sperry Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 You're like me - put it all together to see how pretty it looks before taking it apart again to do the bumpstops. Actually I managed to forget a dust boot. Out came the spring compressor again. Weird, I didn't need a spring compressor at all. I just pressed down on the top hat by hand and screwed the top nut on. Nothing is tight though, they're just screwed on enough to hold all the parts together. The fronts will take 20 seconds to dismantle in order to do the bumpstops (assuming I don't have the issues you did with the insert being overly tight), and I'm going to let my mechanic torque the top nuts on the car because I don't have a pass-thru 19mm socket to hold the strut's allen key with. Oh, and make sure the installer follows these instructions, apparently the ones included with the Whiteline camber bolts are incorrect: http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6365 Luckily my installer has been modding Subaru suspensions for more than a decade and doesn't even bother to read instructions for stuff like that anymore. He does all the work on my track WRX, so I'm not at all concerned with him getting it right. I can just hand him a box of stuff and go get a sandwich. When I get back, the car is perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 Yeh, the fronts don't compress much but I still used the compressors. Was a bit of a pain because there aren't enough windings in the spring. You probably took the easier route I bought this set on sale ($30) http://www.sears.ca/product/craftsman-md-19-piece-universal-max-axess-socket-set/609-000383034-44008 to put the front top hat on. Also came in handy for doing the rears. The low profile nature of the pass thru design meant I didn't have to remove the rear trunk liners, I was able to just squeeze the wrench in In addition to all the suspension parts, I also bought a jack and stand at Costco, impact socket set (was $50, on sale from $170) and a torque wrench, which promptly broke on the first bolt after I lost the receipt. A friend had given me a Craftsman torque wrench the day before too. The store took back the broken one for a full refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 I have to say I prefer the way the car feels with a full gas tank. The thing just feels firmer. I'm not sure if this is due to the weight keeping things from flopping around as much or if there's enough of an alignment change with the weight that affects the feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted December 8, 2013 Author Share Posted December 8, 2013 sperry, did you get your Bilsteins installed yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperry Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 sperry, did you get your Bilsteins installed yet? Yeah, I keep meaning to post up about it, but whenever I think to do it, I'm on my phone or something without a keyboard. Anyway, I got them installed like 2 friday's back. Unfortunately, I didn't receive my bumpstop packers before my installation appointment, so I left the front struts alone. So far, I can't say that I've noticed hitting the bumpstops, so it's likely that the pink springs just aren't low enough for that to be an issue on any regular basis. At least I hope that's the case. As far as the ride, I know now what you're talking about. The HD's are pretty harsh over the small stuff. More so than my BC's were. Things like expansion gaps, rough pavement, and road reflectors (I assume, we don't have them in Reno) are harsher than they were on the BC coilovers. But at the same time, the big bumps are *much* better than they were on the BC's. I would guess that the HD/pinks ultimately make more grip, though I haven't been to the track yet to compare, but more importantly, they're much more composed over complex surfaces. On the BC's I used to get lots of front-end wheel hop around a particularly messy corner here in town. The HD's just soak it up. And while they're harsher, they're not really any worse than my friend's M6 for example... you feel every little bump, but it's not particularly uncomfortable. Certainly, your mom will hate riding with you, and it might be bothersome on a long trip (though, not if the highway is smooth), but in general it's not overall any worse than coilovers. Small bumps are just more noticeable, while big bumps are less noticeable, when compared to the BC coilovers. But best of all to me, the HD's are just much quieter than the BC's. That's really the reason I made the switch, after all. For the money, I would suggest that if you don't mind solid top-mounts, get the BC's. They're plenty capable, a little more comfortable over the small stuff (at least in the 4k/6k rates I had, same as the pinks I have now), but they have some extra NVH that the Bilsteins and their Spec-B topmounts don't have. It just sucks that you have to spend around $600 more for the Bilstein/pinks setup. For me, what makes the Bilstein's worth the extra money is that I can get them custom valved (eventually) from the guys that did my Bilstein Miata suspension. I know Feal is supposed to do revalving on the BC's, but I haven't had any firsthand experience with them, and even then you don't get the quieter topmounts and inverted struts that you get with the HD/pinks. Plus, with the lower NVH on my new setup, I was able to go with the Whiteline W0506 and W53353 LCA bushings (since my stock STi bushings were already torn again after just a year) and not hate the NVH. I had the AVO LCA bushings with the BC's for like a week before I yanked the bushings and went to the rubber STi ones since they were so loud. Hopefully, the whiteline bushings will last a long time, since they're nowhere near as loud on my current setup as the AVO ones were on my old setup. As far as ride-height and alignment: the car ended up nearly identical in ride-height to my BC's, at least by looking at it (I didn't measure before and after). I used a 1/2" spacer in the rear... 3/4"-1" would have probably been better, just for a little extra clearance when carrying gear in the back of the wagon. But without stuff back there, it looks perfect. (I'll take some pictures later today if I can get outside... it's 9F right now, so I'm not stoked about pulling the car out of the garage ). I'm running oversized tires (245/50/17 Conti DWS) on 17x7+55 '08 WRX wheels. 