Had a 'free' winter check at local Subaru garage today (was an open day for local owners clubs). Mechanic drove it out and parked it and said do you know about the noise at the back, and I said yes, he said it's your rear shocks starting to seize, i.e. you will need to replace.
So... having had a chat with fellow owners on the day there's a split between coilovers or shocks. I would be planning to replace all 4 on car rather than just the rear (unless this is bad advice?).
For a laugh got a quote for Subaru shocks direct replacement:
Ex Vat
Parts only
£373 EACH!!!

Advice would be most welcome - I would like decent parts but don't want to be ripped off!!

 

thats dealers price always gona pay 3 x the amount, for that price u would be better for coilovers but ride mab bit bumpy on british roads. i was thinking of getting some but at 600 plus i thought id rather get me some rota fighters and new rubber.

 

could try the market place forum on here, theres normally some floating about,but as always 2nd hand always holds a risk.????????????......

 

Coilovers all the way.

If you replace them with Subaru shocks they will only do the same again.

 

Hmm interesting, will see how this thread turns out! I suppose it's a matter of personal preference - I prefer a harder ride. Would coilovers take away the 'up and down bounce' I get on dual carriageways/motorways at speed?

 

just fitted coilovers on my bugeye last weekend and WOW what a difference.
totally transformed the car, feels tight,grounded no roll or wollowing in corners
absolutly 100% worth it,it just wished i done it earlier..go for it
some quite good packages on ebay mate.

 

What brand are yours? cheers

 

yes they Would take away the 'up and down bounce' I get on dual carriageways/motorways at speed

you can stiffen the spring to be hard or soft and set the ride height to be the same or lower tha
n standard.

 

rokkor coilovers..adjustable for height,spring stiffness and fronts are camber adjustable.

waht car are you wanting them for?

 

A jdm bug wrx sti

 

i see you have a 2001 bugeye so you will need 5x100 fittment
depends on what you want tio spend but check ouy ebay for some decent deals
item.400207528129

item.300792252839
just do some browsing and go with what you can afford.

 

what type of budget do you have

 

Cheers for that mate, will have a nosey, much appreciated! Already added on to the list of things car kinda needs, looking at almost a grand for 3 things lol :/

 

Just my opinion
Decent set of Shocks are better than cheap coilovers. I made that mistake before and got a cheap set of coilovers and it almost ruined the car for ride quality For the money I could have had a much better setup with quality shocks n springs for about the same money. Just do a little reseach before you buy

 

A lot of Subaru owners are now running BC Racing BR Series Coilovers which tells you something. You can get Subaru specialists like Scooby World who supply them and will also fit them and set them up for you.
My Spec C shocks are well shot and will be getting BC Racing BR series when funs allow.

Stay well clear of the cheap coilovers as said. There cheap for a reason.

Hope you get sorted mate.

 

Well umm my husband has the semi open chequebook but we obviously want to get the best quality for the best price without going mental - plus the mway bounce he hates and I don't like cos I feel I should be wearing a sports bra!!!

I have good friends who are experienced in fitting any suspension mods so it is a case of finding the best solution - the car is treated very well, not a daily drive and don't normally drive it hard so I don't want the latest and greatest.

 

Seen those come up a few times on searches, and scoobyworld are doing a good deal on those at the moment!

 

They are very good. The fault you have is famous in the impreza world and as I said most owners choose BC to upgrade too.
You can adjust the ride hight your self along with the damping so you can set them to what you want.

 

Had BC coilovers for 3 years now on my 2003sti, cannot fault them. Much better than the subaru/kyb units.

 

Just a thought, you can have a grease nipple fitted to your existing shocks, then they get packed with grease and the knocking is gone.

They knock because of something to do with the type of grease used and it goes hard apparently.

You could also have a new set of springs that are slightly stiffer and maybe a bit lower.

Personally i don't like coilovers on a road car way too stiff, and jolt you about for the most part, especially on uk roads.

 

you can yes, theres a very good video guide on youtube, will try find the link

 

Interesting you say about type of grease as the mechanic said they are seizing, I presume cos they are going hard? Also as mentioned earlier in thread the coilovers presumably get rid of the very very annoying 'bouncing' at high speed, so it may kill 2 birds with 1 stone

 

I have got BCs on a 2004 wrx. They are excellent and really good value for money.

 

Get coilovers and you will need more than a sports bra to keep your bits in place.

Just bare in mind that your shocks are not working properly at the moment, so that bounce as you call it will be much worse with coilovers.

But hey what do i care, your money, your ****, your choice.

 

coilovers all the way .. what a load of ****.... It all depends what you use your car for , coilovers ment to be for a track use as they have more udjustable options. proper coilovers which will give you same ride quality as sti shocks and be good on a track cost a bit more than 700 quid. So i sugest you do your home work , get an idea what you need from a car and have a go. Decent shocks with Eibach springs and proper geometry settings can make a very capable car. Techical/suspension section would be worth lookinv at as well.

 

Finally someone else that knows what they are talking about.

 

I have been told

 

Repacked mine once, but the knocking came back. The knocking btw is the dry top bush binding up and after a while it wears out giving excessive play. New grease is never going to repair that damaged bush, and filling with grease is at best a temp fix if the bush is worn as mine where.

 

Can I trust scoobyworld advice to only replace the rear shocks only as the front ones rarely go? If so I'll be taking a pair of their KYBs...

 

Hi there

Depends on the for what car will be used.Many people opted for BC or Racing Logic on their cars

If you are looking just for replacing yours shocks,KYB will be cheapest option.

Second good option is go with KYB AGX with good springs(Eibach or Swift springs),many people opted too for Bilstein fixed shocks(P1 or others have them as stock) or Tokico(very popular in USA)


Jura