I have no idea how to shop for shocks & struts. (what to look for, what to avoid, how to tell what kind/style i need, what would be an upgrade.) any suggestions or write-ups i can read to educate myself on such things better?
Mike and I can help you with figuring out what suspension setup is going to be the right choice for you. What are you using the car for? I'm going to assume daily driving with the occasional mountain run?
yes on the 'dd.' the car is nearing 200k on the oem suspension. I haven't felt like i've been bothered by the oem setup, but i wanted to educate myself about options since its time to look at replacing them. seems like the best time to look at choices. also, did you get my pm from before?
okay, that helped. I dont want coil-overs. and I don't care very much about ride height appearance. So i need replacement shocks and struts. how do i comparison shop those?
KYB is essentially an OEM replacement. Since you don't care about the ride height, I would look into those. The GR2 is supposed to be a direct OEM replacement. The AGX is an adjustable variant, similar to STi struts. I'd call AllPro and see if they have any takeoff suspension laying around they'll sell on the cheap. Shocks and struts are the same thing. I think you mean you need struts and springs?
I (and I think maybe some others? ) have the gr2 and they are great and affordable on aftermarket springs or even the stock Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
thx, i'm driving this car into the ground, so when I fix it, i wanna do it good. i guess i have a misunderstanding, i thought shocks generally referred to the rear suspension points. but being they're all got almost 200k on them, i'm thinking of just replacing them all so I get the most out of them when i get the alignment done. And the STI ones from any GD will be usable too? Someone referred me to FEAL who will rebuild the STI setup into arguably the best product short of going to coilovers, anyone heard of that?
pretty much only the 04 STi is a direct bolt up. I think you have to change the tophats for 05-07. I can't remember exactly.
For your use I wouldnt bother with the FEAL. I had KYB GR2 shocks paired with Swift springs on my wagon and passed them onto Cohen. He can chime in. I also have a set of oem shocks I'll part with for say $80. About 75k on them
RCE Black springs and Tokico DSpec struts is hands down one of the best DD setups for your car. Coilovers are a waste of money if you DD the car AND never track it.
hey are these going to be the right P/N for my 04? even tho the 05-07 fronts are supposed to be different? http://www.amazon.com/KYB-FRONT-REAR-shocks-struts/dp/B002T01594
a google search came up that those are for a wagon... http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2283970 according to another subaru forum, these are the numbers you need: Sedan Fitment: KYB GR2 / ExcelG Part Numbers: 334471 334470 334358 334359 http://www.amazon.com/KYB-FRONT-REAR-shocks-struts/dp/B002T08STE/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_1
that looks more likely, just given that the 04 stuff always seems to cost more. i found KYB's part catalog and it seems to match...
I had a vendor on nasioc tell me that the RCE black springs are only made for the wagon and not the sedan. Is that correct?
http://www.racecompengineering.com/...lack-regular-guy-springs-for-sti-2004-07.html this should cover it
If I had a sti then yes. Rce says sti and a few other vendors say sti and wrx. Just depends where you look.
correct- if your goal is to retain oem struts then these definitely wont work RCE says these only work with these conditions: " 2002-2007 WRX owners will need a conversion to use these springs. The stock WRX shocks are NOT a match for these springs. These will work on the WRX with Tokico D-Spec Struts if 02-03 rear tophats are used. To use with 04-07 rear tophats, a spacer will need to be used. Please call for details." i did find the RCE guys very helpful in selecting and accessorizing my my tarmac IIs, could not for sure tell if you had talked to them directly
So to simplify, TiC, RCE or FEAL http://turninconcepts.com/index.php?cPath=1532 http://www.racecompengineering.com/ http://www.rallyracingsuspension.com/page14.html
this thread educated me and may have saved me $200+ bucks if the suspension arrives undamaged. thx errrrvyone~