mickeyd2005 Posted August 29, 2006 Share Posted August 29, 2006 Just upgraded my LGT wagon suspension. MR coiloversCusco F/R SwaybarsMSI endlinksRight now, the suspension set to a 1 inch drop in the front and about 3/4 inch drop in the back. I'll probably drop the front a little bit more after the springs settle. I have the dampening set at 8 from the softest in the front and 11 from the softest in the rear. So far, the car handles fantastic. It's weird to be able to corner so flat in a car that is still relatively upright. Before, the car would roll so much that I never approached the RE92 limit. Now, the car can definitely exceed the capability of the OEM tires. For the last several weeks, I've been driving without the radio in preparation to listen to any changes in sounds. Tire noise seems to be slightly louder, but so far, there hasn't been any unusual sounds. I've even driven on the stripped section of I-5 in Lynnwood and gone over the 1 inch bump transition (somewhat rounded) at 70 mph. The ride is a lot stiffer and there is more of a jolt when going over concrete expansion joints and steps. It's all very liveable for me and not as bad as many cars that I have driven before... However, the wife hasn't ridden or driven the car yet ... So far, very happy. If I had to do it all over again?... I probably would have given the KW coilovers more than just a passing glance. I'm still not sure if they're worth $500 more, but it would be nice to compare the two. Another thing that I would have considered if I had known they existed, are the MR damper extension knobs. http://www.meganracing.com/products/product_detail.asp?prodid=488&catid=107 On the wagon, the rear damper adjustment knobs are not underneath the carpet like the sedan. They are underneath the side panels. I can just barely reach the knob with my fingers and I can turn it by feel... but it would have been nice to have these. The next thing I need to do is adjust my ride height and get an alignment. I scored some 18x8.5 SSR Comp rims so I'll need to get some rubber for those as well. Top on my list are the Kumho SPT 235/40/18 tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuxtaGT Posted August 30, 2006 Share Posted August 30, 2006 Very nice set-up, exactly the same as mine. Though, I've had some issues with the MR coilovers. Nothing that had to do with their performance though, just noise. I too have been thinking heavy about the KW's, especially after going back to stock suspsension after sending the MR's for service. Stock tophats are nice for freeway stints. May still go that route..... I also bought the SPT's in 225/40/18 on my P-1s. I have been very impressed with them. No wet driving yet, but street performance is excellent for a budget tire, I think you'd have to spend a fair amount more to get a better tire, and so far wear rate seems pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyd2005 Posted August 31, 2006 Author Share Posted August 31, 2006 I have been fiddling around with the damper settings on the MR coilovers. I settled on 4 from the softest in the front and 10 from the softest in the rare. They are now much smoother. Fairly quiet too. I had really tried to avoid going with such a soft damping because of my previous experience with underdamped, lowered cars bouncing all over the road. However, this is not the case at all. I test drove it over some speed bumps at high speed and at low speed. I also did some slow braking to check to see how fast the oscillations die out. It's all good. The soft front setting is probably hurting my turn-in, but I barely notice it. The stiffer springs really help the car from squatting and diving too much. I really like the higher spring rate in the rear, 8 kg/mm, since I have a wagon. The rear pillowballs do make it easier to turn the assembly when changing the height. However, I'm thinking about swapping the rear top hats with the stock ones... if they fit. That might improve the ride even more. BTW, here's something funny. Check out the attached picture. What is wrong with this picture? I had a well known Subaru performance specialist in the area install these for me but he neglected to remove the bolts that were already on the top hats. I had to remove them myself and reinstall them. It was a lot easier than I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyd2005 Posted August 31, 2006 Author Share Posted August 31, 2006 Oh... and I'm still surprised that when I removed the rears, the tophats weren't damaged. I'm surprised that they didn't completely collapse due to the teeter-tottering on two nut heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Oh... and I'm still surprised that when I removed the rears, the tophats weren't damaged. I'm surprised that they didn't completely collapse due to the teeter-tottering on two nut heads. :eek: So that's what you were talking about in your email to me! I'd say that your installer was a complete moron, but when I first installed my set I did the same thing. However, I noticed it the second I slid the first one in place. Whacked myself in the forehead for being so stupid and fixed it. Glad your coilovers survived the botched install and you have them dialed in to your liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.