JohnSoPA Posted October 27, 2008 Posted October 27, 2008 I would like to slightly lower my 05 GT wagon while maintaining a close-to-stock ride. It looks like Pinks, Cobb, Ion, Eibach and Progress springs would be good candidates but I can't find any info on springs for the GT wagons. Anyone know which company makes springs for the GT wagon?
JohnSoPA Posted October 28, 2008 Author Posted October 28, 2008 Could the lower rear ride height using sedan springs could be fixed by using an extra spring pad?
PhilT Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Swifts are the best drop / ride for wagons. Double Award Winning Legacy GT Wagon
goneskiian Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Swifts are a pretty large drop. You say you're looking for a slight drop. The slightest drop are STi Pinks. If you're not in a rush you could wait until these come out should be the slightest drop available... http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96917 Cheers!
rexster Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 you won't have the saggy bum issue if you use the stock shocks because the front gets lowered more with the stock front struts. the pinks for example will drop the front a over 1" on stock GT struts, the swifts even more. but as others have pointed out, lowering on the sock shocks does not work well. the stock shocks are weak, taking away travel only makes them less effective.
JohnSoPA Posted October 28, 2008 Author Posted October 28, 2008 OK, what I am planning to do now is use the STi Pinks on the stock struts, then get Bilstein HDs when the stock struts are done. Make sense to you guys?
HansGT Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Swifts are a pretty large drop. You say you're looking for a slight drop. The slightest drop are STi Pinks. If you're not in a rush you could wait until these come out should be the slightest drop available... http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96917 Cheers! Cobb are one of the slightest drops I've seen. Pinks drop an inch or more on stock struts. The 15mm drop you are seeing listed is for Bilsteins...which too seems a bit off. Swifts will be too aggressive for stock struts. Do yourself a favor and save an extra $500 and also pick up some Bilstein HD's or even Koni or Tokico's. The springs alone may satisfy you for a short time, but you'll soon learn you need a better strut.
HansGT Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 OK, what I am planning to do now is use the STi Pinks on the stock struts, then get Bilstein HDs when the stock struts are done. Make sense to you guys? Send a PM to Jstaggs. He's running pinks on stock struts. See what he thinks.
Guest Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Again, save your time and money. Whatever you will put on stock crap suspension you will be disappointed.
JoeFromPA Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 JohnSoPA? Whoa whoa whoa. Change that screenname buddy. Joe
HansGT Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 unclemat: To a degree I have to disagree. The addition of springs will eliminate a lot of the dip and diving feel of the stock suspension. So at first he may be happy. But yes, he will soon learn that better struts are needed. If you can live with the cons the pros are pretty good. (ions/stock struts for 18months)
JohnSoPA Posted October 28, 2008 Author Posted October 28, 2008 Thanks for the input guys. I used to race SCCA Spec Racers and club race Porsches with full coilover setups, so I know that I am compromising with this proposed setup. I had a set of Bilstein PSS9's on my old 993 street car and they were great. This LGT wagon is just my daily driver with mostly highway driving -- I am not planning to have any track time with it. In fact, I drive a lot more sedately on the street compared to before I started racing. Wierd, I guess. Given that I have 50k on the car, it might make sense to get the Bilstein HDs and Pink springs sooner rather than later. I'd bet the stock struts are soon shot anyway.
Guest Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 Good choice. For the record I run Bilstein PSS coilovers on my LGT wagon. Way more comfortable than Bilsteins+Pinks, actually more comfortable than stock suspension - and handling cannot be compared.
goneskiian Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 JohnSoPA? Whoa whoa whoa. Change that screenname buddy. Joe :lol: Why? We've now got a Joe and a John from PA! I've been getting you two confused for the last couple of months! Han's is right about the larger drop in front with Pinks on stock struts. I think that is desirable as the wheel gaps will then look even. I'm planning on getting some Pinks and the Koni inserts to take advantage. Unless the Racecomp "Regular guy" springs come out in time. Cheers!
JohnSoPA Posted October 28, 2008 Author Posted October 28, 2008 JoeFromPA, are you JOE the plumber? LOL! So many choices. I just talked with Ion and might be going their route now.
HansGT Posted October 28, 2008 Posted October 28, 2008 I had them on my LGT sedan (Ion Sport Spec). Even if they are not perfect for the struts I enjoyed the reduction in dipping and diving over the stock suspension. You will find the stock struts are a bit out of their league. With Ion, if you get them they have different front springs for stock KYB struts vs. Bilsteins. So if you upgrade to Bilstein HD's you'll need new front springs. Also, they have "spec b" specific springs and another kind called HD which I believe some people prefer on the wagon as it jacks up the rear a tad to prevent the sag look due to the rear quarter panel of the wagon. Do plenty of research first.
MauiJim Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 JohnSoPA, I have iON sport spec fronts and HD rears on my '05 LGT Ltd 5EAT wagon, so I thought I'd chime in. They're on Koni inserts in stock strut housings (front) and Koni rears. I used the USDM ('thin') tophats. It produced a moderate drop with a slight rake that I really like. I found that with the adjustability of the Koni's, the car has great daily-driving manners with good damping (3/4 turn from full soft in the front, 1 turn from full soft in the rear). The ride can be made much more aggressive by stiffening the dampers. Tires 'before' (225/45R17)are different than 'after' (245/40R17), so not exactly apples to apples; wheels are 17x8, +50 offset. Before: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/MauiJim/026-1.jpg After: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/MauiJim/DSC07290.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/MauiJim/DSC07292.jpg
TPLGT Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 mauij- What kinda wheels you running? Rehab is for quitters.
MauiJim Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 mauij- What kinda wheels you running? They're the Japanparts STi wheel by Enkei (I posted in the older Forester Sports wheel thread )
TPLGT Posted November 1, 2008 Posted November 1, 2008 So you ordered them from japanparts? Those are sweet! Rehab is for quitters.
MauiJim Posted November 3, 2008 Posted November 3, 2008 No, bought them locally-- way too expensive for me to have bought them new!
ifbiker Posted November 6, 2008 Posted November 6, 2008 MauiJim Your set spring/strut combo is one that I'm considering for my wagon. Do you know what the drop is over the stock configuration? Also how does this set-up work over really bumpy roads and patchwork roads. We have a lot of both here.
Gire Posted November 6, 2008 Posted November 6, 2008 Swifts are the best drop / ride for wagons. Swifts are nice, but low! I run ions and they have been great for almost 3 years now. Subtle 1" drop, and high quality.
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