snow05gtRI Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 This spring I am putting on Bilstein HD's with Pinks. Come next winter, I was contemplating putting the stock LGT springs on the Bilstein's for a couple reasons; one mainly being the extra ride height will be nice to have for driving through deep snow, and two i guess it might save the pinks from being beat up too much. What are people's thoughts on this type of switch? Is it worth it to switch back to stock springs for the extra height? Or does the extra work involved (switching springs over, having to do another alignment) make it not worth the cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hassa Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 IMO it's not really worth the effort - not to mention the Bilsteins are too much for the stock GT springs. You'd probably be "beating up" the Bilsteins much more that way than the other way around. As far as the drop w/Bilsteins & Pinks - it's not really that drastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jxjjang Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 i have excellent condition spec b springs for sale in springfield if you're interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nm Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 IMO it's not really worth the effort - not to mention the Bilsteins are too much for the stock GT springs. You'd probably be "beating up" the Bilsteins much more that way than the other way around. As far as the drop w/Bilsteins & Pinks - it's not really that drastic. I'm not sure about that. Bilstien designs the HD line with OE springs in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneskiian Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I'm not sure about that. Bilstien designs the HD line with OE springs in mind. That and the OE springs are too much for the OE struts to begin with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTOP Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Have HDs with stockers. Love what it did to the handling, front is a bit jacked up though. Agreed that stock struts are underdamped for stock springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT4 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I have bilstein hd's on my 06 LGT wagon, and I purchased 2.5i wagon springs to go with them along with all the components to mount them. I was trying to get a better highway ride and I thought the 2.5i springs might be softer. I also wanted my stock struts to remain intact in case I end up trading the car in. I could not find definitive information on spring rates, but I think they are the same as those on the stock LGT. The stock springs are pretty damn stiff compared to other cars out there like a camry or an accord etc. I was surprised when I was compressing them, as compared to other cars I have owned. Anyway, the bilsteins improved the ride and as a bonus, the handling as well. So, yes the stock springs work just fine with the bilstein hd struts. It is hard to describe, but the shocks dampen the bumps quickly and without any after bounce or nonsense. So when you hit bumps at speed, you will feel it in the seat as the bumps get soaked up very quickly, at first it alarmed me a bit, but as you start running over all kinds of bumps you will notice that this setup is dealing with them better and the car feels more composed. So at highway speeds you feel more in control. I would recomend that everyone try the stock springs before going any stiffer as the ride is fairly stiff. I would say stiffer than stock but without the harshness. I am also running 225/50 r17 tires (which also fit on the stock struts just fine by the way). I did this to try and absorb the broken pavement and harsh freeways around here better. The tradeoff is some bounciness with these tires and more roll in corners. I may try some different springs in the future just for fun and to compare the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed 2.0 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Subscribed. I'm interested to hear more about this--if anybody has ride height pictures, that would be great as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 thank you all for the responses. I am also concerned about the front end being higher than the rear. I read there are "saggy butt" shims that are basically spacers to raise the rear a little, but no one has a definitive answer on of they're necessary or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneskiian Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Bilstein HD's are intended to be used with the spec b tophats in the front. Get some of those to avoid the front end lifting. http://www.fredbeansparts.com/servlet/the-989/Subaru-Legacy-Spec-B/Detail "A necessary item when upgrading to the Bilstein Struts." They even include these in their Bilstein HD upgrade kit... http://www.fredbeansparts.com/servlet/the-987/Bilstein-Subaru-Legacy-GT/Detail Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 yep, bought that kit! its great he has that all put together. I have the bils/pinks in hand, just waiting till when i switch to summer rubber, gonna put them on at the same time and just do 1 alignment. I didn't realize the spec B bits helped to even out the ride hight, just thought it was necessary to use them. good to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed 2.0 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 It is my understanding that the tophats have nothing to do with the ride height, they're just necessary to fit the bilsteins. Is this incorrect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagonation Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 yep, bought that kit! its great he has that all put together. I have the bils/pinks in hand, just waiting till when i switch to summer rubber, gonna put them on at the same time and just do 1 alignment. I didn't realize the spec B bits helped to even out the ride hight, just thought it was necessary to use them. good to know. Sounds good. You running thicker sways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneskiian Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 It is my understanding that the tophats have nothing to do with the ride height, they're just necessary to fit the bilsteins. Is this incorrect? There does seem to be confusion on this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGTPD Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 Any updates? pics would be nice.. Bilstein HDs with stock springs is something i have been thinking about for my wagon for quite some time now.. mainly concerned about ride height and "saggy butt" syndrome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boostsr20 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 There does seem to be confusion on this point. The use of the Spec B tophats increases ride height by 1/2". