socal9

For those wagon owners with lowering springs. What set ups are you running, what would you recommend? Did you have to adjust your camber and if so what adjustments did you use? I have an 06 WRX Wagon that is stock as far as suspension. I just want something that is going to give a nice lowered stance while maintaining a good dailey driver quality ride. I know the best route is a coilover set up but not looking to spend that much right now (unless its an awsome deal I couldn't pass up). What set up(s) would be the best bang for my buck. I searched but just trying to get some up to date, recent feed back.

Bran808

iTrader: (58)

I'm on Tein SS-P's right now, and am pretty happy with the ride. It's firm, but like most coilovers on the market, the ride is a little bouncy. As for camber adjustments, I'm running at about -1.8 degrees front and rear (Tein front pillowball mounts with camber adjustment, and camber bolts in the rear). My car is not slammed, but it's lower than any spring drop available for the wagon. (Most of the guys locally have seen my car, so they can vouch for it) ....I'd guess about 2" drop in the front and maybe 1.75" in the rear??
In any case, I'll be changing up my suspension set up in the next few months. I'm looking for something a little more "composed" and a little less stiff. Keep in mind, I don't auto-x at all, and I drive like a senior citizen. I just wanted something comfortable. BTW, I already have a set of RCE wagon springs and Group-N front top hats, and will be ordering a set of Tokico D-SPecs soon. According to some of the vendors I've spoken to, they all say that for what I do and how I drive, I'll be more than happy. Hope this helps.
Come out to the meets on Friday if you want to go for a road test now, and then when I get my spring strut combo we could go again to see the difference. We need more wagon owners to represent at the meets.

socal9

Yeah, thanks for the feed back. If you don't mind me asking how much did your current set up and the one your getting cost. I will probably have to settle on springs for now if I want to lower. Coil overs cost more than what I can spend in one area of the car right now unless I come accross a good used set. I will definatley try to make it out to some of the meets, I just got to juggle work and the kids.

bpang1

iTrader: (25)

After a lot of research and talking to my local suspension gurus, I have come to the realization that Coilovers are OVERRATED as the end all solution for MOST PEOPLE.

Reason is that most people won't use coilovers for their intended purpose (racing). Coilovers are good for racing because you can set ride height according to how much stroke you need to keep a good contact patch on the ground. You can also corner balance your car however the cost of doing so is a bit up there and isn't worth it unless you track your car regularly. The other drawback of coilovers is the need to rebuild more frequently than regular shock/struts. Final drawback is the price (some people think they're the best because they're the most expensive).

For most people (most people don't race or take it to the track) the appeal of coilovers is in regards to being able to set ride height mostly for looks as once you get too low you lose shock/strut stroke which ends up hurting performance beyond the gains of a lowered center of gravity.

As such, I would only get coilovers if I were planning to:
1. Race competitively and often...beyond Solo II which means Club Racing, HPDE, etc.
2. Utilize the height adjustments that they make possible by both setting ride height correctly as well as corner balancing.
3. Setup the rest fo my car to make use of them properly (r-compounds, stiffen the chassis, race prep, etc.)

Since I only compete in Auto-X (will compete in 2-3 organizations this year and will run 4-8 events for each) and drive the car daily, I have decided to match a set of Tokico D-Specs with custom wound springs to make full advantage of the Tokico's stroke.

If you have any questions about suspension stuff contact these guys www.turninconcepts.com many other HIIC people can vouch for them and I now live like 15 minutes from their facility. IMHO they are right up there with Robispec as far as getting you setup for handling...plus they ship to HI for free.

808subaru

iTrader: (16)

Very well put together.


Here's my opinion. While coilovers are great for racing applications, they do not always make for a nice ride on a daily driven car. Especially with the roads here and the terrible condition they're in, I'd say go with a standard stiffer spring on stock strut or even tokico aftermarket with a set of springs.
Mated with a car with a tall tire aspect (50-55 series), you should have a comfortable ride. However, I am in that group where I care more about performance and less about ride comfort. Also, my wrx is only driven as a track car, so i appreciate all the aspects of my suspension that my daily driven car does not have (yet...haha).

tivenr

Im waiting for my parts, but so far it will be like this:
Tokico D-Specs Struts
Swift Wagon Specific Springs
Camber Bolts in the back-

Just a couple more days and ill let you know how it works out!
im PSYCHEEEEEEEEEEED!

