy as well as 05-09 Legacy. I disagree with them and believe that the 1453 is more appropriate with stock 5th Gen Legacy springs, but their listing doesn't differentiate between the use of stock springs versus lowering springs.

Thanks for the props....but my uncanny memory for car stuff is an illness, and much to my wife's chagrin, does not extend to the rest of my life.

yes my GF is always wondering how i can remember all the nonsense i spout about cars while constantly asking her what her friends names are.