Impreza 2000 springs/dampers

[Lefty 200 Drams]

Picked up my '99 Impreza from the garage today after a service and alignment check. Needs new dampers at the back and a fecking spring broke whilst driving home




So, I've decided the second stage of my quick-road winter-bh project will be new springs and dampers all round.

Any recommendations? Will be mostly road use with maybe 6-10 trackdays per year hopefully.


Oh and thanks to all those who commented on my "flat spots" thread. A clean of the MAF sensor, a new OE filter and a change of plugs has got her revving nicely again

[ScoobieWRX]

If you don't mind a harder/stiffer ride and are likely to do a lot of trackdays go for coilovers. The choice is endless.

If you prefer a slightly more compliant ride as it's going to be on crappy (normal) UK roads most of the time i would go for good quality uprated dampers from Bilstein or Eibach with srpings to match. Maybe also consider changing all the front and rear bushes for uprated ones available from a host of different manufacturers.

Firm dampers and good bushing can give you the best all round performance and compromise which makes for a more forgiving and pleasant ride.

[Lefty 200 Drams]

Thanks for that, I think I want to keep it reasonably compliant so will probably stick to dampers and springs. Don't want to lower it either.

Just googled and saw the prices of bilstein coilovers

My costs so far:

Car: 1500
Service and geo: 300

Planned:

Springs, dampers and bushes: 1000-ish (I hope)
Sort bodywork: 300
Braided hoses and better fluid: 250?
Remap and uprated fuel pump: 750?
Godspeed 330mm front discs... 750?
17" alloys (hopefully rb5) and decent alloys ££??

Edited by Lefty 200 Drams on Monday 24th May 17:23

[Lefty 200 Drams]

Subaru haved qwuoted me about £450 for 4x OE which doesn't seem too bad.

I can get Tein coilivers for £650, anyone know if these are any good?

Many thanks.

[rhinochopig]

Upgrading your suspension can be a nightmare, compounded by the culture that surrounds the scooby community (and Evo for that matter).

You need to decide what sort of ride you want, and how your car is going to be used. Personally, if you are using the car as a daily then stick with OEM - you'll find lots of SH stuff for sale as many owners swap out the OEM kit. I've a friend who bought some RB5 suspension for his WRX estate and loved the improvements.

To dispel some myths though:

Lower is definitely not better on UK roads. Don't fit lowering springs as they ruin the ride and also reduce the effectiveness of the dampers - they are valved specifically for a spring length

Coilovers do not give a harsher ride - it's a total fallacy - badly spec'd coilovers give a harsh ride. I have EXE-TC dampers (same company that makes the dampers of Loeb's car) on my Evo and the ride is supple and much much better than OEM.

Re: the Tein dampers. Personally I would not touch JDM dampers for UK roads - they work well on track, but are just not valved for UK roads. I'd go European in origin, in fact I'd go Exe TC if you can find some.

ETA - forgot to mention GEO. Whatever you go for, get them fitted at a garage that rallies scoobies (or has a proven fast road pedigree - Lichfield for example) as they will have fast road geo settings that suit the car, they also won't try to tell you that you need the car slammed.

ETA2 - http://www.lancerregister.com/art_suspensionsystem... A good article on suspension - the man speaketh the truth.

Edited by rhinochopig on Tuesday 25th May 11:45

Edited by rhinochopig on Tuesday 25th May 11:52

[Lefty 200 Drams]

Thanks, that's pretty helpful. I will be using it, if not everyday then certainly a few times a week on very bumpy, rough and twisty backroads. A few trackdays per year too.

My first thought was just to go with oe I must admit...

I certainly don't want to lower the car any more than stock and am actually considering sticking with 16" wheels for the higher sidewalls...

Cheers
Iain

[ScoobieWRX]

If you have the money to buy Exe-TC, AST, Ohlins etc...then go for it as they truly are cracking bits of kit and will of course be the most compliant of coilovers if you set them up that way, but you have to pay for it. Totally agree though that they are the way to go on coilovers.

A lot of subaru enthusiasts don't really have the money to go top end suspension so the likes of Tein, Eibach, KW, FK, GAZ etc...become the more popular choice. In my experience the majority of affordable budget coilovers do make for an overly stiff and crashy ride, even on their softest setting, which is why i said about dampers and springs instead.

Bilstein dampers with Eibach springs are IMHO the best affordable combination that give a nicely compliant ride on crappy UK roads but still work very well on track. They'll cost about the same as budget coilovers but IMHO are far superior quality product and compliment road going subaru's perfectly.

I've been a passenger in and driven many Subaru's now with both setups and i've come to the opinion that the Bilstein/Eibach combination is the very best all rounder. Coupled with uprated bushings all round, a thicker rear anti roll bar, and proper geo setup as has already been said, will give you a superb handling car. However, if you're going to do some serious trackday work, a few sprints etc..., go for Exe-TC coilovers every time, no contest.

Edited by ScoobieWRX on Tuesday 25th May 13:30

[rhinochopig]

ScoobieWRX said:

If you have the money to buy Exe-TC, AST, Ohlins etc...then go for it as they truly are cracking bits of kit and will of course be the most compliant of coilovers if you set them up that way, but you have to pay for it. Totally agree though that they are the way to go on coilovers.

A lot of subaru enthusiasts don't really have the money to go top end suspension so the likes of Tein, Eibach, KW, FK, GAZ etc...become the more popular choice. In my experience the majority of affordable budget coilovers do make for an overly stiff and crashy ride, even on their softest setting, which is why i said about dmapers and springs instead.

Bilstein dmapers with Eibach springs are IMHO the best affordable combination that give a nicely compliant ride on crappy UK roads but still work very well on track. They'll cost about the same as budget coilovers but IMHO are far superior quality product and compliment road going subaru's perfectly.

I've been a passenger in and driven many Subaru's now with both setups and i've come to the opinion that the Bilstein/Eibach combination is the very best all rounder. Coupled with uprated bushings all round, a thicker rear anti roll bar, and proper geo setup as has already been said, will give you a superb handling car. However, if you're going to do some serious trackday work, a few sprints etc..., go for Exe-TC coilovers every time, no contest.

Just to add a word of caution re: polybushing. There is a massive range of quality available. IMO only buy Australian made stuff, and even then be prepared for an increase in NVH - they claim no difference but that is not true. The reason why Aus made stuff is better is that they've been doing it for decades longer than Europe so have the recipes and designs right. I've used Superpro in the past on a recommendation by a chap who builds off road race buggies.