SSD Strut Bar Arrived

[YeuEmMaiMai]

They don’t have the cold air intake

 

 

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Car already has a cold air intake...

[PATS4LIFE]

They don’t have the cold air intake

 

Here you go

 

https://shop.redline360.com/products/aem-cold-air-intake-subaru-outback-2015-legacy-2-5l-2015-2016-21-808c?variant=28713187082320&currency=USD&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6IHwBRCJARIsALNjViXx9-oeyldZlLUwzeOevzC3CA9oCvAFGd7Dm-quM7oa0HGF8iT018gaAmy0EALw_wcB

 

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[ammcinnis]

Initial impressions on change in handling: Definitely Aladeen

Exactly!

[Fiatz79]

Will the STI bar fit a Gen 6 Legacy? Are there good US sources?

[Grnlantern1]

Will the STI bar fit a Gen 6 Legacy? Are there good US sources?

Sti makes a Gen 6 Strut bar, I don't know any vendors in the U.S. that stock it. I bought mine from http://www.japanparts.com and was at my door in 10 days. Good Luck.. Quality over Price..[emoji2369]

 

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[onehammer1969]

It’s not for a 3.6 r

 

 

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[YeuEmMaiMai]

^does not matter bar fits all variants of the car.

[Fiatz79]

Thanks.

Just prefer the minor mods I'm doing to stay Subaru.

(Except for the stock lamps. But the headlights stay stock) ;-)

 

 

Sti makes a Gen 6 Strut bar, I don't know any vendors in the U.S. that stock it. I bought mine from http://www.japanparts.com and was at my door in 10 days. Good Luck.. Quality over Price..[emoji2369]

 

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[DougKelly20]

I purchased mine from Amazon.

 

Also, Aladeen is a reference to the movie The Dictator, in which a made-up middle-eastern dictator changes more than half of the local dialect to be his name, Aladeen. There's a funny bit where a patient has to rely on the expressive Dr's face to determine whether he is HIV Aladeen or HIV Aladeen, since the dictator changed both positive and negative to his name.

So now that you've had more time with it what are your impressions? How has turn in response changed? Flatter cornering? Road feel? Ride quality? Slight changes or major?

[gathermewool]

I'm still testing (bar on and off) which will take some time for me to come to anything close to as an objective conclusion as possible. I also ordered an SSD front strut bar for our '14 FXT to test there, as well.

 

Major or minor changes? So, far, the changes are minor for daily driving, which includes some spirited driving, as well as taking the same turn with a moderate rise mid-turn, which puts a torsional load on the body (i.e. the front left tire rises first as the car enters the rise at about a 45-degree angle. The changes are slightly more noticeable during VERY hard cornering.

 

1. Very subtle/undetermined:

 

-----The front end feels very slightly stiffer/more rigid during daily driving, hitting uneven roads and potholes. I don't have many major potholes and only hit a few while driving south of Boston on 95/93 split area. This might all be in my head, though.

 

-----During the above-mentioned turn in my neighborhood, the one with the moderate rise, I notice what seems to be the suspension (strut) taking up the load more than without the bar. It also seems as if the middle of the vehicle is taking on more of the torsional load than the front subframe/firewall area, if that makes any sense. I'll need more time with/without the bar to confirm this, though, and rule out placebo effect.

 

2. Somewhat sure of thus far:

 

-----I'm able to take the same hard right turn (~ 90-degrees) every day on my way home. With only the upgraded XV Crosstrek 20mm rear sway-bar installed, I've gotten used to a more-neutral turn at a certain relatively high (yet still safe) speed. The car is still more prone to under-steer, but noticeably closer to neutral with just the RSB.

