Boondoggle was last weekend... Hahaha.

 

G,
are you saying only about $900 bucks for the whole set-up?!?
I just got my tax return man!!!
I think I may be spending a Saturday or Sunday at your pad soon!

And, oh yeah, congratulations Kevin, bringing the chick magnet out to Great America?

 

Hey,

what's your name? I'll try to match a face. Lol. I see and meet so many people, but I will make an effort to remember!

I'd recommend about what I'm running, 400lb to 550lb. The 27 will work well, I gave my 27mm to Adrian Krosnick, so of you want to see it, check it out.

Front bar is fairly straight so any changes you make there have a greater effect, I find the 21mm bar to be enough. It makes the steering better in transisions but does give a little more push in sweepers. Bigger will just make you push more.

But with everything, it's all trial and error and personal preferences.

 

Well, $600 for the inserts, and $400 for the gc setup (straight from GC). Plus tax and shipping, looking at about 1150. If you have stock struts then great, but other wise have to find those as well.

 

Don't forget, you can always sell your tokico/sti setup. It's highly sought after by people on nasioc. I bet you could get over $400 for it.

 

some questions

i noticed some noise today, and i think it was the spring unseating on its perch(or reseating depending on how you look at it). i was making a sharp turn over some uneven dirt. i think i maxed my travel for a sec, and then the spring reseated. now y'all are talking about tender springs. i think i need them both front and rear if i have enough down travel on the adjustment sleeves. is everyone running tenders with this set up?

when i installed the rears, i had about 3-4" of empty space due to the 7" springs. now i dont jump my sti, but the roads up here (read: parking spots, nasty steep entry ways) i *could* in theory droop so much that a spring comes loose.

gagan, thoughts?

and for those waiting to get this set up, dont. it is nothing like the craptastics. it might take some fiddling with and some elbow grease, but man is it worth it.

i am going to have to try the reverse spring thing. thanks aaron for the heads up on the GD.

and i STILL cant get over how comfy i am with 550/400 spring rates.....

josh

 

It's not the spring coming loose, it's the spring rotating on the perch. When you steer the wheel the bottom of the strut twists, and the spring tries to follow smoothly, but binds at certain points. I've seen some cone upper perches that have little roller bearings on them, so that the spring can move with the strut freely. it's kinda sounds like a clunk and a pop at the same time. Normal

You verify by cranking it lock to lock, and you should hear distinctly each way.

With the spring, you won't unseat it unless you have both wheels off the air, and several inches. If it's just one, like going into a steep drive way, your swaybar will lift one wheel, and push the other down. No worrys.

 

yep. i have those bearings top and bottom, and i thinkthat is what ia m hearing. there is also more noise simply due to the allow strut tops in front. i am going to jack it up tnight and check all my bolt tightness.

just getting used to the noises i guess....

josh

 

amd gagan

isnt it funny how history repeats itself? i remember a few of us doing this back in '99.

and are there any NEWER housings for these struts? you made it sound like mine were old....

josh

 

Nope, your fronts are Koni steel housings. They make anodized aluminum ones now, still red. Your rears are how it's typically done, just like me, OE struts that are cut. That's the way it's been done for years

 

Congrats are in order for what? Hehe.

 

Thanks Gagan and Josh. I've been working towards Koni's + Swift spec R + 04 rear tops in my 02 housings as a daily drive setup that will replace my old COs in June.

Gagan can you compare the Konis to your old STi Pinks? You got those pinks about the time I got my COs and I remember riding in your car then and liking the ride. Obv. the Konis plus your higher rates are better for your autocrossing, but for normal driving, you like the konis better or worse or about the same as your old setup?

There are times I'm ready to throw my COs at a wall, I just want something that's reasonable in a corner and doesn't make me look like I'm on cut springs when I hit the wrong portion of freeway. I had focused too much on spring rates before (220F / 180R, I thought low spring rates was what I wanted for a nice ride). This time I focused on the struts themselves (koni), and springs were just something decent that maintains decent ride height for a basically stock suspension geometry (RCE black or Swift R-spec, found a set of Swift used for cheap so picked those up already). I was initially worried about the higher rates of the Swift spec R (285F / 275R) but posts like these help allay my fears.

 

Those STi struts are nothing compared to the 8610s. With the 275lb rates you are thinking about, you will love your car.

Only advice I have for a GD owner is to drill a bigger hole below, so that the koni's sit as low as possible. The GDs run into shock travel issues quick in the front. Also, I recommend 6" springs, as 7" springs might be too tall.

You should drive my car sometime. You will be shocked how mannered it is at 400lb/550lb.

 

Also, Linear rates are much better than progressive. Progressive springs never stop moving, ever... they are just too soft on the low end, and are getting beat around. Linear springs only move as much as they need, no more. They ride much better than oem style springs. Progressive springs also, for this reason, work the shock more than needed as well. instead of like 1/4" to 1/2" movements on a smooth road, it's like 1/2" to 2" movements.

 

I was definitely planning on the larger hole, plus nut extender for the Konis to give a little extra bump travel.

So much going on around the house, I don't have as much time as I used to have for car stuff (or as much spare cash), but I'll get my housings apart in the coming months. My wife is going to PI in June with my daughter and half of her family. That will give me some time to get "the rest" of my mods together and installed.

Koni + Spec-R + 04 GroupN rear (minus DMS 40 minus 02 groupN rear)
Process West TMIC
All 4 shifter bushing upgrades
GroupN Engine & Tranny mounts
Rear diff bushings & tranny crossmember bushings

The car might feel a bit different after all that.