12mm wheel spacers in the front, 10mm wheel spacers in the rear (will be switching to 12mm in the rear so they match when I get a chance), with extended lugs all around. No rubbing at all that I've noticed, which is better than I can say about the BC's since I used to rub in the front at full lock (though much of that was because the LCA bushings were getting worse and worse). My alignment (Whiteline front camber bolts, and Whiteline rear camber bushing) is -2.0 F camber, -1.8 R camber, 0.0 toe, and whatever the caster ended up at (non-adjustable). I really wanted more like -2.2/-1.2 camber, but the bolts and bushings only help so much. I haven't been able to push the car at all, but I can already tell it's got more understeer than I prefer. But it's not a track car, and I should never be at speeds where it matters on the street. At legal speeds, the car is very competent and composed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted December 8, 2013 Author Share Posted December 8, 2013 Thanks for the write-up! Glad to know I'm not out to lunch noticing the small bump harshness. I know the BCs are considered more comfortable than the Megans and I'd say the Bilsteins are better than the Megans on the small bumps, but definitely much better on big bumps. I think I may have noticed some rubbing on full right lock the other day, which is odd since I do have front spacers too. I'm going to have to take another look. It was a hard right turn at the bottom of a fairly steep ramp to a parking lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperry Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Some pics, as promised. http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/RadWgn%20Outback/Spec-B%20Suspension/IMG_0160.JPG http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/RadWgn%20Outback/Spec-B%20Suspension/IMG_0163.JPG After looking at it again, I'm even more sure I should have gone with a taller spacer in the rear. Maybe I'll order up a 1" spacer and swap it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Looks great, makes me want a Outback for playing in the Sierra Nevada's! 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperry Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Looks great, makes me want a Outback for playing in the Sierra Nevada's! There's not much playing this past weekend. The roads are about as dangerous as I've ever seen them.... snow over the top of glare ice... which just compacted into more glare ice. The temps today were 0F/27F... it's going to be sucky for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris GTO TT Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 My parents got about 3 inches of snow In Auburn and , we went up past Foresthill today to get our Christmas tree there was about 9 inches there. Made me wish I had more than just summer tires. 2003 Baja 5MT 2016 Outback 2.5i Premium w/Eyesight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperry Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 My parents got about 3 inches of snow In Auburn and , we went up past Foresthill today to get our Christmas tree there was about 9 inches there. Made me wish I had more than just summer tires. Yikes! My parents are in Colfax... I wonder how much they got. The weather reports only showed rain on the forecast, but 3" in Auburn means they must have gotten snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssbtech Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 It's been a little below freezing the past few days here and one thing I've noticed is that the Bilsteins don't feel any different in sub-zero temperatures. The Megans got even crappier when they got cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 We are looking at starting to do some major suspension work going forward. At the PRI show we saw a shock dynamiter we are thinking of purchasing... -Mike Paisan http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/145749898/original.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://www.whiteline.com.au/images/logos/perf1.jpg Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Enthusiasts since 2001. Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) |AIM: AZP Installs "Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discojon Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Is it just me or are those rear springs installed upside down? My H-Techs are the other way. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/11/a7a3a3eh.jpg http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/RadWgn%20Outback/Spec-B%20Suspension/IMG_0122.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperry Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Is it just me or are those rear springs installed upside down? My H-Techs are the other way. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/11/a7a3a3eh.jpg I installed them the way they fit into the perches. Look at my picture, the lower perch aligns perfectly with the spring. But I can't say I remember trying it both ways. All I know is that you're supposed to install helper springs on the bottom, so I guess I just put the springs in with the tighter coils on the bottom. Maybe Tein just designed their springs with the tighter coils on the other end of the spring? It shouldn't matter AFAIK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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