What springs to buy?

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:25 pm

So the time has come for me to start pricing around for suspension. Here's the catch!

I DONT WANT TO DROP!... i want a LIFT!

Nothing drastic. But I drive off-road daily, have waded through water, and want to start transforming the RS into something more rally-esque to match the environment i've been subjecting it too. It's already gotten dangerously close to bottoming out with the stock suspension. I'm already working on acquiring a skid-plate and light-bar with 4 PIAA 520s.

When I get an STi (if I ever do

) That can be the street car speed-demon. The RS already has some scratches and dents, is always muddy, and there's no point in putting any cash towards speed. That and I've always wanted a rally-looking subaru.

I was thinking outback suspension. I think i've heard of other impreza owners doing the same. Any suggestions on where else to look? (or for that matter if you know where to get a skid plate and light bar)

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:25 am

actually after some further investigation... looks like some people recommend forester springs. Anyone have any of those laying around?

chicken n waffles · Post by **chicken n waffles** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 7:15 am

that or baja springs.

talk to will about forester springs.

drwrx · Post by **drwrx** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:42 am

If your thinking "off-road" at all I would think coil-overs.

Yes, I know, mark this day on your caladars as the day I actually "recommended" coil-overs to someone. It has to be a first.

The reason I say this is that a good set of coil-overs will allow ride height adjustability as well as the possibility of rebound and dampening, perhaps even from within the car!

> Are they difficult to set-up correctly? YES!
> Would you need to find someone who can do a proper alighnment with corner weighting? YES!
> Can adjustments on your part through off that alighment? YES!

However, if you want to keep or actually increase your ride height w/o sacrificing handeling it really is the only way to go. I do not think adding Forester springs is a good idea. That is a significant increase in ride height over stock and while it would allow for better clearance it would certainly effect your cornering in a negative way. You would also be forced to use the Forester's struts as well and in my opinion they are way too soft for any kind of aggressive driving.

The only other option I would recommend is stick with your stock springs and get some adjustable struts (KYB AGX, Koni sport, Tokico D-Spec).

sirwilliam · Post by **sirwilliam** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:51 am

Here is a start:

http://offroadsubarus.com/
http://www.subaxtreme.com.au/
http://www.funonwheels.net/

I know a bunch of Aussie's that do a lot of offroading. Subies are big down under for this. I will keep checking and ask them for some links/info.

sirwilliam · Post by **sirwilliam** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:54 am

Cereb Daithi wrote:actually after some further investigation... looks like some people recommend forester springs. Anyone have any of those laying around?

Actually, I have my '04 struts and springs...but no tophats You would just reuse your tophats. I actually have my 17mm hollow RSB that came w/ my forester from the factory that helps more for offroading then my 20mm solid RSB.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:39 am

thanks for the pointers. I've been talking a bit with Graham at japanparts.com and he's looking into some setups for me.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:54 am

After some more searching people are really recommending forester it seems. However I am hesitant to go that route. The doctor had a good point in cornering. I have been driving my car on (and off) road for about 3 years. I am quite used to it and downgrading handling for ground clearance is something that gives me pause. How bad do you think it would be? I can live with a small decrease, but anything major would not be very acceptable in my book. Seeing as how this is more of a daily-driver/beater I'm also sort of reluctant to dish out cash for coilovers. They don't come cheap at all... It would appear I have a conundrum on my hands.

drwrx · Post by **drwrx** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:27 am

I've only had my Forester for about 3 months now, and have only had a limited amount of experience with it's "back road" attributes which I have found to be excellent. It soaks up rough gravel roads well and takes stutter bumps smoothly. It doesn't get bent out of shape by the crags and holes that would knock the hell out of my WRX wagon. It's traction over loose surfaces is also pretty decent, although that may have more to do with the tires than the suspension. However, I'm less than stoked about the Forester's "on road" behavior. It's far too soft and the struts feel very over damped. Hard turns elicit a lot of lean and roll, and the steering feels a bit vague in left-right, off-throttle, on-throttle applications. Stiffer sways will help some of this, but they will not be any real cure.

There is one more thought I have on this matter. The Outback Sport does have a slightly higher ride height than the RS by about .25". Since it rides on the same 205/55 16 rubber as the RS I'm guessing the extra height is gained from the springs. That may be a better comprimise between the, in my mind too tall, Forester springs and what you have. Also, you could get some good struts, as I posted earlier, and get some taller tires. If your running on stock 205/55 16 tires, going to a 215/55 16 would get you another .5" and 225/55 16 would give you 1" of ride height, barring they don't rub. And while this would add some side-wall flex to your suspension, it would be minimized by upgraded struts. You could set the struts at their softest setting for back-road and comfort then crank them up for high spirited driving.

That's about all I can come up with.

hotsam · Post by **hotsam** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:12 pm

Go with the Forester springs. It's a great budget suspension for Rally-X...and cheap to replace.

Cereb Daithi · Post by **Cereb Daithi** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:14 pm

sirwilliam wrote:Actually, I have my '04 struts and springs...but no tophats You would just reuse your tophats. I actually have my 17mm hollow RSB that came w/ my forester from the factory that helps more for offroading then my 20mm solid RSB.

Do you still have those will? I wasn't planning on getting anything just yet but recently I've been thinking about taking out a loan to get some things. At my age I have a rather limited credit history and if I have any hopes of a good enough credit rating to finance a STi, it wouldn't hurt to take out a small loan and pay it back to build up some credit history.

On top of that with your recent accident I know you no longer have use for the springs (or at least I don't think you do) and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have some extra money as well.

Just leme know if you are interested and selling and what kind of price you'd be looking for.