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what suspention to go with? NEED advice!

Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 3:26 am
by speedmaxx
so the shocks on my 93 legacy l are starting to get pretty tired, Im looking to replace them and maybe the springs.

whats a good replacment shock without spending a ton?

Im looking at the kyb gr-2, they seem to be a decent replacment for about $300

are the kyb agx adjustables worth the extra money? Im not doing any autocrossing or anything, just a little high spirited back roads driving.

and for springs I am completly lost... from what I understand impreza springs will fit if I change the top hat of the shock correct?

Im going to need some recomandations for springs, I would like a stiffer suspention then stock to try to get rid of some of the body roll.

o and lowered gives a nicer look :D

thanks

Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 4:14 am
by mexicanzero
i've got the kyb gr2 struts and H&R springs on my 92 leggy right now and i'm extremely happy

some people say the gr2's are too soft for those springs but i think its perfect for around town.
the stiffer springs greatly reduce body roll and lower the car about 1.5 inches. so it handles amazingly! nice and firm, when you turn the steering wheel the car goes instead of tipping first and then starting to turn. its great for dodging pot holes and sewers because it responds instantly.

but the fact that the shocks arent extremely stiff (although still 15-20% stiffer than stock) means that it takes less to get the springs moving when hitting bumps so they soak up road imperfections much better than with a stiffer strut. long distance drives even on gravel or horribly kept roads is surprisingly comfortable.

and the fact that both the struts and springs are made for the early generation legacys means no modifying or buying bits from other cars to make them fit, they just plop in. one less head ache.

i also have a whiteline adjustable rear swaybar and i have it set at the second setting (equivalent to 22mm i think) and that has helped alot to almost eliminate understeer. so i recomend one if you can find one.

if you find a bigger rear swaybar i think the 20 mm wrx wagon ones fit on the front of our cars

-Alex

Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:04 am
by speedmaxx
Thank you so much! That exsactly what I need to know.

The hhr spring lower it correct? I would perfer not lowering much cause my rear wheels already rub a little, I had to put spring stiffiners in them to stop the rubbing

could it be my springs are shot too?

Also is there any other spring options then the h&r springs? Maybe something a little cheaper
is it possiable to mount like wrx springs on my car cause I'm figuring they got to be pretty stiff

thanks for the help

Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:27 am
by kbeefy
check the suspension sticky.... wrx springs aren't that much stiffer. I dunno what the L springs are rated @ but I think it's in the sticky too.

If you need spring helpers your springs are shot. New stock springs and struts would probably be a big improvement.

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:18 am
by mexicanzero
if you're getting some wheel rubbing it could be because of worn springs. are your rims/tires the stock ones? wider tires or different from stock offset on the rims can also cause rubbing.

that being said i have the stock size rims and tires on my car and there is absolutely no rubbing going on.

and technically the suspension is going to bottom out at the exact same point than with the stock springs because the bump stop isnt being changed. since the springs are much stiffer it will take more to make the car bottom out too so theres less of a chance of it bottoming out. who knows maybe you wont have your rubbing problem anymore.

the rear was lowered about an inch and the front was lowered about an inch and a half. the car has a pretty perfect stance now, the huge gaps between the fender and tire are much smaller but the car still has a higher than average ground clearance so in the winter theres no bottoming out issues on snow.

I was going to put on wrx springs but 2 things turned me away first of all they arent that much stiffer and where i live there are 0 subarus in junk yards so i would have had to buy the spring perches and top mounts and what ever i needed to make them fit from the dealer wich is reeeally expensive. i calculated that in the end it would have been just as expensive if not more to put wrx springs on.

either way you go good luck!

-Alex

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:35 am
by speedmaxx
thanks for the info

I am running aftermarket 17in rims, the overall diamiter of the rims and tires are the same as stock but I think there a hair wider

yet again my stock struts and springs have never been replaced with about 130k miles on them so there on there way out.

I would love to lower my car just a little but I am worried about it rubbing

so what other options do I have for stiffer springs in about the same ride hight? everything I looked at sofar lowers my car big time

Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:21 pm
by mexicanzero
i was looking for the exact same thing in this post

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... highlight=

and in the end the h&r's were my best bet, if theres some rubbing you can always roll your fenders up which isnt a huge deal. but as i said before the fact that the springs are so much stiffer may fix the rubbing issue.

-Alex

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:30 am
by speedmaxx
okay so that cleared up a bit

with my stock suspention my rear tires rub lightly on the fenders on hard turns and bumps, I eliminated the rubing by installing spring stiffiners

Im hopin the gr2 with the h&r springs should stiffin it up to the point where it will elimnate the rubbing, but then again they are lowering springs so they might just make my problem worse.

how would I go about rollin the fenders? anyone have any pics?

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 3:22 am
by speedmaxx
okay so I came across an add on craigslist for a set of 4 stock 04 sti springs, from what I have read on the forums these should fit perfectly on the rear but will require spring perch for the front. correct?

also, thses springs are going to be stiffer then my stock 93 legacy l springs, correct?

also does anyone know how much these will lower my car? I realy cant go any lower then an inch or I will begin having rubbing issues with my tires.

thanks