Bilstein BTS Outback XT kit pictures

[Flinkly]

i think it's an inch lower from US outback height, or an inch taller than US LGT.

[xt2005bonbon]

Yeah. that's what I keep reading, although the OP from this thread said he noticed about 0.5 inch drop. I am planning to install a 2 inch lift kit. Will see how this goes .

[Rhitter]

I don't think it's that low. Look at WRX USAs build thread.

[xt2005bonbon]

yeah. It's hard to tell of any drop in cleareance from most pictures I've seen of cars with the kit.

[xt2005bonbon]

Just to make sure....

 

There shouldn't be any play in the top hats if you 'wiggle' them with your hands right? Both of the front top hats have just a hair of play in them.

[tema]

yeah. It's hard to tell of any drop in cleareance from most pictures I've seen of cars with the kit.

 

Rear stayed about the same height as with old (original?) springs.

Front dropped a bit. Difficult to say exactly how much, but ca. 20mm is not far off

[Dispatch20]

I did a highly unscientific measurement today. I had to pick up about 800lbs (19 boxes) of laminate flooring. I measured the before/after ride height, and had to do some rough road driving and highway driving to get home.

 

Constants:

Bilstein BTS5058j suspension

215/60/17 Nokian Hakka R2 SUV at ~32psi front and rear

OE Outback XT Wheels

3/4 tank of gas

Measurement taken from ground up to the lip of the highest part of fender

Ground sloped a little towards the front of the car

 

The front ride height remained basically unchanged between loaded and unloaded case, which is what I'd expect given the weight being over the rear axle.

 

Unloaded:

Front Left: 29"

Front Right: 29 3/8"

Rear Left: 28 7/8"

Rear Right: 28 7/8"

 

Loaded:

Front Left: 29"

Front Right: 29 3/8"

Rear Left: 26 7/8"

Rear Right: 27"

 

In summary, adding 800lbs to the car with the weight distributed as shown in the pictures will lower the rear by about 2" (or 5cm). I do not have a comparison of what happens with 800lbs on the stock springs/struts.

 

As far as drive quality, the weight did equate to a much slower responding suspension. It did slowly bottom out over a very large mound at 40mph, but generally it stayed off the bump stops. Highway driving was still pretty smooth and controlled. It didn't feel dangerous. Any oscillations were damped within a few seconds. Unloaded, I would say that the same oscillations would have damped in about 1 second.

[Rhitter]

I did that with my HDs and King springs. Basically the same experience as you, however, I was much closer to the bump stops and hit them more frequently. All in all, it was fine, but I made sure to only take 600 pounds the next time.

[WRX USA]

Where did you put the adjustable rear spring perch on the BTS's?

[xt2005bonbon]

Also, interesting to see that your front right and left heights are different unloaded.

 

WRX USA, where did you put your spring perch?

[WRX USA]

Also, interesting to see that your front right and left heights are different unloaded.

 

WRX USA, where did you put your spring perch?

 

I was wondering about the differing heights too. Makes me wonder if that's to compensate for a driver on the right hand side.

 

My spring perch is on the very top position.

[Dispatch20]

I am having a hard time remembering which perch position I used. I know I didn't use the same one as WRX USA.

 

Perhaps the front right/left weight/height difference is due to the battery location. The H6 engine layout (and suspension) seems pretty symmetric. But I'd be pretty surprised if Subaru spent much effort balancing weight on each side of the vehicle.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[xt2005bonbon]

Do you recall seeing this height difference with your OEM set up?

 

My XT (with OEM shocks) also exhibits a difference in height between the FL and FR suspensions.

 

WRX USA, did you check your current FL/FR heights? I'd be curious to find out if you also have a difference in height.

[xt2005bonbon]

Dispatch, just read in your bts kit review thread that you selected the middle perch position.

 

Also, just bought two spec b front top hats from heuberger. They have a pretty nice discount right now: ~$54 a piece + 5% off your order. Not bad I think. So check your top hats for play

[Dispatch20]

Do you recall seeing this height difference with your OEM set up?

 

My XT (with OEM shocks) also exhibits a difference in height between the FL and FR suspensions.

 

WRX USA, did you check your current FL/FR heights? I'd be curious to find out if you also have a difference in height.

I never measured for a height difference on the stock Outback suspension. However, the sedan's Spec B suspension on my 3.0R is just as uneven. I'll measure the distance if I get the chance.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[xt2005bonbon]

now here is the funny part: I just checked my ride height with the oem suspension with geolandar 215/60/17 size tires:

FL:73.5 cm (28.9 inch)

FR:75 cm (29.5 inch)

 

Not as high as your bts ride, go figure!

 

also checked the front of the 06 lowered on HDs with pink springs and some spacers: both sides are spot on at 69cm (27.1 in).

[Dispatch20]

now here is the funny part: I just checked my ride height with the oem suspension with geolandar 215/60/17 size tires:

FL:73.5 cm (28.9 inch)

FR:75 cm (29.5 inch)

 

Not as high as your bts ride, go figure!

 

also checked the front of the 06 lowered on HDs with pink springs and some spacers: both sides are spot on at 69cm (27.1 in).

 

It's "accepted knowledge" that the JDM and EDM Outbacks are 1" lower than the USDM Outback, and that the BTS kit follows the JDM/EDM Outback height. But comparing our two vehicles (3.0R BTS vs XT OE), it doesn't really seem that way. However, I am being pretty imprecise with my height measurements, so we should be careful drawing any hard conclusions between my cars and yours.