 

Today is the first opportunity I've had to take the same turn at speed, and the front left tire chirped throughout the majority of the turn. This leads me to believe that the front is stiffer, resulting in a bit more under-steer, but not in a bad way. I'm no expert, so it's hard for me to explain. it's not equivalent to putting on a large front sway-bar, and didn't make the car dive into the turn. It just felt more solid in the turn and predictable, though the change wasn't massive enough, by any means, to give it a, "woah!" factor, which is normally attributed to massive changes in grip (i.e., with wider/stickier tires) or with a car that's made to be on the very edge of over-steer, which will make it FEEL more like it's on rails, regardless of whether overall grip is increased.

 

More to follow. Even if this bar is only showing improvement at the limit, that's fine and makes it worth the purchase. I don't drive close to the limit of traction in any of my vehicles 99% of the time; however, that 1% of the time where you can experience a better car than stock is where the want-to-keep-it-long-term factor comes into play.

 

I don't feel the need to upgrade this like I did my previous STI (eff that noise....literally, it was really loud with massive amounts of NVH compared to the Legacy), but making it feel more fun during that 1% of my driving puts a smile on my face, with only minor change in NVH, mostly coming from the DWS tires, and almost none from the RSB and front strut bar.

 

//

 

Conclusion:

 

So, all I have so far is what I consider a relatively minor change in front-end stiffness at this point.

 

More testing needs to be done with the bar on and off.

 

//

 

TIRES!!!!!!

 

Better bet for overall increase in performance? I suggest you buy better tires. The difference between the stock alloy wheels with half-worn OEM tires and the BBS with Conti DWS (1/2 - 3/4 worn; I don't have exact tread-depths, sorry) was a major improvement. I experienced increased grip without effecting the balance of the car.

 

RSB!

 

Next best: RSB - You don't have to drive AT the limit to experience a more neutral feel, since the RSB is ALWAYS responding, left-and-right in the rear, resulting in less over-steer always. This is fact.

Edited January 3, 2020 by gathermewool

[XT-sub]

-----I'm able to take the same hard right turn (~ 90-degrees) every day on my way home. With only the upgraded XV Crosstrek 20mm rear sway-bar installed, I've gotten used to a more-neutral turn at a certain relatively high (yet still safe) speed. The car is still more prone to under-steer, but noticeably closer to neutral with just the RSB.

 

Today is the first opportunity I've had to take the same turn at speed, and the front left tire chirped throughout the majority of the turn. This leads me to believe that the front is stiffer, resulting in a bit more under-steer, but not in a bad way. …

That’s an interesting observation. When I first read that I thought you meant the front right tyre. But if it is understeering more, then the front left would chirp more.

 

Conclusion:

 

So, all I have so far is what I consider a relatively minor change in front-end stiffness at this point. …

Good, that’s what I’m after, which may or may not save me a windscreen crack like I experienced before.

 

Better bet for overall increase in performance? I suggest you buy better tires. …

Agree.

 

Next best: RSB - You don't have to drive AT the limit to experience a more neutral feel, since the RSB is ALWAYS responding, left-and-right in the rear, resulting in less over-steer always. This is fact.

 

I agree. I have done a lot of back to back 16mm stock vs 19mm STi rear bar testing on our Subarus & it is very obvious under certain conditions. No doubt the 20mm bar would be more obvious. Having said that, my better half can’t notice any difference between the 16 & 19mm, so for someone who isn’t tuned into the car they probably won’t notice it.

 

Thanks for the update.

[gathermewool]

You're welcome.

 

It has been wet the past few days, so I haven't been able to test apples-to-apples conditions. Luckily, temperatures have remained in the 40s for each comparison, so that's good.

 

I'm going to take off the bar tomorrow, before running errands. if I'm lucky I'll be able to do a relatively close back-to-back check of my above observations (except for the pot-holes, since there aren't any near me.) Plenty of uneven roads, though.

 

//

 

My wife doesn't notice much change, either. She noticed the upgrade in my previous STI to RCE regular guy (black) springs and the hollow (25mm?) bars, front and rear, for sure.

