Suspension upgrades?

[Tmemz]

Looking to upgrade my suspension further, I currently have Msi ebiach springs on the stock kyb's. Possibly want to upgrade the bushings to all polyurethane and front and rear sways and endlinks if recommend. Not sure on sizes of bars or anything but not looking to break the bank with it all just looking to find that comfort over stock. Gonna go with either whiteline or avo for the bushings but wondering if i should do all. LCa, steering rack and the caster/camber ones. If anyone could lend some words of advise it would be appreciated.

 

 

Thanks

[caramall2]

You'll get a lot of opinions on this. It also depends on what you want to do with the car, how harsh a ride you're willing to accept (I have a lot of suspension upgrades and I think my ride is decent...if you're not going through a street packed with pot holes and speed bumps that is; I also track the car a few times a year), etc. Also, upgrades don't necessarily mean better handling...they often do, but not always. When you start upgrading suspension, bushings, etc., also remember vibrations may be a little worse, and you should check bolts, etc. more often (ask me how I know...smile). Note that for me, my goal was better track handling, while still having a livable daily driver (and great handling on the street ;-)

 

Coilovers vs springs, etc.: I was leary of coilovers for daily driver. Finally pulled the trigger on a cheap set and it wasn't too bad. Then bought a more expensive set and wow, what an improvement in ride (and the expensive set was just as stiff (or stiffer) spring wise as the cheaper). My lesson...higher quality coilovers seem to offer a better ride (in addition to other benefits). Great thing about coilovers is they're so adjustable...height, camber, pre-load, dampening, etc. But sounds like you weren't asking about coilovers and that would break the bank...smile.

 

Sways:

- I liked the change from upsized sways front and rear (Cusco). Increasing sway sizes doesn't always yield better handling. You can do your own research on that...the whole "I'll slap a bunch of parts on and it will handle better"...but I do like my sways. I'd suggest doing one (rear...this will move the car towards less understeer), check out the handling, then do the front, just to see the difference for your experience. Stronger sways make "one sided" bumps more noticeable (it's making the two sides less independent so to speak).

- If you do sways, I suggest getting the Energy bushings with grease fitting...I had to mod them a little, but now a couple times a year I just take a grease gun and lube up the bushings...takes 2 minutes. I'd also upgrade endlinks if you go with a bigger bar (especially front....had a stock endlink break). I suggest the RalliTEK HD for the front (they're ball and socket type...I don't think the rigid with poly inserts are good up front due to the variation in angles, etc...just my opinion), in the rear, just go with some solid links with poly inserts. DON'T get links that have open bearings/ball/socket with no rubber boot, etc. Bad weather will kill them I would think. Rallitek's have held up well.

 

AVO Lower Arm Bushings with Caster increase: A little firmer (had already replaced a stock bushing once) and increase in caster.

 

Whiteline roll center anti-bump steer kit: This combined with the AVO seemed to help overall steering feel. I think whiteline is even more important if you lower the car (I may be wrong).

 

Braces: I have Cusco front brace but our LGTs are decent stock. I have rear braces too but haven't installed yet. Not sure I'd mess with this if you're not tracking the car, etc. Again, the stiffer you make the car, generally the more vibrations, wear and tear, etc.

 

Adjustable rear control arms: I added these for more alignment adjustability.

 

 

P.S. Fred Beans parts has been great to deal with...I've purchased suspension parts, clutch, etc. from them.

[goneskiian]

I'd upgrade those struts before you go after anything else. Especially if they're the original set.

 

Most feel like the stock struts aren't enough damping for the stock springs and now you've gone and added even stiffer springs.

[AZP Installs]

I agree that you should upgrade the struts before doing anything further.

 

A good setup would be to replace your stock KYBs with Koni inserts. They are worth the money, carry a lifetime warranty and are adjustable!

 

From there I would go with the following mods:

 

Whiteline:

SRB

RCK

LCA Bushings (Offset Caster)

Diffy Bushings (Front/Rear)

Front/Rear Adjustable Sways

Kartboy Endlinks F/R

AVO braces for the front and rear Lower

 

In addition you may want to look at the Group N Motor, Trans and Pitch Mounts and the Kartboy/TIC shifter bushings.

 

-mike

[m sprank]

I like sways first. But thats just my opinion. I hesitated to post until someone else did. Dont want to sound like I am just pushing sales. Thanks to Mike, I am now the second vendor to post. LOL.

[Tmemz]

How much are the koni inserts,and I had to replace the rear kyb with new ones. Not looking to go crazy right now probably will wait till spring. Just droped money on mspranks cbe.

[Tmemz]

Also I was thinking sways first as well because I have the msi springs that are meant for stock struts. But don't know what size sways to get or how to decided which size.

