2005 WRX rear shock knock
 

I've got the common shock knock on my 2005 WRX from the rear nearside. I've read lots about it on here and the various fixes that you can do, but I have another few questions.

My car is going in the garage for a service and a new clutch soon, and I've been offered (by the same garage) a full set of lightly used STI shocks and springs to fit for £400 inc fitting.

1. Is this a decent deal?
2. Is this setup likely to keep the fault at bay?
3. Are these shocks likely to change the handling of the car, and if so, for the better or worse given the different geometry between the WRX and STI.

I'd appreciate your opinions before I commit to spending out on used parts for possibly little or no return. On the other hand, if I'm getting a good deal and the fix will work, please let me know.

Cheers.

Bing.

the sti shocks will be slightly stiffer but will also suffer from knocking eventually, its a common fault on new age rear shocks.
the only permanent cure is to replace with coilovers.
£400 for used shocks, not sure its a great deal and also your geometry will need setting again.
also be wary of "lightly used" claim as the wrx is a 100pcd model so the only shocks that will fit will be at least 7 years old as from 2005 the sti was 114 pcd and these shocks wont fit a wrx.

400 is slightly pricey, but will improve your handling, and lower your car nicely, removing the 'big' wheelarch gap. You could do the grease nipple fix (haven't got a link just now) to stop the clunking. Plus, for road use the strut & damper combo is a great way to go, much better than a chaep coilover set-up

You're right about the age. They're from a 2004 STI, but were removed and upgraded not long after purchase. I've been assured they'll be stripped and serviced before fitting.

The other option I have is to re-use the factory springs and replace all 4 shocks with KYBs at £120 + VAT per corner. Do you think this is a better option?

I don't really want coilovers as the roads around where I live are bad enough on road springs. I'm forever hunting down the rattly interior fittings to tighten them up.

Anyone had experience with KYB shocks?

Would KYBs with factory WRX springs be a better solution than the STI setup I've been offered?

Camskill do all 4 KYBs for 370 I think. I am looking at getting a set currently, just cant decide between Excel G's or Ultra SRs.

In the history of this forum, literally thousands have had KYB experience

Thanks for the..erm.. helpful reply there bone. :)

I realise they're a massive manufacturer, but I would like to know if I'm going to get much difference between KYBs on factory WRX springs and stock STI setup.

kybs are very similar to the factory sti shocks, personally if your not going to get coilovers then i would get new kybs as second hand shocks will be of unknown quality,quite how they are going to be rebuilt is a mystery as i thought they were sealed units, i may be wrong here but im sure they were when i removed mine.

Kybs excel gs are oe wrx replacement and ultra srs are sti oe replacment
Excel g are softer and ultra sr are firmer a bit firmer than the stis i belive, i would advise getting eibach springs ot teins for better road handling

KYB Excel G will be similar to standard WRX set up, Ultra SRs will be similar to STi set up but will work better with lowered springs

Thanks for the replies guys and one last question...

It's only one rear shock that's knocking but I'll buy a pair. Would you recommend changing all four at the same time or is there no need?

Always replace in pairs (L+R). If you go for the Excel G's it is probably fine to just replace rears but the Ultra SR have 180% damping compared to standard so will be much firmer so would recommend replacing all 4 together. (Only know these responses as I asked the exact question on here recently)

Are u sure its one shock thats knocking as sound travels and the others will go eventually.
Depends on what ur replacing it with. I would go for a pair or better still all 4 that way u can forget about em and move to the next upgrade step lol

The OE KYB is an inverted monotube damper system. There are a couple of aftermarket KYB's, which are an inferior design and performance. The OE STi being the best, for all its knocking etc, and fully stripped & serviced I would jump that way :)

Thanks Wilbo. Unfortunately, I can't use the search function on our work computers, so was unable to dig around and see if the question had been asked before.

I appreciate the help and will now have to decide which to go for.

So you'd go for the used STI shocks I've been offered? My local specialist have their own scooby rally cars and he says the same as you - but I wasn't sure if he was just providing me a solution, instead of the best one for me.