 

As far as my RSB, I do wonder if I would be able to notice a difference, if someone, say, installed/uninstalled it without telling me, i.e., a blind test. I guess it would depend on how froggy I felt like driving that day, since, as you mention, it's much more noticeable under certain conditions and probably not very noticeable at all for someone who drives on straight, flat roads every day, taking turns at pedestrian speeds, which is what my wife usually does. Heck, even I drive pretty sedately most days due to traffic; I have no desire to weave in and out of traffic or try to get to that red light faster than the guy next to me, if you know what I mean.

 

When there are no slow-pokes holding me up and I'm feeling froggy, I do like to drive my Legacy more closely to how I drove my STI.

 

 

//

 

 

Now that I think about it, to have the most ass-puckering drive you can each day, just remove the FSB, install as big of an RSB as possible, and then install low-rolling-resistance tires on the rear and super sticky tire up front! It'll be as close as you can get to a RWD Legacy, with low emphasis on the "D"! lol

Edited January 5, 2020 by gathermewool

[aki334]

I really like mine, I already got used to the unnatural feel in the cornering where in the past my body would normally move with the curve do to the inertia, but now I feel much less of that movement. Also one very important thing to mention is that now every time when I pass large truck I do not feel that side wind from the truck pushing me left or right.

 

so far I have:

1.Perrin steering wheel lock dampener

2. 20mm rsb

3. ssd bar

 

If someone has part number for kartboy endlinks that go with our 20mm rsb please let me know the part number and what improvements you notice

[gathermewool]

You won't notice any change due to changing your endlinks. The only reason to change from stock is to add some durability.

 

When I switched to Perrin pillow-ball links on my STI I had issues with rattling on the initial set, even though the joint didn't have excessive play or looseness. Luckily, Perrin has awesome customer service and sent out a new set immediately, which resolved the problem.

 

The OEM has a boot-covered ball-joint, whereas I see a lot of aftermarket with open joints. The cross-section is obviously beefier in the aftermarket, but very likely unnecessary for a DD with soft springs. How can you tell? Peek under your rear end every so often to see if the stock links are still straight. If they're straight and not rattling, then they're adequate. Heck, you should check things like this after you hit a big pot-hole for the same reason.

 

With that said, I bought my Legacy used from NC, with a nearly pristine, rust-free undercarriage, including the rear endlinks, which were easy to remove while installing the 20mm Crosstrek bar. I installed the bar before the car saw a New England winter (or maybe it was just after its first, I can't recall exactly).

 

My FXT has experienced every winter here, since purchase in the fall of '13. That means a lot of salt, so there's a lot of rust on every fastener under the car, including and especially the well-exposed endlinks. This is the reason I've been holding off on installing the same 20mm bar for the FXT, because I'll likely have to cut the links off. If I do have to cut the links off, I haven't decided on whether I'll go OE or aftermarket. I also have two pristine OEM endlinks from my STI that might fit, but I'll have to find them, since they've been boxed away somewhere for years.

[krellmk]

No more side wind from them big rigs since i installed the SSD strut bar, huge improvement.

[aki334]

No more side wind from them big rigs since i installed the SSD strut bar, huge improvement.

 

I just got back from 1600 mile round trip with ssd bar and did not notice crosswinds at all. Maybe I was just lucky I would like to hear from others what they think.

Edited January 6, 2020 by aki334

[XT-sub]

... As far as my RSB, I do wonder if I would be able to notice a difference, if someone, say, installed/uninstalled it without telling me, i.e., a blind test. ...

 

If someone did that on our previous 2016 Liberty 3.6R there would be only two situations where I could notice the difference when driving normally & not pushing the car through a corner:

 

(1). On bumpy roads (bitumen & gravel) where the bumps are definitely felt more with the 19mm, & the 16mm is more stable over these roads (caused by less rear suspension independence with the 19mm). (2). When exiting a concrete bridge back onto a highway at around 100km/h the back end doesn’t squirm up/down & side to side anywhere near as much as with the 16mm bar.

 

But if I drove the car quickly, but not in a stupid manner, through known sweeping corners I could pick the difference immediately (quicker turn-in & less under steer).

