hello everyone.. suspension questions

[mesoslow6969]

Hey everyone this is my first post. I am kind of new to forums and navigating through them. Also, I am not very computer savvy so I apologize if I'm a little "slow" when it comes to this stuff.
I recently purchased a 1994 Subaru Legacy wagon. It is the turbocharged model.
This is the first subaru i have ever owned. I don't even know the chassis code for my wagon. I used to be a honda guy and a friend got me very interested in subarus. Now I would like to start building my car from the ground up.
Basically I want to start with bushings, sway bars, coilovers, control arms, rear trailing arms/rear toe/camber adjusters, tie bars, h braces, etc. I want to make the suspension as adjustable as possible and better handling. After doing that, I would like to put rims and tires but I need to know what offset would be best since I will be upgrading the brakes in the near future. I want the wheels to be wide enough for better traction, big enough to clear the brakes, and tires to put on that would best fit the wheels without sacrificing driveability yet handle well without rubbing against the fenders. I would like to keep the body as stock as possible, which means i don't want to roll any fenders if i dont have to.
I have tried looking online for energy suspension bushings but nothing for my year/body style.
I have trouble finding other parts for the suspension but all the places that i go to "have no products" listed for my wagon.
If anyone could point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated. Once again I apologize for all the questions and for my lack of experience on the internet/forum. Thanks again for anyone that can help a new subaru owner out.

[Legacy777]

Welcome to the BBS.

What I think you'll find as you start getting more into Subarus is that a lot of the stuff is like Legos. There's a bit of stuff that will swap over from the Impreza model line of similar vintage years. The 93-01 Impreza has virtually the same suspension setup. So if you can find something to fit the 93-01 Impreza, it will likely fit on your 94 Legacy.

I don't think you will find much if anything that is directly listed as "fitting" for your 94. These cars came around too early before the "performance" push with Subaru, and a lot of the manufacturers didn't go back and list their parts as applicable to these Legacies.

One exception to the "Legos" comment on the suspension is the rear anti-sway bar. The impreza bar hits the spare tire hump in the back. You can get Legacy specific anti-sway bars from Whiteline out of Australia. There's a lot of suppliers in the US that carrier Whiteline stuff and should be able to help you out.

What I would recommend is getting an energy suspension or similar poly bushing kit for the 93-01 Impreza. That is going to be your most complete bushing kit and the least costly. SuperPro may also make a kit, as well as Whiteline. As for other suspension stuff, your standard strut tower braces will help as well as the front fender braces. Going further than that may not yield much results, or you may not be able to find anything. The chassis on these cars are going to be more flexible than the newer cars, especially the wagons. You can probably get carried away, but I'm not sure it's worth the money.

There are some adjustable lateral links from Whiteline that are nice and work well for giving full adjustability in the rear suspension.

As for wheels & tires, a lot of people will pickup a set of wheels from the newer WRX or STi. 16" should fit without any rubbing as long as you have an offset around +47 to +53mm. 17's will likely get some rubbing. I'll let others that have them comment. Offset on Subarus is very high compared to other cars, and the bolt pattern is 5x100.

I know that may be a lot to digest, but hopefully others will chime in, and I'd suggest searching through some of the stickies in this and other forums for some common questions that come up.

[mesoslow6969]

Thanks so much for all that information. As soon as my wallet gets fatter, I will try to post pics of all the stuff i have done to my car. I really appreciate the advice. This is going to be my daily driver/project car. Let the fun begin =)

[Legacy777]

You're welcome, and yeah post some pics when you get a chance.

[mesoslow6969]

I am going to order some coilovers in the next month or so, and i was wondering anyone's thoughts on ksports or buddy club coilovers. I was looking at teins, but they dont have the pillowball mounts to adjust camber.

Like i said im using this as a daily driver, but will be having some fun at the track. I need to know which coilover would best suit my needs.

I was thinking if i go with the ksport get the gt pro since everything on the coilover is pretty much adjustable.

Also i know you said that the 93-01 imprezas will fit our cars, but if they have a listing for the legacy should i just get that one or do i just buy the one made for the impreza?

ksport website the part numbers for the impreza 93-01 are : CSB03-KP (kontrol pro damper) CSB03-GT (gt pro)

part numbers for the legacy 90-94: CSB08-KP (kontrol pro damper) CSB08-GT (gt pro)

If there is a coilover that will better suit my needs other than the ksport any advice would be appreciated. Thanks again for anyone that can point me in the right direction.

[Legacy777]

If they have an application for the Legacy, I'd probably get that. You may email them and ask them what the difference is between the Legacy and Impreza application.

I don't really have any direct expreience with either of those coilovers, so hopefully others can chime in.

[mesoslow6969]

Thanks again for the info Legacy777. I will keep you and everyone posted with anything that i find out.

