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Old 01-27-2020, 01:30 PM   #26
couvar
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That would work except the stock struts are under damped so rough roughs are quite harsh. I went to the Cusco adjustable shocks with the RCE black springs and actually found the ride smoother and less rough that stock 2011 springs and struts.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brock31 View Post
Not to thread jack, but i’m In sort of the same boat.

What about putting a later model OEM GR hatch springs/struts on an earlier model GR?

Say putting 2013 springs and struts ( which have a significantly higher spring rate)on a 2008?
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Old 01-27-2020, 01:42 PM   #27
isotopesope
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kingsalami View Post
- 2010 STI SE springs (250# front, 250#rear) with Koni shocks: O.K., this combination is really a great balance between comfort and handling. The ass end doesn't quite feel as buttoned down (I'm gonna increase rear shock rebound by a 1/4 turn to see if I can firm it up a bit), but it's so much more comfortable than the 2011 STI rear springs. It does raise the rear by about 1/4 inch over the 2011+ STI springs, so the "stance boiz" would not approve. But I don't care about looking cool, I want a great handling DD with a fairly comfortable ride. It just took me a while to find it. Now the rear wheel gap is just a bit higher than the 1.5" I've got in the front.

Rear spring length: The 2010 STI SE rear springs (Part # 20330FG500) are the same length as the WRX springs - about 300mm. In 2011, Subaru shortened the rear STI springs by about 1/2 inch. They'll fit on a WRX, but without as much spring preload.
I always wondered about the 2010 STi SE rear spring length! holy crap, had a huge reply to this thread waiting to be sent this morning, but got too busy, and never sent it. but I was going to mention your experience with the 2011-14 STi springs. so you ditched them after all? yeah, they never felt right to me.

Okay, here's much of my "unsent" response, which was to mainly outline the STi to WRX suspension woes:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brock31 View Post
Not to thread jack, but i'm In sort of the same boat.

What about putting a later model OEM GR hatch springs/struts on an earlier model GR?

Say putting 2013 springs and struts ( which have a significantly higher spring rate)on a 2008?
STi 08-10 to 11-14 STi would be fine, but STi to WRX has issues.

one issue with STi suspension on a WRX is the front strut clevis widths are different and the hole spacing is also different. you'd have to add spacers and redrill the holes to make the STi struts work with the WRX hub knuckle. the rear shocks would directly bolt on though.

another problem is that the rear 11-14 STi springs are a good 30mm shorter in the rear than a WRX rear spring, so when assembled, there is about 1/4" slop in the spring between the top hat and spring perch when the shock assembly is not under load. I discovered this when adding 2011 STi springs to WRX Koni's.

maybe it's a minor issue, but it made me super paranoid, so I made a little spacer to lift the spring perch on my Koni's to make up for this distance. however, something never felt quite right and that rear spring rate was often too much for my needs. I wonder if my issue with the springs and spacers was some sort of preload issue I inadvertently created with my cowboy engineering? dunno.

switching to King's was a much better setup for me, though I did wish the rear spring had bit stiffer rate. during my King swap, I also went from an adjustable 22mm rear sway, to a 2015 STi 20mm sway. much better for the dirt-friendly daily driver I wanted from the car. I could feel a lot more wheel articulation independence, which felt great in all aspects of handling. the big sway and big rear rate did not feel that way at all.
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Old 01-27-2020, 01:53 PM   #28
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here's the thread that started it all... OP never responded, but I hijacked it with my own project of moar stupider:
https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/sho....php?t=2453203
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Old 01-27-2020, 09:53 PM   #29
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I’m still here digesting.

Just got a little tied up with home chores..


Thanks for all the good info.

A few things caught my attention.

1) adding sway bars into the mix. The sti sway bar seems cheap enough, maybe a good one to start with.

2) bilstein/rce struts. I’ve seen them mentioned a few times. (Thoughts isotopesope?)

