OB and OBXT specific coilovers - gauging interest

[Boostjunkie]

Not me, I'll keep riding my 1986 Schwinn Super Sport so I can afford coilovers....

 

Well there's a GB for them now, so keep on rockin' the 21 year old Schwinn and get yourself some nice new coilovers!

[Garandman]

GB?

 

Actually the Schwinn is not quite 21 - it was finished on Monday July 14th.

 

This is my latest project - building a new commuter from a $25 Trek 720 MultiTrack frame and the parts off another crashed hybrid of similar vintage. It just got new wheels and tires, though. I call it "My six hundred dollar three hundred dollar bike," after powdercoating, new wheels, tires, fenders, pedals, bearings, cables, and brakes. I need to find some "Fred" decals.

[vfrider781]

any word on the suspension?

[Boostjunkie]

any word on the suspension?

 

It's done and in stock. There is a Group Buy going on right now here: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57222

[dasbigunit]

Any reviews or other info on it? or do we just order? heh.

[Boostjunkie]

Any reviews or other info on it? or do we just order? heh.

 

Here are all the comments from the owner of our test car. They are actually all in this thread, but I doubt that anyone wants to wade through nearly 400 posts to find them, so here you are:

 

Initial impressions.

Wow! Without any exaggeration, this OBXT now handles like a high performance wagon. This setup, at roughly OB stock height, outperforms my LGT sedan.

 

Current setup:

 

Stock sways

Wheels: 17” Prodrive P1

Tires: Falken Zeix ZE-512 - 225/55-17

Front PSI: 39

Rear PSI: 37

STI Front strut tower brace

Cusco rear strut tower brace

 

Front: 20 clicks

Rear: 16 clicks

 

 

I have now logged over 1000 miles on these coilovers and have enjoyed every single mile. Most of my driving breaks down into ~85% highway, 15% street.

The first improvement I noticed was the greatly reduced amount of body roll, squatting and diving compared to stock. I’d say the roll was reduced by over 65%. A side effect of this is that you feel more immediate delivery of power to the wheels. I found myself driving much faster as well, due to the greatly improved stability and responsive steering.

I will be playing with different settings and conditions, including mountain driving, snow and ice and off road... not to mention the all important "Wife" test.

 

At this point I’m even considering this setup for my LGT.

 

Hope you all have a great holiday and more feedback to come in the next few days.

 

Cheers!

 

Another:

Yes, this is the dampening. There are 32 possible settings. Will be testing the full range this weekend.

 

So far my wife has been quite satisfied with the ride quality and much to my surprise, has not complained about the stiffer ride. She drove down highway 38 from Big Bear Mountain and commented on the more predictable and better handling response.

In other words... approval from the wife!

 

Cheers!

 

More:

Palomar Mountain

 

I attended the Palomar run with Psucaptainkickass, BOXRPWR and MIKEBRAVO. The first time I took on this mountain run I was riding on the stock LGT suspension; my OBXT suspension was at Megan Racing for R&D. Having the lower center of gravity helped me stay with the rest of the group. The ride was comfortable but quite a bit of side to side sway. My tires began to brake loose on several turns when pushing hard. The ride down the mountain was a bit unsatisfying... I couldn't push the car as hard as I wanted due to the nose diving and swaying on sharp down hill turns.

I doubt I would have been able to keep up with the stock OBXT suspension.

 

MIKEBRAVO was running behind me up the mountain and commented on how there appeared to be no sway. I pushed the OBXT harder than I ever have before and I’m happy to say that it stood up to the challenge. Even at stock OB ride height the handling was vastly superior to stock OBXT or LGT.

 

The drive down the mountain was where I noticed the greatest improvement. No diving, no swaying, just punching the throttle as much as possible, breaking in anticipation of your turn, feathering and punching it again.

 

At this point I would be very happy to have these coilovers on my LGT.

 

Washboard road

 

The current dampening settings of 20 front and 16 rear should satisfy most people’s everyday driving needs… as long as driving is kept to well maintained streets and highways. The ride could be considered a bit harsh compared to the stock suspension, but you can’t have a cushy ride and performance as well.

 

Driving for any amount of time on a washboard dirt road was painful and I won’t try again with these settings.

Now that I’ve completed my rear modification and installed the dampening extensions (PITA BTW) I’ll be testing all settings from 1 to 32 both front and rear. More testing and pictures to come tomorrow.

 

Cheers!

 

Follow-up to the above post:

Washboard road part 2

 

Reduced dampening to 1 on all corners and took her on an extended dirt road drive. You can immediately tell the difference from the 20/16 setting I was running... This ride is much softer and reminiscent of stock OB ride quality; with this comes a bit of body roll but nothing compared to stock suspension.

 

Driving on a single lane washboard dirt road was quite a bit of fun with the dampening soft enough to make for a pleasant ride.

