Suspension suggestion for OBXT

[Migraine]

I want to reduce the ridiculous rear end squat under acceleration and the seesaw effect when shifting while the right foot is leaded. My challange is to do this without making the car to stiff, the roads in Flagstaff are horrible with expansion gaps big enough to put a 2"x4" in. I'm not too concerned about body roll, because the way the car is stock keeps me out of trouble (knowing it's not going to corner at speeds) and from the misses telling me I'm not in a race car.

 

Any suggestions?

[Xenonk]

1) you shouldnt have the right foot leaded, that's really bad for the tranny and it's not going to make you go any faster

 

2) a lot better to look into stiffer springs.. ask a few of the OBXT owners with coilovers (like chucktoo or 03indglo)... that will help you with the squat to go with coilovers.. the shocks within the coilovers should be able to handle the bumpy roads.. (springs deal with weight transfer, which is what you are refering to when you accelerate and brake and corner).

 

There's nothing much you can get around from the softer springs (you are basically rocking the car using engine power.. which is the same affect as you rocking the car side to side with the steering wheel)..

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

What's leaded? Like a lead foot?

[Migraine]

1)I wasn't implying that I'm speed shifting (thats what the '70 goat was for), just attempting to comically state I'm accelerating hard, and I guess I failed.

 

2)Please excuse my ignorance. Will stiffer springs affect ride height. I don't want to lower it, I need the clearance for most of the driveways in town.

[Migraine]

What's leaded? Like a lead foot?

Yes

[03Indigo]

right now, there are NO options for our generation OB. The only way to get stiffer springs is to get coilovers, or put on some that work for the Legacy.

 

With the coilovers, you will lower your car considerably, you can have some custom made that will provide you with OEM ride height. The limiting factor there is cost and the maintenance of having a coilover system...read frequent rebuild especially if they are being driven on rough terrain.

 

With Legacy springs, I assume you would put them on stock dampers. This will also lower your car, no way around that. The stock dampers are also severly underdamped to handle the spring rates of the upgraded springs such as iON or STi Pinks. The fact that there are no options out there as of yet for aftermarket dampers really....well....sucks.

 

So, without lowering your car, you don't have any options out there that I am aware of. I have been dealing with the same issues you have, went the coilover route, but now back to stock as a result of a recent move to a part of town where the roads are in much worse condition. Coilovers were limiting, so I went back to stock to handle the rural road conditions I live around.

 

best of luck in your search.

[Migraine]

03Indigo, thanks for the info.

Hopefully someone will be find a solution, soon. I'm giving my wife and kid whiplash when I have the random urge to use the power.

[forestir]

With the coilovers, you will lower your car considerably, you can have some custom made that will provide you with OEM ride height. The limiting factor there is cost and the maintenance of having a coilover system...read frequent rebuild especially if they are being driven on rough terrain.

 

Thanks for confirming that coilover need rebuilds. I had heard that, but wasn't sure... I had read that the GPMoto could very nearly reach stock height, but the rebuild thing kinda sucks.

 

Can stock shocks be "rebuilt" with firmer damping? I think that's the weakest part of the Outback's suspension. Even with soft spring rates, firmer dampers will go a long way to improving the sway and dive.

[LazyDog]

have you swapped out your tires yet... maybe it's just my body dyno, but better tires than the re92a's helped my appetite for the suspension upgrade considerably...

[Xenonk]

1)I wasn't implying that I'm speed shifting (thats what the '70 goat was for), just attempting to comically state I'm accelerating hard, and I guess I failed.

 

2)Please excuse my ignorance. Will stiffer springs affect ride height. I don't want to lower it, I need the clearance for most of the driveways in town.

 

 

A) just don't hammer the gas and drive smoother, you can still be fast, but drive with finesse.

 

B) you can get custom springs that are built like stock springs, but with a stiffer spring rate, but then again, your car will have more of a bounce to it since it's your stock shocks that does the work as well to keep the spring from oscilating... best solution is to find a set of adjustable shocks that replaces the shocks and set them to a stiffer setting while still using the stock springs.. you may end up wearing the shock out more (but that's because it's doing more work than the old shock was doing and the new shock is also making up for the stock springs lack of support). Look for a set of Bilstein shocks or something like KYB or Koni. It's harder to find a company that will make you a custom set of non-lowering stiffer springs.

[Xenonk]

Thanks for confirming that coilover need rebuilds. I had heard that, but wasn't sure... I had read that the GPMoto could very nearly reach stock height, but the rebuild thing kinda sucks.

 

Can stock shocks be "rebuilt" with firmer damping?

 

Most coilovers can reach near to stock height (with a little bit of manipulation of setting a softer spring preload and other sort of suspension set up jazz).

 

As for the shocks and needing a rebuild, I want to clarify that stock shocks also need a rebuild.. but because of the nature that it's just cost the same and even cheaper to buy new stock shocks, you do just that.. coilovers cost more to replace, so rebuilding is a better option.

