If we had flying cars like we're supposed to, I wouldn't need a suspension.
If we had flying cars like we're supposed to, I wouldn't need a suspension.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Right? I've been saying it for years. Then again, we also wouldn't have Australian burnout competitions...
Since my goal is to get on track this year and funds are tight, I've decided a compromise is needed. I have the coin for the suspension I want but that leaves me without tires. So-
WRX KYB GR-2s
Struts-----------------$237 shipped includes $40 rebate Rock auto
WRX spring perches------?
STi Pink (for WRX)---$254 223/195 spring rate- 15 to 22mm drop
Group-N Top mounts-$360
Camber bolts-----------$25
Strut boots-------------$60
Total-------------------$936 + misc. hardware & bumpstops
I'll need to find spring perches-They don't seem to be available online as a separate part.
Might do camber plates up front instead of group-N
This leaves me with the ability to do the Koni inserts down the road if wanted.
This allows me to keep the BBS RKs/Comp 2s for road trips.
Yes I've looked into takeoff 2004 STi struts but if they're shot, so am I
Any thoughts?
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Seems logical to me. Track time/track tires are not cheap! In the end, i think, regardless of the hp, you will have a blast driving something something you carefully built yourself. Pshhh. Lotus, who needs one of those (eyeroll)
1999 Legacy GT Wagon 5SPD (Stella)" Race Wagon"
V7 STI Drivetrain, STI 6MT, R180, Brembos, JDM EJ205 "Big port AVCS", Fortune Auto 500 Coilovers, a lot of JDM Parts and much much more...
2006 Legacy 2.5i Wagon A/T SWP SE "Slow Wagon" 20% Tint, JDM Tails, JDM Rear Fog, GT Leather
1997 Legacy GT Wagon
1998 Legacy L Wagon
@TylerHartman on Instagram
http://www.facebook.com/hartman.tyler
Thanks Tyler
Geez,you're right. Probably will need spacers. Last night I was reading a detailed, multi page thread on Nasioc where the guy was running coil overs for autocross. After about a year, they started leaking so he changed over to Koni inserts. I thought great, Im finally going to get a well written comparison between coil overs and Konis! He slapped on the Konis and then immediately retired from autocross. After reading 18 pages till midnight, I could have choked the SOB.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
I totally understand, there's so many ways with cars, or any hobby i'm into.. to do one said thing but there's always a "better way" I'm not sure I want to go coils, I like the idea of WRX struts even with lowering springs they'll probably last longer. I love forum threads like that... I was reading a thread like that with 16 pages using cheap crappy ebay parts and the guy never said if it ran after all the pages explaining and fighting with people.. pretty good stuff hahahahaha
1999 Legacy GT Wagon 5SPD (Stella)" Race Wagon"
V7 STI Drivetrain, STI 6MT, R180, Brembos, JDM EJ205 "Big port AVCS", Fortune Auto 500 Coilovers, a lot of JDM Parts and much much more...
2006 Legacy 2.5i Wagon A/T SWP SE "Slow Wagon" 20% Tint, JDM Tails, JDM Rear Fog, GT Leather
1997 Legacy GT Wagon
1998 Legacy L Wagon
@TylerHartman on Instagram
http://www.facebook.com/hartman.tyler
Thanks Tyler
I called today on those WRX Pinks because only one place in the US didn't list them as discontinued. In stock (yeah!) and are wagon specific so possibly won't need the saggy butt spacers. On the other hand, raising the rear would tune in a little oversteer if needed. Nice to know there's still some height adjustment options. Now for the final decision on tires.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Don't want anyone to pass out from excitement but I picked up brand new 2004-2007 WRX front spring perches today. One small step for man, blah, blah,blah.
Todays question is-Anyone using the Whiteline COM C front top mounts? I'm hoping to get to the track at least twice this year and like what I've read about them. OK, two questions. Will the 2004-2007 WRX Group N rear top mounts fit my BK? I'll be using GD WRX struts back there as well.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Dang. I was gonna write something sooner, but I passed out from excitement before I could.
Seriously, though. Every little step is a good thing. congrats.
Since I'm starting to buy suspension parts, I thought I would drive out for track day at High Plains Raceway to scope out the competition, you know for later this spring. Back in the olden days when I had my RX-7, the paddock would be filled with VW rabbits and Sciroccos, MG-Bs, RX-7s, BMW 2002s and a couple of Porsches and Corvettes. I knew I was in for a rude awakening when the first car I spotted was a Ferrari Daytona. "I'm shaking it out before I take it to Daytona." said the very friendly owner. My head spun at the thought of a 1971 Daytona on the banking ...at Daytona.
It only got worse from there. Which color GT-R would you like to be destroyed by? Could the Gallardo not be a Superleggera? The Mustang not the new GT350? Do you prefer Z06, GT2, GT3 or GT4? I'm not even sure I've heard of a GT4! While I was sitting in one, yes one of the Vipers, the owner said not to worry that I only have 95 horsepower. "What are you reaching on the straight?" I asked. "142" he said as if he was telling me the gas mileage of his Camry. Oh wait, Miatas. Those are only fast..ish....annnnd turbocharged. Finally I saw a Mustang and an equally scruffy 260Z parked next to each other. How fast can they be? Well, the Mustang has a stroker 408 and the 260Z has a Ford 5.0.
