sooby s

hello all,

still a bit new here, and i know i could just do some searching (which i have been), but i wanted to know what people have gone with for there suspension set ups for 08+ wrx/stis. especially given the kinds of crappy streets we have and all that, what brands and set ups have you guys gone through?

if you don't mind, if you could also provide which vendor you went through.

thanks!

STi-LLlegal

iTrader: (6)

I'm on BC coilovers 8k front and rear with Whiteline 22mm front and 20mm rear sway bars. Setup is surprisingly good for dd'ing. It's definitely a lot stiffer than oem, but definitely liveable. One downside to stiff swaybars and short stroke coilovers is that you 3-wheel everywhere.

I get everything from cygnusperformance.com. Hands down the best vendor I've dealt with over the years.

Other options are (all from racecompengineering.com):
RCE yellows + Bilstein shocks (setup I should've gone for)
RCE Tarmac 2s ($$$)
KW V1/V3 (also $$$)

Hoofus

8k?
From what I've "read" 8k is damn near spine jarring.
I've been recommended to go with 4-5.5K rears and 5K fronts.
I haven't bought a coil-over setup so I'm just regurgitating what I've been advised.

sneezerboi

iTrader: (9)

It all depends on what your goal is with going with an aftermarket setup. Do you want just a simple drop while maintaining decent levels of comfort? Or are you thinking that maybe you'll want some spirited driving and perhaps even some competitive action? There is a vast aftermarket to cater to your needs. You just need to decide what route you want to take with your car.

Also, do you want coilovers or a spring/strut combination? Keep in mind that while coilovers provide a wide range of adjustability, they do require a level of maintenance or you will need a rebuild sooner than later. A properly sorted spring/strut combo offers IMO a better drive/$$ ratio and you don't have to worry about them as soon.

Most people who go aftermarket for a daily/sporty ride have something like 8/6-ish spring rates. I currently have a 12k/10k setup for my daily driver, which is a bit excessive, but then again, I do like my ***** being juggled over our terrific Oahu roads.



Hoofus: From what you read? How about what you've felt? 5/4-5 IMO is way too soft for anybody who bought a Subie thinking "sport" and didn't already trade in for a Buick.

shaggadelic

iTrader: (26)

there is a friend of mines selling coilovers for his 2011 wrx sedan... i told him to post up on here. his name is brian he has H&R's

sooby s

Thanks everyone.

Sti-lllegal: yeah i contacted TiC and the suggested the bilstein combo as well. How r the bc racing? I was advised not to go that route but was actually consideri g it prior to hearing TiC haha

Sneezerboi: my wrx is my daily and i wanted to go lower as well as maintain better than stock handling. Like i mentioned i contacted TiC and he oveeall suggested ast coils but thats a bit out of my price range haha.

Ive alrdy talked to shaggy and i no i want sways but now im just stuck on coils or a combo. But then again i think i want the adjustability of height and what not.

Shaggy: how is h&r as a brand? Haha will it fit my hatch?

corytomo

iTrader: (3)

the better quality shock you get, the better the ride will be, regardless of spring rate.
i had tein ssp one the wrx gc and wrx wagon. soft spring rates, good for daily, junk for handling. had cusco zero2r with high rate springs, was too stiff. had jic with 7/6 springs and the shock sucked to me, it was too stiff...

and in my miata, i have 14/10 rates with AFCO custom valved shocks and it actually rides very well. its stiff, but not jarring. i've driven ohlins equipped cars with similar spring rates, and same thing, stiff but very well controlled rebound and compression.

bottom line, you get what you pay for, don't skimp if you want a nice ride. those $1000 coilovers might sound like a good deal, but if you need to buy something else later, you could have bought something good like kw sport v1/2/3.

808_lgt

iTrader: (2)

I personally love my $1000 bc coilovers. All I cared about when buying them was cost and being able to go low. I could give two ****s about performance, or how it rode. But surprisingly it rides pretty nice. At least I think it does anyway for my car being so low lol.

I say get whatever you feel comfortable getting. If you're comfortable spending 2k+ on a set up that will perform and ride nice then do it. If you feel more comfortable buying a 1k set up for semi better performance and sacrificing some (minimal imo) ride comfort then buy that. At the end of the day it's your car and you're gonna be the one that has to deal and live with whatever choice you made on the daily.

sooby s

Haha thanks again. U guys are quite cool and helpful haha. I was considering the bc racing for the price but im also considering the bilstein combo for only a bit more...

Anyone have any two cents on tein? Im comin from a honda to my suby and im used to seeing tein on hondas. How r they with subies? I no that aome brands are favorable on one compared to the other in some cases haha

touge-n00b

iTrader: (21)

This is my honest opinion, and you can take it how you want it, but here goes: If you have NO plans what-so-ever to do any sort of competitive driving OR you don't planing on doing the hella-stupi.....errr flush thing, coilovers are not necessary. You'll never NEED the adjustment, and like Josh said they're going to die eventually. As John said though, it's your car and you spend the money how you want. But you asked for my opinion and I gave it so take it for what you will.

