Official 5th Generation Suspension Thread

[fredrik94087]

It looks like they adjusted your f & r toe. The caster isn't adjustable on our cars. Only the front camber is adjustable unless you have aftermarket rear LCA's.

 

I personally like to go to a alignment shop with the specs I want them to shoot for. Being in spec can often be too broad for a good driving/handling car.

 

it does look like only a toe adjustment. and when Pablo went to re-read the alignment, he got slightly different camber numbers.

 

why wouldnt he even out the front camber??? why isnt the toe zeroed out? It is better than before but why not zeroed.

 

when budget permits, get adjustable rear LCAs.

[ChrisCrash]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input. After some googling i found that im not the only fifth gen who had their alignment tech spec it out against a 2009. now its on to saving for new LCA's! Thankfully the barely an inch of drop is the most I will probably go with these. Im already having issues around the city, going to need to roll my fenders in just a tad more.

[dgoodhue]

it does look like only a toe adjustment. and when Pablo went to re-read the alignment, he got slightly different camber numbers.

 

Changing the toe will have small affect on the camber & caster.

[dgoodhue]

Is dupli color school bus yellow (da1663) usually available locally at auto parts stores? Or does everyone just mail order it?

[GTEASER]

Around here its readily available at O'Reilly Auto Parts. You should be able to find it somewhere near you.

[linksusmaximus]

For alignment, I've always liked this thread, and post in particular:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3506722&postcount=5

[ripstik]

For alignment, I've always liked this thread, and post in particular:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3506722&postcount=5

 

Awesome amount of info in that post for sure

[ChrisCrash]

For alignment, I've always liked this thread, and post in particular:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3506722&postcount=5

 

 

Thats exactly the type of reference ive been searching for. Bookmarked. Thanks

[rainman]

Local Subaru guys suggested a Ford tech of over 7 years to do my alignment. He got me in that day, spent and hour and a half getting everything how I wanted it. -1.5* camber all around, 0 toe, 0 caster. Best $90 alignment ever!!! Was in the shop the entire time with him just bull shitting.

I wouldn't be happy with those numbers, that's for sure though!!!

[mikeyvt]

Local Subaru guys suggested a Ford tech of over 7 years to do my alignment. He got me in that day, spent and hour and a half getting everything how I wanted it. -1.5* camber all around, 0 toe, 0 caster. Best $90 alignment ever!!! Was in the shop the entire time with him just bull shitting.

I wouldn't be happy with those numbers, that's for sure though!!!

 

 

 

Where did you go? I'm in Omaha also and have been looking for a good place to go to.

[GTEASER]

Local Subaru guys suggested a Ford tech of over 7 years to do my alignment. He got me in that day, spent and hour and a half getting everything how I wanted it. -1.5* camber all around, 0 toe, 0 caster. Best $90 alignment ever!!! Was in the shop the entire time with him just bull shitting.

I wouldn't be happy with those numbers, that's for sure though!!!

Must handle like doo-doo with 0 caster. [emoji12]

[dgoodhue]

Must handle like doo-doo with 0 caster. [emoji12]

 

We all know that Ford owners aren't quite right in head. I shutter to think about the mods he would have had to do to your Subaru LCA or Strut mounts to dial the caster in at 0.

 

j/k about Ford owners, well sort of.

[fredrik94087]

Must handle like doo-doo with 0 caster. [emoji12]

 

I didn't notice the caster at zero as much as the -1.5 all around.

 

I'm sorry to become a broken record here. You must run more negative in the front than in the back if you hope to reduce/eliminate the understeer in the car.

[ArchLibra]

You will be all set with those Eibachs. 2010-2014 OEM springs and shocks are physically and dimensionally the same, only the spring rate and damper calving is different.

 

And you want Koni's for 2008+ WRX fitment, front 8610-1453S and rear 8010-1055S.

 

If you need any pointers or assistance before or while you do the install, let me know.

 

Sorry to bring up an old post! I've had RCE's and Bilstein's for 2 months now and the ride is very, very rough here in Toronto - pothole mayhem!

 

Eibach's 7722.140 plus aging 2011 OEM shocks a good combo?

Or put the Eibach's on my current Bilstein's?

Or should I really invest in the Koni's 8610-1453S & 8010-1055S? (Are those all the parts I need? Spent a lot on the RCE/Bilstein combo already..)

 

Performance not priority, just want to get rid of the boat feeling without being harsh. Thanks GTEASER!

[JT_36R]

Sorry to bring up an old post! I've had RCE's and Bilstein's for 2 months now and the ride is very, very rough here in Toronto - pothole mayhem!

 

Eibach's 7722.140 plus aging 2011 OEM shocks a good combo?

Or put the Eibach's on my current Bilstein's?

Or should I really invest in the Koni's 8610-1453S & 8010-1055S? (Are those all the parts I need? Spent a lot on the RCE/Bilstein combo already..)

 

Performance not priority, just want to get rid of the boat feeling without being harsh. Thanks GTEASER!

 

I'm in Toronto also and have the RCE/Blistein. I would be interested with what you setup you change to. I've been using this setup for over a year and it far better than stock, it something I can live with.

