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Jacobpockros's 2001 Legacy GT Limited Sedan 5-Speed thread


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If the endlinks are failing, you'll notice a clunking/clanking noise. Stock endlinks are pretty capable, nothing like the hard-rubberish plastic "mush" that was on the earlier generation Subarus.

 

That said, you are now lowered, so your stock endlinks are putting preload on your swaybar which means that it doesn't take much in the way of lean to cause a reaction the other way, sooner than you need/want. So it definitely impacts the effectiveness of the SB, and if you're canyon-carving, or hitting the on-ramp sweepers, you'll notice it immediately.

 

If these truly are the same as the 4th Gen Legacys, then I'd get something like the rear KartBoy SB endlinks for the 4th gens. Perfect fit and immediately noticeable impact - in a good way. That and the rear SB brace, really transformed the rear of my car.

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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That looks like a great upgrade! Thanks for letting me know about that. Unfortunatly, endlinks are not in my budget for this car right now. I'm only upgrading the bare bone parts for now. Did you notice a big difference with them in?

 

Huge difference. Probably the single biggest performing bang for your buck upgrade you can do to this car. Especially since you're ride height is lower a stiffer and more capable end link is a must. I would consider it part of the bare bones of your car, without them you have no sway bar.

 

Cheers.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...

Update:

 

 

Been a LONG time since I updated this thread!

 

 

Did all of the following a while back (please bare with me that these are iPhone pictures):

 

 

 

Changed out the Tranny and Diff fluid using the same kind of Mobil gear oil that Subaru dealerships use:

 

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Replaced my worn out Front Rear Lower Control Arm Bushings with brand new OEM Subaru ones:

 

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Replaced my worn out Steering Rack Boots with brand new OEM Subaru ones:

 

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Went to some car meets:

 

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Got a no-name Strut Bar made for a 1G Impreza RS that fits my car (which is just going to be temporary until I'm ready to buy a Whiteline Strut Bar):

 

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I know a girl that is a professional drifter and she is sponsored by Drag Wheels. These wheels normally cost $600 for all 4. She was able to give me her sponsor discount, so I ended up only having to pay $350 for all 4 brand new rims! The specs are 17x8 +47 offset. I also bought 4 new 205/50/17 Sumitomo HTR III Tires (they are in the "Extreme Performance Summer Tire" category which means they are in the highest performance category for tires that you can use for full street driving):

 

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I really wanted my Wheel Caps to have a Subaru Logo on them for a factory-inspired look, so I order 4 custom-made Wheel Cap stick-on logos from eBay (they look real believe it or not). The Drag Wheel Caps that came with my rims needed the "Drag" logos to be sheered off to allow a smooth mounting point for the new Subaru Logos, so i went to work:

 

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The final result:

 

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*If Lowering a Third Generation Subaru Legacy on 17 inch wheels, 17x8 +47 Rims with 215/50/17 Tires is the WIDEST setup you can go WITHOUT having to roll your fenders. I know this because when the suspension is fully compressed, I BARELY clear my unrolled fenders without rubbing. My 10+ hours of research in this wheel & tire size setup payed off:

 

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Tomorrow I pick up a new mod which will be replacing an existing mod on my car. I will also hopefully be getting this car professionally detailed from top to bottom within the next few months if all goes accordingly. The paint and clear coat on this car is all there but its in desperate need of a professional paint correction (which will restore the existing paint to a mirror-like finish).

 

Tune in for more updates soon.

 

- Jake

Edited by Jacobpockros
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Nice and clean! I'll buy the 1g Prez STB when you sell it, they all do the same thing anyhow.

 

Thank you. I'll let you know when I'm ready to sell the Strut Bar. It's a great bar, but I want to get a Whiteline Bar since that is the brand of my Sway Bars. When I'm ready to sell it, you will be first in line.

