Hey all, long time no see! I'm about to get some new struts since my Espelirs finally ended up being too much for the stockers. I need some opinions on ideas and hopefully you all can weigh in. here's the three opinions that I have: 1) Tein Flex (wagon) coilovers: Pros: Wagon specific Coilovers, need i say more? Adjustable. Widely used and known. electronic adjustment with one more easy install (and oh so cool). Cons: 1 year warranty, price ($1600+ e-control) 2)Konis: Pros: will fit any suspension becuase they're inserts. Highly adjustable, wont have to sell springs. Widely used, lifetime warranty. Cons: Have to machine out old struts, cost ($500) 3) Tokiko D-Spec: Pros: Quality parts, very very adjustable for struts, can keep old springs. I think thye have a better warranty than Tein too, but I'm not sure Cons: only fit 02-03 sedans. Camber would be mor elimited because would need new top hats and camber bolts to make up the difference between wagon and sedan struts. Thanks in advance guys, and I'm open to other suggestions if you have any other than those listed above! I'm hoping to be around a lot more now that things have died down a bit in my schedule!
....holy shit Skull is back...wow. personally...sooner or later I am gonna pick up a set of Tein Flex Coilovers, but the price is kinda a bitch
I'm planning on getting KYB AGXs in my car, using GC8 fronts and 04+ rears with the same Espelirs but it's going to be in another month since I owe my parents a good bit of money now. If you end up getting coilovers, let me know and I'll buy your old Espelir springs.
I really love the espelirs. They're pretty pimp springs. How do the AGXs stack up against Koni as far as adjustability and ride?
Good to see you back on line again Kevin. I hope that all is going well for you. I can't wait to see the wagon and also show you what I have modded on my 06 wagon... Mark
I dont know a direct comparison between the AGXs and Konis. AGXs are on sale on NASIOC right now so they're about $200 cheaper. The fronts would be 8 way adjustable and the rears 4 way (supposed to be the same full stiff/full soft but just more adjustment points on the earlier additions). How many miles did it take to kill the stock struts?
Well if you want to wait till the 8th, I will bring Andrew's saabaru to the install day (more than likely) and put the sti takeoffs + whitelines in and see what happens.
Sounds good Alex. It'll be a little while yet as the struts aren't totally dead. They're not even bouncing much, but they're making that "I'm about to die soon" clunking and popping on corners, acceleration, etc... The ride hasn't degraded much. I've gotten 20k on them since putting on the springs, but they're probably good for another 3-4k before they're totally dead. I'm just starting to look for replacements now so I can do proper research and not rush into it. Bobby, if you have after market struts you shouldn't have any problems with life because they're much better than OEM and designed to handle higher spring rates.
I was just asking because I might do the "way too ghetto for even a street car" washer mod to fit 04 springs, 02 struts, and 04 tophats in the rear. WorldOne has the Espelirs on sale for $199 shipped and somebody else has the AGXs for around $400 shipped. If I can only afford the springs and tophats I may run stock struts for a month or so.
i just put some kyb agx's on mine and love 'em but the guy who sold them to me went with the Tokico D-specs for more adjustability and he said the main difference was he found a softer ride setting with the Tokicos for everyday travel. But as far as auto-x he said they were about the same when on stiff settings.
Bobby, I've been on the stock struts for nearly a year and a half now and I'll probably make it two years before i completely blow them. World one is great to work with. That's where I got my Espelirs and they got them to be fast. They were back ordered so they shipped them express without charging me for it. It was pretty sweet. Right now $$ seems to be the big problem. I may not be able to afford the flex's... which would be sad.
My vote is in for the Tokico's. Every review I've read has said they've got handling equal or better than AGX's but they are more comfortable on the road. Japanese struts have a tendancy to let you feel every pebble.
Ok, after reviewing more, I've found that the rear struts on the 02/03 are NOT the same as the 04/05 with regard to strut length, tophat threading. (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=563382) Also, the wagons rears are different from the sedan (no surprise there). But does anyone know how the 04/05 wagon compare to the 02/03 sedan? Has anyone put anything into 04 wagons to see how they mate up with regard to length?
I dont think the rear struts are different between the wagons and sedans. The wagons come with stiffer rear springs from the factory but I think its the same shocks. The rear suspension is the same on wagons and sedans but the track is a little narrower on the wagons. Why are you wondering about 02/03 stuff?