well, i drove my car for the first time yesterday

[denver_whitest185]

and the suspension is pretty well spent

i know i can get whiteline springs for around $275 shipped, but i really haven't researched struts and im looking for some informed opinions on whats good out there. i saw that has koni has some cartrige inserts that require converting to a bottom bolt in cartrige insert, which i can convert them myself, but koni's are pretty expensive. is there a good strut upgrade to be found for under $300? preferably adjustable so that i can make them soft for everyday stuff, but if i go for a canyon run or something i can stiffen them up a bit. ive seen some people use AGX and i might be interested if the price is right.

Oh, how can i tell if i have Air ride, since i know most of the suspention stuff out there isn't compatible with air ride?

[555BCTurbo]

For one... Legacy Turbos never came with Air-ride...so you don't have to worry about that.


As far as good struts...the AGXs are awesome, and they bolt in...and have a lifetime warranty...so that is the route I would go

[evolutionmovement]

GR2's are the cheaper, non-adjustable AGX alternative. A little stiffer than stock and also good. Last much longer than OEMs.

[denver_whitest185]

For one... Legacy Turbos never came with Air-ride...so you don't have to worry about that.

As far as good struts...the AGXs are awesome, and they bolt in...and have a lifetime warranty...so that is the route I would go

Good to know about the air ride. from what ive read, it wasn't that great anyways.

so, AGX's are bolt in? i'll have to look into that, but that would make everything alot easier. i might look into GR-2's, but i would rather go adjustable unless there's a big price difference.

oh, now i have to figure out which whiteline spring set in need for the rear, since there are two options

[evolutionmovement]

They're both KYB and they're direct replacement OEM. I think the price difference is entirely reasonable, but I don't remember the difference. Even the AGXs aren't expensive, though.

[BXSS]

My car came with a set of AGx's & they work well.

[Arctic Assassian]

There is no need to go beyond AGX's with whitelines, unless you need a significant change in height, or something that requires lots of strength, in which case you would change out control arms and general suspension design. The AGX's are top notch. Some aplications offer eight levels of adjustment, but I think we can only get four. Plus, they look badass with an orangey-red color. Good luck with your new favorite weapon.

[denver_whitest185]

looks like agx's are winning. i looked into the koni's and they will be almost $700 for all 4 with the best pricing i can get

So, where's a good place to start looking for AGX's?

oh, ive seen a few people put WRX struts on legacys. are they the same as the oem legacy struts, or better?

[dscoobydoo]

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/Susp ... &brand=all

[EtchyLives]

Ted,

I've got AGX's (4-way adjust up front and 8-way in the rear) coupled with Ground Control Coilover sleeves. With the stock wheels and some old AS tires I couldn't really ask for a better daily-driving suspension. I had them set to 2 up front and 4 in the rear and it was very smooth. I pushed the front up to 3 and it's MUCH stiffer, but it also makes the car neutral when it comes to aggressive driving.

For a daily setup AGXs are great. GR-2's are roughly the same as AGXs locked in at the '2' setting (correct me if I'm wrong) so if you want to save a couple hundred bucks and don't mind losing the adjustability, I'd go with those.

Also, I did the Tribeca Front Swaybar mod, and it took a lot of the floaty feeling out during normal driving. IT's cheap mod (~$60 for bar and bushings) and readily available. In this forum there is a thread with all the part #s and such. There's also one over at AWDP that I made. I recommend doing it.

Good luck with the Auto-beast. I'll be updating my build-up as it goes on, and you are more than welcome to chime-in and steal my ideas, if you should so choose.

[denver_whitest185]

Thanks Greg. i think im just going to go with GR-2's since AGX's seem to be over my budget. the more i look, the more it makes sense. ive driven superwhite92's alltrac with GR-2's and whitelines, and it was pretty nice. the GR-2's are just over $300 shipped from tirerack. im gonna look around some more, but thats a good price.

Good luck with the Auto-beast. I'll be updating my build-up as it goes on, and you are more than welcome to chime-in and steal my ideas, if you should so choose.

I want a better shifting auto . any way to tweek it or a better auto tranny to be running (im not sure how much i trust this one)

Im probably going to be running the intercooler with an MR2 bypass and maybe a 2.5" turbo back with a cat as my only power mods, and then just make it handle and run really nice (suspension, brakes, maintainence, etc). the exterior is pretty beat up, and it will be a daily beater, so im not going to be putting a whole lot into it. maybe $1000 at the most. if you do come up with a nice cheap mod, i may still steal it

Ive got a different beast planned for when the alltrac is sold. think lightweight the trac rebuild will be done tomorrow, so it will be back up for sale soon.

[EtchyLives]

How much for the all-trac? Just asking.

I'm auto-stupid so I can't help with that, but for cheap, easy mods, that make a good bit of difference, I'd look into Steering rack bushings (trust me, at this age you need to swap them out), Tribeca FSB, Rear Adjustable Swaybar (not so cheap, but it will be fun). Those, coupled with your regular maintenance and suspension replacement should be around your target budget and give you a sporting (as sporting as an auto can be) ride to and from work.

[TheSubaruJunkie]

You can get GR2's off ebay for like $240 shipped all day every day. Ive been waiting for $240 to show up in my bank that i wouldnt miss if it disapeared again... however bills come before suspension

[denver_whitest185]

How much for the all-trac? Just asking.

$8k now, for you i would deliver it for that price and a plane ticket back. i just got it started tonight all thats left is to finish up the electrical work

yeah, so the suspension might have to wait. i got a check engine light tonight, so i need to figure out whats up.

I'll have to look around for those GR-2's on ebay. a link would help

[EtchyLives]

CEL's on my Legacy have occurred and then cleared up. The biggest culprit seems to be moisture either in the air, or in the engine bay. Once the moisture evaporates away, the CEL goes away. Whenever I do a touchless wash my CEL comes on until I can drive away from the wet.

[TheSubaruJunkie]

You wont have much luck if you search for GT-2's.

They are KYB GR2s

-Brian

[Turboduck]

No Full Coilover? That should be better option, isn't it ?

[jamal]

absolutely not. cheap coilovers are generally pieces of shit with worthless dampers.

Here's an very good article about struts I recently read:

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html


I think f I could have any suspension setup for under $1500 it would be koni inserts and GC sleeves. After that it's KW V3 coilovers or RCE tarmac IIs or Ohlins sportlines.

[evolutionmovement]

A very expensive one. Anything cheap would be junk.

You'll be amazed at the difference from junk suspension to the GR2s. They're really what the car shoul've came with - just a little tighter than stock so they don't hurt the ride, but they work so much better and last longer. My OEM struts were shot when I bought the car at 108k and the OEM replacements lasted less than 50k. GR2s have over 100k and were on their way out when I parked the car a few years ago (they were getting a little stiff, the step before blowing out and the step the OEMs skipped).

[EtchyLives]

I'm not sure of the age of my AGX's, but when they do go, I'm seriously considering Koni inserts.

Of course, I've been seriously considering them since 2002 when I bought my WRX, but seriously: I'm serious this time.

[denver_whitest185]

yeah, i think im going to be sticking with whitelines.

Oh, i know this is a little off topic, but since its my thread, i don't care.

How do i check what caused my check engine light? i have to bridge a little diagnosic port on my celica, and read the flashes. is its similar?