Gary Bechtold Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Hi. I have a 2005 Legacy GT Limited Wagon with 43k+ miles on it. I will hit 45k by mid August for sure. My brakes are getting worn and will need replacement around that time. Based on everything I read here is what I am looking to do. Best places/prices would be helpful. Rotors: Stock Pads: Hawk HPS Lines: Stainless (Goodrich? I have these on my 1997 Supra Turbo) Fluid: I have used Valvoline in the past but I'm open to suggestions. Now for suspension. I am not sure what to do. I want to reduce/eliminate the body roll and the pitch and dive of hard braking and accelerating. I am not looking to lower the car. I will be heading to Austin shortly, so i don't want a lowered car and I find the ride quality fine on the Legacy otherwise out here in Chicagoland. I supose a tad less underster would be nice, but that's not a priority yet. I'm also not looking to spend a ton of money. This car sees spirited driving and might see an occasional track day if the Supra doesn't want to play that day or i want a change of pace. Looking forward to your ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Sounds to me like you need swaybars. They won't help with the dive/pitch but will definitely reduce body roll. Also, going with a nice matched set will reduce the understeer the stock setup has. Relatively cheap, best reduction in body roll, minimal ride quality penalty, no drop... sounds like what you are looking for. After that I would recommend some struts/shocks, even more so than springs. The right set will give you a better mix of comfort and performance, but you cna hold off till your stockers are dead. Have you upgraded your tires? The Crimson Dynamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Bechtold Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 Thanks. Yeah I currently ride on Goodyear Eagle F1 All-Season tires in the stock 215/45-17 size. Obviously a huge improvement over the RE92's that came with the car. What specific suspension parts would you recommend? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackHole Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 No drop is the tough part - every aftermarket suspension I've seen has some drop. Except maybe MR Outback coilovers on an LGT. You might try Bilstein HDs w/ stock springs on the budget end (~$650 including new front top hats). I'm running RCE Tarmac 1 coilovers and they're extremely nice, but still ~1/2" drop even on the tallest setting and cost real money ($1700). Search - there are quite a few options and reviews. Kyle "BlackHole" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Bechtold Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 I've done alot of search and now my head is spinning. If no drop is impossible I guess minimal drop is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Gary, my previous post said it all! Front and rear swaybars. Cobb, Cusco, Whiteline, Swift, Rallitek... there are lots of vendors who make matched sets that will work for you. I'm not sure which set is the best for you, but swaybars are your answer. You might want to do endlinks at the same time. I am considering Whiteline F&R sways with Kartboy endlinks for my setup. For parts you are looking at ~$350 for sways and ~$250 for endlinks. The Crimson Dynamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Hey Gary, another SF member here. I think I met you at the first Elmhurst meet. I wonder how many others are here. Anyway, for brakes, this is what I'd do in your position: Rotors: DBA blanks. Haven't heard a bad thing about them yet. Pads: Don't know, but I will not buy Axxis Metal Master street pads ever again. The bite when cold was absolutely horrible. It almost felt as if the rotors were wet. The pads I got from Cobb were *excellent*, but dusted horribly and wore out rather quickly. Lines: Stock. My reasoning for this is because stock lines are pretty much maintenance free. I had a set of Cobb SS lines on my previous Subaru and I ruptured one line the first week I had them because a stock retaining clip popped off (fit was slightly tighter than stock). Even though I had no problems for 5 or so years after switching all the retaining clips to C-clips, I always wondered if a line would pop whenever I stood on the brakes. Another was how the line rubbed inside its metal bushing. It never wore all the way through, but you could definitely see where friction was an issue. Fluid: ATE Blue/Gold. Best bang for the buck IMO if not going synthetic, which I wouldn't do for a street car anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 No drop is the tough part - every aftermarket suspension I've seen has some drop. Bilsteins + SpecB springs (preferably JDM, required for wagon) would yield no drop. Tein GT wagon (JDM only) coilovers will maintain stock height. Tein Flex also can do it, although per manufacturer not recommended. Also Konis + stock springs. But then the springs will still be soft and body roll will be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Bechtold Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 Hey Gary, another SF member here. I think I met you at the first Elmhurst meet. I wonder how many others are here. Anyway, for brakes, this is what I'd do in your position: Rotors: DBA blanks. Haven't heard a bad thing about them yet. Pads: Don't know, but I will not buy Axxis Metal Master street pads ever again. The bite when cold was absolutely horrible. It almost felt as if the rotors were wet. The pads I got from Cobb were *excellent*, but dusted horribly and wore out rather quickly. Lines: Stock. My reasoning for this is because