Yeah, it's defo the rear left. When the cars parked, I can press down on the rear wing and feel the 'clunk' through the bodywork. I get the knock even when I take the handbrake off to drive away as the car settles. Quite bad.

I personally would dissagree with that option, i would go new kyb ultra sr with lowering springs as kyb srs are more firmer that sti but its your choice mate:thumb:

See? This is why I always ask forums. :) There's so many different opinions. I'm not looking for the platinum solution here as I just don't have the spare cash to throw at the car these days. As long as I'm getting an upgrade of some sort when parts wear out, I'm happy.

Go with whatever u can afford mate the sti ones make be spot on for you, u just take risks with buying 2nd parts.
Also sti shocks go for around £200-300 so u just have to work out what labour u are being charged

He's going to charge me £400 including labour and geometry setup, and I'm going up to see the shocks before I agree to fitting them. He's an upfront honest specialist but his opinion is only one opinion :)

Have a read at this what i found


Hi all, thought some people might be interested to know a "third Way" to sort out the inverted struts failures.

As we all know, inverted struts on New Age Imprezas like to fail. these were fitted on STi's form around 2001 and to WRX's from MY 2005 (so note that 54 plate and on WRX's may be on inverted struts!).

The failure mode is that the struts run out of grease, and the damer itself doesn't fail, but the strut starts to knock and bang at low speeds, and you may hear graunching as you manouver at low speed. Ride quality will be affected. You may notice the car "settle" when coming off the handbrake, or after coming to rest usually with a nasty graunching noise. Like it or not handling will be affected because the damper is unable to damp properly because of the "sticktion" in the strut (primary friction that must be overcome before the strut starts to move and the damper can damp)

This picture shows the thickness of the "damper tube (actualy the damper body) on an inverted strut
Normal struts are much thinner in the damper rod:
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1296x776.


Up until now, it seems like there are 2 ways to "properly" fix this problem,

1) Fit Coilovers and replace the suspension wholesale. Fine if your car is a weekend driver/special stage warrior, or you want to alter ride height drastically. HOwever, without spending £1000 or more I'm still not convinced that you can get real ride quality out of coilovers. The adjustability available goes without saying though and it is undoubtably the best route for some.

2) Disassemble the existing inverted shocks, regrease them, and if you're doing a proper job, fit grease nipples so you can stay on top of the problem and periodically re grease them. No doubt this would work well, particularly if you did it before the shocks actually failed. However, I'm not a fan of having to re-grease my suspension, even just with a grease gun every 3 months or so. My struts had also been failed for a while, so the damper bodies looked scored and no doubt the seals were properly knackered too so any fix wouldn't last long.

Subaru wanted £550 A STRUT for replacements!

So I decided to go my own route: I wanted a nice riding car with good handling, suitable for daily and fast road use. I did not want inverted struts as KYB have been making them for 10 years and they've been failing for 10 years! This doesn't fill me with faith for the aftermarket solutions like KYB Ultra-SR's
I did a lot of work looking up and finding out Damping rates and spring rates, and I also ended up getting into lots of bother because KYB if you ask them state that their Excel G shocks do not fit cars 2004-2006. There is good reason for this - they have to say that to avoid annoying Subaru because they are OEM suppliers and have a deal that they will not release after market parts until 5 years after the model build run has finished, to protect Subaru dealer revenue.
The standard KYB Excel-G shocks, and Ultra SR's (shown 2003 >on) WILL fit 2005/2006 model year cars despite what KYB say if you phone them direct!
The other issue is some confusion re Top mount fitting. This appears to be a non issue amongst WRX's. All top mounts appear to be the same 2003-2006 and most likelt 2001-2006 FOR WRX's. STis may be different. If you're fitting STi Struts onto a WRX car, make sure you have Sti top mounts too.

Anyway, My Solution: (Fora MY05 WRX PPP Wagon)
I got KYB Excel G Shock absorbers From Camskill. (nb These are Wagon, chsssis code GG specific!)
I got Eibach Pro-Kit Springs because their srping rate was only 20% up on standard, and they lowered a modest 20mm and I don't want to ruin my geometry or handling for the sake of looks, but I do think a slight lowering actually helps in twisties and looks a little better for a performance car. They also make Wagoon, GG chassis code specific springs - the wagon is only 20Kg heavier, but it's all over the rear axle and these springs have a higher progression rate for the wagon to cope with loads).
I got 2 sets of Eibach Camber bolts.
I took the car to rich at FB Tuning for Fitting and 4 way alignment.

