2005 LGT: What is the best daily driver strut/shock and lowering spring combination?

Rig in question: 2005 LGT Wagon, 5sp with some front suspension poly bushings and all rear suspension poly bushings.

 

 

 

I like a low car, but not so low it doesn't handle well from being over lowered.

 

 

It's currently on Epic springs and Koni yellow struts. The height/stance is good in my opinion, ride is bouncy.

 

 

 

Coilovers would be cool to set my own ride height. In my experience, I'd probably make it too low just to look cool, and low dollar coilovers are bouncy. Plus they are linear rate springs which don't seem as smooth as a progressive rate lowering spring.

 

 

So far I've seen available: Springs:Swift, H&R, Epic, King. Struts/shocks: Bilstein ($$$), Koni yellow, KYB.

 

 

(To compare, I have a 3rd gen, 2000 Legacy Wagon with KYB/King 30mm lowering, and it rides nice).

 

 

 

What is the best lowering spring/strut combo for a Summer Daily Driven with Summer compound tire 2005 LGT Wagon?

 

 

Thank You!

Hmm - Bouncy from Koni Yellows?

 

Mine are relatively stiff - so I would investigate if they are blown.... I just had to replace mine @ ~20K as they were leaking (and I'm running stick springs)....

 

There really isn't much options for a performance strut beyond Konis that wouldn't be into coilover territory for price.

 

 

Edit: My car is DD with 225/35/18 Michelin P4S - so definitely a sticky summer compound - also swap over to Michelin Winter Performance Snows in the winter months....

Edited September 30, 2019 by grovlet

Hmm - Bouncy from Koni Yellows?

 

QUOTE]

 

Mine have been on there almost 130,000 miles and are still great, not bouncy at all.

 

Koni's sport yellows and Epic springs with the 1/2" spacer for the rear. I have run them 1/4 turn off Firm since installed. The fronts I'll go a little softer in the Winter sometimes.

 

I would say don't get coilovers, not for a DD.

 

My wagon in the Spec B's 18's has very little wheel gap. 225/45-18's

 

 

Edited October 1, 2019 by Max Capacity

I have found wagon, koni's with swift wagon springs to be good. I run them 1/4 away from full soft and its pretty comfortable. I had them set to half at the beginning, but it was a bit too stiff for my liking. I may put a spacer in the rear still to give the car a slight forward rake but it sits perfectly level as is with the wagon springs.

 

 

Edit: with 17 inch rims, 205/50 (the tire type worked out to be just shy of the 7 inch rim width) I have about 1 finger gap between tire and wheel arch

Edited October 1, 2019 by jaylew

Pinks and JDM struts is the answer.

Yeah, Konis should not be bouncy at all. If you're the original purchaser of them you should have a lifetime warranty too and I'd get em replaced. Konis with iON springs on my wagon currently are stiff, but it's kinda nice like that.

 

But yeah, Subaru Pinks are the springs you want if you're looking for mild drop and sporty/comfortable is my understanding. That's what I'm trying next for my specB. Paid for a used set of JDM KYB struts and Pinks yesterday actually.

I have wagon with Koni's and Eibach/Epics that I found used. A front spring broke and got a pair of Kings for the front. Previous to the Epics, I had stock springs on the Konis.

 

I've blown two Konis so far, so definitely look for any excess oil seepage. Their warranty lets you order for 1/2 price and then after return and authorization, they supposedly give your money back.

 

I've never been totally pleased with the Konis. With stock springs, it just felt like the worst of both worlds, harsh and wallowy at the same time. With the Epics, it still feels harsh to me, but my roads are crap.

 

My only frame of reference is a 1998 Legacy wagon that I put WRX sway bars on,H&R springs, and fresh KYBs. That setup has a great combination of feeling planted but not as harsh as the Konis, to me.

 

The endless money throwing at the car has me considering Bilsteins with Spec B top hats now. I also have Whiteline lower control arm bushings which also seem to contribute to the harshness. I am considering getting the Mevotech aluminum arms with the rubber bushings.