I emailed whiteline (swaybars, bushing kits, strut tower bars), ksport (coilovers), energy suspension (bushing kits), and cusco (rear trailing arms, lateral links, strut tower bars, frame braces) about their products.

Just in case other people are in the same boat that I am in, maybe the info that i post will help others out too.

Hopefully i get info with in the next week... I feel like a kid waiting for presents at Christmas time... the anticipation is drving me nuts.. lol

[mesoslow6969]

Quick question, I might be buying some jdm aluminum control arms from the vendor section. I wanted to double check before buying them, that:
1) I can replace the bushing with one for my chassis
2) I can replace the ball joint with one made for my chassis
3) the sway bar end link will bolt right up to it with out any fitment issues

Heres links to why im asking these questions:

http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_det ... mber=KLC30

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp35 ... CF0014.jpg

If you read the whiteline description it excludes sti and alloy arm... do i have to use my stock control arms in order to be able to use these end links? are the aluminum arms considered alloy ones?

Sorry for the bothersome questions. I dont want to buy these arms, and find out that i have to buy jdm bushings, ball joints, endlinks. any info would be appreciated. thanks.

[Legacy777]

Is this arm you're looking at meant for the WRX/STi or is it meant for the GC Impreza.

There's some differences in bushing thickness for the front bushing on the A-arm. I believe it's a tad smaller and some people have just used washers as spacers. If you search, you can find some more info. As for the other stuff on the arm, it should work fine.

[mesoslow6969]

The description says that it fits all of the above... so i'm not too sure what to make of it.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=43179

any thoughts? and when you are talking about he thickness are you talking about the wrx/sti compared to my car or the GC compared to my car? sorry if that was a dumb question... all day i've been having brain farts... sigh..

[Legacy777]

I would email Reason and ask him. He's a good vendor and should be able to help answer your question.

I was comparing the thickness between the 02+ STi/WRX vs the GC & Legacy (the GC & Legacy are the same)

[mesoslow6969]

thanks legacy777.

Another question, I can't find rear strut tower bars for my wagon, but i did find rear strut tower bar for an impreza. What are your thoughts on fitment? I will be cutting a hole through the plastic panel for the bar to slide through. Heres 2 links for the sway bars:

http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/perform ... Tower_Bars ( the whiteline stru bar made for 93-00 impreza *sedans only*)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/94-00-Su ... ccessories

any thoughts would be helpful. thanks again.

[93Leg-c]

First of all, mesoslow6969, welcome to Legacy Central! And, it's really good to see someone wanting to improve their suspension and brakes first before more hp.

When I first joined Legacy Central, Josh (Legacy777) and others were REALLY helpful (and they still are! ... although some of the "old-timers" are not on the board often due to their busy life ... and they are missed). This is a really good community and you'll find lots of help. I didn't know much about computers and terminology either, and so many were patient in helping me. Hopefully you'll have the same warm welcome and help that I had.

Regarding fitting an Impreza rear strut bar into your wagon, see this reference to Jester808's setup on his turbo wagon: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.p ... 49592.html. He mentions that modification will be needed. He also has information on coilovers and tires. I thought he was a member here but I don't see his sig name listed in the Members section. But he's in Houston, TX and Josh (Legacy777) may know him.

I've seen other posts throughout various Subaru boards that would help you but I have to leave for an appointment now so I don't the time to search further. But I wanted to let you know about the Impreza rear strut bar not being an easy drop-in fit.

We'll all look forward to the mod/build progress of your bj67!

[bry]

'93Leg, congrats on your purchase. These old subie's are quality built, have diverse performance and are super easy to work on/modify. The Turbo 5-speed is popular with enthusiasts in the know! For the money, there's not much that will beat it in daily driving conditions.

[mesoslow6969]

Once again thanks for the warm welcome. I've been on this forum for literally about a week or two and everyone has been so helpful and friendly. This has to be the best forum I have ever been on.

I used to be a honda head, but a friend introduced me to subarus, and i fell in love. I realized the potential of the older subarus and thats why i purchased my wagon.

Hopefully once i get the money and time, i can take pics and maybe have some diy's in the near future.

Also the reason why i am doing my suspension first before hp is because a friend taught me that suspension can be used all year 'round... 400hp can't. ever since then always do suspension first.

Legacy777 has been a huge help. He has posted an answer in every single post that i have done. I am grateful for his and all the others opinions and knowledge on everything that i have asked. =)

[93Leg-c]

mesoslow6969, Jester808 IS on this Board. You can PM him and he may be able to help you further.

[mesoslow6969]

thanks 93Leg-c, i'll keep that in mind. I hope i don't get too annoying on this forum. i'm starting to feel bad for asking all these questions. lol

[Legacy777]

There's a lot of info on the board, searching can sometimes be a little cumbersome, but with a little patience you'll likely find what you're looking for. If not, feel welcome to post with questions.

[93Leg-c]

And, I'm always happy to help when I can. It's just that I usually don't have much time . . .