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I recently fitted the kyb ultra golds to my hawk wrx which i bought on camskills. am very pleased with them and just slightly firmer than the oe ones when goin over speed humps. very easy to fit took 45 mins per side.
I recently fitted the kyb ultra golds to my hawk wrx which i bought on camskills. am very pleased with them and just slightly firmer than the oe ones when goin over speed humps. very easy to fit took 45 mins per side.
Took me 3hrs on my drive but think a garage should do it much quicker. Grease is 8 quid and nipples a couple of quid.
Just a query, did you strip them fully?
Would it be easier to drill a hole for nipple in right location and then just fill it?
Or do you have to take the all the old grease out first
Just a query, did you strip them fully?
Would it be easier to drill a hole for nipple in right location and then just fill it?
Or do you have to take the all the old grease out first
If you don't strip them you will most likely damage the shock absorber with the drill and tap, also the swarf will get in between strut and shock.
The grease in my struts was absolutely solid and doing nothing, so best to get it out before new grease goes in
OK, had a weekend away driving. 850 miles done in 3 days.
I did the Hartside run 4 times, and I can confirm I'm really happy with my suspension. Rides really, really well, loads of body control even on tricky surfaces, and Rich@FB Tuning appears to have worked wonders with the Geometry settings. It's really really neutral mid corner, slides predictably with front and rear scrubbing at the same time, and doesn't understeer unless you don't set it up into a bend properly. Grips and goes.
I was with mate in a 911 Carrera 4, a BMW 1M coupe and a 300bhp Audi S4 and the Impreza was in now way the poor relation. We had an absolute blast.
I'm considering this setup for my car - apologies if it's a silly question but why do you need 2 sets of camber bolts as I thought the fronts had camber bolts as standard?
It was purely on Rich at FB Tunings recommendation. He reckons that for the fronts they will take as much camber as you can get out of them, and obviously with camber bolts in both holes it gives you a bit of extra range of adjustment. I've got about -1.2 deg camber on the fronts IIRC.
I decided to trust his experience, and I'm dead happy with the results. It doesn't feel compromised and after 2,000 miles tyre wear is even and cornering grip is unreal!
Interesting. I'd heard it was potentially dangerous to use more than one set per strut; sure I read somewhere the camber bolts aren't structurally strong enough to hold the strut in place if you use two. Might be worth checking that.
Show me the link and And I'll consider it.
EIbach themselves in their notes that come with the bolts say you can use 2 sets for a greater range of adjustment.
Show me the link and And I'll consider it.
EIbach themselves in their notes that come with the bolts say you can use 2 sets for a greater range of adjustment.
Found it - As long as you've used two on the rear only you're fine - it was not to use two on the front that was the bit I was thinking of.
Looks to me that it's the upper front clevis hole that MUST retain the stock Subaru camber bolt - as mine has. You an put a second camber bolt, aftermarket, in the LOWER clevis hole ONLY to increase negative camber - as mine has.
You got me going though, I had to run outside to check.
I need new rear shocks for my wrx Hawkeye. So from the previous post I can gather both exel g and ultra sr 03 onwards would fit newer cars.
The 03 uses normal struts and the 05+ use inverted ones. Are the exel g normal or inverted? Tbh I think I would prefer normal. If they are normal what do you do about bump stops as inverted ones have built in ones inside the strut.
Are the ultra sr inverted then? If so, do they have bump stops inside them?
If I buy the exel g, will this bolt straight in or will I need different tops?
I need new rear shocks for my wrx Hawkeye. So from the previous post I can gather both exel g and ultra sr 03 onwards would fit newer cars.
The 03 uses normal struts and the 05+ use inverted ones. Are the exel g normal or inverted? Tbh I think I would prefer normal. If they are normal what do you do about bump stops as inverted ones have built in ones inside the strut.
Are the ultra sr inverted then? If so, do they have bump stops inside them?
If I buy the exel g, will this bolt straight in or will I need different tops?
Thanks all!