Edited October 10, 2019 by ashwinearl

Love the bilstein/swft setup on my sedan. Can't tell much of a difference between the stock ride comfort other than the lower ride. Handles great along with the swft sway bars in combo with it

Has anybody tried Tein Flex-X on the Legacy?

Ran JDM Bilstein Rev A struts with Whiteline Control Springs, (small 30mm drop) for a number of years and really liked the balance between sport and comfort. Wouldn’t go coilovers unless your prepared for more maintenance and periodic rebuilds. If that’s ok with you, the RCE Tarmacs, which Myles specifically valves for the Legacy are a stellar option.

Thanks everyone for the nice amount of feedback. I bought the car with the Koni yellows on it. I was told they had at least 40k miles on rough roads. I haven't checked for leaking, maybe they are. Good to know about the 1/2 price repurchase option. I will check into that and I may try another set.

What brand and height rear spring spacers are you guys running?

I checked my records, I had the Koni's installed Jan 15 2013 at 166,580 miles. Car now has 280,200 miles. The koni's have been great. Even had the right front re-installed in a replacement strut last June after I hit a big rock in the road.

 

The roads around my area are pretty bad so I don't see your area being much worse.

 

You bought the car used, are you positive they are really koni's ?

I have Tein H Techs on Konis. I wouldn't recommend the Teins because of how harsh the ride can be sometimes. I've had them on for about 7 years/40k miles and the Konis have held up.

 

 

 

As for the bouncy Konis, I also have them on my GTO and when I first installed them the rear of the car bounced like crazy. I was able to adjust them to eliminate that. That should be your first step, play around with it and see if you can dial it in better.

I've tried a bunch of different setup's but I run KYB Excel G's with Epics up front and OEM springs in the rear.

 

I had a super nice set of Bilstein BSS coilovers. They rode great but just didn't work for me for winter and they would bottom out on really big bumps, which drove me crazy.

 

I run all oem bushings and a 20mm Whiteline RSB. This was the most drive able setup I could find while giving me a stance I could live with.

 

You bought the car used, are you positive they are really koni's ?

 

 

Yes, I've been under the car, they are yellow and rust colored, lol. I have the Koni adjusting knob that came with the car. I've installed these on a previous vehicle so I'm aware of the tool and what the struts look like.

Ok, had to ask.

 

I figured you had the knob's.

 

Good luck in your search.

 

Someone is selling a new set in the for sale forum.

I've tried a bunch of different setup's but I run KYB Excel G's with Epics up front and OEM springs in the rear.

 

Can I get more info on this setup and what else you have used?

 

Are the KYB Excel G's considered the stock replacement or an upgrade?

 

I've got King lower springs with Koni inserts on front and Konis with Epic springs rear. I have never been really happy with the Konis with stock or aftermarket.

Edited October 7, 2019 by ashwinearl

I have recently fitted Ohlins R&T to mine after many years with BC Racing coilovers. Still a bit too stiff on potholed roads... Realy nice ride when it's smooth tarmac though

In searching back through old threads, I'm seeing conflicting information regarding using aftermarket lowering springs on KYB Excel-G.

 

My plan is to keep my existing lowering springs and replace the Konis with KYB Excel-Gs. I have King lowering springs in front (KSFL-42) and Epic rear springs with Saggy butt spacer. I broke a front Epic spring so switched to Kings.

 

I am also intrigued by what @Holla did with aftermarket springs in front but stock springs in the rear on the KYB Excel-Gs.

 

Thanks.

Edited October 7, 2019 by ashwinearl

FYI: KYB GR-2 is the same as KYB Excel-G. I have Epics/Koni yellow on the 4th Gen Legacy Wagon. They are OK.

 

 

I have King Lowering/KYG GR-2 on a 3rd gen Legacy Wagon I own. They ride great.

Can I get more info on this setup and what else you have used?

 

Are the KYB Excel G's considered the stock replacement or an upgrade?