[GTEASER]

Sorry to bring up an old post! I've had RCE's and Bilstein's for 2 months now and the ride is very, very rough here in Toronto - pothole mayhem!

 

Eibach's 7722.140 plus aging 2011 OEM shocks a good combo?

Or put the Eibach's on my current Bilstein's?

Or should I really invest in the Koni's 8610-1453S & 8010-1055S? (Are those all the parts I need? Spent a lot on the RCE/Bilstein combo already..)

 

Performance not priority, just want to get rid of the boat feeling without being harsh. Thanks GTEASER!

 

Don't pair anything with aging OEM shocks, that's not going to get you anything good.

 

brandon.mol did stock 2013 springs (about same spring rate as Eibachs) on the Bilsteins because he thought the Black/Bil combo was too harsh on bad roads, and he likes them.

 

Konis are always a win in my opinion because of the adjustability, but on your roads, if you go with Konis, you should probably stick with softer springs like Eibach or 2013-2014 OEM.

 

But the Blacks and Konis may work for you, it is a nice combo. Driven in a few cars with it. Stiff spring rates don't necessarily mean harsh ride, that's more to do with the shocks than anything.

Edited July 3, 2016 by GTEASER

[Drick]

I'm in Toronto also and have the RCE/Blistein. I would be interested with what you setup you change to. I've been using this setup for over a year and it far better than stock, it something I can live with.

 

I'm in Brampton with H&R springs with Koni yellows. They aren't too bad on potholes/bumpy roads.

[pfoyle]

Apologies in advance if this has been asked and answered, but I don't have time to search through the 46 pages of this thread to read all posts about camber and camber adjustment...

 

Short story: RCE blacks/bilstein setup, Michelin Pilot SS (225/45/18). I'm (unintentionally) running with about -2deg camber on all 4 wheels (factory adjustment maxed out) and am seeing significant uneven tire wear (inner edge worn to the wires after <2 years, ~20-25k miles). I'd like to be running about -1deg all around, as I think this will increase my tire life.

 

What are my options?

Is that amount of settling with a slightly lowered vehicle to be expected (resulting in -2deg after all factory adjustments are maxed), or is it possibly I have some other issue leading to this excessive camber?

I assume 20-25k miles on these tires is not normal, right? They are pretty expensive so I was hoping they'd last a lot longer than that...

 

Any info at all is greatly appreciated. Have 4 new MPSS delivered today, and will get them on ASAP to get off the badly worn tires (one of which blew out last Friday), but want to address the overall camber issue before I put too many miles on the new rubber.

 

Thanks!

[GhiaAddict]

Apologies in advance if this has been asked and answered, but I don't have time to search through the 46 pages of this thread to read all posts about camber and camber adjustment...

 

Short story: RCE blacks/bilstein setup, Michelin Pilot SS (225/45/18). I'm (unintentionally) running with about -2deg camber on all 4 wheels (factory adjustment maxed out) and am seeing significant uneven tire wear (inner edge worn to the wires after <2 years, ~20-25k miles). I'd like to be running about -1deg all around, as I think this will increase my tire life.

 

What are my options?

Is that amount of settling with a slightly lowered vehicle to be expected (resulting in -2deg after all factory adjustments are maxed), or is it possibly I have some other issue leading to this excessive camber?

I assume 20-25k miles on these tires is not normal, right? They are pretty expensive so I was hoping they'd last a lot longer than that...

 

Any info at all is greatly appreciated. Have 4 new MPSS delivered today, and will get them on ASAP to get off the badly worn tires (one of which blew out last Friday), but want to address the overall camber issue before I put too many miles on the new rubber.

 

Thanks!

 

How are your Toe settings, as Toe has a bigger effect on tire wear.

[GTEASER]

As GhiaAddict said, if your toe is off, it will exacerbate and accelerate what is normally nominal wear due to -2.0* of camber.

 

If you want to stand the rear tires up a bit for -1.0* camber, get the Whiteline KTA216 kit.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5398890&postcount=93

 

You should have no problem getting the front camber at -1.0* with the stock camber bolt adjustment.

 

Make sure toe is 0, or just a hair (like 1/16"-1/8" total) for both front and rear.

[pfoyle]

How are your Toe settings, as Toe has a bigger effect on tire wear.

 

As GhiaAddict said, if your toe is off, it will exacerbate and accelerate what is normally nominal wear due to -2.0* of camber.

 

If you want to stand the rear tires up a bit for -1.0* camber, get the Whiteline KTA216 kit.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5398890&postcount=93

 

You should have no problem getting the front camber at -1.0* with the stock camber bolt adjustment.

 

Make sure toe is 0, or just a hair (like 1/16"-1/8" total) for both front and rear.

 

The toe was zeroed out last year, and then again 2 months ago (when I put my summer shoes back on)... I suppose it's possible that there was a lot of wear in between the alignment last year, and the alignment this year, but it seems unlikely. I didn't notice any significant wear on the tires when I put the summers on in late April/early May.

