M. Schneider Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 Hey Wittyfull - Any success with re-engineering the JDM Bilstein BTS kit? The springs will likely have several domestic sources,,,, however will Bilstein NA (USA) have a suitable B6 type strut with a body length long enough to support the taller ride height needed for the Outback wagon series? The struts valving magic is another issue but easy enough to replicate its metric. Man,,, it would be great to assemble a home grown BTS type kit of our own making. If you would need any measurements, pictures, etc, lemme know. Cheers, Mike I have a BTS 5056J kit on order from Japanparts. Hopefully, it should get here in a month or two. My plan is to reverse engineer the springs and struts and see if I can put together a comparable kit using locally sourced parts. Cheers, Mike |`94 E-Class Coupe |`98 Carrera 993 C2S |`14 Cayman S |`20 Outback Touring XT | All Debadged | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wittyfull Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Hi Mike, Thanks for the post. I am still waiting for Japanparts to ship me the kit as they are having problems sourcing the kit. Aaargh, it's been 3 months already and I am losing patience. It may be faster to re-engineer a kit that is already stateside. Ahem. In the meanwhile, I was directed to Pedders who makes a gas strut replacement for the self-leveling rear struts of the overseas Outbacks. I am working with RallySportDirect (official distributor) to bring a full set (front and rear Pedders designed struts, and rear Pedders matched springs) to the US to test. This may be a viable option to the Bilstein BTS kits. Best regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 "Last edited by Wittyfull; Today at 08:34 AM.. Reason:Prose was too short and choppy" heh, I guess your prose was like the ride of my Subi with KYB's. It's better now, but still not excellent.....my ride, not your prose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Ask Japanparts to sell you this instead: BTS-5088 : http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=f8b4a3bb68649f6a664b6dc458fe074f&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.subaruoutback.org%2Fforums%2F81-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension%2F28368-2005-2009-outback-suspension-faq-55.html&v=1&libid=1366251779964&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsofttranslator.com%2FBV.aspx%3Fref%3DIE8Activity%26a%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fabeshokai.jp%252Fblog%252Fbilstein%252Findex.php%253Fe%253D289&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dbilsein%2Bbts-5088%26src%3DIE-SearchBox%26Form%3DIE8SRC&title=2005-2009%20Outback%20Suspension%20FAQ%20-%20Page%2055%20-%20Subaru%20Outback%20-%20Subaru%20Outback%20Forums&txt=abeshokai.jp%2Fblog%2Fbilstein%2Findex.php%3Fe%3D289%20-%20Translator&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13662522114949 The dollar to yen exchange rate might be so much better than 3 months ago, that it might be the same price. And folks, check this out re other Subi models: http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fabeshokai.jp%2Fblog%2Fbilstein%2Findex.php%3Fc%3D3-8 I'm sorry, but I bet US sales "carry" the Subaru brand, and they can't give us the goodies!! And Subaru needs to realize there is still a market for an Outback (or similar) with WRX-caliber guts. We are not all soccer mom's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tema Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Hi Mike, Thanks for the post. I am still waiting for Japanparts to ship me the kit as they are having problems sourcing the kit. Aaargh, it's been 3 months already and I am losing patience. Best regards, David I've got BTS-kit on order as well. Just checked and couldn't confirm delivery time. Though it's been only a month now and I've got plenty other to do as well. I have extra pair of top hats for sale due to mixing part numbers instead of dust caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 I wonder what your ordering results would be trying to order BTS 5088 instead of BTS 5056. I am guessing, but maybe better performing option, and more available??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wittyfull Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 The 5088 are backordered too and they could not get a ship date from Bilstein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Dang. Consider Bilstein HD's all around, LGT auto wagon springs, and some big spacers in back?????? It's tough!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wittyfull Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I may end up with the HD's. Has anyone confirmed the difference in length between the LGT HD's and stock Outback struts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffman Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 I may end up with the HD's. Has anyone confirmed the difference in length between the LGT HD's and stock Outback struts? anything designed for the LGT will be a couple inches shorter than Outback speck dampers. Here is the stock dampers from obxt and LGT for reference: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/ForceFedGTI/Cars/IMG_0153.