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Coil Overs

Postby HMR81 » Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:27 pm

Hi, Im looking at replacing my suspension with coilovers and was wondering if anyone had views on which ones are best for the car
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby Gary75 » Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:43 pm

HMR81 wrote:Hi, Im looking at replacing my suspension with coilovers and was wondering if anyone had views on which ones are best for the car


I had exe-tc fitted to mine, I didn't track the car so can't comment what the differences from track to road would have been but I can say the two years road use I had was very unpleasant, ride, handling we're not very good. The ride was to firm even on the softest setting, the handling at high speed didn't inspire confidence. I had the suspension rebuilt and had the geometry settings done twice at two very reputable companies but still the car was very unstable or twitchy at speed.

I would save your money and stick with the standard suspension, if you looking for better handling then add a large 22mm rear anti roll bar.

I fitted the stock suspension back onto the car, the handling and ride quality are far better, I don't need to take Imodium now after taking fast corners :D
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby HMR81 » Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:46 pm

to be honest, im not happy with the stock suspension hence the change. my rear shocks are worn and i am not fitting the sub standard OE thats for sure lol.


Thanks anyway
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby Gary75 » Mon Oct 28, 2013 5:08 pm

HMR81 wrote:to be honest, im not happy with the stock suspension hence the change. my rear shocks are worn and i am not fitting the sub standard OE thats for sure lol.


Thanks anyway


Good luck then.... As for sub standard oe units, I can assure you the £2400 upgrade spent was not worth it... The £600 pound rebuild 3 years later... Shall I go.........
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby Micktype WR1 » Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:40 pm

Hi HMR81.
Having read this thread, I wondered if you'd considered having the original shocks stripped and rebuilt. By replacing the horrid waxy grease with lithium grease as per the workshop manual I gave to Central Subaru in Willenhall, he's now done a few rebuilds. If he has a set in stock, he'll take your old ones and rebuild those for the next customer.
Give Daz a ring, mention my name ------01902 636286. He's at Ann Street, Willenhall. WV13 1EN. Well respected Subaru specialist. He does everything himself.
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby Megaman » Tue Oct 29, 2013 11:26 pm

I swapped my oem shockers for BC BR Racing Coilovers. Very cheap, transform the car and are adjustable. I think for the price of one oem strut from subaru you get a full set of BC's. I raised the BC standard ride height to normal wr1 height to ensure no speed hump trouble but they have been very good.
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby HMR81 » Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:18 am

Gary75 i want having a go mate, im just saying i prefer coil overs and have had them on my other scooby, my sapphire cosworth and the odd rallycross car ive had and i just prefer them. I know they are rock hard but everyone has their own preference.

I probably should have also said that i'll do one or two hillclimb/sprint events in a year(well summer!) just for fun, nothing serious.

Thanks for the advice guys, all appreciated. I think im going to go fro the Gaz Gold coilovers and keep the same ride height and rake angle as factory setup
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby Megaman » Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:13 pm

There is a plus side to buying OE struts from a main dealer and that is they tend to warrant them for 3yrs. So whilst its 500-600 per strut you have peace of mind knowing they will swap them out if they go wrong. The problem I found when doing that is that the car was forever in the garage. Something like every 3-4 months one or the other rear ones would go down tot he number of speed humps on my daily commute that i dont drive fast over.

OE does the job but coilovers such as the BC's can be a cheap way out and touch wood mine have survived several years of abuse without problem. Other brands like Tein Super Street with the fancy EDFC gadget looked good but when i test drove a car with these fitted I found them massively over damped. So they would be perfect on track and flat roads. But up north where we have lots of B roads with pot holes and bumps all over the place, the car was literally taking off at times on simple B road jaunt. Could see the car taking off and ending up in a tree so went for the softer more comparable to OE BC's instead.

Suggest you get a ride in a car with the shockers on you are looking to get before making your choice. Too stiff track focussed suspension can be a pain to live with depending on where you are located! :)
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Re: Coil Overs

Postby HMR81 » Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:20 pm

Yes absolutely they can be a nightmare. As the ones im looking at are fully adjustable, im going to take the damping down a fraction and alter the rebound slightly which should give me the desired effect.
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