well, i've only had these on for about 14 hrs now...and half that time i was sleeping...but anyways, i have gotten some time to drive around and here are my thoughts.

let's start with the product itself. I paid $400 for the set, purchased from TRi. (thanks for all your help chris!)

There is no clip for the speed sensors in the front, or the brake lines in the back, so you have to zip-tie everything down. I'm assuming that's because they aren't specifically made for the WRX. No worries, as long as everything still works properly. The adjustments on the top struts are fairly easy. 4 ways up front, adjusted with a little screw driver. personally i liked the knob that came with my koni's. just a little more convenient. the backs do have a knob, but don't expect to get to it easily. i tried to feel around for it in the dark last night, but that was just not going to happen. so i had to crawl under there (burned my dam face on the exhaust since my car is so low...doh!). the knobs are marked pretty clearly, but i worry that if they were dirty i'd have a hell of a time seeing the numbers to adjust them.

Although I know struts alone shouldn't lower your car all too much, i found that with my MRT springs, they lowered the car at least another half inch. it's obvious without even having to look closely! (total lowering w/ springs about 2" best guess)

the ride is great. yes, they are much stiffer, but they still have some give in them. my kidneys don't hurt or anything when i get out of the car. i get to take a bunch of twisty roads to work everyday, and let me say, WOW!! there's such a huge difference. the car stays so flat, almost no body roll, and it just goes where you point it. much less steering wheel input than before, and the car doesn't feel squirrely like it used to at really high speeds. (over 110 or so...not like i've tried...cough cough)

i definitely recommend them! they are probably one of the best bang for the buck mods i have. needless to say i was pleasantly surprised with their everyday drivability feel, yet superb handling increase.

just my $0.02

I talked to a guy who is very experienced with struts and he said he doesnt like the KYB's very much. He owns his own performance shop/garage and he said he prefers the Tokico Illuminas or even Koni's. Apparently he doesnt like the KYB's due to the fact that they dont come with a very good warranty and they supposedly have the tendency to blow out easily.
I asked someone else about this and they said the shocks shouldnt blow out unless you're one of those people that "slams" your car. I know several people on this forum have KYB's on your cars. What do you guys think?

I've had the KYB/AGX's on my RS since February of 2000 and put over 30,000 miles on them; auto-xing, off-roading and daily driving. They are a great strut, no leaks, no blow outs and they still perform flawlessly. Should say something about there quality since Subaru is releasing an SPT Suspension Kit for the '98-'01 Impreza that comes with KYB/AGX struts & Eibach springs!

what springs are these on and what was the comparison between these struts and stock?? thanks.

NoSaabs,
Thanks for posting this as I have many questions.

1a.) Were you running your MRT springs with the stock struts before?

1b.) If so, did you notice that the car was unsettled over large bumps with the stock struts?

1c.) If so, has this helped the situation or is the car still upset by large bumps?


2a.) Did you have the car realigned after you fitted the new struts?

2b.) If so, what did the camber on the rear come out to be?


3.) What settings do you have the struts set to now? And have you experimented with the various settings?


Can you please go into as much detail as possible regarding the handling of the car vs. the ride comfort? For example, how does the car handle at turn-in, how is mid-corner grip, and how well does the car exit turns? Also, how much shock is transmitted into the car over small, medium and large bumps?

Sorry to be a pain, but I am contemplating the same upgrade.

Thanks,
Scooby Don't

Originally posted by Scooby Don't
NoSaabs,
Thanks for posting this as I have many questions.

1a.) Were you running your MRT springs with the stock struts before?

1b.) If so, did you notice that the car was unsettled over large bumps with the stock struts?

1c.) If so, has this helped the situation or is the car still upset by large bumps?


2a.) Did you have the car realigned after you fitted the new struts?

2b.) If so, what did the camber on the rear come out to be?


3.) What settings do you have the struts set to now? And have you experimented with the various settings?


Can you please go into as much detail as possible regarding the handling of the car vs. the ride comfort? For example, how does the car handle at turn-in, how is mid-corner grip, and how well does the car exit turns? Also, how much shock is transmitted into the car over small, medium and large bumps?

Sorry to be a pain, but I am contemplating the same upgrade.

Thanks,
Scooby Don't


ok, here's goes:

1) yes, i did have the MRT springs on my stock struts, and they were great! the car was a little rougher over bumps but the handling did improve. delaware's roads aren't too bad, and i always avoid the big holes and bumps. the car didn't get "unsettled" but like i said, a choppier ride.

2) have not had the car realigned, because the dealer said they couldn't do it. but apparently i may need a camber bolt in the rear to correct the negative camber. not a major problem, because i'm really happy with the setup so far.

3) i have played with the settings. first of all, it's a real pain in the butt to change the rear settings. i burned my face on my muffler cuz the car is so low, and it's hard to see what setting you're on. but that's ok. the rear has 8 settings, and originally, i had it set on 6. 8 being the stiffest. the fronts are 4 way adjustable, and i had them on 3. these settings were too harsh for daily driving. on I-95 everytime i hit a dip or rise in the road there was very little give and the ride was really really harsh. so i set it to 2 and 5. this is better, but still stiff. i like a stiffer ride of course, but at least now my wife doesn't complain everytime we're in the car. it's at the setting now that i can definitely live with, although i may take the rears down to 4.

corning is excellent. these shocks really out perform my tires. i have much more handling capabilities than i have grip capabilities from my tires. so usually the tires give way before the car does. mid corner, the cars stays really flat. very little body roll. exiting the corner requires more imput on the wheel to straighten out, but this just may be oversteer, which i'm still trying to get used to. (my last car was a porsche and that thing handled completely different to this car by a wide wide margin.) i noticed i can stay on the gas a lot longer in corners, and there's much less hesitation when i turn the wheel at any speed.

i still do really recommend this setup, as long as you know ahead of time that you'll need some camber adjustments in the rear.

did i answer everything? i hope so, but let me know if i left anything unanswered.

NoSaabs

Originally posted by littleblue
what springs are these on and what was the comparison between these struts and stock?? thanks.

they're on the MRT springs that i got from Dan at VividRacing. (Dan, you rock!)

read my post above where i try to compare they kyb's to the stockers

NoSaabs,
Excellent report! Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Scooby Don't

would the AGX handle RCE yellows or are the springs to much for these struts??