I need some help from anybody clued up on suspension goings on.... I have an '05 WRX Wagon and I have had the springs changed on towards the end of last year for Whiteline control springs, but I think I have the first signs of the dreaded knocking strut on the front nearside.

So my question is, rather than throw good money after bad, with more struts etc, I was possibly looking towards changing to coilovers to get rid of the problem, but I really dont want a crashy, rock hard ride as I cover about 300miles a week and the roads around hear could be better... Is such a thing possible??? or is there a better solution.... which does not involve selling the car!

Thanks in advance.

Ian

 

IMHO and experience:

You CAN have the benefits of coil-overs, and a nice ride, and drive all weathers safely and predicably.

You MUST select the right supplier with the right product and knowledge to give you just what you want.

You will find that in AST's and Curtis at Powerstation.

He is very very user friendly and has a wealth of experience to guide you carefully through it all.

Another outfit I would say are good, but I have no real experience of is Mocom in south east England.

Beware though: you may not rid the car of the noises.

There are cheaper solutions and KW systems seems to do well with users on here. The trick is to get the right spring rates and to have the dampers capable of being adjustable to match them.

I know AST's can do this. I am on my second set having up-graded from their simple system to their most complex!

Give Curtis a ring on his direct line (call Powerstation and their auto switchboard will take you there) and if you wish, say '911' sent you.

 

I had coilovers on my V6 golf, Never again lol the ride was horrible crashing out from no play in the suspension coils, every bump going through the car creating more and more creaks every week. But I think you get what you pay for with coilovers dont go cheap like I did. And try go in a subaru at a meet or somin with coilovers to see if you like it. From what I can tell coilovers are mainly for show to get the car that perfect height or big drop at the sacrifice of some handling and comfort.

 

I had FK coilovers on my mk4 Golf and they were not to bad even with 17" low profile tyres.

The jap shocks seem very stiff and not really suited to our roads. The ones on my MX5 had to be binned they were that stiff.

I have just bought some Leda ones and spent some time reading 911's old posts to find the best spring rate. Do a search there is pleny of info on here.

 

Thanks for the replies, I have used Mocom before, and found them to be very good, so I may have to see what they can do, as Powerstation are a long way off for me.. but I supose I could make a weekend of it!?

911, from bits I have read on here, you seem to do a lot of hill climbing etc? (Tell me if I am wrong), do you use your car on the road as well, or is it just for the track?, just trying to get my head round this at the moment, as it is potentially a lot of money and I really dont know if I am taking the right route, there seem to be a lot of people on here swapping struts at an alarming rate, so that is my main reason for looking at coilovers, the car will probably not see a track. do you think it is worth the outlay? (Difficult question I know....)
Thanks again..

 

I've got a set of Unused KW Variant 1's still in the box if your interested M8. None adjusttable but a superb upgrade on the standard suspension

 

Ur be creaking and bumping out those fillings in no time Have you considerd the ppp suspension upgrade? from looking at other ppl's pictures with ppp suspension it lowers the car plenty enough and still keeps the handling and comfort to a high!!

 

PPP Does'nt include a suspension upgrade M8. Prodrive do make Springs that can be fitted but it was never part of the PPP Package. The results would be v similiar to the Whiteline spring kit and would'nt help with the creaking rear strut

 

Sorry i assumed it came in the prodrive performance pack, as they advertise it on subaru with all the prodrive stuff.

 

Are you sure that noise is coming from the struts?

I have control springs on my 07 Wagon and get a clonking noise going over uneven surfaces.

Have a look here Clonking Lowering Springs - Subaru Impreza Drivers Club

 

Jimmy321 - What can I say, 1st post and I think you have hit the nail on the head there... maybe it could just be the spring as it is front nearside & it is at low speeds and on uneven surfaces.. I will have a look at it in the morning and report any findings.... Thanks

Ian

 

AST's will suit you mate.
I originally had the Prodrive springs fitted but one of the rear struts started to knock and I decided to upgrade rather than keep replacing.

The AST's can be set within seconds to suit the conditions. If I ever have to use mine for work I'll turn them to the softest setting. Still handles ok but is so compliant - even the suspension on my 306 HDI is stiffer (seriously).

If I'm off for a run to the Lakes or similar I'll have a play with them and go for a harder setting.

Graham (911) hit the nail on the head. I got my set up from Powerstation on a group buy and believe me its money well spent. My perceptions of coilovers was changed forever!

 

PLEASE:

All you have to do is to get the right parts that match!
Dead easy, no excuses for rough cr@ppy rides etc that will only make the car SLOWER as it is so hard to drive it!!

My Sti V3 is road legal and have more suspension competition orientated mods than most on here or 22B site. It is driven 3000 miles a year all over the Midlands to hillclimbs and back.

I do not change ANY of the settings between road or race, just the road tyres to real slicks.

It goes well with 370 bhp, but does it ever drive straight with very little understeer that most dream of having.
I've spent 5 years getting this lot right.

Buy AST's, the cheap ones are great, get the right springs on and that will be that. Your wife/girlfriend/mistress/granny will not notice if done right.

Some on here have driven my car on a sprint track and have been astonished at the chassis' composeure and speed.