Changed speed from first gear at around 10 mph to third gear at around 60 mph.

I would highly recommend this dampening setting for off-road use and for when the wife wants to take the OB for a spin.

 

I was so pleased with this test that I’m considering getting these coilovers for my 06 LGT. It would be great to have the higher ground clearance if I decided and needed to take the LGT off road.

 

I installed the dampening knob extensions on the rear and will be posting pics later today.

 

Cheers!

 

And finally the last we have heard from Flatsphere:

Hey gang!

I must apologize for the absence... I've had some serious work drama that is now settling down. I'll be writing a full report of my experience to date and will also do some long term reports. I've logged over 2000 miles so far and still smiling... with no broken teeth.

[OhBe1]

I've lost track - what are the spring rates? And would I go softer in the rear with the JDM hollow 20mm rear bar?

[vel0mac]

I've lost track - what are the spring rates? And would I go softer in the rear with the JDM hollow 20mm rear bar?

All the stats can be found at: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61728

 

I'm not exactly sure of your other question, but I think it is damping not spring rates. These have a stiffer spring rate than stock.

 

I have driven an OBXT with these coilovers, and the car was also setup with COBB sways. It was a very nice combination for the road, cornered flat as a pancake but didn't beat me to death. In fact, the ride was very pleasant and a lot nicer than stock. Firmer, but way more controlled and way better damped -- and it felt 'safer'. No nose dive, no squat and I really felt very connected to the road. The suspension finally matched the power.

 

I did get a chance to take this car on a short dirt road that had some washboard. It was fine, albeit stiffer than stock and not nearly as plushy. But it was damped for the street and I don't want an offroader. Having a plushy offroad ride is lousy for the street and vice versa.... I think if I were to do a lot of offroad or dirt roads I'd take off the COBBs and use stock front and stock (or JDM) rear to allow for more independent wheel travel. Given that these are very adjustable, it may still work as a great compromise between road and dirt. For me, since I hardly go off the asphalt with ours, when I put on my MR coilovers (yes, they are on order) I'm going to leave mine setup with the COBB bars that I already have mounted.

[Boulderguy]

Sounds like you had quite the tour in my car...Washboard? You didn't pull an A-team & go jumpin' stuff, did you?

 

Sending you those measurements today, when do yours arrive?

[vel0mac]

Sounds like you had quite the tour in my car...Washboard? You didn't pull an A-team & go jumpin' stuff, did you?

 

Sending you those measurements today, when do yours arrive?

Well, it wasn't really stiff washboard, but it was rougher than asphalt. You know the road, I cannot remember its name but it is off Canyon, west of downtown Boulder. Go up Canyon a ways, take a right onto the asphalt road where you drove me with the Tokico's, and then take another right up the steep dirt road that continues up the hill (residential road). I went up there about 1/2 mile and turned around. So it was not like I was pulling a Dukes of Hazzard thing or anything like that. In fact, I passed a gent walking his dog (and girlfriend) and they had nice pleasant smiles for me so I must not have been going too fast because, like you know, in Boulder they let you know when you are not being P.C.!

 

I think mine will ship this week, but it depends on when Boostjunkie ships them. Can't install them until after the upcoming weekend anyway, so it's probably better if they are not in my garage distracting me...

[Beanboy]

Any more updates? Looking like these coilvers or a Bilstein/spring combo of some sort.

[Boostjunkie]

Any more updates? Looking like these coilvers or a Bilstein/spring combo of some sort.

 

We are now on the 3rd round of GB's for the MR OB coilovers. Check the GB sub forum. They have been very well received and everyone is extremely happy with them.

[dasbigunit]

Hey just thought I'd put this out there and hopefully save someone the same headache....

 

So I dropped my fronts a little lower after putting new wheels on, to reduce the fender gap... MAKE SURE YOU DOUBLE CHECK THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE ADJUSTER KNOW AND CV BOOT.

 

I thought the body was just threading further down into the mount, but as you can see from the pictures, it actually goes THROUGH.

 

Not anyone's fault but my own for not double checking tolerances.... still a great product. Rides fantastic. The pics show the height I was at when this occurred, and you can see how the know rubbed away at the rubber.

 

*anyone got a spare CV boot or a rag for this grease explosion?*

[mwiener2]

Just another heads up for you. Dealers don't stock alot of replacement parts for our cars yet, they're too new. CV boots are one of those items they don't expect to replace for at least 70000 miles and the average 05 is still below that. Call the dealer and make sure they order the part BEFORE you get there.

 

I need a new CV boot too and I called and told them so, they said bring it in it would take maybe an hour to replace. I sat there for 2.5 hrs only for them to say they needed to order the part... after I told them what part I needed two days earlier when I made the appointment.