3) king springs really seem to appeal to me (the extra height is attractive to gain safety margin over parking stones and curbs)

Anyone have any opinions on these used Gtworx/ fatcats?

https://offerup.co/kpXSX2NCB3

I’m thinking I could send them in for overhaul and perhaps still be cost effective?
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Old 01-28-2020, 09:07 AM   #30
Brock31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by couvar View Post
That would work except the stock struts are under damped so rough roughs are quite harsh. I went to the Cusco adjustable shocks with the RCE black springs and actually found the ride smoother and less rough that stock 2011 springs and struts.
When you say the "stock Struts" do you mean the '08 stock struts or the '13 stock struts? (I may be misreading a bit...)

I would be using the '13 struts and springs on an '08.

Curious as to whether ride height would be effected with the higher spring rates?


Quote:
Originally Posted by SkylaneRG View Post
I’m still here digesting.

Just got a little tied up with home chores..


Thanks for all the good info.

A few things caught my attention.

1) adding sway bars into the mix. The sti sway bar seems cheap enough, maybe a good one to start with.

2) bilstein/rce struts. I’ve seen them mentioned a few times. (Thoughts isotopesope?)

3) king springs really seem to appeal to me (the extra height is attractive to gain safety margin over parking stones and curbs)

Anyone have any opinions on these used Gtworx/ fatcats?

https://offerup.co/kpXSX2NCB3

I’m thinking I could send them in for overhaul and perhaps still be cost effective?
I can't speak much to questions 2 and 3 as I haven't reached there on my quest which seems to be similar to yours.

Sway bars do help. What I found was using equal dia bars front and rear seems to provide better balance for everyday driving. Still far from "great" though. Since the suspension geometry is different on the GR from the GD having a larger front bar than the rear wouldn't alleviate the "understeeriness" as much. Double wishbone in the rear for the GR as opposed to McPherson struts all around on the GD seems to be the cause of this. I remember an almost night and day difference on my '04.
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Old 01-28-2020, 09:28 AM   #31
BDZ
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I replaced the struts, springs, shocks on our 2012 WRX 5dr.
QTY KYB Part#
1 339172
1 339171
2 341487

King springs
KSFS-52 B fronts
KSRS-53 B rears

Owned it since new (wife's car) both rear shocks were leaking oil and front was low enough to be incompatible with the bad roads and hazards here.
The King Springs lifted the front a little vs. the worn out OEM parts.
Stock wheel arch height spec is Front 376mm rear 370mm.
Currently ours measures Front 375mm rear 368mm.
With 152k miles it drives much nicer and sits slightly higher especially in the front.
Any concern over lower height of the pre'11 KYB's was eliminated with the King springs.

After 6k miles the general impression
- better damping than stock worn out parts(and possibly better than new)
- increased spring rate with no perceivable penalty in ride
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Old 01-28-2020, 10:05 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SkylaneRG View Post

1) adding sway bars into the mix. The sti sway bar seems cheap enough, maybe a good one to start with.

2) bilstein/rce struts. I’ve seen them mentioned a few times. (Thoughts isotopesope?)

3) king springs really seem to appeal to me (the extra height is attractive to gain safety margin over parking stones and curbs)

Anyone have any opinions on these used Gtworx/ fatcats?

https://offerup.co/kpXSX2NCB3

I’m thinking I could send them in for overhaul and perhaps still be cost effective?
I would first contact Bilstein and RCE to know for sure what costs are associated with rebuilding those dampers. just a guess, but it could easily be $200 dollars a corner. I would just be hesitant to inherit someone else's problems with used dampers.

1) That Cygnus Performance sticky thread about swaybars is a really good one.

I went back and re-read your original post... I saw you might be interested in autox. you should research the various clubs doing them in your state and get familiar with the rules of the different classes. many clubs will hold a beginner's class weekend sorta thing. be aware that various mods will land you in various classes. i'd also encourage you to give it a try, even in stock trim.

2) if I personally wanted a nicely streetable mild autox setup, with no dirt driving, I would go 22mm/22mm sways, good SEALED endlinks such as Rallitek's or Cusco's, King standards, and an adjustable damper such as Feal or Cusco. Or even Koni's.

