tbinion Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 I am the owner of a new 3.0R. As with many posters on this forum I am not thrilled with the back end hopping when I hit a bump. This is most noticeable at speeds above 50mph. I read several of the previous posts regarding the OB suspension, but was not able to discern a consensus on a solution to this problem. Also, would it help to hound SOA to come up with a solution? Is a possible solution to retrofit with the 3.0R-B suspension? All responses welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red beast Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 yes it does shock dampening sucks on rebound coilovers will lower the car SOA doesn't give a shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 First upgrade - tires. Go for a firmer sidewall. Then it only begins to really cost $ to get the car to handle as good as a stock LGT. I really wonder what they were thinking with the OB suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red beast Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 swaybar, tires and rims didn't do much at all. it's the shocks that are "sloppy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Wagon doesn't do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnSub Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Jedimaster, are you saying that OBXT wagon does not have the happy, bouncing rear end problem? That would be great news. I have 15 month old LegGT/Ltd, 5MT wagon that I love. More fun than my past BMW AWD wagon ever was. I love the car, but Subaru no longer offers it in a 5MT. I will be moving to Mtns in one more year and plan to trade in LegGT for OBXT/wagon/5MT. I will have a bit better snow clearance and can still get 5MT. (Assuming Subaru does not trash 5MT for OBXT by then) Subaru captures new customers and then works hard to beat you away with an ugly stick. Wagons are Subaru's cash cow, bread and butter winner. They are so close to owning the sport wagon market. I really do not know why they don't stop with the "me too" offerings and capture every BMW/Audi wagon owner. Use the wagon to go upmarket, not some pig nose non-SUV SUV. Enough of my rant. Hope the OBXT wagon suspension is not a problem. Again, I love my LegGT wagon more every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I do not think that is what he meant. OBXT is too soft unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbinion Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Thanks for the info folks. Does anyone have a recommendation about which shocks to replace the stock ones with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Hi Tbinion, Welcome to the forum. Have a read in the Suspension/Brakes forum. There are many options from shock replacement to full coilover suspension upgrades. Search for threads by Drewster, Indigo, mwiener2, Limeydriver and eVoMotion to find other OBXTs that have change suspension parts. Enjoy the ride... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
see_obxt Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 The suspension sure feels good on a washboard road. I do want a beter road feel though. It's a lot better with Michelin Alpin PA2's though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbinion Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Thanks for the help. Prior to my post I read all of the posts from the suspension forum. I just did not find a consensus, so I thought I'd ask from a slightly different angle. Hopefully I can get this rectified without too much moolaah. For anyone interested, I put a set of Michelin HydroEdge on my '96 OB and they made a huge difference in road noise and handling. I had a set of Bridgestones (like my '06 does now) on before, and I was amazed at the difference. Right now I can't justify scrapping a new set of tires, although I am tempted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgsntth Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 The back-end will step-out on mid-turn bumps. I have many such turns on my early morning commute through SF-good fun when combined with judicious application of the throttle. I set the front alignment to -.4 degrees of camber, added the 20mm RSB, and Yoko Advan S.T.'s. Made a huge difference in performance, and most importantly got rid of the mid-corner oscillation (RE92's) and understeer. Bump oversteer is still readily apparent (see above). I'm also waiting for one of the shock/damper manufacturers to get off their duff and remedy are blight. A set of Bilstein HD's would do nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culmbn Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 is this condition only apply to the newer models? I have a 2003 OB wagon and don't seem to feel this happen, I only can remember feeling it once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Yeap - this issue is with the new model - suspension, tire and power combination is not a perfect match up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culmbn Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 cool, then I hope you guys can find good fix for that problem. It sounds annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OBieXT Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 definitely not a good situation killer motor + mediocre suspension + ho hum brakes ==> way to easy to overdrive the stock chassis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sduford Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 definitely not a good situation killer motor + mediocre suspension + ho hum brakes ==> way to easy to overdrive the stock chassis I couldn't have said it better! But I did find that better tires (Michelin Sport Pilot A/S) and a JDM rear sway made a wolrd of difference. The car brakes and corners much better now, more predictable too. The only issue remains the under damping of the rear suspension when I hit large bumps in a high speed curve like an off-ramp. But the car does feel much better planted overall. Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culmbn Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 do the jdm bar your talking about fit on the 2003 ob wagon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sduford Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 do the jdm bar your talking about fit on the 2003 ob wagon? No, only 05+ Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I sent my stock suspension to Koni and they are looking at something in an LGT and OBXT fitment. No more info yet, but there might be hope still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3Man Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 After putting 15k miles on the stock tires, I recently replaced them with Falkens... the cheapest decent tire Discount Tires stocks, and the difference is huge. No more bouncy-bouncy. I see many others recomending, or calling for stiffer shocks and springs. As one of the duties out XT wagon has is traversing washboard dirt roads in the New Mexico mountains, I don't want to give up the car's marvelous ride on rough roads. The new tires actually give me more control on bad roads, but my experience with our other car, a 2002 BMW M3, with a stiff sport suspension, tells me I don't need that on the Outback. It seems to defeat the purpose of the Outback. To me, thats why Subaru gives the choice between the Outback and Legacy. If you want street sport, shouldn't you buy a Legacy? You buy an Outback for ground clearance and light off-roading. You sacrifice handling. You can lower it and stiffen it, but wouldn't it just be cheaper to start with the already lower and stiffer, and less expensive Legacy? It all depends on how you use your car, but for my uses, the tire swap alone cures most of the problems. Throw away those stock Brigestones. It makes no sense to spend $30k on a car and have it be un-fun to drive because you don't want to spend $500 on tires, unless you can't afford it. I had a hard time convincing my wife to throw away perfectly good tires. In less than 1 mile behind the wheel, she had to agree it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 //To me, thats why Subaru gives the choice between the Outback and Legacy. If you want street sport, shouldn't you buy a Legacy? You buy an Outback for ground clearance and light off-roading. You sacrifice handling. You can lower it and stiffen it, but wouldn't it just be cheaper to start with the already lower and stiffer, and less expensive Legacy?/// Not if you want a 3.0 liter engine in the US. And the new OBW has 8.2" of ground clearance to satisfy SOA's desire to make it a light truck. The old OBW's had 7.3", handled dirt roads just fine, and didn't have this issue with instability of the rear end when loaded up. I don't know many people who spend more than 5 or 10% of their driving on dirt roads. The stock Bridgestones handle just fine in the dry and can't be blamed for this. Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red beast Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 My last (2003 H6) Outback handled quite a bit better than my 2005 XT yep, i had a 2001 ll bean. connected to the ground not tip toeing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 definitely not a good situation killer motor + mediocre suspension + ho hum brakes ==> way to easy to overdrive the stock chassis like Subaru of America understood or even cared This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandman Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 yep, i had a 2001 ll bean. connected to the ground not tip toeing I'm still expoloring the best way to get it back to the ride height of the earlier models, which seemed to be an excellent trade off between cornering power and ground clearance. You could take the older OBW's up a rutted gravel road with four passengers, gear and a canoe and still not bottom out (much, anyway) - and get around corners. I'm told the roll center is lower on the new models despite having more ground clearance. The cornering limits are still respectable, but the rear end doesn't feel well controlled when the suspension is loaded up in a corner on a rough road. Who Dares Wins スバル Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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