I only had 58k miles on my factory struts when I put on the Eibach kit. Now that I have 63k miles on my car and I just replaced all my struts with Koni's (great option) my rears were making bubbling noises and front were starting to make the same noise. I probably could've lasted a few months more before the struts were completely useless. 88k miles is a no brainer...replace them or be sorry you didn't
I just finished my Koni install with some doner struts from a fellow forum member. I had put Eibach springs on back in February of this year and have been only moderately happy with them since. They were installed on stock struts. Yes body roll in corners was reduced and pitching/diving was reduced a lot but the car never felt...composed.
That all changed when I took everything back apart and installed the Koni's. I did 1 full turn from soft in the front and back. All I can say is wow. I'm sad I had to do all this work twice. I should have done it all the first time. Ride height didn't change and was exactly how it sat with the stock struts. It corners much better now. Everything is a bit stiffer than with the stock struts, but there is no more oscillations after hitting bigger bumps. There isn't any more crashing or banging from the front end when I hit big bumps. Overall everything just feels better. The ride is just a bit stiffer than before but much less violent.
A+ to FredBeans for this walk-through. It helped out a lot.
http://www.rallysportdirect.com/Eibach-Pro-Kit-Lowering-Springs-Subaru-Legacy-GT-2005-2009
if you want actual Eibach springs. Otherwise like others have said, I'm fairly certain the Epic Engineering springs are exactly the same as Eibach springs aside from color. You could double check with FredBeansParts
thanks for the info m sprank. Your right, suspension is the part of a car I know least about and I didn't think the bump stop compressed that small...still learning. I'll follow the instructions from the first couple of posts and keep the bump stops how they are.
I found this thread that talks about extending the bump travel of the koni struts and was wondering if anyone on here had done this:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602326
the parts are found here:
http://turninconcepts.com/product_info.php?products_id=458
and are only $45...might be a worthwhile purchase
If I do cut the oem bumpstops, I was thinking no more than .5" and on the big end to keep as much progressiveness as possible. Or should I cut the smaller end? How much can be removed before running into the troubles with the koni strut bottoming out?
I've been wondering the same thing as I'm looking to get some sways put on my car.
I did find this:
http://shop.group5motorsport.com/cobb_tuning/cobb_tuning_tubular_antisway_bars/924240/i-112432.aspx
Although I don't know if that kit comes with the reinforcement brakets for the rear.
For those that have cobb (or any other) F&R sway bars on their car, how is the handling in the snow?
Mine seems secure enough, I drilled the hole the same size as the outside diamater of the plug and then shoved it in there. I had to apply force as it was a tight fit. Then I poured about a half a stick on hot glue on it. I too was looking for something that would be more secure but I couldn't find anything that I didn't need to solder. I haven't had any troubles yet since I installed it and I have used the plug many times (unplugging and pluggin in).
I debated on useing this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103451
This is essentially what I did:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/Cypher0117/img_8347.jpg
This is a picture very similar to the manual. I hot glued the audio cable just to make sure it wouldn't vibrate out.
The other end of that audio cable was routed to the center console storage area:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/Cypher0117/img_8351.jpg
Just for completeness I mounted the switch in the center storage area as well:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/Cypher0117/img_8352.jpg
Also picked up a dock connector to audio and usb cable to both listen to and charge my ipod:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/Cypher0117/img_8353.jpg
The cable was just to make it look nicer while driving:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/Cypher0117/img_8355.jpg
Ordered one of these boards 8 days ago, got it 2 days ago, and finally installed it today. Everything went really smoothly as the instructions were really clear. Everything works great.
Thanks RedFloyd