Tein FLEX Coil overs on a '99 BK.

[LunchBox04V]

Ok guys and gals, I finally will be getting a descent paycheck, and am planning on really beefing up the suspension. I had a couple of questions for those of you who have done Tein FLEX coil overs on a BG/BK. I know that there is one guy out there (Hoppity Wagon I think) that has done this.

My question is: What Tein FLEX Coil overs would I need (Impreza year and model), and what modifications would be needed?

From what I understand:
Use Tein FLEX's for a WRX/STi Wagon (GDB).
Modification would include swapping the left and right top hots for the front. Also, redrilling the rear top hat holes would be needed.

In addition, I wanted to add a rear strut tower bar, which, would have to match the year, and model that I get the Tein FLEX's for.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again all!!

[Huffer]

Ok guys and gals, I finally will be getting a descent paycheck, and am planning on really beefing up the suspension. I had a couple of questions for those of you who have done Tein FLEX coil overs on a BG/BK. I know that there is one guy out there (Hoppity Wagon I think) that has done this.

My question is: What Tein FLEX Coil overs would I need (Impreza year and model), and what modifications would be needed?

From what I understand:
Use Tein FLEX's for a WRX/STi Wagon (GDB).
Modification would include swapping the left and right top hots for the front. Also, redrilling the rear top hat holes would be needed.

In addition, I wanted to add a rear strut tower bar, which, would have to match the year, and model that I get the Tein FLEX's for.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again all!!

the user you are looking for is sybir.

Any model Tein coilovers from 94-2005 WRX/STi will work, though I would think you would want to stick with a coilover from a similar weight class, like the Tein FLEX #DSS40-6USS1 - WRX SPORTS WAGON.

Your biggest drawback is going to be overall suspension travel - your shocks will run out of travel vs. stock suspension - not a problem unless you traverse rather rough terrain.

As for modifications, I have no idea - I was under the impression that it was plug n play except the rears might need swapping left-right to cope with the additional caster. (or perhaps it was the front)

The rear tops shouldn't need modification - I have an 02-05 WRX wagon strut bar installed on my stock struts, and the holes line up perfectly.

[AussieDan]

The GDA coilovers were a direct bolt in on my BD.

Swapping the top hats will get your camber adjustment closer to 'normal', it will still be off but is definitely livable. You could even consider the caster gain when dialing in negative camber an advantage.

I had a few issues with the flex coilovers. Firstly they are quite stiff, too stiff for the crappy roads in upstate NY.

The second issue was bigger for me.

These photos show the ride height with the flex coilovers:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2006/09/P1010076JPG-1.jpg (http://photos.phpwerx.net/cars/Legacy/2005-06-19/800x600/P1010076.JPG.html) https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/09/DSC01071JPG-1.jpg (http://photos.phpwerx.net/cars/Legacy/2005-10-23/800x600/DSC01071.JPG.html)

These show the amount of thread engagement on the front coilovers at that ride height:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/09/DSCF0200JPG-1.jpg (http://photos.phpwerx.net/cars/Legacy/2005-12-30_Coilover_Spacer/800x600/DSCF0200.JPG.html) https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/09/DSCF0201JPG-1.jpg (http://photos.phpwerx.net/cars/Legacy/2005-12-30_Coilover_Spacer/800x600/DSCF0201.JPG.html) https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2007/09/DSCF0202JPG-1.jpg (http://photos.phpwerx.net/cars/Legacy/2005-12-30_Coilover_Spacer/800x600/DSCF0202.JPG.html)

If you want to run low they'll work fine, but that is about as high as I would run them, otherwise you really don't have much thread left on those lower mounts. You may be able to get some more height by increasing the preload (I was running almost zero preload), but they droop very little anyway so I don't think you could realistically run more than 1/4" of preload. The rears did not have this problem.

The last thing that I found disconcerting about these coilovers was the effect they had on the ABS. Encountering a bump under brakes would cause the front wheels to 'skip' slightly, engaging the ABS. I experimented with different damper settings, and was able to improve the situation but not completely eliminate the problem.

As for the GD rear strut tower bar, it is a direct bolt in on the BD.

As far as I am aware this will apply equally to the BG/BK.

[LunchBox04V]

Wow, the pictures are helpful. You lived in NY, how did the FLEX do as far as holding up to weather? They would be going on my daily driver, and ride is not really that improtant, but getting some longevity out of them is.

[2000LWAGON]

looks great. i really like the stock gt rims with the lowering.

[LunchBox04V]

Thanks for the help here guys. I have seen a lot of posts, but nothing that was really decisive for my wagy. I am ok with a little bit of a drop. Almost all aftermarket one will do the same amount, if not more from my understanding. I finally got my internet running at full speed and I see what you are saying about the the lower mount, and the total contact area. My main goal is to stiffen, and not get saggy-waggy if you know what I mean.

By the way, I too like the GT rims with that stance. Looks really good.

[AussieDan]

As far as weather, the teins will hold up to it better than most coilovers due to the special coating on the shock bodies, when I took them off the car all it took was a little cleaning and they looked pretty much like new. Admittedly though, they hadn't seen a winter.

The stance definitely looked great, both with the 97 and 05 rims. One thing that really helped the look of the car was that the front was lowered about 3/8" more than the rear, which makes the whole car look more purposeful.

I don't know what the ride height ranges are for the different coilovers available. Tein quote the ride height range on the WRX at -1.3" to -3.9" front and 0 to -2" rear. If you could find a coilover which you could run at stock height on a WRX you would have a good range of adjustment on the BD/G/K.

http://www.tein.com/ti/s40.html

[Huffer]

As far as weather, the teins will hold up to it better than most coilovers due to the special coating on the shock bodies, when I took them off the car all it took was a little cleaning and they looked pretty much like new. Admittedly though, they hadn't seen a winter.

So really, not a fair representation of how hardy they'll be in severe weather.

I do know that Teins are not favored amongst the daily driving winter crowd here in Cleveland...

[dplacencia]

I have a brand new set of megan coilovers in the basement from a WRX. i'll be putting this on next year. These are going on my 97 GT with stainless steel brake lines from a WRX. :grin:

[AussieDan]

As far as weather, the teins will hold up to it better than most coilovers due to the special coating on the shock bodies, when I took them off the car all it took was a little cleaning and they looked pretty much like new. Admittedly though, they hadn't seen a winter.

So really, not a fair representation of how hardy they'll be in severe weather.

I do know that Teins are not favored amongst the daily driving winter crowd here in Cleveland...
You'll find that the Flex have a teflon coating on the shock bodies whereas other models like the super street are zinc coated. As far as I am aware the tein flex are one of the more corrosion resistant models available, aside from the stainless steel KW range.

[omahasubaru]

I never like the Flexes when I had them.

even with the 5k/5k rates (280in/lb).

Most of those Japanese coilovers never ride worth a crap. Most of it is due to the damper valving... lots of bump/no rebound.

coilovers from germany/europe/us are so much better at riding well, even with stiff springs. I'm a huge fan of the AST's... even their entry level sportline 1's.

On the auto-x RS we run Zzyzx Coilovers which use a Koni 8611 road course insert and Eibach springs. 500f/600r rides better with those dampers dialed in than my OTS flexes ever did.

Just my $0.02... but I've tried A LOT of suspension setups over the years on Subarus.

stretch your budget and get some AST sportlines or Bilstein PSS9's. Or even Koni inserts and ground controls.

Jon