Things did improve after I met Mathew, an Army Apache pilot with a 480 rwhp 2004 Mustang Cobra on R-spec tires. He's getting his Mustang ready for another run at the Silver State Classic. After about five minutes he offered me a ride. Wow! This track reminds me of the roller coaster at New York New York, kind of fun, and he was a good driver. I did notice that we got passed a few times. Mostly by expensive Germans and the occasional sports racer.
Mathew wanted to know what time the track closed so I walked up to a young guy and asked. He said that he was only a crew member, and didn't know but Randy Pobst would. Oh f'ing great. Now I'm stroking out thinking my Legacy L could be going up against a 90 time pro winner who won his class twice at the 24 Hours of Daytona. I did get a picture with him though. I even got to tell him my story about the time Mario Andretti ran over my foot. He said "Well that's quite an honor." and I agreed.
Just before leaving I noticed Mister Viper talking to Mathew leaning on his Cobra. Mister Viper also has a Cobra. Mathew wanted to see it but no, it was at home. I joked that he had brought his good car today, the Viper. "No," he said, "the good car was at home with the cobra." A Murcielago apparently.
If anyone needs me, I'll be under my bed in the fetal position, but I will be plotting.
Kobayashi hanging out with his new Ferrari buddy. The owner cracked up when he saw me taking this picture.
Mathew and his Cobra
Me hanging out with my new friend Randy Pobst. Do I look stressed?
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:01 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Wow that sounds like a blast!!
Current Rides:
2001 Outback H6 VDC
2010 GenCoupe 2.0T (300Whp)
1999 Legacy GT Wagon 30th @120k KM SOLD
"THE REASON GOD INVENTED TURBO LAG IS TO GIVE V8'S A CHANCE"
Wow, that's some fun stuff... And it's not the high-HP cars that would scare me off. It's that little yellow Caterham.
There was a guy with a sports racer, basically a pinto engine doing ten second faster laps than the Mustang I rode in. I'm sure that Caterham would not be far behind.
Here's my favorite pic. from today.
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:02 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Dang man. Your hanging with the big boys now.
Honestly it would be so rad to see your wagon track in person. Go pro mount or something?!
If your really nervous i think there might be events geared for cars with lower hp? Or I know for smaller tracks there's open track days/car Club takeovers.
Either way! Rad times will be had.
Supposedly the Thursday night events are less upscale but the track is 92 miles from home so could be fun if something breaks. What the heck, I'm determined to get there and now I don't need to worry about keeping up. So besides suspension and tires, I will have a perfect and very exciting mod as you can see below.
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:08 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Never underestimate the power of a big cone!
I find it really annoying when people on here say they have some part coming and won't say what it is. So to keep up the tradition, something is coming in the mail but won't say what it is.:smt036 Hint- I got my money back on the WRX spring perches.
Oh yeah Ferrari, it's coming.
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:10 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
A small thing but got my Kartboy rear subframe bolts today.
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:11 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Got home yesterday to find a package by the garage. Feal 441 coilovers; 7k front & 4k rear Swift springs. Based on info I got from someone on SL-i last year, it looks like it's dropping 20 pounds off the front suspension. I don't know about the rears but perhaps a similar weight savings. These won't be installed immediately for various reasons but I'm anxious to get started. I guess all that's missing are camber bolts. I haven't done any suspension work this involved since rebuilding my '67 Triumph TR-4 V8, and that was about a quarter century ago. Wish me luck!
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:14 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
I'm sorry... Did you say TR4 v8? I am intrigued.
Yeah, I've had a few interesting cars over the years. My TR-4 is one that shouldn't have gone away. Funny thing is I never checked a 0 to 60 time on it but I'm pretty sure it was quicker than anything else I have owned. About 2200 pounds and a small block Chevy.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.ph...Highs-and-Lows
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
oooh, Feals, I'm very jealous. Just did a quick catch-up on the car, looking good. If I ever get the GTI back in good shape maybe I'll join you at the track and we can have a nice low-hp battle!
Oh darn, it's a GTI? I was hoping you had a regular Rabbit with at least one dead piston. Once the coil overs are installed, I guess there are no other excuses so game on!
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Yep a GTI, with the later 16V engine installed in it. Oh, and high compression forged internals and maybe a few other parts...:toothy5:
I just need to get the gearbox fixed, fifth gear is destroyed. I need to really get that going before it becomes an issue in my marriage, lol.
If we can manage to actually do a track day at the same time maybe we'll do some car swapping and try out each other's ride.
Finally some progress to report! First are the Kartboy rear subframe lock down bolts. Nothing much to look at but a picture nonetheless. I did have to loosen the subframe to allow the passenger side bolt to go in. I tried everything I could think of to get the subframe aligned and still have three hands free to get the tap started. Nothing. Out of desperation I shoved the plastic bushing into the hole and that for some reason worked.