 

Also, I measured my 3.0R sedan:

FR: 27"

FL: 26.5"

 

If I am understanding all the setups and the relative FL/FR height differences:

 

• 3.0R Sedan (OE Bilsteins): Sags in FL by .5"
  
• 3.0R Outback (BTS 5058j Bilsteins): Sags in FL by .5"
  
• XT Outback (OE KYB): Sags in FL by .5"
  
• XT with HD+Pinks: No Sag
  

Out of all the setups, I would think that the Pinks are the stiffest spring. They would tend to sag less.

[xt2005bonbon]

I was also thinking that maybe my car is slightly lower than yours due to the kyb struts providing more sag than the bts kit at rest even if the latter is a shorter shock overall.

 

It will be hard in my case to confirm this theory since I will install spacers as well.

[xt2005bonbon]

Guys, I would like your thoughts on an earlier question I had regarding top hats. Just installed one of the brand new spec b top hats. It also exhibits some play . So is this to be expected? Did you guys recall if yours had some as well? See video below.

 

[Rhitter]

Can't recall. If your new one has it sounds expected. Just install them and compare the play to what you pull off.

[Dispatch20]

Guys, I would like your thoughts on an earlier question I had regarding top hats. Just installed one of the brand new spec b top hats. It also exhibits some play . So is this to be expected? Did you guys recall if yours had some as well? See video below.

 

 

I checked a non-Bilstein style tophat that I had lying around, and it had no play in the bearing. However, I don't have any Bilstein tophats at the moment, and they are completely different designs. I don't recall seeing any play like that in the two sets of JDM tophats I've installed, but I never paid any attention to it. I always just spin the bearing and see if it's smooth to check for "goodness".

 

If I were you'd, I'd just install them and see how it feels. If they clunk, then the tophat is an issue. The tophat doesn't need to be a precise bearing. It barely needs to spin, and weight just rests on it in one axis.

[xt2005bonbon]

mmmh. I know the top hats that came with the shocks spin just fine and are very smooth. This play still has me intrigued though...

 

on another note, do you guys think these need a rebuild? see the video below where I show a close up of one of the rear shocks. I see a bit of oil..

 

[Dispatch20]

mmmh. I know the top hats that came with the shocks spin just fine and are very smooth. This play still has me intrigued though...

 

on another note, do you guys think these need a rebuild? see the video below where I show a close up of one of the rear shocks. I see a bit of oil..

 

 

That does seem like a little more oil than I'd want to see. Do you still have the springs removed from both rear struts? For a very unscientific experiment, compress both shocks by hand and see if they compress and rebound with the same force and speed. If the one that appears to be leaking rebounds considerably slower, then it definitely needs a rebuild.

 

If it still seems functional, I'd clean everything up very well, install it on the vehicle, and recheck the seal area in a few months. Installing rear shocks on/off the vehicle is pretty easy, so it's not a big deal if you have to take them off and rebuild the rears in a few months. Just save your old setup.

 

If I remember correctly, you were considering putting on rear overload springs, so I guess you could re-valve/rebuild the rear Bilsteins for the overload springs at the same time. However, we have no idea what spring rate for the BTS kit is versus either of the overload springs (King, Primitive Racing) so maybe it doesn't even make sense.

[tema]

There is a chance that shocks may get damaged beyond repair if not fixed in time. I'd get shocks serviced anyway and as per my experience they became out better than new.

 

That does seem like a little more oil than I'd want to see. Do you still have the springs removed from both rear struts? For a very unscientific experiment, compress both shocks by hand and see if they compress and rebound with the same force and speed. If the one that appears to be leaking rebounds considerably slower, then it definitely needs a rebuild.

 

If it still seems functional, I'd clean everything up very well, install it on the vehicle, and recheck the seal area in a few months. Installing rear shocks on/off the vehicle is pretty easy, so it's not a big deal if you have to take them off and rebuild the rears in a few months. Just save your old setup.

 

If I remember correctly, you were considering putting on rear overload springs, so I guess you could re-valve/rebuild the rear Bilsteins for the overload springs at the same time. However, we have no idea what spring rate for the BTS kit is versus either of the overload springs (King, Primitive Racing) so maybe it doesn't even make sense.

 

Stiffness of the spring is better seen in static conditions if ground clearance is being lost due to extra load. My old OEM springs were a lot looser than new springs on BTS. I get very little reduction in ground clearance while loading up.

 

No experience from overload springs though.

 

What it comes to increased travel in dynamic conditions it's more to do with dampers. When I got my BTS-kit the front end was very good but rear experienced very pronounced longer travel comparing to front. I sent rear shocks to Bilstein Rally Service and they found out that they were incorrectly assembled and had some loose nut inside. Shocks would have get damaged if this had not been rectified.

I also asked to slightly increase slow speed damping.

 

After this service/alternation front and rear are perfectly in harmony and I see very controlled travel while driving loaded or light.

[Dispatch20]

If the oil on the shock body was from something other than a leaky shock, then rebuilding it would be a waste of $300 (repair+2 way shipping). Perhaps it's worth making a quick phone call to Bilstein (or other suspension shop) to ask whether driving on a strut with a potential leak could be permanently damaging to the strut? People have leaky struts rebuilt all the time without issue, so the risk seems low for just testing it out. A misassembled strut may be a different situation (in terms of potential for permanent damage).

 

I hope xt2005 can get this all sorted out for less than the cost of a brand new set. I feel partly responsible for posting the Upgarage link!