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Auto-Crossing A Sport Sedan

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 2:54 am
by LegacyT
Is a Legacy Turbo sedan a worthy competator, for a car? Does it stand a chance with cars like RX-7's and Miatas'? I've driven a normal Legacy in Auto-X conditions and the steering is a little soft, is there any way to tighten it up a little?

Thanks,
Mark

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 3:08 am
by Brat4by4
Solid end-links from Whiteline available at MRT. There is also an underbody front suspension brace you can get. Strut tower bars are also available which might help. This is without changing the actual suspension. You can get MRT & Whiteline stuff from www.langstonspeed.com which carries MRT products here in the states.

The Turbo will do better anyways because of the "sport" suspension tuning and the rear anti-sway bar which is missing on many NA Legacies.

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 10:18 pm
by inzomniac
Mark, if you want to get strut tower braces... I can get them through the store I work at for around $80 (Canadian) each for front and rear... I found these made a HUGE difference on my car, prolly due to age the chasis tended to twist a little... send me an email if you are interested, then we can work out how to get these things to you... if you're in the GTA I can more then likely get them to you myself. Our local dealer for MRT stuff is ADP Motorsport in Ajax, and Lachute Subaru if you're closer out that way, also I think Subaru of Guelph is doing MRT stuff now too. Bottom line is... if you're still running stock suspension you're going to have issues with bodyroll and this will make runs VERY slow, if I were you I'd save up for aftermarket suspension first... (if you want to I can sell you my KYB GR.II setup with 00' 2.5 RS springs for $250, it's not in the best shape but for the money it's worth every penny) Let me know if you're interested in any of the above, also I can get you phone numbers to any of the MRT dealers.

emai address:
aphex_twin15@hotmail.com

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 11:23 pm
by LegacyT
Will the RS springs drop my car at all? I'm hoping yes. If so by how much? I'm very interested in your set except I have to get a little more dough. But when I collect enought, I plan on buying it from you. Also in another post you wrote that you could get downpipes at really good prices. I'm gonna need one pretty soon for my exhaust job.

Thanks,
Mark

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 11:49 pm
by Legacy777
Gary, Is the rear bar you mentioned for the wagon or sedan?

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:00 am
by inzomniac
The rear bar is for the sedan... they're made for GC8 impreza... but I've got them on my car and Ben Lam has them on his 1992 sedan too.. no problems at all with the install.. you just had to hammer away at a thin slice of metal in order to get the parts where the center bar meets the two ends to join propperly.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:04 am
by Legacy777
Any chance you could get some pictures of the rear bar.

I've got some amps and stuff in the rear, and I'm not sure if it would clear the bar.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:08 am
by inzomniac
The drop with the RS springs is very noticeable.. and with the GR.II setup it's also very stiff (I can jump on the front of my car and it'll only move around maybe an inch or so). For good suspension on a budget, there is no better way.

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:09 am
by inzomniac
If I can get someone to host pics for me I can get one snapped with my digi cam by tomorrow evening... I can also show Mark exactly what the car looks like with the current suspension setup. Anyone wanna host?

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:15 am
by Legacy777
email them to me

Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2003 12:37 am
by inzomniac
thanks Josh.. I'll send you the pics tomorrow.

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2003 10:09 pm
by inzomniac
errr.. ya, my digicam had an unfortunate incident involving alot of water.... so I can't get pics up of the bar. If you want to know if it will clear your amps... post pics or dimensions of your setup and I can let you know if it will fit.. the bar is just a simple one intended for use in a GC8 impreza, nothing special... I guess the price is the only good part abou them

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2003 10:17 pm
by boostjunkie
inzomniac, I'm interested in the rear bar as well . . . what is the exchange rate for US$ to CDN$? Can you ask your shop how much total including shipping would be to 20815 in the US? Thanks!

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 12:23 am
by Legacy777
This is an older pic.....not sure if it'll show things clearly.

If you want another one.....let me know, and I'll have to snap some more.

Image

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 4:50 am
by inzomniac
Josh.. It would clear that no problems at all... the bar comes out of that hole where the wire in the top right corner of the pic comes from.. dropps about an inch or two and then goes straight accross the car.

As for getting them to you in the US... I'm going to have to look into it, I'm pretty sure shipping isn't that bad but I'm just curious as to what fees would be like going that way accross the boarder.. I know I get raped when I get things shipped into Canada. If I were you I'd try to get one locally for a GC8 impreza as it'd save alot of hasstle. If all else fails shoot me a message and I'll see what I can arrange.

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 5:07 am
by NuwanD
hey gary, i'd be interested in a rear strut brace in the near future as well, just gotta save up some cash

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 3:13 pm
by Legacy777
Cool...thanks for the info Gary......just incase i missed it....what brand of strut tower bars are these?

I didn't necessarily see that info on there?

Thanks

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 4:14 pm
by mikec
I too am interested in the brand. I'll show this to my brother, he may be interested in 1 or 2 for his RS.

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 4:27 pm
by boostjunkie
Heh, I really could care less about the brand, much less where to find it.

The cheapest rear STB for the impreza's I've found is $120US. Not even close to the $40CDN that you stated. :shock:

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 6:02 pm
by inzomniac
They're from a company called Direct Auto Import in Quebec... and they're $80 Canadian. Lookswise they're nothing special, polished aluminum bar with black ends, fully adjustable to ensure good fit. I'll talk to the bossman tomorrow night (the next night I'm in) and see what we can do to ship to the US. As for the ontario locals if you're in the GTA it's pretty easy.. anyone who's interested in getting these bars please leave me an email with the following things:

my email: aphex_twin15@hotmail.com

Name:
Front bar: (yes or no)
Rear bar: (yes or no)
Country:
If ouside of GTA please inclue postal/zip code:
Phone # I can reach you at:

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 6:24 pm
by boostjunkie
Email sent.

Oh yeah . . .

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2003 10:08 pm
by boostjunkie
In response to the original topic of this post, I plan on autocrossing my SS in April!! I'll tell ya how it fairs compared to the 34534876 wrxs in the lineup.

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2003 1:07 am
by mikec
ok i thnk this'll go though as if i am my brother, but anyways
the bars are adjustable?? are all strut braces like this? i would think that wuold take away from the whole purpose, to be absolutely rigid.

i want a rear one but only if the adjustment is in such a way that theres no chance it can back off... killllllller price ;)

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2003 1:45 am
by inzomniac
Mike... they survive this without backing off :wink:

Image


here's another brand's bar that looks the same at the ends of the main bar... basically you get the black ends over top of the bolts coming off the top of the strut caps, tighten them up and then tighten the bolts on the bar VERY tight so they don't slip... it helps to have 2 people to do this... and once they're set they're set. I check mine every time I remember and they're still tight as the day I put them on. As for the difference, once cars get this old they flex ALOT (ever hear the sunroof make wierd noises going over big curbs?? ) Next to seam welding the chasis :D this is the next best thing. You'll notice a difference the first time you toss the car hard into a corner after install.
Image[/img]

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2003 3:57 am
by ciper
I think that design of mount would flex too much to be useful. The bar is above the plain that the mount is on so the force of the strut towers coming together lifts the mount from the outer edge of the plane. Seems cheap to me