Excel G shocks are not inverted which is part of their appeal - they should last much longer than the inverted design. If you read the original post you should be able to use your existing top mounts.
Bump stops are a problem - I struggled to find new ones which was massively frustrating. You need ones that have a 22mm bore (centre hole). Perhaps universal 20mm ones could be made larger with a bit of thought - ones from Powerflex or similar. You'll need to research a bit.
I wouldn't recommend Eibach lowering springs with the Excel G shocks. If you are keeping the standard springs then they are perfect for that application though.
Excel G shocks are not inverted which is part of their appeal - they should last much longer than the inverted design. If you read the original post you should be able to use your existing top mounts.
Bump stops are a problem - I struggled to find new ones which was massively frustrating. You need ones that have a 22mm bore (centre hole). Perhaps universal 20mm ones could be made larger with a bit of thought - ones from Powerflex or similar. You'll need to research a bit.
I wouldn't recommend Eibach lowering springs with the Excel G shocks. If you are keeping the standard springs then they are perfect for that application though.
Good stuff! That will solve my problems. I actually just installed some prodrive springs which are made by eibach but not as low
Hallo, O wise ones.
Does anybody know if the 2003- on front struts for type GG wagons will retrofit into the 2001 STi wagon, type GGB? My poor old original STi pink struts are wearing out after 120,000km of urban driving.....
No supply of OEM replacements any more. Subaru and KYB simply say "discontinued". Part numbers on post-2001 cars, including narrow-track GGs with much less power, are all different. But one can get KYB Ultra SRs for those later GGs.
I am keen to keep my existing STi springs if poss.....
Thanks ever so.
NK>
Are your original pink(?) STI wagon struts inverted or non-inverted? As front springs from inverted struts, are too short for non-inverted struts - the kyb ultra sr, for wagons, are non-inverted.
You can use '01 sti saloon inverted front struts on an '01 sti wagon, if you use Pedders/Whiteline off-set front top mounts, to regain the lost camber.
KYB 321006 KYB 321007
Or, if you change to GD saloon aluminium arms, you would also gain the lost camber and you could use stock type front top mounts.
Last edited by 2pot; 14 September 2021 at 05:16 PM.
Thanks for the advice, 2pot.
The original pink struts are inverted at the front. I ordered new ones marked for the GGB but applied E, F from RHD Japan.
We then disassembled the new struts and fitted the dampers into the (refurbished, rebushed) old bodies so that was good. No more knocking at the front. Rebushed the front end at the same time.
The rear proved a bigger problem. One side fitted, the other [right] had too much toe. Right, bought the adjustable lower arms.
Then, horrors, the RR leaks around the adjuster - photos attached. Mechanic, usually an inventive sort, says you can't simply put in an O-ring.
I don't want to moan too much but it doesn't seem practical to send the leaky, possibly 20 years old NOS RR strut back to RHD Japan to "investigate with our suppliers" and face an argument about how those dents appeared in the bottom of the adjuster while meanwhile the daily driver is off the road.
More money, find another RR of the same type if I'm lucky or back to finding and buying new front and back shocks all over again... Doh.
Any ideas, chaps?
When using the following saloon inverted, rear struts, on a wagon, you can drill the upper holes, on the lower mounting bracket to 16mm (or 5/8"). That way you can maintain the oem bolt torque settings, rather than use camber bolts. Push and pry the struts to get the required camber - needs a good alignment technician!
If using bug sti rear springs and bug rear top mounts? You could use inverted:
KYB 321008
KYB 321009
If using rear blob/hawk sti rear springs and blob/hawk rear top mounts? You could use inverted:
KYB 321004
KYB 321005
Where did you find 39mm ID internal bearings, to recondition the front strut housings?
You can fit kyb ultra sr, blob/hawk, wagon-specific, non-inverted struts 324034 324035 324036 324037 on a bug wagon.
But, the bug sti springs were made for the shorter inverted sti struts.
That's why I specified the GD/GG sti WA/A2 and WA/A3 springs, which will fit both inverted and non-inverted struts.
18 April 2012, 06:59 PM
