Anyone using these? How are they?

k2

I am curious about these too. But from what I have heard, they are stiffer and make the car a bit more repsonsive. And....they add a nice touch of pink under the car. :D

I have all the STi goodies - lateral links & trailing arms. Quite a bit of difference if you push the car. Other than some increased stiffness, you probably won't notice anything in daily driving. And yes, the pink does attract some attention!

More pink! Just the way I like it. :D

i custom made mine arms. they are heavier but much stronger. mine work great. if i made a jig for them would anyone be interested?

The difference in the trailing/lateral links are the pillowball bushings, otherwise they are basically the same as stock. It just makes the back end more responsive overall. You can get the trailing and lateral links together from AV Sports for $700.

Ken: I want a ride if you get them :p :D

Like how much more responsive?

They reduce unsprung weight and help steering feel a little by replacing bushings. The best way to improve turn-in response other than better tires is to get stiffer bushings. The effect is more pronounced with better struts/springs too.

Originally posted by stealth-wrx
i custom made mine arms. they are heavier but much stronger. mine work great. if i made a jig for them would anyone be interested?

I'd be very interested. I doubt I would feel the weight difference, so that isn't to much of a concern for me.

Originally posted by stealth-wrx
i custom made mine arms. they are heavier but much stronger. mine work great. if i made a jig for them would anyone be interested?

Ive always said we have some of the craftiest people in the Subaru community.

Does anybody know how much lighter the STI trailing arms are compared to the stock arms? I mean for the whole rear end(left and right sides).

Arn't the STi ones adjustable? thats what I always thought and saw.

Daios (Day-ohhss)

i made mine out of chromoly so they are very strong. i would probably sell them both for $350-400

Originally posted by Daios
Arn't the STi ones adjustable? thats what I always thought and saw.

Daios (Day-ohhss)

No not at all. Bushings are the real difference. MRT makes a set of adjustable ones with stiffer urethane bushings. Cusco makes some adjustable ones (I'm 99% sure they are adjustable) with pillow ball mounts. The Cusco ones are more expensive than the STi ones.

i have seen the cusco ones. they are very very nice

STi's are the same as stock, but use pillowballs instead of standard bushings...thus, no slop, which means quicker response, better turn in and increased longevity.

There are a few STi kits, none of which are adjustable. There are 3 and 4 pillowball mount sets offered for sedan and wagon..4 mount sets include the rear sway bar endlink, 3 mount sets do not.

The Cusco, JIC, etc units are adjustable, but for castor only. Very expensive, but also very nice pieces.

Adam
www.z1auto.com

The weight difference between stock and STi trailing arms is neglibible, at best. The handling difference can best be described in a few ways (I swapped them back and forth one night, back when I had too much free time):

Stability: mid-corner, you notice the car just hunkers down
Turn-in: improved because of better tracking
Connectedness: the car feels much more connected to the road, compared to the stock trailing arms
Color: they're pink...come ON!

For the full effect, get the lateral and swaybar links along with the trailing arms. More pink, more handling goodness. A common misconception is that you can duplicate the STi links by having firmer bushings pressed into the stock links. Not so. The STi links, as mentioned by others, have pillowballs. Slick stuff.

Kevin

Originally posted by ImprezaRSDriver
Does anybody know how much lighter the STI trailing arms are compared to the stock arms? I mean for the whole rear end(left and right sides).

I just weighted it. Unless the scale is wrong, the STi ones are heavier: 3lb8.9oz stock vs 4lb3.5oz STi for one side. (and my stock had clumps of dirt and grease stuck to it too)

Originally posted by Z1 Performance
STi's are the same as stock, but use pillowballs instead of standard bushings...thus, no slop, which means quicker response, better turn in and increased longevity.

Hello,

Adam, I thought one of the major reasons you never see pillow ball bushings on OEM cars is that they wear out faster than rubber/poly/etc.? Is it just NVH and not durability?

Joel

Joel,

the 3rd gen RX7 (FD) has them in the rear AFAIK

one of my buds replaced his last year, cost around $300 bucks for 6 from a dealer

Originally posted by stealth-wrx
i made mine out of chromoly so they are very strong. i would probably sell them both for $350-400 What kind of mounting hardware would you use? Pillow ball (this is a spherical joint, correct?) Will it have grease fittings? poly (I especially like a delrin and aluminum combination. Gobal west suspenoin does these for firebirds and impalas and other US Iron, again with grease fittings)

if i were to produce them i would use zerk fittings so you could grease them.

I don't think the STi ones have pillowballs. They just have upgraded bushings. Much stiffer than stock. No PBs.

The CUSCO ones are adjustable and have PBs on everyend (besides one end of the trailing arm).

You really DO want the adjustability. See, as mr. Joel explained it to me, when you lower the car, since the stock/STi trailing arm lenght is fixed, as you go lower and lower, the rear wheel will get push further and further towards the back of the car. At some point, if you lower it enough, you will be pretty much resing the tire on the bumper. Then, your lateral links. As the wheels get pushed further towards the back, the link will be like this \\ instead of \\. Which means that the bushings will already be understress and will not have much play to one side.

With adjustable trailign arms, you can pull the wheel back where it belongs. And, pillow balls in the lateral links will give the links more function.

Hello,

Well, the tire will never reach the bumper. It will go further and further back until the trailing arm is flat (parallel to the ground), which will mess around with everything else's alignment. I think Alex meant the lateral links would go from || to \\.

As for spherical bushings, yeah, the FDs use them and the most common thing to replace in the rear suspension after 50k miles or so is those 6 bushings. And $300 is CHEAP. As I recall from my M2 Performance days, the bushings themselves were close to a grand for all 6 of them. Actually, there are 6 of one kind and 2 of another. I think the whole service was around $1500, but it's been a long while and I have a poor memory for such details (ie, I never paid, I just charged people).

Joel

the sti trailing links Defiantly have pillow balls ( spherical bearings)

hi guys.. i just got my trailing arm and lateral link, whats the most easiest way to install them, i can't even break the bolt loose.. and what about the abs line that is on the trailing arm.. thanks

Joel - I'm not really too hip on the OEM side of things (but I have a few customers who work in R&D for various auto companies - I will ask them today), but I think NVH and sheer production cost are definately the most important elements.

Alex - the STi links are most defiantely PBM's.

As for installation.....I'll tell you this, it ain't fun :)