 

To be more specific, you can buy firmer shocks instead of rebuilding stock ones.

[forestir]

Most coilovers can reach near to stock height (with a little bit of manipulation of setting a softer spring preload and other sort of suspension set up jazz).

 

As for the shocks and needing a rebuild, I want to clarify that stock shocks also need a rebuild.. but because of the nature that it's just cost the same and even cheaper to buy new stock shocks, you do just that.. coilovers cost more to replace, so rebuilding is a better option.

 

To be more specific, you can buy firmer shocks instead of rebuilding stock ones.

 

Thanks for the clarification. So, to summarize, it's not that coilovers are any worse than stock shocks, just that it's economically better to rebuild than buy.

 

Would it be fair to estimate coilover "life" to be around the same as stock? My previous car was hitting 60,000 miles and the dampers still felt like new--which I know can be deceiving as you get used to a car, but this was in comparison to all the new cars I was test driving before buying my Outback--old car was much better damped, at 60,000 miles, than the Outback is new.

 

If coil-overs (on the same roads and driving conditions) can last 60k or more miles between rebuilds, that might make sense for me... GPMoto, here I come.

[M. Schneider]

re: MY05 OB XT. Other than the crummy OEM shocks, who manufactures an available shock for this vehicle; Bilstein, Koni, Sachs, KYB or others?

Cheers, Mike

[M. Schneider]

Ooops, I hadn't throughly read Jon's earlier post. "right now, there are NO options for our generation OB". You gotta be kidding me! Subaru America sells how many of these high performance Legacy cars and there are NO sport shocks available. Say it's not so.

 

Cheers,

Mike

[Xenonk]

Thanks for the clarification. So, to summarize, it's not that coilovers are any worse than stock shocks, just that it's economically better to rebuild than buy.

 

Would it be fair to estimate coilover "life" to be around the same as stock? My previous car was hitting 60,000 miles and the dampers still felt like new--which I know can be deceiving as you get used to a car, but this was in comparison to all the new cars I was test driving before buying my Outback--old car was much better damped, at 60,000 miles, than the Outback is new.

 

If coil-overs (on the same roads and driving conditions) can last 60k or more miles between rebuilds, that might make sense for me... GPMoto, here I come.

 

Correct.. coilovers can be rebuilt (just needs new shock oils, valves, and seals).

 

There's no point to rebuild a set of stock shocks if a new set of stock shocks cost as same as a rebuild... so you might as well buy a new set

 

I have driven on 4 sets of different coilovers under my care and all of them are lasting around 40,000 to 45,000 before I see a really bad sign of wear (which can also happen to a normal shock that is leaking). I have seen some people run on stock shocks til they are fully dry (done leaking out all the fluid and riding on air and springs) and still don't know they had a blown shock all this time at 90,000 miles.. On an average, I would say that a good quality coilover has about 75% to 80% of a lifespan of an OEM shock.. but of course, this can also vary based on your daily driving. I have seen really bad coilovers which are mis-used as well and have shorten their lifespan by 50% or less.

 

It really comes down to the roads you drive.

[PGT]

A) just don't hammer the gas and drive smoother, you can still be fast, but drive with finesse.

 

Perhaps you forgot how bad even the stock LGT suspension squats in the rear on even moderate acceleration.

[bgsntth]

I too have been whining about the stock suspension for over a year, and am tired of waiting for Bilstein HDs. That said, I recently upgraded to Yoko Advan ST's, 20mm rear bar, and -.4degress (max) camber in the front. Mods transformed the car, especially the tires which took out almost all of the mid-turn oscillation and pogoing. I wrote a review of the Advan's in the OXT section, if anyone is interested. The stock dampers are less of an issue with these mods, but I still want Bilsteins, KYB's or Konis.

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

I too have been whining about the stock suspension for over a year, and am tired of waiting for Bilstein HDs. That said, I recently upgraded to Yoko Advan ST's, 20mm rear bar, and -.4degress (max) camber in the front. Mods transformed the car, especially the tires which took out almost all of the mid-turn oscillation and pogoing. I wrote a review of the Advan's in the OXT section, if anyone is interested. The stock dampers are less of an issue with these mods, but I still want Bilsteins, KYB's or Konis.

That's good to know- I'm not totally happy with my Toyo's- maybe I'll trade up. Did you do anything with the front bar? I've been questioning whether or not to mess with it. How did you do the camber? Did you take it to an alignment place or DIY?

[bgsntth]

I had a suspension shop do the alignment, with the instructions of "as much negative camber as you can dial-in". The Advan's are a great tire, but they are also heavy and expensive. The civilized behavior, cold capabilities, reinforced sidewall, and phenomenal dry/wet grip is what sold me.

 

I'm not going to do anything with the front bar. From my WRX, I found that it rarely fit right, and you have to run some seriously stiff setting on the rear to avoid heavy amounts of understeer. The only time I liked a big front bar is when I went to the track with R-compounds.