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Looks great, clean and well done. Stance looks perfect

 

Thank you! However, my stance has changed since Sunday. It sits a little higher now but still looks somewhat low. Will update with pictures next weekend hopefully.

Edited by Jacobpockros
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I love the white on white! Just please don't ditch the snowflakes :D

 

The original snowflakes are in storage and will stay with me as long as I own the car. However, I thought the snowflakes looked awful on this car. If they had a much lower offset and came in gold like STI wheels do I think I would have liked them much more. All just my personal preference of course.

 

- Jake

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update:

 

 

Sold my King springs and got a new set of springs. These are now the third set of lowering springs I’ve put on my Sedan. After many hours of research, I came across some pictures of a BE Sedan in Ireland running Tanabe DF210 springs. The member running them was the only person on the internet I found that was using them. After messaging him to get some information about them, I decided to call Tanabe and give them the part number so I could place an order. I was then informed that they were a “special order” part and that they would have to be shipped straight from Japan as they do not sell them in the US. After a 2 month-long boat ride from Japan, they finally got here:

 

 

 

 

 

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After installing the springs, I found what I was expecting to find, a rear end that was much lower than the front:

 

 

 

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I knew the rear was going to be lower than the front because I noticed it from the photos of the car in Ireland that was running them. Luckily, I had a solution already planned out. After I installed them I was able to figure out approximately how much lift I would need in the back to match the front. I contacted Shane at Paranoidfabrications.com who sells Saggy butt spacers for the 3G and 4G Legacy. I purchased the ¼” Rear Spacers from him as well as some new OEM rear spring seats from a member on this forum. Took the Rear Strut/Spring assembly back off and installed them:

 

 

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Here is the front assembly. Nothing fancy was done on the fronts except the new springs of course:

 

 

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The final result of the Rear 1/4" Spacers. Before and After:

 

 

 

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That's all for now! :)

 

 

- Jake

Edited by Jacobpockros
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^ Thank you! I love having a unique setup but if anyone else with a sedan wants to copy my setup, I encourage you to do so. Anyone who wants to try to piece it together can send me a PM. I've turned into the biggest lowering spring whore in the BE world. Custom coilovers would be interesting to dig into but I personally don't see the $1200+ price tag economical for what my daily is worth.
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  • 1 month later...

Update:

 

 

Got a paint correction done! (A paint correction is when your car gets all those swirl marks buffed out that show up when hit with sunlight). Got the interior detailed as well. The picture does not do the car justice for the amount of shine the paint actually has now.

 

 

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- Jake

Edited by Jacobpockros
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  • 2 years later...

Been awhile since I updated this. I've since swapped out my Tanabe springs to a set of JDM Tein S-Tech's. These can only be ordered by calling a Tein Distributer in the U.S. and giving them the part number so they can import them. Takes around 3 months. Car sits a little bit higher than before but I like the ride quality and will most likely not swap out lowering springs again. Here are some pictures:

 

 

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As with nearly all JDM Legacy springs, these had a saggy butt look to them, so I swapped in some 1/2" saggy butt spacers with extended studs. After still having a saggy butt look, I swapped in yet another set of saggy butt spacers... this time I went with 3/4" Paranoid Fabrication Spacers with custom extended studs. Still not satisfied, I swapped them out again for the 1" Paranoid Fabrication Spacers. This is how the car finally sits. Likely won't change much else with the suspension now that it's where I want it:

 

 

35097716463_0fce29c2fb_b.jpg

Edited by Jacobpockros
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Very nice BE.

 

Thanks! Sitting at 138k miles now. Just changed out the exhaust manifold gaskets the other day as well as an oil change and tranny fluid swap. Have a couple more mods planned for it soon and will try to update the thread more often. Car is idling rough and often goes into failsafe mode. Dealership told me that I had an exhaust manifold leak (which I just addressed) and that I have tight valves that need to be adjusted. Going to get the valves done next and see if it's still acting up.

Edited by Jacobpockros
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