Overall, I just prefer the flexibility an adjustable damper provides. you can dial then down for daily duty, or turn them up for cone dodging.

2a) from the reviews, Bilstein's sound like they would be awesome autox/street dampers. thinking of some of the other King threads, it seems the Bilstein's are a bit stiff for rallyx, but that is not a huge thing if you're not leaning that direction at all.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brock31 View Post
When you say the "stock Struts" do you mean the '08 stock struts or the '13 stock struts? (I may be misreading a bit...)

I would be using the '13 struts and springs on an '08.

Curious as to whether ride height would be effected with the higher spring rates?
looks like he has an '11. the 11-14 STi has a slightly lower ride height than the 08-10 STi. I would speculate your 08 would be slightly lowered with the 11-14 suspension, but it would be a direct fit. also, the rear sway bar went from 18mm to 19mm from 08-10 to 11-14.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BDZ View Post
Any concern over lower height of the pre'11 KYB's was eliminated with the King springs.

After 6k miles the general impression
- better damping than stock worn out parts(and possibly better than new)
- increased spring rate with no perceivable penalty in ride
BDZ raises a good point here. the 08-10 narrow body WRX has slightly different strut geometry than the 11-14 wide body WRX. many (or all?) of the aftermarket WRX struts are designed around the narrow body design. the narrow body strut geometry on a wide body WRX will have a lower ride height in the front. it would probably even out the saggy butt "look.

here's a post from a great thread talking about it with a Koni insert/RCE black/wide body WRX install:
https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/sho...7&postcount=56
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Old 01-28-2020, 11:20 AM   #33
couvar
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I'm referring to the '13 struts and springs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brock31 View Post
When you say the "stock Struts" do you mean the '08 stock struts or the '13 stock struts? (I may be misreading a bit...)

I would be using the '13 struts and springs on an '08.

Curious as to whether ride height would be effected with the higher spring rates?

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Old 01-28-2020, 12:40 PM   #34
Jedi03
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I did this exact thing...the height was the same, couldn't really tell a difference myself and ended up getting ohlins...so I basically have a low mileage set of 13 sti springs/struts if anyone else wants to try it!
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Old 01-30-2020, 09:28 AM   #35
Brock31
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This has been a very informative thread.

Thanks to the OP and to all the other input.
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Old 01-30-2020, 12:50 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SkylaneRG View Post
Thanks for the suggestions.

The swift spec r springs don't appear to be made/available anymore?

The feal struts look interesting. Will check them out, perhaps even go +1 inch
Coil overs are either over my budget for the most part.

Any thoughts on re-building the bilsteins?
Spec R springs are the firmer option from Swift, I would recommend looking into the Swift Sports for more ride comfort. The 441 Max Travel kit retails at $1435, allows up to 1" lift over stock, and is a complete package. Once you piece together struts and springs they become very competitively priced.
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Old 01-30-2020, 01:48 PM   #37
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delete

Last edited by AndyRoo; 01-30-2020 at 01:54 PM.
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Old 01-30-2020, 01:48 PM   #38
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delete this too.

Last edited by AndyRoo; 01-30-2020 at 01:54 PM.
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Old 01-30-2020, 01:53 PM   #39
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Just jumping in now that our vendor status is back! GTWORX Bilsteins are not discontinued by any means. They are actually just now back in stock for GR platform. Great with stock STI springs and have been used successfully with the King lift springs for both rallyx and track days (thanks chimchimm5).

I'm personally getting into rallyx with my own personal car (a BRZ). We're developing a set of rallyx springs for that platform...weird maybe but definitely awesome. I'll be pairing with regular Bilstein B6 eventually. We would consider a similar type of spring for Impreza if the interest were there but that would take some time.

You do not have to go massively big on spring rates or swaybars to have a lot of fun, nor do you need to lower the car a lot. The key is good quality dampers. A few key bushings and a good alignment help as well.

- Andrew
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