Scooby-GT

Added RCE's WRX Spring Rates to the front post. http://www.gtworx.com/index.php/gtworxbilsteinimprezacupsportkit.html

Was it only the nubs that didn't fit? The rest of the insert went inside fairly snugly? If so, that is how the install is intended.

Wow 2" shorter? Those are WRX inserts or not the LGTs, right? Are you gonna do over on a new housing, or weld the piece back then cut again?

Uh oh...looks like you might have cut a bit too much there. That little slot that sticks out about 1.5 inches from the top for strut needs to sit inside the strut housing. It is there to make sure the fit is completely tight to ensure no movement between the two. As Fahr_side said, using a longer bolt will help pull the insert to seat completely flush with the bottom of the housing. Use a pipe cutter will make the cut a lot easier and more accurate. For example: http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-15-Tubing-Cutter-32920/100015820#.UVACPhzvu8M As for the torque thing, you need an allen socket with a torque wrench. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-evolv-7-pc-hex-bit-socket-set/p-00910058000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1 I don't recommend driving on that strut like that, but the question is, how the heck are you gonna take the insert back out without destroying it?

Will the Q300 bolt onto the single pipe 6MT? What are your plans for suspension?

What exactly is a 2013 tS? Do you have the specs of it? That tiny quad tip exhaust looks funny.

How much did the 2013 strut ran you?

Yes, yes, yes. You can use everything from a 05+ Legacy or 08+ Impreza for the donor strut body. Just make sure it's not from an STI.

Koni wasn't even an option at the start until I stumbled upon the WRX setup. Also they aren't exactly bolt on, I will need an extra set of strut body if i were to test fit them. It's not that easy Gteaser, if it was, everyone would be running Koni's by now.

No problem. Answer: ride height and ride quality. 2013 OEM setup - too much fender gap, rode a bit film. 2013 dampers with Swifts - not low enough, ride did not change much from above. 2009 WRX dampers - about the same height as above, rode OEM soft, not bad. 2009 WRX dampers with Swifts - ride height is almost what I want. Still riding nice. 95% like stock means the ride did not feel like I have aftermarket springs at all. Regarding your comment on the Koni's, perhaps you have forgotten that we did not know the Koni's will work on our cars until I confirmed the WRX fitment. Do you still think I am taking a circuitous path?

I am running my LGT Swifts on the WRX dampers now, rides 95% like stock. waiting for the Koni sale for the adjustability and better damping.

Yeap, you're right! Another mystery solved. http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/525/tirecomparo.jpg

Thanks for chiming in fahr_side! I was just reading your suspension related threads over on the wrx forum earlier this morning. Are you saying the 09 wrx strut from the pic I attached in post #20 (above), is actually only from a 08 wrx? I am confused because my 09 wrx strut is indeed 1/2" shorter from the mount to the spring perch than my 2013 legacy strut. Maybe the 08-09 GH8 have the shorter strut body with the longer spring? While the 08+ GRF and 10+ GH8 have the vise versa?

Subydude81 - it sounds like you are offended by my word cheap. By cheap, I really meant inexpensive. Yes, coilovers under 1k are inexpensive, and they do not give me what I am looking for. Therefore I am finding my own ways to achieve my goals. Please cut out these comparison nonsense to a minimum. It's great that you enjoy your BC or Megan or what not. That is not the point of this discussion, so let's focus and be productive. Thank you.

Well the strut body maybe the same, but they probably valved them differently due to different weight distributions.

More interesting info: http://www.benjohnsonphotography.com/photos/i-6HWQwCc/0/L/i-6HWQwCc-L.jpg Apparently the 2011+ WRX front struts are about the same length as my 2013 front struts. I wonder if Subaru is doing some real cost cutting, and decided to use the same part across the board.

The Bilstein from the WRX or the 4th gen Legacy would be plug and play. You loose the adjustability that's all.

Two words, ride quality. Also I don't want to spend $1k for some cheap coilovers.

Thanks fredrik94087. If I am spending that kind of coin, I would spend a few hundreds more for the KW coilovers. As much as I think this will be a great street setup, no one has done it, and it is unproven. Is street ride quality a concern to you? if so, I am not so sure about the RCE springs. If I were you, I'd skip the RCE, and just use the 2013 springs on the Koni's. Also, check Craigslist for some shot up WRX front struts, you don't need the rear WRX shocks so don't drop that much for some used WRX setup. To answer your question, yes, you just need to swap the top hat for things to bolt-in. Why are you spending that much for a shop to do it? You should do it yourself!

GTeaser, I beg to differ. I am not mixing and matching different OEM springs with different OEM dampers. I see it as they were well matched from the factory. What was more important was the fitment check, rather it was a bolt-on or not. And how the setup rode, and how much drop they provided. With the Swifts on, the WRX strut body was about half an inch shorter than the 2013 Legacy unit. The rear shock assembly was about identical. http://imageshack.us/a/img819/2598/img20121110151333656.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img534/2955/img20121110161324334.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img441/7678/img20121110161338839.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img20/9602/img20121110161346233.jpg

Do you have the 2012 Legacy spring rate? confirmed? from LGT or 2.5i or H6?