[m sprank]

Whiteline are Great. BUT. I have special pricing on the Hotchkis bars. These are the discontinued Cobb bars. Hotchkis made them for Cobb. Now that Cobb stopped selling them, Hotchkis re-released them. I even have AVO reinforcement brackets powder coated blue to match the bars.

 

I like the Kartboy endlinks with the bars.

 

I sell the complete set of front and rear bars with collars and bushings for under $250 delivered.

[AZP Installs]

That's a great price, even though I love the Whitelines. What size are those Hotchkis bars.

 

-mike

[m sprank]

25mm front 19mm rear. Hollow bars. Some propaganda for ya;

 

The tubular design is more expensive and more difficult to manufacturer but that should not be any excuse for not offering the best solution possible. From even a purely aesthetic point of view, the style of the thick, aggressive 25mm diameter swaybar easily visible from behind the car screams that you're serious about performance.

Adjustment may be made in order to increase/decrease the rear swaybars effective stiffness. Compared to the stock swaybar, the adjustable rear swaybar is 195% stiffer in the “soft” setting and 215% stiffer on the “hard” setting. Exactly replaces factory swaybar and includes new mounting bushings.

 

 

 

I run these on my own car. Been in use for 3 years and two different cars. No issues, yet.

[Tmemz]

Wow thats a heck of a deal, how long will you be selling that set for?

[m sprank]

I plan to offer it for a while. I have a few sets in inventory. I actually sold it for $225 delivered during my Cyber Monday Week Long Sale.

 

I post a ton of threads advertising my sales. I even break down my threads for easy categorizing and browsing by interested parties. Its amazing how many people find my sale threads once they are dead. But miss the actual sales.

[Tmemz]

nice, i cant find the thread to that sale but do you have any pic of the set?

[m sprank]

Here is a link;

Hotchkis Subaru Legacy GT Sway Bars

[robinlsb]

If your suspension is lowered a Roll center kit first.

[AZP Installs]

I ran the 24/24 adjustables on my LGT in the softest settings. Loved them very much.

 

-mike

[m sprank]

I have nothing against Whiteline. I use every product they make for the LGT, except the sways. If Hotchkis had not reintroduced these, I would have probably switched to Whiteline this build.

[Tmemz]

Hey would you suggest getting end links to go with sways and if so which ones?

[sl1200]

How much are the koni inserts,and I had to replace the rear kyb with new ones. Not looking to go crazy right now probably will wait till spring. Just droped money on mspranks cbe.

 

Generally about $600 total for front inserts and rear shocks unless Koni has another sale like they did last spring.

[torinalth]

endlinks are very helpful. Everyone will say kartboy for endlinks, I don't though, I'd recommend rallitek links. cheaper, and dont have the same issue.

 

T

[m sprank]

endlinks are very helpful. Everyone will say kartboy for endlinks, I don't though, I'd recommend rallitek links. cheaper, and dont have the same issue.

 

T

 

What issue do you speak of. I am unaware of any issues with the Kartboy links. I sell a lot of them.

[torinalth]

my front link pulled the bushing free of the housing

[m sprank]

If the bushing came out of the link, it sounds like there was an over extension. Its like dislocating a shoulder.

 

This is not a problem of the link,but of the set up. Either something was not installed correctly, or bars were slipping side to side in collars causing links to bind. Rather than the body snap, the bushing came out.

 

This is not a "known" issue for Kartboy links. Or any other brand. I have seen many links break due to binding.

 

Sway bars slipping in collars is a known issue and locking collars are available for little money.

[torinalth]

I understand the dynamics of the setup, and while it can be accounted for, the design still allows for the issue to occur if you are not aware of another piece of the puzzle. the rallitek links eliminate that concern (as do the spherical links from perrin and WL). Kartboy has great stuff, but I am just not a fan of the metal links with urethane bushings any more.

 

nothing inherantly wrong with the links, but the design is less fool proof than the ralliteks, which is why I suggest them.

 

EDIT: and price

 

T

[m sprank]

Ralliteks have less overall strength. Perrins use a spherical bearing (heim joint) that is prone to failure, corrosion, wear and NOISE. Many users experience false knock with spherical bearing style endlinks.

 

The problem is not in Kartboys design. The problem is in improper use, set up, adjustment and maintenance.

 

Kartboys are currently the most popular endlink. Not because too many people are having failures.

 

I dont even run Kartboy on my own car. But with all my experience with brands and racing. I feel your are mistaken.

 

Everything has to have a weak link. Or something else breaks. Clutch to strong, tranny goes out. Having a joint that separates prior to complete disintegration is not a bad design.