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Old 06-01-2010, 12:31 PM   #1
Turbineguy
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Member#: 99889
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Louisiana
Vehicle:
'06 STI
WRB

Default Broke Guy Daily Driver Mutant Suspension Setup Review

Don't post here much but wanted to throw out a little review of the suspension setup I got from Turn In Concepts and finished installing this weekend.

This is on an 06 STI and as we all know the options for replacement struts are very limited. You have OEM, F&R Tokicos for the 04s, Ohlins fixed perch, and then coilovers. I'm sure there are a few more out there but these are the most common and readily available options. The rear Tokico D-Specs work on any year GD but the front ones only fit the 04s. I don't do anything but a daily spirited work commute and there was no way I could justify well north of $2k for new bouncy bits and I certainly wasn't about to shell out for the OEM junk that already died once at 40K miles of reasonable driving. I also can't justify a bunch of seperate compression and rebound damping adjustments either.

I decided to call up Clint and Tony at Tic to solve my issue. Since fixed perch struts were what I was looking for but I didn't want to shell out for the Ohlins the rear was an easy choice with their (Not) Bangin Rear End Tokico D-Spec setup with the remote adjusters. The front was the problem and Tony suggested the Koni insert mod. I decided to go with the Konis for the front and a new set of the Swift R springs since my Tanabe GF210s were also shot from rust and flaking paint and were squeeky to boot.

The rear Tokicos went in as easy as any other srtut normally would. The front took quite a bit more effort due to the mods required to fit the Konis. There's already more than one thread for the Koni mod so I won't go into the whole process. I will say that some time, patients, and creativity will pay dividends when getting the pressed in bushings out and in my case I would not have been able to finish it without having a hydraulic press to get the inserts seated in the strut housings but if your at the point that you feel comfortable tackling this kind of thing it can be done fairly easily. Be sure to sand all the paint off of the upper 2/3s of the insert to allow it to be pressed in without the paint gumming it up. If you do that the insert should slide into the housing at least half way by hand and the rest should press in easily.

The result of this setup driving wise is that it's well worth all the effort. The adjustability allows you a wide range of spring options and I ended up with about 1/2" of extra bump travel in the front and the rears will hit coil bind before the strut bottoms out. The Swift springs are very responsive without being uber harsh and feel more linear than the Tanabes. The drop is vurtually identical to my 210s at the moment although they haven't settled yet. I don't think it'll change much if at all anyway. Another plus is that about 70% of my rattles are now gone so huge bonus there.

I think this setup is certainly an option for those in the same boat as I was with not needing high dollar coilovers, fixed perch struts that cost the same as coilovers, or 100 different adjustments that are about 90 more than needed. The whole setup ended up being about $1100 so about half of a set of Ohlins struts with no springs. Props again to Clint and Tony at Tic for their help and patients with my numerous questions and the end result is exactly what I was looking for.
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Old 06-01-2010, 07:58 PM   #2
joey.lisano
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: IN
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07 STI
WRB

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I'm glad you're enjoying it. Any guesses on how it would compare (performance wise) to coilovers?
Mutual suspension, mutant personal tune, and soon to be mutant intercooler. Maybe a mutant gas turbine engine swap from one of your helicopters...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Turbineguy View Post
I don't do anything but a daily spirited work commute and there was no way I could justify well north of $2k for new bouncy bits and I certainly wasn't about to shell out for the OEM junk that already died once at 40K miles of reasonable driving. I also can't justify a bunch of seperate compression and rebound damping adjustments either. [...] The whole setup ended up being about $1100 so about half of a set of Ohlins struts with no springs.
Ah-ha, I knew there had to be a reason why you put yourself through such misery.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Turbineguy View Post
The front took quite a bit more effort due to the mods required to fit the Konis. [...] I will say that some time, patients, and creativity will pay dividends
I thought you would have worded that a bit differently, as in huge bolded font with a couple *&%^* thrown in there.
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