I've been reading up on suspension mods and seems to me that the wagon benefits from a rear strut tower brace. Any have any personal experience they wish to share? I have a cusco on a 3week backorder and have time to change my mind if needed.
Well with a sedan, I do not, but by the general laws of support you should notice some sort of improvement over handling with the stiffer strut tower in there. Although I have read that b/c of the location of the towers (so close to the firewall), it wouldnt do as much as say adding stronger strut tower tops (mounts) to replace the more flexible OEM ones. I'm still researching to see if thats true, it does make some sense though.
I know whiteline makes a nice removable rear strut tower brace for the wagon. The ends stay on but the center section is quickly removed for if you have to carry stuff. The Impreza chassis is already very stiff but I'd imagine the wagon is a little looser than the sedan because it is all open in the back. Our roof is lined with support bars. Check it out here
Hey man, I have the brace at the shop if you want to look at one. The sedan brace is actually the one I prefer on the wagon, it looks cooler and you don't have to cut the carpet to make it clear. Rear STB makes a noticeable difference in feel on a wagon.
Whats the difference in the two bars then? I figured that there would be a big difference between them, or at least enough to warrant two different versions.
Shape of the bracket. The wagon version lets you put the felt top cap back on, but you have to cut the trim on the side of the strut tower. The sedan version is more sculpted looking, very cool. The top caps won't fit though.
I got the cusco type os a while back, and it mounts cleanly with only cutting the top caps a little. Oh and if you have a wagon, you'll notice a difference right away.
I want a strut bar that I wont have to cut anything to use. My parents own my car and want to keep everything stock so I can trade it in in a couple years when I graduate. They dont know about all the mods though . . . So the strut bar really makes a difference on a wagon huh. I need more money . . . time to start robbing banks or dealing drugs or something.
Yep. And built like they expect nuclear war just around the corner. Their strut tower braces look like aircraft parts. Here's the standard wagon rear bar, you'll see what I mean about cutting out the trim: http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191 If any wagon owners out there are worried about being able to remove the bar for times when you need to haul a load, they've just released a quick release kit. I'm going to have a few of these bits in next month, as soon as they get here from AUS. Check it: http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/bulletins/095_ksbQ.pdf
Cost of rear bar and quick release kit Porter, What's the cost of the rear bar and the quick release kit at Classic Subaru (when you get them in)? I'm really interested (assuming the price is right), but I don't want to lose my wonderful ability to carry large loads of stuff when necessary.