Ellesedil Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Impressions: I don't really have any yet. I've only driven 12 miles and never really managed to go much faster than 45 MPH for more than a few seconds. I think that the lockdown allows imperfections in the road to be relayed to the steering wheel more than before. So far, determining the improvement on a scale of 1 to brass shifter bushing, it's somewhere in the lower half. Hopefully, I'll have more impressions to share tomorrow. My commute is changing as I start at a new client site, so I'll be traveling into the city. That means a longer commute with more traffic and hopefully a bit more unevenness in the roads (primarily, train tracks - Portland has a very extensive above-ground train system). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripstik Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 you should see a little difference in on center steering and more so when going from a hard turn from one side to the other and, like you said when hitting road imperfections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesedil Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 If you look at those pictures in full size, it appears that I cracked the finish on the puck in the steering rack. The two pictures of the steering rack that are zoomed out were taken before my first install attempt. I subsequently sheered the 70mm bolt, so some tension was released at that point that would have transferred energy into the rest of the rack (kinda like a mini earthquake). I didn't think to take additional pictures prior to my second attempt since I already had pre-install pictures, so I'm not sure at what point the puck finish cracked. Any thoughts on that? I'm not sure if that could turn into a concern long term. Any idea what the puck's composition is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripstik Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Any thoughts on that? I'm not sure if that could turn into a concern long term. Any idea what the puck's composition is? Are you sure those are from the install? IME cracking rubber is usually do to age more than over stressing. over stressing elastomers usually makes it rip and ends with total destruction. I'd check on it every so often just to makes sure the cracks aren't propagating thru the bushing. as for composition i have no idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PERRIN_Chris Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Judging from the pictures, it looks like they've been there a while. I wouldn't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon.mol Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Hopefully, I'll have more impressions... And THEN? Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesedil Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 And THEN? Heh. The steering wheel definitely feels a lot more solid. I've noticed the steering wheel being more responsive to what the wheels are doing and vice-versa, so it's certainly removed some of the slop that the dampener allows. If that's something you've noticed, than this lockdown will definitely do a great job in alleviating that. I suspect that someone that drives more spirited than I do with some fun at-speed twisties would see more benefit than I. Most of my commute right now is highway with a good chunk of it in heavy traffic. On the other hand, this is a fairly inexpensive mod and is fairly easy to install with the right socket set. Considering that, I'd say it's worth it for someone that's looking to be more connected to the car while driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2baru Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 So I need one is what you're saying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojorios Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 That's the way I read it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Dammit! GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Seems like a lot of subjective conjecture... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zee199969 Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 looks like you enabled at least 2 members Ellesedil lol My "Build" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesedil Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Seems like a lot of subjective conjecture... I'd say it is subjective. This mod isn't transformative like the shifter bushing or clutch dampener delete. If you skip this mod, I don't think you'll really be missing out on anything. But the lockdown does make a minor, yet noticeable difference in how the steering wheel interacts with the wheels and thus the pavement. If we were all driving 1980something Chrysler New Yorkers where you could turn the wheel almost 90 degrees before the front wheels responded, then this lockdown would be hugely transformative. But we're not, and the difference between having the lockdown and not having it is pretty small as far as daily driving in traffic. I haven't been able to go on some fun curvy roads since installing it which I suspect would see the most benefit from it, but I'm happy enough with it at highway speeds to keep it installed because the steering wheel now feels more connected with the pavement and what the wheels are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 ^^Fair enough assessment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 I'd say it is subjective. This mod isn't transformative like the shifter bushing or clutch dampener delete. If you skip this mod, I don't think you'll really be missing out on anything. But the lockdown does make a minor, yet noticeable difference in how the steering wheel interacts with the wheels and thus the pavement. If we were all driving 1980something Chrysler New Yorkers where you could turn the wheel almost 90 degrees before the front wheels responded, then this lockdown would be hugely transformative. But we're not, and the difference between having the lockdown and not having it is pretty small as far as daily driving in traffic. I haven't been able to go on some fun curvy roads since installing it which I suspect would see the most benefit from it, but I'm happy enough with it at highway speeds to keep it installed because the steering wheel now feels more connected with the pavement and what the wheels are doing. So what you're saying is that if I track my car, and drive a twisty canyon road to commute to work.....I need this? GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripstik Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 So what you're saying is that if I track my car, and drive a twisty canyon road to commute to work.....I need this? That's how it read to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Sounds like a couple of people might need to lube their steering joint soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon.mol Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 And..... ordered! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutchard Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 So with all this great info on the Perrin Steering Dampener Lockdown in here, any chance we could get the thread title changed to something that actually reflects it's content? Ellesedil did a great job writing all this up and I just want to be sure that people can find it easily when/if they use the search function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTEASER Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Done. And thread linked in the 5th Gen Performance Mods Sticky. For the record, in one of the first posts, Ellesedil referenced a post by me where I said that this didn't fit without removing the motor. I was confused and this part is different than the Steering RACK Lockdown kit that I have been asked to test fit by Perrin. I plan to attempt that install when I have to pull the motor to replace my clutch, whenever that happens. GTEASER's 2012 Legacy GT - Sold GTEASER's 2009 XTeaser - Sold GTEASER's 1992 Legacy SS - Sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blklgt05 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Can I install this from underneath engine bay? Really don't want to remove tmic, it's a pain cuz of the Perrin coupler. mod journal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cww516 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Looking at the pictures, I'd say that's a strong maybe, although it'll probably be one-handed, and I'd definitely wait for the downpipe to cool off before you try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesedil Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I didn't remove the intercooler and I wound up doing this install one-handed. Removing it could make installing it easier, but there's enough space with just removing the engine cover. There does appear to be space enough to get at it from under the car, but I'm not sure and I don't have an easy way to confirm it as I lack ramps and jack stands. There's a chance some things might only be accessible at an angle due to obstructions when trying to loosen/tighten bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon.mol Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I installed this yesterday from under the car. Super easy. Took maybe half an hour and I took my time. There is tonnes of room from under the car. Way more than from up top. All you need is an inch-pound torque wrench (209 inch pounds = 17.4 ft-lbs) and about 1 and a half feet of socket extensions to loosen and tighten the u-joint bolts. You can easily get at both of the 12mm bolts on either end of the steering u-joint. Despite not being easy to see, the lower one is easily accessible by placing your socket extensions in from the side above the lower control arm. Subaru designed the part to have the bolt line up through that opening perfectly. I applied a bunch of grease to the Perrin part to help it slide in to the OEM part since there is a lot of friction while compressing it in. Cranked it in with the supplied hex-key no problem, took out the bolt, put in the shorter one with thread locker, turned the steering around, torqued up the two 12mm bolts and done. Pro tip: Have the key in the ignition with the steering unlocked and the car on jack-stands. Then you can move the wheels/steering around by hand from under the car while working which lets you get at it from different angles. Driving impressions: Full disclosure - I swapped on my winter tires at the same time. So driving feel differences are impacted by that as well. I find there to be no noticable NVH increase, however there is a notable imprivement in on-center feel. Less vague on center with much smaller steering wheel movements actually resulting in the wheels reacting. Feels more connected. You feel more imperfections in the road, i.e. more/better road feel which is always a good thing unless you enjoy electric power steering. The main difference is with the small movements. The damper only has limited movement anyway so all this does is eliminate that, tightening things up. It takes a bit of smushy play out of the steering system and that is a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon.mol Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 No others install this yet? Its a no brainer as far as I am concerned. Especially considering how easy it is to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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