Hey, I'm running the same springs, grp-n rear mounts and whiteline max-c plates too, but I have them paired with Koni inserts. I don't have any experience with the Tokico's, but I love the way my car handles and rides with the swift r-spec springs and Koni's. I'm thinking you're going to love them with the Tokico's. FYI about the whiteline plates though, several people over on nasioc are reporting bad bearings (either too loose or too tight) in the plates which is causing clunking, popping noises and/or memory steer. Here's the thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1481890 I'm having problems with my left plate sticking and causing popping and clunking noises. Hopefully you luck out and get a set of plates without any of these problems.
hrm I'll look into it. TiC makes a nut specifically for these to run whiteline plates (which I have the nut but not the plates yet) and of course my strut top nuts are being a bitch. guess I'll need to go get a 17mm offset
If you were closer, I'd let you borrow my pass through wrench and socket set. Made getting those top nuts off so much easier.
couldnt find a pass thru wrench easily, so I welded a 17mm socket onto a box end wrench. works like a CHARM
that is pretty badass, do you weld regularly? Let me know how much the drop is, I am almost on stock weight running the 04 STi spec Swifts R-specs
My old trick is to break those nuts loose while the car is still on the ground, then they come off with ease when you've got the strut assembly off the car. You'll enjoy the D-Specs, and good choice running a stiffer STI upgrade spring on these struts. You'll handle on par with Koni and coilover equipped cars while only lacking the ability to cornerweight the car.
I put the fronts on last night. had to disassemble the old struts to reuse the upper perches, bump stops and the shaft boots. contemplating doing the rears, but I may not be able to get the strut top studs lined up by myself, so I may hold off since I have to go to work in the morning. that and my jesus phone is here so I need to go pick it up
Wont fit the wagon, for the price just get Konis. And if you want to minimize your downtime I've got my old stock struts you can borrow to install the inserts in and trade me back yours after you're done.
they will fit the wagon IIRC. the problem is spring selection. sean I would call TiC, they seem to know the most about them and could advise you on your wagon options. they make a few custom things that make wagon life easier (shims for the rear)
They're sedan struts, if you put them on your wagon you're going to end up in my boat and have maxed out camber bolts with camber plates and only be able to get -1 camber up front and -.5 degrees camber in the back. If Tokico has since come out with a wagon version of the D-Spec, thats great and I'm utterly misinformed. Springs dont matter that much from sedan to wagon, softer springs sag more than stiffer springs. People are making saggy-butt spacers now that sit between the tophat and the strut tower to provide a lift in the back (think 4x4 body lift blocks). There's also the Racecomp lowering camber plates which achieve the same result except they drop the front instead of raising the rear.
Well I have talked to Tokico, RCE, and TiC today. The d-specs do work for the wagon. All you need is the rear 04 top hats to use the RCE wagon springs. And TiC makes a deep nut for the camber plate also. So I am going to go for it. I probably will only track my car a couple of times, so not really worried about max performance. Just a good DD, and some fun in the mountains. Anything will be better than driving on blown shocks.
rears are in. car is sexy now. doesn't bounce around like many under dampened cars I've ridden in. ride is suprisingly nice for how stiff and stable it is
yeah I know just more time saved for me so I can play ogame and make eleventy billion threads about it or take my car to king at classic
have you had a chance to try the full range of adjustments yet? i'm really considering pairing these struts with my USDM STi springs and cranking the damping back to make it really plush on road trips.
I'll vouch for how well these ride when you turn them down. They actually ride better than stock IMO when turned down to the weaker side of damping for those springs. All the stiffness of the stock springs/struts with none of the bounce.
I had read the same thing about sedan struts affecting camber in the wagon. I was planning on going with inserts. Do they make d-spec in a wagon version.
No, D-Specs definitely do not come in a wagon version. That's why the koni inserts are so popular. However, some wagon guys have used sedan struts along with sedan control arms to fix the camber problem. Some of those same guys say they have done it without the need to swap front fenders or axles.