 

To explain (2) above; this is obvious where the bridge departure is at a slightly more or less angle than 90º to the side & where the bitumen road/highway has dropped slightly below the level of the concrete bridge departure. This happened to our previous SH Foz XT, our SJ Foz XT & our 2016 Liberty 3.6R, & appears to be under damping on the rear. Either that or the rear toe change when unloading/loading the rear suspension could be the cause. Surprisingly our current 2019 Outback 3.6R doesn’t suffer from this. This also wasn’t an issue with my 2004 gen3 Outback 3.0R & isn’t with a friend’s 2003 Foz, but both these cars had/have superior on-road handling to the above later Foresters, Liberty & Outback.

 

The best bang for buck & improvement for our previous 2016 Liberty 3.6R was the Perrin steering dampener lockdown I fitted. The improvement this made was immediately noticed by my better half the first time she drove the Liberty with it fitted, which is really saying something. Our 2019 Outback 3.6R probably wouldn’t benefit from this because the on-centre steering is very good without any vagueness. They fixed a lot of things with the 2019 Outback.

[gathermewool]

I drove through the same sharp, right-sweeping ramp at-speed and answered my own question. The car definitely takes this turn much better with the 20mm RSB.

 

I keep reading good things about the damper, except for a few reviews where it broke. I might have to make this my next mod.

 

I noticed again, after taking this curve twice in the past several days, what AKI described perfectly:

 

I already got used to the unnatural feel in the cornering where in the past my body would normally move with the curve do to the inertia, but now I feel much less of that movement.

Edited January 6, 2020 by gathermewool

[XT-sub]

... I keep reading good things about the damper, except for a few reviews where it broke. I might have to make this my next mod.

 

You may be interested then in my topic on that here. In particular my comments & install recommendations in post #6 in that topic. Especially making sure both uni-joint clamp bolts are loosened before fitting the dampener, the centralising of the uni-joint after fitting the dampener, then the order of re-tightening the uni-joint clamp bolts.

 

I’m fairly certain that taking shortcuts when installing the dampener would be asking for trouble. If not in the short term, in the long term.

 

I didn’t have the dampener on for that long before selling the Liberty, but in just under 19,000kms & just under two years of driving I didn’t have any issues.

[PATS4LIFE]

I drove through the same sharp, right-sweeping ramp at-speed and answered my own question. The car definitely takes this turn much better with the 20mm RSB.

 

I keep reading good things about the damper, except for a few reviews where it broke. I might have to make this my next mod.

 

I noticed again, after taking this curve twice in the past several days, what AKI described perfectly:

 

I recommend getting the damper,makes a difference

I have the TS(torque solution)haven’t had any issues at all and if you have the 2.5 very easy install.

[gathermewool]

Thanks, guys. I'll just right on the damper.

[XT-sub]

Well I decided to order the SSD front strut brace to suit a 2019 Outback 3.6R (which mine is). It arrived this morning & at this stage I’m having trouble fitting it.

 

Observations so far:

 

Cost including shipping & import duties to Australia: Expensive, but I was prepared for this anyway.

Response from SSD to my email re tracking: Quick.

Quality (appearance before trying to fit): Very good, I couldn’t fault it.

Important dimensions: 4.8mm metal thickness at the part that bolts to the strut tower. 10.85mm OD of all four holes. 7.85mm OD of Strut Tower studs.

Fit: Terrible on my Australian spec made in Japan 2019 Outback 3.6R.

 

It doesn’t just drop over the four studs & fit flat like I thought it would. The only way to fit it to my Outback is as follows:

The rear holes on both sides have to be dropped over the rear studs then the front holes have to be forced quite firmly by hand over the two front studs (the reverse can be done but I still get the same problems). The rear nuts were then fitted finger tight & the front nuts tightened with a socket until the bar bottomed out on a raised sloping part of the tower. At this stage the front still wasn’t fitting correctly on both sides. It has already taken paint off the tower & the strut bar where the problem is & if I tightened it any more it would no doubt take a lot more paint off & probably damage the raised sloping part of the towers.

