Classic Impreza best coilovers?
 

Afternoon all,

Looking at my suspension set up over winter.

I have been advised on some buddy club coilovers, never seen them before.

Also looking at KW V3.

It's not a money no object situation but I really do want the best set up for fast road/some track, that won't shake my teeth out!

Any tips or any experiences anyone can share please?

Thanks, Rob

A but more of a budget choise thean the KW's: I had MeisterRs on my newage wagon for just under 2 years (and 15,000 miles) and they were suprisingly good. Coped with everything from 8 hour family trips to the West Country to very enthusiastic driving on terrible back roads.
I'd definitely buy them again.

Demon Tweeks are doing Spax coilovers at about £800.Would be my choice.Or spend the extra for the Eibach setup.

I have Tein Type Flex on my classic and cant fault them not had any issues since they got fitted 2 year ago .

Forget anything under a grand, keep looking along the lines of kw v3, bilstein b16, Meister R GT1 and maybe even GAZ golds. You dont need anymore more on the road, AST/Nitron/Whiteline are more track focused options.

Try get a ride in a car with some of the above on to help you make your mind up

My money would be going to Meister R

BC RAs are £849 and you can get them with nice comfy rated springs too. I ran a set for 5 years and some pretty crappy coastal weather and they've only just died recently. Next set on order and will have ACF-50 and neoprene boots over the coils fitted.

I have no complaints at all. Damping was consistent all the way until very recently. Backs had dropped off and one front gas had gone AWOL. Got nearly 40,000 miles out of them.

They had come with 6/5kg springs but I ran them on 5/4kg mostly and the adjustments coped very well to give a decent ride.

The separate ride height adjustment is far more effective than a bigger rear anti roll bar in balancing the car in corners. Just saying.

I should qualify in that mine were the ER model with a canister downstairs with separate compression adjustment. The replacements will be ZR model. Separate high and low speed compression, inverted so canisters on hoses upstairs this time. They are £1,800 retail but from my previous experience I had no hesitation in buying a new set.

What spring rate have you gone for this time?

Used both the B16s and KW V3s on the road with 600bhp plus, would get either again awesome suspension when properly setup with supporting mods

Iv got 18s on my classic and it rubs like fkuc, was thinking of going coilovers on a high setting and the stiffness would deterer the rubbing?

Are any tuners producing coil overs specially valved for the classics these days.

Leda when they were around produced a set up designed by Scoobysport before they folded. They were valved up, based on a lot of R&d testing and were pretty much perfect for the classic weight.
I think most of the Leda guys/ plod stock ended up at BC, and they may well still have the specs written down.

Öhlins, perhaps?

they'll build you a custom setup to fit what you want/need afaik, and are fully serviceable etc etc.

££££££££££ :D

ohlins road and track coilovers aren't big money, however they are made by Yamaha not Ohlin.


anything between £700 to a grand is going to perform roughly the same, the best I have found in that price category have been Meister R or HSD Monopro. I avoid BC as have fallen to bits in no time before.


check to see if ST do the XTA for a classic. Great coilover and robbery for the money, essentially a KW v2 (they are produced by KW) without the fancy coating. they also come with the clubsport top mounts which retail for £400 odd on their own.


v3s are good, maybe a little too much gun if its just a road car, but good on track.


Whiteline, top line AST, Intrax, Nitron etc are another league cost wise, and are usually best suited to race cars. However, the new coatings from JLR on the RCM supplied Nitron R1s are a great prospect for daily use.

Forget all the rest, for a road daily and best handling, I'd choose kwv3 or better lol, blisten are good but won't last as long as kw with rusting and general wear etc, also look at miester r gt1s.
The better for competition use, nitron, whiteline, ohlins etc. Buddy club are not a uk complaint coilover just like the rest of coilovers that don't have a great damping/rebound performance.

So for road I'd be looking at kw or miester gt1. Or better imo. That's the minimum I'd require.

Forget about above
Use Exe-Tc job done

Hi Rob,

Our 5100 Kit is a good all rounder. For track work it's used in many championships in the UK and globally, and for road we have Subaru owners putting 15k a year on them. We supply to a number of tuners for their more road focused applications. Unlike many lower end units where X brand are stiff, or Y brand are soft, the damping is not a fixed setup you must buy. We are able to recommend damping and spring rates that suit your application. Whether you require adjustable top mounts, or want to maintain OE rubber top mounts, we can cater for your vehicle.

An example fo this would be that AST were fitted by Litchfield for their road going Type 25 cars. They continue to fit road cars with AST today.

Give us a call or a PM on here for more information.

Simon
AST & MOTON SUSPENSION UK
Unit 4 Unicorn Business Park,
Whitby Road,
Brislington,
Bristol
BS4 4EX
Telephone: 0117 301 2542

Is the 5100 kit your entry level set-up?
What are the lowest front and rear spring rates, you can accommodate, in the 5100 kit?
Are spring rates available in 0.5Kg/mm increments?

Is Curtis still involved at AST?

Im sure hes not mate, AST also posted over on the ClioSport forum. :thumb:

Hi

Yes the 5100 is. how low would you like to go? To a certain extent we can accommodate but wouldn’t want to build something that simply wouldn’t work but if you jump on our website you can search through length and poundage combinations.

Simon @ AST Suspension UK

Curtis Woodman and ACD are no longer anything to do with AST Suspension UK , Moton or the factory. The exclusive distribution was removed and placed with us July 1st 2017

Thank you for your reply.
I know there were issues around the time of Curtis at AST.
Looking forward, It's nice to see a new lease of life and what looks like a positive outlook at AST Suspension

Thank you, all the team are really excited about the future for AST Suspension UK.