stock lines are pretty much maintenance free. I had a set of Cobb SS lines on my previous Subaru and I ruptured one line the first week I had them because a stock retaining clip popped off (fit was slightly tighter than stock). Even though I had no problems for 5 or so years after switching all the retaining clips to C-clips, I always wondered if a line would pop whenever I stood on the brakes. Another was how the line rubbed inside its metal bushing. It never wore all the way through, but you could definitely see where friction was an issue. Fluid: ATE Blue/Gold. Best bang for the buck IMO if not going synthetic, which I wouldn't do for a street car anyway. I remember you. Going to Sound Performance meet this weekend? Anyway, I'm split on SS lines. I love them on the Supra and like the feel. I was debating on if I want them on the Legacy. I've also thought about DBA Blanks. ATE fluid sounds good, I'll definitely look into that. Thanks! Found this... http://www.fastwrx.com/dbarotors.html http://www.fastwrx.com/lebruppa.html DBA Thread http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34922 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Bechtold Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 Bilsteins + SpecB springs (preferably JDM, required for wagon) would yield no drop. Tein GT wagon (JDM only) coilovers will maintain stock height. Tein Flex also can do it, although per manufacturer not recommended. Also Konis + stock springs. But then the springs will still be soft and body roll will be there. Thanks for the info. Which Bilsteins do you recommend? The ones on the U.S. SpecB or some other one? I was thinking about SpecB suspension parts, was just unsure of what difference a sedan vs. a wagon made. I noticed from another thread there are different JDM SpecB springs depending on the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnetic1 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I remember you. Going to Sound Performance meet this weekend? Anyway, I'm split on SS lines. I love them on the Supra and like the feel. I was debating on if I want them on the Legacy. I've also thought about DBA Blanks. ATE fluid sounds good, I'll definitely look into that. Thanks! Found this... http://www.fastwrx.com/dbarotors.html http://www.fastwrx.com/lebruppa.html DBA Thread http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34922 DBAs you listed above are not blanks. Depends on what you are doing with the car. We carry both DBA and our own line of blank, slotted, or slotted & x-drilled. Weve had one member abuse our OE-type blanks at the track with no issues. As far as pricing, we are still offering our special from last month (extended) with deeply discounted Hawk HPS with purchase of rotors. Prices include shipping to anywhere in the cont.US: http://www.liteswap.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=L&Category_Code=LGTSpecial Free Sonax Cleaner Deal http://www.brakeswap.com Carbotech, Hawk, PFC, DBA Rotors, Motul, Wilwood, Castrol... Great service. No bumping required ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I remember you. Going to Sound Performance meet this weekend? Anyway, I'm split on SS lines. I love them on the Supra and like the feel. I was debating on if I want them on the Legacy. I've also thought about DBA Blanks. ATE fluid sounds good, I'll definitely look into that. Thanks! No, I'm going to be busy unfortunately. Too bad, since I haven't even seen their new shop yet. I definitely loved the way the SS lines felt, but the older I get, the less I'm willing to screw around with a car. Especially a daily driver. As long as you're willing to inspect them every now and then, they should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Bechtold Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 What advantages/disadvantages are there to the 22mm vs. the 25mm kit? Sway Bar Kit 22mm with Endlinks http://www.perrinperformance.com/products/show/350/Sway-Bar-Kit-22mm-with-Endlinks?category=8&model=10 Sway Bar Kit 25mm with Endlinks http://www.perrinperformance.com/products/show/351/Sway-Bar-Kit-25mm-with-Endlinks?category=8&model=10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fweasel Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I run the smaller Perrin bar up front with a Cobb adjustable in the rear. I didn't think I would need the bigger bar up front, even with summer track use. I was right. ignore him, he'll go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeper8406 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 good post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDMIG Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I am not a leggy expert but from what I ve seen the swifts give minimum drop. And with the stock dampers you can only minimise the body roll with ARB's. You wanna look into Bilstein HD's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Swifts give minimum drop? It's certainly not slammed, but they ride quite low for a daily-driven all-weather car. Sedan Swifts with Koni Struts drop: 2-1/8"F, 1-1/2"R Reference this post The Crimson Dynamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDMIG Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Swifts give minimum drop? It's certainly not slammed, but they ride quite low for a daily-driven all-weather car. Sedan Swifts with Koni Struts drop: 2-1/8"F, 1-1/2"R Reference this post compared to other springs out there. Compared to stock yeah quite a bit...i live in Toronto and that drops not an issue at all in the winter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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