 

To make it fit I will probably have to grind quite a bit off the underneath part of the brace where it hits the sloping part of the towers then hope that it sits flat. In the attached photos it doesn’t appear to be much, but it will need to be a considerable amount. If I had purchased it from an Australian supplier I would return it as not fit for purpose.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2020 by XT-sub

[Brisvegas]

Well I decided to order the SSD front strut brace to suit a 2019 Outback 3.6R (which mine is). It arrived this morning & at this stage I’m having trouble fitting it. If I had purchased it from an Australian supplier I would return it as not fit for purpose./QUOTE]

 

Mate .... "Shoulda bought a Liberty"

 

P.S. Any trouble with the fires? I was heading South and passed through your way in early November and I got stopped at Nabiac. Thought about turning back, but luckily a friendly local filled me in about an alternative route. Then I was stopped at Grafton on the return leg. Pretty scary stuff for all concerned.

[Grnlantern1]

Well I decided to order the SSD front strut brace to suit a 2019 Outback 3.6R (which mine is). It arrived this morning & at this stage I’m having trouble fitting it.

 

Observations so far:

 

Cost including shipping & import duties to Australia: Expensive, but I was prepared for this anyway.

Response from SSD to my email re tracking: Quick.

Quality (appearance before trying to fit): Very good, I couldn’t fault it.

Important dimensions: 4.8mm metal thickness at the part that bolts to the strut tower. 10.85mm OD of all four holes. 7.85mm OD of Strut Tower studs.

Fit: Terrible on my Australian spec made in Japan 2019 Outback 3.6R.

 

It doesn’t just drop over the four studs & fit flat like I thought it would. The only way to fit it to my Outback is as follows:

The rear holes on both sides have to be dropped over the rear studs then the front holes have to be forced quite firmly by hand over the two front studs (the reverse can be done but I still get the same problems). The rear nuts were then fitted finger tight & the front nuts tightened with a socket until the bar bottomed out on a raised sloping part of the tower. At this stage the front still wasn’t fitting correctly on both sides. It has already taken paint off the tower & the strut bar where the problem is & if I tightened it any more it would no doubt take a lot more paint off & probably damage the raised sloping part of the towers.

 

To make it fit I will probably have to grind quite a bit off the underneath part of the brace where it hits the sloping part of the towers then hope that it sits flat. In the attached photos it doesn’t appear to be much, but it will need to be a considerable amount. If I had purchased it from an Australian supplier I would return it as not fit for purpose.

 

[ATTACH]282053[/ATTACH][ATTACH]282054[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH]282055[/ATTACH][ATTACH]282056[/ATTACH]

With those pictures provided looks like you don't have enough exposed threads o. The nuts to be safe.. Rule of thumb is to have 2 to 3 threads showing..

 

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[XT-sub]

Mate .... "Shoulda bought a Liberty"

 

P.S. Any trouble with the fires? I was heading South and passed through your way in early November and I got stopped at Nabiac. Thought about turning back, but luckily a friendly local filled me in about an alternative route. Then I was stopped at Grafton on the return leg. Pretty scary stuff for all concerned.

 

Our Australian spec Liberty is the same. See an old photo below that I cropped of my previous 2016 Liberty 3.6R.

 

But I must say I do miss the Liberty whenever I get on a winding mountain road.

 

We were ok with the fires except for the smoke, ash & burnt leaves, plus we were isolated on & off like a lot of other towns. The closest fire to us started back in July 2019 & was about 5kms away. It was a dreadful time for those that had to evacuate or were impacted by the fires. I don’t know what the latest figures are but as at 3-Jan-20 there were 1,365 homes destroyed in NSW alone with 17 people killed by the fires. I don’t know what the figures are for Victoria, South Australia & Queensland, but Victoria got hit badly.

 

 

The second photo shows about how much I will need to grind away on each side starting from a depth of 3mm.