Review: KYB AGX struts

[rallysam]

Review: AGX adjustable struts made by KYB

Performance:
They're great. I kept the stock springs and merely replaced the worn-out OEM shocks. The car is much more responsive now, a world of difference. It hugs the contour of the street (instead of feeling like it is flying all over place). They got the first real test this weekend when I raced the car on wet pavement at a rallycross / wet-autocross. It stayed settled in the slaloms. It even felt composed in the quick transitions all the way to the tires' limits (at which point you spin out - not that I know from personal experience twice this weekend or anything). I still have a lot of body roll - obviously - because I have stock springs and sway bars. With such weak springs, you can only turn up the AGX so far before you compromise performance. But, it feels much tighter and more predictable.

Reliability:
I dunno because I have only had them installed for a couple weeks. I am pretty confident in the brand quality, because KYB makes the OEM shocks for Subaru and they are a common choice for aftermarket upgrades.

Fitment:
Although the KYB website doesn't list fitment for the early BC-BF's, they fit my car fine and work awesome. I simply ordered the part numbers they recommend for the Impreza and newer Legacies - because I plan to transfer them to my RS when the Legacy bites it. On a related note, aftermarket springs may not be as easy as aftermarket shocks for 90-91 Legacies. I have heard you have to order recent-model strut mounts to make aftermarket springs fit in the rear. That's part of the reason I kept the stock springs. Warning: I have heard that using AGX's with excessively-lowered springs is bad news.

Installation:
Not easy for a novice. ~$250 for a shop to do it. There are good directions in the Hayne's manual as well as on Dave's Site
http://www.xmission.com/~dac/library/struts.htm
I needed a 5ft long pipe on the end of my breaker bar for some steps and an impact wrench for other steps. It also involves detaching brake lines from the calipers and compressing the coil springs - which is potentially dangerous.

Price:
~$450 for a set of 4
I can't argue with that. They cost a quarter of the price of coil-overs. And, if you need replacement shocks anyway, they're hardly a penny more than what Advanced Auto was asking for the OEM replacement struts. The only better deal is KYB's cheaper and non-adjustable version - the "Gr 2".



Has anyone had issues with them?

Sam
1990 Legacy L Wagon AWD (+AGX now)

[kelley]

about the springs. I heard that too. but didn't believe it . I have sti springs struts and hardened mounts designed for the new age wrx on my sedan.

[Legacy777]

Here's the dilly on the springs.

The 1990-1991 MY legacies had a tapered rear spring. So you have two options. Get the correct springs from whiteline (pretty sure they are the only vendor with the tapered springs....I installed mine two weekends ago)

From 1992+ the rear springs are the same as the newer model legacies & imprezas.

I ordered the correct sti top mounts for my MY from Z1auto.

[HomeSlice]

i love my agx's.
josh lets see some pics. how much did it drop the car? i got whitlines on the front of my car and it rides sweet.

[Legacy777]

I don't have any decent pics of the car......I'll try and get some......