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Witty, check out the OBXT to Bilstein XT thread and my Another Bilstein Story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tema Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I may end up with the HD's. Has anyone confirmed the difference in length between the LGT HD's and stock Outback struts? Did you receive your's? I got my BTS-kit in last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhitter Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Did you receive your's? I got my BTS-kit in last month. How much are you paying for these? Curious what the price is. My OBXT build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tema Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 How much are you paying for these? Curious what the price is. 200400 Yen for BTS kit + Rear strut mounts + rubber seats + freight to Finland. Took about 3 months to arrive. Not too bad I recon. Local VAT and customs too which were less than expected. Sourced front percies and dust caps from different source. Not cheap but in big picture justified as options are not really viable. Easier than mix n' match and most importantly I retain decent ground clearance. If GOOD driveability wasn't high on the list I would have gotten a different car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wittyfull Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I ended up paying close to $2300 for my BTS kit and all the related parts and shipping costs. It arrived last month after 5 months of waiting. I had the spring rates measured by a spring company: 171 lb/in for the fronts and 255 lb/in for the rear spring. I don't know how to measure the dampening of the struts themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Schneider Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Its been four years, 30,000 miles and several fully loaded-weighted ATL to DEN to ATL (3.5K miles) road trips. The Bilstein BTS suspension kit continues to exceed expectations in our MY05 Outback XT wagon. Cheers, Mike |`94 E-Class Coupe |`98 Carrera 993 C2S |`14 Cayman S |`20 Outback Touring XT | All Debadged | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wittyfull Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I just finished installing my Bilstein BTS suspension on my Outback. After fastening the top of the strut assembly to the body, I had to push the eyelet at the bottom of the assembly towards the front of the car to align it with the hole in the suspension arm. Is this normal? Are the rear struts directional in that there is an inside facing side and an outside facing side? I installed the rears with the Bilstein sticker facing out. Thanks, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danteneon Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I just finished installing my Bilstein BTS suspension on my Outback. After fastening the top of the strut assembly to the body, I had to push the eyelet at the bottom of the assembly towards the front of the car to align it with the hole in the suspension arm. Is this normal? Are you talking about the rear strut? If so, then yes, that is normal. Even in the front you will have to moves the strut around a bit for the knuckle to line up. Are the rear struts directional in that there is an inside facing side and an outside facing side? I installed the rears with the Bilstein sticker facing out. I installed mine the same way. You should be fine. http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t36/danteomni/Car%20Pics/OBK/IMAG0271_zps6e5951d0.jpg Thanks, David I like to cook my pets and my family. Use commas. Don't be a psycho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRX USA Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Anyone know if you can use the aluminum SpecB upper control arms with the BTS 5056? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Which way the notch faces depends on the springs, but generally they should face the same way, for instance, BOTH facing left, or both facing rift side of car. Or both to rear. Experiment with one, then match the other. Something about how the top of the spring mates to the rubber mount, it provides a slight angle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGB Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I am looking to upgrade the suspension of my OBXT 06' would anybody know which kit is currently available? (It looks like the 5056 might be discontinued, the 5058 is for a 3.0H, which might work, anybody?) also there is the 5088 which seems to lower the car by ~30mm, I am okay with that IF it will work for my Outback XT...? If anybody wants to join for a group buy, please count me in, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Not sure but this site appears to still sell the kit: http://www.rhdjapan.com/bilstein-coilover-suspension-bts-subaru-bp9.html I so want that too . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Schneider Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 If I recall the BTS5056 is for the 4cyl Outback wagon and the BTS5058 is for heavier 6cyl Outback wagon. (USA-MY05-'09) Way, back in the day,,, (2009) Initial discussions with Bilstein Japan indicated the Outback BTS specific kits shared one difference; The front coil spring specification offsetting the 6cyl engines added weight. . IIRC the spec differential of the two coil springs was in the order 21ft lbs. (Certainly less than 25ft lbs) If we were to do the killer BTS kit over again.... I'd uprate the F&R sway bars from there weak OEM spec. Plus +1 on the sway bars would make for a nicely composed Outback XT (w/Michelin Super Sports) street/daily driver. We continue to own the XT yet it sees less than 2,500 miles annually. - Out of town projects rental cars .... at play. Not sure but this site appears to still sell the kit: http://www.rhdjapan.com/bilstein-coilover-suspension-bts-subaru-bp9.html I so want that too . Cheers, Mike |`94 E-Class Coupe |`98 Carrera 993 C2S |`14 Cayman S |`20 Outback Touring XT | All Debadged | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xt2005bonbon Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 M. Schneider, just sell me your used kit already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGB Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Thanks guys, Because my Outback is heavily modified - I got a extra ~35-50lb in Full Race twin scroll manifold, DP and UP (all very thick & heavy), a 60lb EFR 7136 turbo, an extra radiator, oil & trany coolers, etc. so, I might actually want to get the kit for the H6 engine as my front end is definitely heavier by 35-50lb than a typical OBXT... Does anybody sees any issues with going with the 5058 kit (instead of the 5056)? Another option is to go with the newer (?) 5088 kit which supposed to lower the car ~30mm... Not sure how is it different from the 56/58 kit otherwise, probably better handling at the expense of ride comfort, what do you think? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.