 

Thanks all for the replies, just to keep you informed, I took the car to my trusty mechanic this morning, and he confirmed it is the front nearside strut rather than the springs or the rear struts at fault, so at least I know what it is for sure now. So plan is to get this one replaced for now, then give Powerstation a call (when Curtis is back) to get it all sorted out in the long run. Which will give me the chance to save the money for it all......

Cheers
Ian

 

Graham (911) is offering you some good advise fella.

Cheap coilovers can be hard and unuseable on the road. This is due to them being poorly valved and having to run massive spring rates to compensate. If the coilovers are setup correctly there is no reason whatsoever why they can be as compliant as OEM dampers.

Suspension has to move and move correctly for it to work correctly... Suspension has to control the car, good suspension systems can do this and maintain good compliance if setup correctly.

If you say you have been to Mocom and have ben happy with their service, why not ask Zak for a ride out in his Moton equiped JDM sti and see what a real suspension setup is like

 

I put prodrive lowering springs on my 06sti.
Sadly this proved to be a waste of money, as I later went for the AST type 25 package.
This proved to give a much softer ride and improved the handling out of sight .
It provides much improved feedback and front end grip.
Late braking into corners and early acceleration (without understeer) out of them were two of the first things noted on the drive home.
Wet B roads are where this combo shows the largest benifit for logical reasons.
On the downside this will cost over 1500 notes however.

 

You do get what you pay for, but there is an important 'extra' in there too.

Advice and experienced hands of the supplier.

The last bit is so important to the final package.

Curtis from Powerstation came to a real sprint track with 5 cars, one mine, (all but one AST equiped) and helped dial-in the suspension. We all bunged him a £20 note for his trouble, but how many specialists would do that?
Day out of the paying workshop and a 2 hour drive there and back to the track.

Graham.

 

Speak to Zak @ Mocom for no bull$hit advice. He will also be able to supply you with what you need and set it all up.

I have KW V3 on mine and they are fab on the road and very well made.

 

I have left a msg for Zak @ Mocom, as I know I am in safe hands there, and on his website he seems to list the KW variant 3's, and when Curtis is back at Powerstation I will also give him a call to sound him out, as there seems to be lots of happy folk running AST's (thanks 911), then I suppose it will just come down to which is better..... KW Variant 3 or AST? (answers on a postcard to..... )

 

Over the very many years I've messed with cars (I am old!) I have found that if you need or find a specialist whom you are comfortable with, who understands your needs and who you can trust, stick with them!

If Zak does those things for you get back there!

Powerstation do that for me on suspension, and API for running gear when I get stumped.

 

Dont mean to hijack this thread, but could I ask peoples opinions on tein coilovers? Super streets are very reasonable. A mate of mine has a set on his nissan s13 and the ride doesnt seem to hard at all! I am certainly considering a set for my 96 WRX. I figured jap suspension would be best for a jap car!

 

Would not be my choice for reasons I've given above. Does not mean the Teins are not good.
Given them a try if you are happy.

 

Graham on a road car how long would you expect a decent-ish say £800-1k`s worth of coilovers to last as generally i get the impression they dont last nowhere near as long as normal struts and if i`m spending that money would be nice to know.

 

I think it depends on the road quality a lot.

Crash over pot holes on stiffer settings and everything get a jolt.

I would say they are every bit as good as OEM, and on the ones with a large piston shaft. possibly better as the piston shafts don't bend so much.

I doubt you will find many at £1000 with 40mm dia shafts, but most are stock size at that price. You could say the damping will last for a long time as you can keep on adjusting them a bit to compensate a little, but the seals should be as good as OEM.

My first set of Coil-overs were terrible on action and reliability, they lasted a full 3000 miles!

I then went to AST one way basic units which were really good and then to AST 3 way mega spec (about £2K's worth) which have done about 9K so far and 50 race runs.

The AST's can be re-built (= clean/new seals/re-assemble/re gas/ re-fit)
These are the rough 1st units i had, and the great AST 'One-ways' (as fitted to the Type 25 Impreza)

And these are the mega 3 way AST racing units on my car:


Note the difference in the piston rod diameters!

 

 

exe-tc are the ones to get for proper ride quality and proper damping. Superb quality and excellent damping control rather than harsh spring rates found in the others.

 

I wouldnt want to spend more than £1000 if im honest as i dont consider my car worth spending the money on if i dont buy another classic after, and to be fair the chances are slim.

Cheers for the clear info and pic`s graham will bear it in mind for future cars-teins would have been my choice if i were getting any, though its more of a price/value for money decision than actually having been in a car with them on to say yer i like them-Hate choosing suspension its always a gamble,wont be yet anyway but will be this yr.

 

Good luck with it!

Graham.

 

i have eibach pro street s coilovers fitted to a 98 classic and find them really compliant not harsh and choppy at all. the bodies are made by kw and the springing is eibach .bodies are stainless so the dont rust .mine were 645+vat.

well worth considering

 

I spoke to Zak, and good advice again as usual , the KW V3 coilovers are a great bit of kit, but possibly a bit overkill for my needs, as like I said its probably not going to see a track. He mentioned KYB AGX struts and to retain my Whiteline springs etc, as it will not break the bank (as much) and get rid of the OE struts, and provide some adjustability so thats another option to think about.....