Personally? I'd invest in the GTworx/RCE Impreza Cup setup. Bilstein struts perfectly valve-matched to the RCE yellow springs. Many have reported that it not only obviously improves the handling, but it also INCREASES comfort (the car doesn't crash as hard into the big potholes we got round here). Sure they're expensive (more expensive than a lot of coil setups), but for a daily-driver/performance car setup, I've read they're second to none.

Of course, if you want to go purely for lowering, then, well, you're better off with something else. Just remember, for performance our cars don't like to be lowered too much, it actually starts killing the handling at a certain point. or so I've read. But what do I know, I only come in last place every event. :-/

bri_n_m

i think i can give you a good idea of what you may want to look for...im on my 3rd suspension setup for my 2011. i work/live in town so pretty much all city driving on bad roads unless im going up north. all of them were on 255/35/18 tires.

h&r coilovers - built well, only height adjustable. i think 450 front 400 rear progressive rates? to get about a finger gap all the way around i had to really crank the perch up which made the preload a bit much. this made the ride rough on bad roads (going down ward by the park sucked). i didn't think i could go higher because the ride was already so rough. a small finger gap is not that easy to drive around with our low bumpers.

rce yellows/bilsteins - i switch the h&r setup for this one. myles at rce was great to deal with and the setup was very nice. 350 spring rates? not as soft as stock but a very nice firm/comfortable feeling. i had about a solid 2-3 finger gap in front, slight less on the back with the perch on the 2nd to the top clip. looked just about stock, i think the drop is 5-10 mm? i didn't like how it would still squat when you smashed on the gas, not as bad as stock. hand down the most comfortable daily town driven setup. i wasn't happy with the looks though since i wanted to go a little lower. i passed recon with no issues on these. i didn't need a rear camber kit to get it within stock specs, i had one in the front but dont know if you need to have it or not to get in specs...

rce tarmac2 - got a deal on a used set. set them a click down from the recommended street setup. i think 400 spring rates? slightly harsher than the rce yellows. height adjustment is much more than the h&r setup. i can make it stock or dumped (not recommended to slamm them). i feel every single bump but i think it feels good.

if i were to do it all over again. id go straight to the tarmac2. if i wanted a sportier stock look then i'd do the rce yellows, i think they are retuning their bilsteins? the quality in all of them were great. unlike the bc's you will need to use some of your stock top hat parts on all of them. i contemplated the bc's; if i went with them i was going to order them with a softer spring rate. i really wanted kw1 but they were not out when i ordered the h&R or yellows. keep in mind kw and rce's recommends not dropping your car a lot, i think i'm still below the recommended heigh with 1-2 finger gap....

sorry. that was a lot to read. ahah

bri_n_m

^^^
the rce yellow/bilstein setup did not increase comfort for me. you do feel the road more but it was nice, and felt as if how the car should have been from the factory. you do feel the bumps, if you see it in the road you will feel it. i just felt as if it was better composed over bumps/potholes. you can feel them instead of just floating over them numb like the stock setup. the yellows were great for the street, paired with stiffer swaybars they would be perfect. if you want looks thats another thing...they just didn't go low enough for me. they were supposed to make lowering front camber plates but they also don't recommend using the lowering camber plates with yellows.

bri_n_m

i sold my rce setup to brandon...looks lik he is selling the springs:
https://www.i-club.com/forums/hawaii...08-wrx-238590/

the h&r setup shaggy mentioned. i sold them. anything wrx 2008 up will fit on your car, wagon or sedan doesn't matter, exact same thing.

corytomo

iTrader: (3)

I actually liked the Tein SS-P coilovers a lot. It was on a GC WRX, so it might be different.
I had Tein Flex on my miata, and it was fairly stiff, but good control overall. But miatas are tin cans on rough roads anyway, so it didn't matter to me.

touge-n00b

iTrader: (21)

Just an FYI though that if you go these without the Bilstein shocks, they've been known to KILL your stock struts. 330lbs is just too much for the stock struts to handle long term. I was only interested in Brandons springs because I knew they'd be on less than half a year. If you're looking long term, pair the yellows with proper struts or not at all. (or I could just be saying this so you stay away because I'm kinda/sorta still on the fence about buying these myself)

For a cheap alternative, I know RCE just released the RCE Blacks for our cars. I was really close to buying those, should be stock-strut friendly. Something to look into if you don;t want the full coilover price. But they won't lower much

bri_n_m, just "curious" did you sell you RCE Bilsteins/Yellow setup?