Today, I am happy to announce to you that we have another option to our suspension choices. For the those who has been around, you know that I have been running a few different low buck setups: Stock 2013 suspension (duh!) Stock 2013 struts/shocks with LGT Swifts (http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/swift-springs-2013-legacy-2-5i-6mt-194770.html?t=194770) Stock 2011 LGT suspension And in the past month, I came across a set of brand new stock suspension out of a 2009 WRX hatch. So why am I doing this? 1) To find out if the WRX setup is a bolt-on to the legacy 2) T0 find out the differences in ride quality 3) To find out the differences in ride height 4) My 2013 base weights 3315lbs, and a WRX hatch weights 3230lbs, will this setup hold its own? and will it last? 5) If #1 hold true as a bolt-on, we know the option of running aftermarket setup for the WRX is not very far off. Are you tried of waiting for RCE to make their Bilstein available? 6) I do not want to run a coilover for the street, especially the shotty streets we have here. I would love a set of KWs, but that is out of the reach us working people. Koni's on stock springs would be the next best option for us lower buck modders. For those who like numbers and things, this is what I've gathered: Stock Subaru Springs: 2010 Legacy's spring rates 165F/177R (http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4410812&postcount=77) 2008 WRX's spring rates 151F/136R (unverified) 2009 WRX's spring rates 216F/209R (source 1, unverified) 2009 WRX's spring rates 223F/195R (source 2, unverified) 2008+ STI's spring rates 217F/194R (http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gr-suspension-handling-stiffening/147116-08-sti-factory-spring-rates.html) 2011+ STI's spring rates 251F/297R (http://www.wrxforums.com/forums/82-coilovers-springs/15125-2011-sti-vs-previous-08-sti-suspension-specs.html) Note1: 2011+ WRX's rates are stiffer than before Note2: 2010 STI SE has an even stiffer OEM setup. No info on this one either. Aftermarket Springs: 2010+ LGT Swift's rates 190F/224R (http://www.swiftsprings.com/products/sport-compact/sport-springs.html) 2010+ LGT Tein S-Tech 219F/241R (unverified) 2010+ LGT Eibach pro-kit 200-296F/217-274R (http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4410812&postcount=77) 2010+ LGT RCE Black 240F/245R (http://www.gtworx.com/index.php/rce-legacy-gt-springs.html) 2008+ WRX RCE Yellow 330F/330R (http://www.gtworx.com/index.php/gtworxbilsteinimprezacupsportkit.html) 2008+ WRX RCE Black 275F/250R (http://www.gtworx.com/index.php/gtworxbilsteinimprezacupsportkit.html) Moving on to answering the above: 1) The full stock WRX suspension is a complete bolt-on to the 5th gen Legacy, provided that you replace the WRX front top hats with the Legacy unit. I believe you can use the WRX top hats if you enlarge the three strut bolt holes. I didn't bother doing this as I had my top hats readily available. 2) After about 1000 miles of driving around the Bay Area, I found the ride quality is close if not identical to the 2011 LGT setup I immediately had before. This is however not as firm as the stock 2013 suspension nor the Swifts I had after it. 3) I never got the chance to measure the ride height when I still had the car in stock 2013 form. But as you see below, the front drop is almost identical to drop from my Swifts/2013 setup. The rear is unfortunately quite a bit higher, I believe the WRX is more rear weight biased than the Legacy. Please note that all this applies to my 2013 2.5i 6MT only. CVT, Turbo, and H6 cars are even more nose heavy, so your results will vary. Measurements to the middle of the fender from the ground: 2013 Legacy 2.5i stock suspension: 27 3/4" to 28 (per fredrik94087) Swifts with 2013 strut/shocks: LF: 26 3/4 RF: 26 7/8 LR: 26 11/16 RR: 27 5/16 2009 WRX stock OEM suspension: LF: 26 7/8 RF: 26 15/16 LR: 27 3/4 RR: 28 1/2 Swifts with 2009 WRX dampers: LF: 26 1/16 RF: 26 3/16 LR: 26 11/16 RR: 27 3/16 4) Even though the car is around 80lbs heavier than the WRX hatch, I didn't notice the suspension bottoming out any more often than any other stock Subaru would. In other words, the car rides 100% like stock. 5) Yes, yes, and yes. We should be able to run Koni yellow or Bilstein or whatever setup that are made for the WRX. With the front inserts of the Koni, you do not need a WRX strut, the Legacy will work the same. The rears will be a 100% bolt-on. Am I doing a good job? If so, please click here to donate to my Koni-yellow fund to bring you more exciting experiments in the future: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=SACRS9FBBMS42 Let's continue onward with the pics: http://imageshack.us/a/img546/9836/img20130130132905.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img705/4680/img20130130132854.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img442/6594/img20130130132848.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img811/3261/img20130130132839.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img7/6176/img20130130132831.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img23/1598/img20130130132820.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img4/2482/img20130130132813.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img18/4644/img20130130132805.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img832/6246/img20130130132754.jpg So what is next? Since no one here wants to buy my Swifts, I am considering throwing them in onto the stock WRX setup. I am curious to know how ride height and ride quality diff from my Swifts/2013 setup. After that, I will most likely order a set of WRX Koni and either run them with the stock WRX springs or experiment again with the Swifts. While the 2013 dampers were more compliant to the stiffer Swifts springs, I still felt they were under-damp. With the adjustability of the Koni, I hope we can reach a more optimal settings that matches the Swifts. However if I come across a set of 2011+ STI, I'll have to try those first. So let me know if you see a set of new or near new in the Bay Area! Any questions? Again donations to my Koni-yellow fund is GREATLY appreciated.

Sweet, was this head unit a complete plug and play?

Wow...that is not a bad deal for a plug and play system. Too bad there aren't a single review of it in our car.

Here is my contribution: http://imageshack.us/a/img33/7696/img1371id.jpg 2013 SWP Base 6MT Swift Springs Spec for Legacy GT Enkei Raijin 18x8 +35mm