Bran808

iTrader: (58)

When I bought my wagon last year, my friend (previous owner) already had the Teins installed. I added the rest of my suspension (sways, endlinks, lower brace, bushings, and strut bars myself........when $$$ permitted). As for my future setup, I'm not too sure on the final cost. I already got my RCE wagon springs and Group-N front strut top hats, but I still need to buy the D-Spec's and rear strut spacers.

Like Blake said, check out TIC. Just the free shipping alone is getting you a killer deal! You may also want to call/email Race Comp Engineering. They're very knowledgable about Suby suspension ane helped me out with all my questions.

FYI, my Tein SS-P's will probably be for sale after the new suspension goes in, so be on the look out if that's the route you want to go.

socal9

Thanks for all your help guys. At least right now I wouldn't need coilovers or be using them for their main purpose. I'm fine with the way it handles now, it is more for appearance reasons. I just want a happy medium. I don't want to be bouncing all over the place but I don't want to feel every pebble in the road. With most springs for wagons will I need to do camber adjustment? I like the Swifts, they seem to give a pretty even drop. I don't really want to have to change out the shocks for the set up. I just rolled over the 10,000 mark so they are still kinda new. I plan on adding other small suspension parts as $$permits, so it will not just be the drop springs.

bpang1

iTrader: (25)

Well either way you'll have to make adjustments to camber...you really should get your car aligned after changing springs/struts as to remove them you actually take the camber bolt off. You can eyeball the alignment but it is pretty stupid not to get it aligned properly.

socal9

Sorry, I should have clarified better but alignment yes absolutley. Would aftermarket camber adjustments be needed for your average drop springs on wagons? Are there springs that work well with stock struts or should I just change them all out? Thats the only reason I was really considering coilovers, by the time you change the springs, struts and add F/R camber adjustments $$ adds up to be *** much as a basic set of coilovers. Its not because I need coilovers or for "status". I have been trying to sift threw the other threads about the subject, just trying to figure out what has or hasn't worked for others and what application is best fit for what I need for my wagon. Thanks for all the info.

juicy

iTrader: (19)

That's gonna be good ride quality. I was running Swifts on the stock struts and while performance was better than stock, I wanted more. The D-Specs were one of the options I was looking at.

Somehow, I stumbled upon a great deal for coilovers and while I do not dd or autox, I wanted to be able to adjust the height. My spring rates are 8f/6r and dampening's set to 20 out of 30 all around. Ride isn't harsh at all and we have ****ty roads where I live. I am contemplating getting something stiffer, 10f/8r as my coworker has Teins with 12f/10r and I actually feel the ride is comfier.

debbid

iTrader: (9)

I have Crucial Racing springs w/ stock struts on my 2007 Wagon and they are great. I love them. On my previous car I had Tein Flexs, Helix DNAs, and v7 Spec C take-offs. The Crucials are the best balance of handling and comfort.

bpang1

iTrader: (25)

Call or email my guys at www.turninconcepts.com they will tell you the absolute final word.

subie OCD

iTrader: (11)

Not an 06 but here is my old 02 wrx wagon on prodrive springs and kyb-gr2 struts

Before


After



I was pretty happy with this setup. Body roll was reduced (not eliminated), ride comfort is very close to stock and the drop was very nice. I think this is a great setup for a daily driver and it handled great with my other susp. stuff (rear sway bar, front and rear endlinks, steering rack bushings and the 16x7 RS wheels)...Plus it looked great, especially when I got blue sideskirts

Only downside was the front suspention clunked over speed bumps....could have been an install issue though.

subie OCD

iTrader: (11)

Oh, I had a very tame alignment, only about one degree negative camber up front and 0 toe all around...cant remember the rear but I dont think you can adjust it without camber bolts. I never competed so this worked well for my needs.