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagcars26 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 The use of the Spec B tophats increases ride height by 1/2". Overall? or just the front? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT4 Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 RalliTEK Lowering Springs - In Depth Review (http://legacygt.com/forums/skynetim/misc/multipage.gif 1 2 3 ... Last Page) Not sure if I pasted this link correctly, but I posted my impressions on the bilstein hd struts and rallitek springs here. Skip the stock springs - I am pretty sure that the stock springs on both 2.5i and lgt are engineering design errors. They have to be compressed way too much on the struts, which make them ride like crap. The bilstein's helped somewhat, but when you combine the bilstein's with good springs, the results are incredible. The springs are on sale right now for $199 which is a very cheap experiment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbcracken Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I have installed Bilstein HDs on Stock springs about 5 days ago and am enjoying the ride. I have an 05 GT Wagon 5 speed with AVO zero offset LCA bushings with 78k miles. I am a regular joe that spends very little time at the track (only one day so far). My typical driving involves short grocery & kid trips with a bunch of highway miles on the weekends. I also drive the occasional dirt logging road and lots of snowy runs in the winter. Compared to some others on this forum, I am still very much an infant in suspension understanding and handling. That being said...here is a layman's review of Bilstein HDs on stock springs with AVO LCA bushings. The install went pretty good with its small hiccups but I was able to do it solo in about 5 hours. The car height is higher with about 3.5 fingers of gap in the front and 3 fingers in the back. I did install a 3/8" shim and maybe should have gone with a 1/2" shim instead but the look is not that concerning for me since this is the family wagon with a Recaro toddler seat. The ride... First thing I noticed was just how solid the car felt while getting in. No more dropping as I sat down. Slow speeds (25 - 40 mph) The car rides level and takes on all bumps very well while slow cornering is accomplished with a fairly flat car. I have some local bumps (tree roots growing under asphalt) that have created some great testing. At 25 mph (speed limit) the bumps of 3-4 inches are absorbed very nicely qwhile bumps of 5 inches start to produce a enough bounce that would not allow one to drink coffee or something. The biggest change for me was that the car did not have any further bounce after the bumps. My old stock dampeners were very worn out. Higher speeds (40- 70 mph) Still a very solid ride and still absorbs the small bumps very well. I no longer fear the small bridge expansion joints or similar bumps at highway speeds. So much nicer. The cornering is great for my liking. I like some roll when I start to push the cornering speed but I am only slightly pushing the corners compared to some here. I did not want a track ride or my buddys 04 STi. I have done an alignment (factory settings) a couple days ago. My wife loves the new suspension as well as she is prone to motion sickness. The idea of different springs sound interesting but so far I am happy with the current setup. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 ^ Sounds like a great setup! If you get a chance I'd be interested to see what your measured fender-arch height is, maybe with a pic for reference. The Crimson Dynamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT4 Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 If you think that made an improvement, wait until you get some good springs. It was even more dramatic on my wagon than the bilstein's with stock springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbcracken Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 What daily driver springs would give me a similar stock height with the bils? You went with the Rallitek springs, right? What is your wheel gap measurements? I'm currently sitting at 2.5 inches on the rear and almost 3 in the front. I'll do a pic later. I should also note that I am also running stock wheels with RE960's. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96917 that thread might be of interest to you. minimal drop with increased spring rates for a better ride...they're trying to find a tester right now with bilsteins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT4 Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I have rallitek springs and 225/50 general exlcaim UHP tires. About two finger gap in front and one finer in the back. I will take some pics today and figure out how to post them. It is weird but the ralliteks are not as harsh as the stock springs, but are a little firmer. They further decrease body roll but ride better than the stock springs if you can beleive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbcracken Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 ^^ tester needed? I'll look into it. ^ Really? Less harsh, but firmer ride? That is hard to believe. Have you noticed any problems with less shock travel? Some of the roads around here can get brutal with potholes and all. I appreciate the feed back. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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