Next the Feal coilovers are installed. The last OEM strut to come off, the front right was the only one that wasn't completely dead. I kept the height up a bit for various reasons. It needs an alignment so It's only been up and down the street. It feels a little nervous which is just as I was hoping; sort of like my 1970 1/2 Trans Am, except with one third the power. Of course you can't tell much in one block so I'll try not to get weepy with joy yet.
Next the rear strut tower bar needs some attention, polishing the aluminum center section and painting the ends. Luckily a friend pointed out that my seat color is very close to World Rally Blue so WRB it is. Then off for an alignment which with my schedule won't happen for a few weeks. If any of you track rats have a suggestion for F/R camber settings, I'd appreciate it!
Forgot to mention that the Coilovers dropped the weight by 38 pounds, so now roughly 2840 with a full tank.
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:29 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Stripped the strut tower bar ends and painted them World Rally Blue; then sanded the beat up center section but just to 1000 grit as the glare was excessive when it was polished.
Now I just need to re-torque the sway bar mounts and hope my tires survive the forty miles to the alignment shop.
Two years with this car and only two weeks away from taking its first corner at speed!
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:34 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
Those Feals look so good. Is the car exclusively a track car or will you be streeting it a bit too? I haven't had the chance to track my car yet so I can't speak on that, but I run F: -2.3 degrees R: -2.15 degrees. I know a lot of dedicated track guys are running like -3 to -3.5 degrees front camber and I've seen anywhere from -1.5 to -2.5 rear camber.
I drive my car pretty aggressively around some mountain roads so I can say in that type of performance wise it works pretty well. I had previously had my car around -1.8*ish front camber before I ever got aligned, and was at about whatever stock camber is in the rear. It worked well but when I finally added camber rear camber bolts and dialed in about -2ish degrees the car felt alive. Turn in was way better, the car rotated in the corners a lot better, still understeered but not nearly as badly. Then I got an alignment and went with the -2.3 front -2.15 rear and the car feels just about the same, turn in suffered because I got rid of the toe out, but otherwise the car rotates the same and still feels great in the corners.
I would also play with the damping of your coilovers too. I've been experimenting with my damping a lot over the past few months since I haven't been too happy with how the car handles. I tried equal damping front and rear, decent but not great. More front less rear, no good, understeered a lot. Less front and more rear damping started to work out, it makes the rear want to rotate around a little more, it's not snappy or anything but you can definitely feel the difference. I can't say the same will work for you since you have softer rear springs and I don't know how the Feal coils are set up, but just experiment with the knobs and you'll find a combo you like. Try going to the extremes to figure out quickly what the adjustment is doing.
I run 0* toe and I haven't noticed any camber wear over the last couple thousand miles.
I didn't align my car for almost 15 months or something crazy like that on my last set of tires which only had about half of their life left when I got them. Unless you're massively toed out, which I highly doubt you are. Your car isn't exceptionally low so your toe really probably isn't that far out so you don't need to worry too much about tire wear. My rear toe was still zeroed out when I got an alignment and I'm substantially lower than factory. I think you'll be fine to take the car out for a quick spin. Just be a bit careful with grooved pavement and stuff, my car used to wander like crazy when I was on the highway before the alignment, still does wander, but it's not trying to kill me now.
Interested to see how this thing goes since there's not really too many that track these. Good luck getting the suspension dialed in! I think dialing in the suspension is almost as fun as the driving itself.
1999 Outback On BC Racing coilovers and Desmond Regamasters
"You ruined your car" - Dad
"Your car looks good!" - Mom <--- Always the supportive one.
Knaph, thanks for such a detailed reply! So far this car has mostly been used for going to Costco. I've put 8k on it in two years but that includes a 2400 mile trip to Illinois. I'd like to do two track days this year to get a feel for it and then get better tires for next. I've tracked cars before but never had any adjustments to play with besides tire pressure so this should be interesting, maybe even fun. I was going to be timid and stay about -2 degrees front but based on what you wrote, maybe -2.5. I'm taking it to a race shop for the alignment so I'll also get their opinion. The race shop was actually the cheapest as everyone else wanted more to go anywhere near coilovers.
I have a friend who stupidly mentioned that he owns a Go Pro. I wonder if he owes me anything? Well, if I can manipulate him into loaning it to me I'll post some videos of me getting overtaken by the champagne crowd at High Plains Raceway.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer
A few updates- First the alignment is done! -2.5 front and -1.3 rear with 0 toe all around. The tech said he wanted to get some rotation in the corners.
Next the spoiler is painted and installed. Added six pounds to the weight of the wagon but at least it's at the rear. This is really a nerve-racking install but I only screwed it up the slightest amount, so... OK! I also painted the front wiper arms while I had the paint handy
Also picked up this poor man's Gopro off of Amazon. I'm having an issue with an internal rattle but otherwise not bad for $60ish. My getting a camera was requested by Foohfooh so thanks for the idea!
Last edited by Go Mifune; 07-19-2017 at 12:41 AM.
1996 Outback 5 speed (sold)
1997 Legacy L wagon 5 speed Member's Ride I thread (sold)
2007 MX5 GT soft top
"You want a real kick? You go Bernoulli." Pops Racer