legacycentral bbs

If i get stock kyb replacement struts for a 91-2001 Impreza will they

A: fit my car? do i need to "U pull it" some top hats?
B: lower my car between an inch and two?
C: will it ride like a lowered car or ride like a stock Impreza?

my car is a 2.2L 5 speed sedan AWD N/A I know the suspension on FWD is different and pre face lift means something else as far as lowering goes. is the conversion as simple as putting on Impreza struts?

Those struts will work, and you reuse your old top hats, perches, etc. Ride height should be the same (or possibly higher with brand new parts) till you change out the springs.

King springs and H&R springs still sell the legacy specific ones.

Alternately, I just swapped my lowering springs out (some JDM ones that came on a half cut, not sure the brand) and I'll be having those for sale soon, cheaper than brand new.

Here's what they looked like on my old 91:


and on my 92:


They *require* the front fenders to be rolled.

so I should not be thinking struts but I should look for Impreza springs?

You want springs for a legacy for evenness

to lower my car I reuse my old springs? my struts and springs are all in good shape. I read some where that my car would have tapered springs and to lower it I needed 2006 Impreza spring, struts or both.

The springs are what sets the ride height for the most part. So at a minimum you'll need to swap those. Don't worry about tapered and different top hats for now, just pick the springs you want, then use the appropriate top hats.

Tapered springs need 1990-1991 legacy 1-piece rear top hats which you should have fitted.
non tapered's need 92-94 2-piece top hats

I have tested FWD rear top hats and they do work in an AWD car.

Here is my 1992 with 2002-2003 WRX Eibach/Prodrive springs. I drove it approx 20 miles. Too embarrassing:


Here's my old 1996 with 2004 WRX wagon suspension, highlighting the high front and low back. My guess is the front would be lower with a heavier engine (such as a turboe'd one ):


Last but not least, this is what I'm running on my 92 now: 2004 STI springs and legacy specific struts. The front is higher, but it's not enough to cause the rest of my hair to fall out lol.



So from experience, I highly encourage you to go with Legacy springs, specifically ones designed for a 1st generation car for the best look.

mike-tracy wrote:The springs are what sets the ride height for the most part. So at a minimum you'll need to swap those. Don't worry about tapered and different top hats for now, just pick the springs you want, then use the appropriate top hats.

Tapered springs need 1990-1991 legacy 1-piece rear top hats which you should have fitted.
non tapered's need 92-94 2-piece top hats

I have tested FWD rear top hats and they do work in an AWD car.

You got that backwards Mike.

Wut?

I need to learn to read. Nevermind.

Im just messing with you CJ. I did edit my post cause I dont want future readers to get bad info.

BAAHHHHH you got me.

I think I am going to order some new legacy specific lowering springs then. a coworker told me if I put lower springs over the old struts the struts would blow out. should I tern the 250$ springs into a 600$ all new suspension job.

struts http://www.autoanything.com/suspension- ... cks-struts
lowering springs http://www.autoanything.com/suspension- ... il-springs

It's hard to say what condition your current suspension is in, but those springs you linked to only drop your car 1.25"F and 1" rear so they shouldn't blow good struts.

Amazon has them for a hair cheaper and free shipping too.
http://www.amazon.com/H-R-29868-Sport-S ... 68+springs

If you have the cash, I'd grab the new struts as well.

thank you for all your help. I will start with springs and if the strut blows I will do struts to

Or you could buy coilover suspension and be fully adjustable

It's a 20 year old car. The struts are already blown.

Also I notice that h&r lists the same spring for 1st and 2nd gen legacy. Does anyone actually have them on a post facelift with stock fitment struts?


If you are willing to spend, say 800 or so, you can get a set of ST coilovers, which are budget KWs. I wouldn't touch anything else in that price range though.