legacycentral bbs

I just purchased a set of ksport coilovers believing I had done the right thing. When they arrived I noticed the actual shock stroke is so much shorter than the stock strut that I almost sent them back on the spot. My track adventures with this car will be very limited if at all, so we are talking about a street car primarily. And the roads around here are getting worse all the time. Did I in fact make a mistake buying these or am I missing something? I thought I would hold off on the install until I get some responses from other folks. So if you have experience with these, please speak up. I need to know what to do and frankly I am at a loss to know what my best course of action is.

Based on Jamal's comments in the other thread I'd probably try and send them back and go for something else.

What are you trying to accomplish with the springs/strut/coil over setup? Are you looking for performance/handling, comfort, lowered look, etc.? If we know a little background on what you're looking for that'll help to make some suggestions.

Well, as it turns out I ended up installing them, and while this has been a few months ago and probably more than 10k miles, the jury is still out and I dont know if it was an overall improvement. What it has been is a learning experience for sure. On the plus side they lowered the car so it looks better, its quite a bit stiffer than it was before which helps handling on good roads. The car is a heck of a lot more predictable and responsive to steering inputs. It responds right now! If it had the power for drifting it would be very predictable and fun. For autocross it is better than it was by far. For everyday use, it depends on where I am going and what kind of roads I am on. Good well maintained pavement, its wonderful. Over rough patched pavement or potholes or washboarded back roads fuhgedaboutit. Under those conditions it sucks so bad. The biggest issue is lack of suspension travel and the weenie little bump stops included with the package. The bump stops are vestigal at best and when you encounter a bump that exceeds the suspensions ability to absorb, the hard lick the whole car takes from the wheel in question will rattle your fillings.

My fix for this, yet to be implemented, but will happen soon, is to add more substantial bump stops to make the crushing bumps less brutal. Eventually I will replace the whole mess with better coilovers with more travel. But I am looking at this as a 'starter set' and will learn some things from it. The bottom line is I would seek out coilovers with as close to stock wheel travel as I could get, whether I was racing or driving on the street. I realize that adds to unsprung weight but you make your compromises and then live with them. Anyone with specific questions about the ksports feel free to contact me. I will be as helpful as I can be.

Thanks for the follow up.

Another update....I ordered some ebay specials bump stops and cut them down a bit and installed them in place of the dumbass bumpstops included with the ksports. The car is totally transformed. I can go battin' ass down a backroad now without losing fillings or teeth and maintain something approaching a civilized ride. The ksport bump stops are hard as a rock so when the suspension bottoms on those in the middle of a hard corner or pothole all the force of the impact gets couple back through the strut right into the body of the car...not at all pleasant. The bumpstops I installed are progressive rate stops that are roughly twice the height of the stock bumpstops so bottoming now is a non event. This makes a marginally useful set of coilovers completely satisfactory. I really cant express how much difference this made in how civilized the car is compared to how it was before. The bumpstops are "EVS by Daystar" black polyurethane where EVS stands for Enhanced Vehicle Suspension. You can reach them toll free at 1-800-595-7659. They are located in Phoenix, AZ. Website is www.daystarweb.com

Do you have any pictures or a link to the bump stops you purchased?

The link is posted in my last post Josh, as well as their contact information

I don't see a specific application for Subaru and don't see any listing of EVS when I searched their website.

What they make josh is a generic part that just works. I cut mine down to about 3/4 height and find they really help. When I get a chance I will try to find the eBay link where I got them.

Eibach has a good assortment:

http://eibach.com/america/en/motorsport ... /bumpstops

You need to know a few things before ordering different stops. First, the diameter of the strut piston rod (although it doesn't have to be exact). I'm not sure what that is, possibly 18mm?

Then you need to know how much bump travel the suspension has at the standard ride height. You can do this with a jack and a zip tie.

From there you need to decide on a length and rate. The stock suspension gets into the bump stops pretty much immediately. This allows the springs to be fairly soft at first and then adds a progressive nature to support the suspension under hard braking or cornering. Bumpstop engagement is not in itself a bad thing, but it should not happen abruptly during normal driving (ie like with short and stiff stops).

For softer, stockish spring rates I am okay with a fair amount of bump stop engagement. With stiffer rates, I would probably be using them mainly as a backup for hard hits unless perhaps a lot of downforce was involved. With aftermarket springs/coilovers a stop might especially be important so that you do not get coilbind or bottom out the shock. To figure out if this is going to happen you need to look at the specs of the springs, see where the car is sitting in it's travel, and do a little math. Also zip ties are useful.

Thanks for that information Peter, i actually originally went to Eibach's website which referred me to dealers for their products in my area, I sent emails requesting information that were never answered. Hence the purchase of the generic stops I got off of ebay. I wanted the Eibach brand because of its reputation for quality but am pretty happy with what I bought thru ebay.