 

I've got King lower springs with Koni inserts on front and Konis with Epic springs rear. I have never been really happy with the Konis with stock or aftermarket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Excel G’s are very similar to the oem shocks but holding the two in my hand I could tell the Excel G was a more robust unit. I would consider them an upgrade but it’s more like OEM+, which is a good thing. One thing I was surprised about was how much the rear of my wagon came up with the Excel G’s. I was using the OEM shocks with 100k on them and after the Excel G install with the same springs, the back probably came up a good 1”.

 

I probably have a good 40k on the fronts with the Epic springs. Shocks are still in good shape, I haven’t thought about replacing them and haven’t had any issues either. It didn’t make any sense to me to run the Epics in the rear and then have to use a spacer so I’ve always just used the oem springs in the back. This gives me the slightly raked stance I want and the best ride quality available.

 

I’ve had cheap Tein Coilovers, these just sucked period.

I had Pinks/Bilstein setup. This rode really harsh, felt every bump on the road with no adjustability.

I had Bilstein BSS coilovers. These are some of the best coilovers for a lgt. They rode amazing but would occasionally bottom out, and I ended up dreading driving the car anyway. Also high dollar coil overs and winter don’t mix well. I was using these in the summer for awhile and the KYB setup in the winter.

 

For ease of use and long term reliability on my wagon I only have the KYB setup now and I have no plans of switching. I’ve heard of the Epics breaking before. If that happened I’ll probably go with some H&R’s with the KYB’s in the front and keep the back as is.

 

This is the only setup and doesn’t make me wince going over bumps. I’ve never bottomed it out and it’s given me zero issues. I can drive my car without dodging every little bump and dip. It’s just more friendly and enjoyable setup for me. People ride in it and think it’s stock. Not to mention the KYB’s are cheap and super easy to install.

 

What don’t you like about the Koni’s? The KYB’s are going to be softer but if you’re after any sort of ride quality they’re the way to go.

The Koni just feel more firm and more harsh than the KYBs. I've ran KYBs on May of my lowering spring set ups on verious makes and models of cars I've owned.

 

 

 

I get what you are saying with rear ride height and using a stock spring verses shorter aftermarket spring with a spacer. I would think the front and rear aftermarket spring are designed to work together with complimenting spring rates. The spacer just changes the height. The stock spring probably doesn't have the same spring rate. If it rides and handles great that's good. I would just caution mixing springs because it could negatively affect performance.

On paper I agree about the spring rates but in reality I don’t think it matters that much in my situation with a pure street car. The springs I’m using are some of the softest available for the car anyway. It would be different if I were running super high rates in the rear and stock up front.

What don’t you like about the Koni’s? The KYB’s are going to be softer but if you’re after any sort of ride quality they’re the way to go.

 

I have had Konis front and rear with stock springs, with Epics front/rear, and now with Kings Front, Epic rear.

 

The main thing I don't like about the Konis is initial harshness on sharp transitions, like pavement seams and broken up pavement. Here in Upstate NY there are so many chunks of pavement missing from the freeze/thaw cycles. I know one is blown or on the way out right now so everything is magnified more. But they've never clicked with me.

 

I've tried dialing in/out the adjuster with the white knob, but that really only addressed controlling bouncing as it is strictly rebound adjustment. I am not sure if I'm using the correct terms, but I think the default high spped compression damping is too high for what I want. The early post by Underdog about tuning is Konis discusses this issues some.

 

I have a 1998 Legacy wagon with WRX sway bars, some model KYB, and HR Springs and want to get a feeling like that. Planted but not as harsh on rough roads.

 

I used to think I wanted tight handling and could deal with firm ride. But that is more being arm chair forum reader, and now want more comfort. I do have nice sway bars and endlinks so hopefully it won't be that boat feeling of pure stock.

 

I do have 3/8" saggy butt spacers. So may keep the Epic springs in the rear, but am considering going back to stocks springs on the rear like you did.

 

Thanks for the insight.

Edited October 10, 2019 by ashwinearl