[Boostjunkie]

Hey just thought I'd put this out there and hopefully save someone the same headache....

 

So I dropped my fronts a little lower after putting new wheels on, to reduce the fender gap... MAKE SURE YOU DOUBLE CHECK THE CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE ADJUSTER KNOW AND CV BOOT.

 

I thought the body was just threading further down into the mount, but as you can see from the pictures, it actually goes THROUGH.

 

Not anyone's fault but my own for not double checking tolerances.... still a great product. Rides fantastic. The pics show the height I was at when this occurred, and you can see how the know rubbed away at the rubber.

 

*anyone got a spare CV boot or a rag for this grease explosion?*

 

With any kind of height adjustable inverted strut you have to be cognicient of this fact. The adjusters hang closest to the CV boots when the suspension is at full droop so it really easy to check when you are installing the coilovers.

[vel0mac]

Hey just thought I'd put this out there and hopefully save someone the same headache....

Thanks for sharing, this will help, I'm putting mine in this weekend.

.... as you can see from the pictures, it actually goes THROUGH.

Speaking of photos, I recognize that COBB front sway bar setup with collars and spacers! I hope the McMaster-Carr solution works as well for you as it does on my car, I love it!

[-TT-]

measure after they settle(2-3 days), then make adjustments.

[vel0mac]

I don't think I need to, but I'm just wondering what is involved with changing the height on the rear coilovers... does the shock body turn without removing the lower bolt? I can't remember...

Yes, that is how I adjusted mine. The thing that gets a little weird is that the rear suspension will not extend all the way so as you get near stock height it is a bit of a guessing game as to how much your adjustments will actually change the height. It is close to 1:1, but not exactly....

 

As you found out when installing the rear shocks, because you had to jack up the shock to get it to fit into its position, if the wheel is off you cannot measure the axle to wheel arch as you adjust the rears and get a reliable indication of how much your adjustments will directly affect ride height. As you get near stock height, at some point the suspension links don't go down any further and you start compressing the spring even though you are actually adjusting ride height. I thought that was a bit of a PITA -- it is not related to the coilovers but to the Subaru geometry.

 

Anyhow, here she is.. I'll try to take better pics in a couple of days. I still need an alignment and to fiddle with the damping settings some more. I did notice that the front passenger side is sitting about .5" lower than the driver side, although I measured them to be the same... any ideas?

No, other than measuring on perfectly even ground. The garage floor looks to be a bit uneven.

 

What are your wheel arch heights F&R (ground to highest point of wheel arch, or fender opening)? Just curious.

[dasbigunit]

Thanks for sharing, this will help, I'm putting mine in this weekend.

 

Speaking of photos, I recognize that COBB front sway bar setup with collars and spacers! I hope the McMaster-Carr solution works as well for you as it does on my car, I love it!

 

Yes! That solution to having the front sways was so good! thanks again!

[Boostjunkie]

One word about the rear coilovers that another member pointed out to me.

 

When you install them, you have to remove the rubber dust cap from between the mounting bolts for the adjuster knob to poke up. He left this open on a previous set of coilovers and got dust all over the interior panels.

 

Take the dust cap and drill a hole in it. Remove the damper adjusting knob, slip it over the top of the coilover and re-install the knob.

 

I'll do this later today and take a couple of pics.

 

I wouldn't bother. I've had coilovers on my car for over 30K miles and I have never seen any dust in the trunk. The coilovers seal pretty well against the body so there really isn't a need for the dust cap. If you really want to drill out the cap and reinstall it, go right ahead and do it, but it is purely optional.

[Damn True]

Would this product be compatible with a '99 Outback?

 

If not is there an alternative?

[Boostjunkie]

Bump for anyone having alignment problems with these? I have another appointment at a different shop who does a ton of Subaru work for my dealership (they're an autobody collision place) and they said that the Subarus are pretty djustable but they might still hve to grind something away to make it work...

 

Not sure how grinding anything away will make it work...

 

He might be talking about slotting the bolt holes on the front lower mounts. That would allow for more negative camber.

[SLStormin]

Hey y'all: I searched but could not find info so I'm returning to thread where it all began:

 

I've developed a clunking rattle in the rear - noticable over washboard & rough pavement - sounds a lot like the tailgate is not fully latched but I rode in the back and it definitely seems to be coming from the rear strut area - dumb question but are coilovers prone or to loosening up (ASSuming they were installed correctly)?

 

Thanks

[Boulderguy]

I had trouble torque-ing the spring seats with those little wrenches and they came loose several times, but more a problem with the front height adjustment for me. Ended up using large channel locks, much better results.

 

I know that sound can also come from the top nut on the top hat, the one that attaches the tophat to the strut. If that sucker's loose it'll rattle that way when it's extended.

[eVoMotion]

ditto and/or your swaybar mount could have broke.