 

Stock camber bolt adjustments are already maxed out (according to Town Fair Tire, who did the alignment last Friday), but I don't really know how to check that to verify their statement. Is there an easy way to check this... I'm just reporting/trusting what they said, which I understand is a sketchy proposition when dealing with a chain like that...

 

I honestly don't really care about 1* vs 2* of camber, except if it is responsible for significantly shortening the life of my tires. Just had the new rubber put on this morning at a local shop, and the mechanic said he didn't see anything really wrong with the suspension that would make my camber be off by so much (as in nothing obviously broken)...

[GTEASER]

The toe was zeroed out last year, and then again 2 months ago (when I put my summer shoes back on)... I suppose it's possible that there was a lot of wear in between the alignment last year, and the alignment this year, but it seems unlikely. I didn't notice any significant wear on the tires when I put the summers on in late April/early May.

 

Stock camber bolt adjustments are already maxed out (according to Town Fair Tire, who did the alignment last Friday), but I don't really know how to check that to verify their statement. Is there an easy way to check this... I'm just reporting/trusting what they said, which I understand is a sketchy proposition when dealing with a chain like that...

 

I honestly don't really care about 1* vs 2* of camber, except if it is responsible for significantly shortening the life of my tires. Just had the new rubber put on this morning at a local shop, and the mechanic said he didn't see anything really wrong with the suspension that would make my camber be off by so much (as in nothing obviously broken)...

 

Are you getting printouts of your alignment?

 

By "maxed" out on the front camber adjustment, you're saying that the tire cannot be stood up any straighter? I call bullshit on that, I had no problem getting an alignment, both on my GT and Fozz with -1.0* in the front, and I am dropped 1.25" and 2.5" respectively. And you're only lowered about 0.75".

 

Depending on your mileage, and taking into account of the climate and salt your car has to deal with, I would make an educated guess that your front rear LCA bushing are shot.

 

Honestly, on my GT, I really went thru my last set of tires very quickly, roughly 17k miles. Currently at -1.5* up front and -2.5* in back. But that also included 2 track days of right on the edge abuse. The inside of the tires wore very quickly. If I would have caught it sooner, I would have had the tires swapped side-to-side because the outside had more than half the tread left, my own fault there for not paying close enough attention.

 

So yeah, I can see -2.0* of camber all the way around causing your wear. If you're not tracking the car, get those tires standing up to -1.0* ASAP.

[pfoyle]

Are you getting printouts of your alignment?

 

By "maxed" out on the front camber adjustment, you're saying that the tire cannot be stood up any straighter? I call bullshit on that, I had no problem getting an alignment, both on my GT and Fozz with -1.0* in the front, and I am dropped 1.25" and 2.5" respectively. And you're only lowered about 0.75".

 

Depending on your mileage, and taking into account of the climate and salt your car has to deal with, I would make an educated guess that your front rear LCA bushing are shot.

 

Honestly, on my GT, I really went thru my last set of tires very quickly, roughly 17k miles. Currently at -1.5* up front and -2.5* in back. But that also included 2 track days of right on the edge abuse. The inside of the tires wore very quickly. If I would have caught it sooner, I would have had the tires swapped side-to-side because the outside had more than half the tread left, my own fault there for not paying close enough attention.

 

So yeah, I can see -2.0* of camber all the way around causing your wear. If you're not tracking the car, get those tires standing up to -1.0* ASAP.

 

Those tires have seen only (spirited) daily driving... guess I'll be making an appointment to have the LCA bushings looked at, and suspension in general. If it's just the black-steins lowering the car that is throwing the camber off, I agree that there should be enough wiggle room in the stock camber adjustment to at least get the fronts to -1.0*.

 

So either Town Fair doesn't know what they are doing/talking about, or there is a worn item that is throwing camber off more than the 2* it's showing (and LCA is bringing it back to -2*). Honestly, at 143k miles, my money is on the latter...

 

Thanks for the input!

[GTEASER]

If you get new front LCA bushings, the fronts can be stock but replace the rears with these.

 

0.00 Caster http://www.avoturboworld.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/129

 

0.50 Caster http://www.avoturboworld.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/128

[ArchLibra]

By the way... If I were to lower again, I would either buy Eibachs for the steins or buy Konis for the blacks. I would never in a million years pair the Bilsteins and blacks again. I don't believe for a second that those were designed to be together. The Bilsteins were clearly valved to be an upgrade strut for OEM springs. Super tough...will last forever, but just aren't valved for 240lb springs.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to say that they would work well with '10/'11/'12 springs even. They just don't have enough rebound dampening for the blacks, and they have too much secondary compression damping for a forgiving ride if you have that much spring rate.

 

However. Since you don't have Bilsteins already, my vote is buy Konis and you will surely be happy. Not sure if anyone has that combo, but it sounds like it would be great.

 

Hey Brandon! I know you're happy with the '13/'14 Springs & Bilsteins combo, but do you actually think the Bilsteins will work well with '11 Springs?

Should I re-use my '11 Springs or invest in 14" Springs?

Or even go for Eibach's? (although I read about a camber issue somewhere)

 

I'm currently on RCE's/Bilsteins and totally understand what you mean when you say punched in the head on bad roads. Wished I found this thread sooner!