methodical

ok ive been looking into dropping my wagon for awhile. i want to do this for increased handling, i dont really care that much about looks. however i dont want too much of a drop since i go to the snow quite often. i notice the eibach springs seem to be the only ones that give the same drop equally front and back. but i am not too sure i want to drop it that much, i am only looking to drop it an inch or less, preferrably. im looking for info on other springs as well such as prodrives, sti pinks, teins, etc. thanks.

escaflowne

iTrader: (6)

oh. well, i was going to tell you to go with the eibachs. Teins drop more than the eibachs. the S-techs are a DROP. more than 1.3 inches in the front. Prodrives and pinks might be a good choice. Also, check out Perrin...

If you're willing to pay for prodrive springs and stuff, i suggest that you change something else as well. shocks, struts.. from my experience, springs don't make THAT big of a difference.

methodical

oh well i forgot to mention that along with the springs i will be getting kyb agx shocks as well. ive been looking into prodrives and sti pinks for awhile. however the only thing holding me back from making the purchase is how much of a drop they have on the wagon. i would prefer and overall drop and not say 1 in the front and 1.4 in the back for example.

escaflowne

iTrader: (6)

hmm. the back is lower to begin with. do you want the front of your car to point up?

i think most, if not all springs lower the front more than the rear.

Danno_man

i have H-Techs and they work well with the stock struts on my '04 wagon. i've had them on for almost 2 months now. i wouldn't hesitate to do it again. along with the 20mm RSB handling is greatly improved. they are firmer w/o being harsh and they are not bouncy at all. the front came down ~1.75" and the rear about .75"

methodical

i would prefer if the front didnt point up too noticably...what are the brand of the springs in the picture of the blue wagon and were the made for the wagon or for the sedan because it looks good.

Danno_man

my wagon?
they are TEIN H-tech springs. they are the same as the sedan springs (229f/196r)
that pic was right when i put them on.

here's a before pic:



here's pics of the front wheel well gap
before:


after:

methodical

hmmm that looks like a pretty hefty drop...that definitly looks like more than 1 inch...how much is it exactly?

blue5spdwrxwgn

I recently put Prodrive springs on my wagon. The handling improvement is significant, but so is the ride degradation. Not so much due to the increased ride rates but more from the recuced front ride travel, I frequently get jounce bumper crash through where I would sail through smoothly with the stock springs. Here in Metro Detroit, there are plenty of roads either in need of repair or being worked on. Maybe the pink STI springs would be better, it sounds like they offer increased rates while maintaining most of the stock trim height. I wish springs were available in a selection of rates and check loads to choose from.

Danno_man

about 1.75" in the front and .75" in the rear

here's a spring chart that i used to help make my decision:
http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/t...ng/spring.html

methodical

did you change the shocks as well as the springs? plus i would think it would be expected that the car would have as much clearance over road obstacles since it was lower to the ground, when a car is lower comfort is sacrificed if i understand correctly...but overall are you happy with the prodrives on your wagon? and how much did it lower it by?

blue5spdwrxwgn

I kept the factory dampers. With the original springs the ride had a heavily damped quality, where now that quality largely is gone. Not a big surprise since the new stiffer springs, when mated with the original dampers, results in a lower % critical damping. In order to regain the same % critical ride quality in the wheelhop frequency range, higher rate dampers would be needed. Higher rate dampers would also reduce the crash through so that may be my next step, but I'm always leary of aftermarket damper tuning. They really don't prioritize ride quality for replacement dampers. I also notice a greater tendency toward pitch oscillation, which I believe is aggravated by the all wheel drive system and is something that Subaru probably worked hard to tune out by carefully matching the damping curve to the pitch natural frequency.

Am I totally happy? no
If doing it again would I choose the Prodrive springs? no, I'd look for something with similar or slightly lower rates with less trim height loss, especially in the front where the crashthrough is more pronounced.
Is the handling improved? absolutely

methodical

thanks blue for the awesome post it definitly helps! although i still can decide what springs i want...im sorry but did you post how much it lowered your car by?

blue5spdwrxwgn

.......more than I wanted. I didn't measure it.

big sky

iTrader: (4)

Unfortunately most outfits aren't making wagon specific springs- even STi. The pinks (v7) are listed as wagon and sedan, unfortunately it looks to be more designend for the sedan. The advertised drop is 20mm f/r, which closely approximates what the sedan is getting. On the wagon it's a different story- you'll get very close to the advertised 20mm drop in front, but almost 2.5 times that in the rear! Several guys are reporting drops in the 45- 48mm range in the rear. This tells me that while listed as dual purpose springs, they were made w/ the sedan in mind. 48mm drop in the rear will definitely impact rubbing issues for those (like me) who are running 225 width tires.

I'd be curious to see how the advertised drop of the Prodrive springs do the wagon.

At this point, I'm sticking w/ GGB springs (and struts) as those for certain have been devolped w/ the wagon in mind.

big sky