HEre's all the stuff - About £580 all in


Here is how the car sat before:




Here is how the car sits now:




It's also been aligned, about -1.2 deg neg camber at the rear, -1.5 at the front, 5 mins toe in at the front and 2 at the rear. This was what Rich @ FB tuning recommended for me given my requirements.

I picked the car up this morning. It was raining hard and I haven't got time for a "proper" drive now but first impressions:

1) Instantly, primary ride comfort is there. Previously, the car was "Jiggly"... no primary ride/harshness reduction at all, and I guess this was because the shock struts were efefctively stuck in their tubes and took quite a big amplitude bump to knock them into motion. Now, the car feels like a magic carpet ride (Comparitively). It glides along very, very nicely.

2) Ride height looks good. I wouldn't want to go any lower personally, but the wheels sit well in the arches and the 4x4 front arch gap has gone.

3) Jurys still out on geometry. I impressed upon Rich at FB tuning that this is an everyday family car that needs to handle when a twisty road presents itself, not a tarmac special stage warrior. In the wet it's hard to tell to be honest. I had a couple of good hoons in the car as it was before, so I'll have to find time to compare when conditions are right. Nothing feels wrong, anyway.

Rich (in his own words: "I do nothing but drive these things") was impressed - he's driven it 30 miles for a shakedown and general condition check. He's asked me to get back to him with an update once I've had a chance to get used to the car and find any problems, but if all is dandy he said he'd be recommending this damper/spring combo to customers who want a comfy fast road set up because he was impressed with the Eibach springs.

So, first impressions are I'm happy. Time will tell exactly how happy.


Sumamry: Important points that I've learned:
KYB aftermarket shocks, either Excel-G's or Ultra SR's WILL FIT WRX's from 2003-2006 no problems. you do NOT need new top mounts front and rear.
Many springs are either too short or to ostiff or both. Eibach Pro R'#s seem good.
If you want a cheap all round solution, a pair of rear shocks are £160 form Camskill, or the whole set ar £330 for Excel-G's or £370 for Ultra SR's and these will work fine with Standard springs.
Camber bolts are needed if yo ulower the car - £20 a pair for Eibachs.
So what are your options:
If you want a really aggressive set up with loads of adjustability, go for coilovers.
If you want an STi spec set up, then KYB Ultra SR shocks have slightly more damping force than Sti shocks, and are inverted design. Combine with your chosen springs for lowering - again Eiabch Pro-Kit/Pro-R springs will work well and not drop the car too far.
If you want to refresh your WRX suspension, Excel-G Shocks will fit fine and ride nicely, and can be combined with a MILD drop if you choose but I would not drop the car any more than I have (20mm) on them as they will not control a much shorter stiffer spring adequately! This wil lstop the inverted shock failure mode as you now have right way up shocks!
If you are happy to keep your standard inverted shocks alive, rebuild them with grease nipples and stay on top of lubrication.

My first set of KYB's lasted all of 24k miles. :cry:

For road use, I wouldn't want to go any firmer than the STi damper

This is probably good advice. I personally dont know what the STi dampers feel like so will try and get a passenger ride before making up my choice. I am starting to think I will go for the Excel G shocks as my WRX is a daily driver and wont really see any track time except for maybe 1 or 2 car limits days each year.

Which model were they?

Fair point but i also like to do some trackdays and dont want to go down the coilover route:thumb:

Those are fair points too :)

Good luck :thumb:

Hi mate, I fitted KYB Excel G's to my car after the inverted stuts failed. Very happy with the results. MY car is designed to be a compliant road set up though! Just lowered it slightly wit Eibach Pro-R springs.
Read about it here: https://www.scoobynet.com/suspension...pe-struts.html

If you're after fast road/occasional trackdays, I think the excel G's might be too soft, so I'd go towards Ultra SR's. They're about £200 a rear pair or £370 a set I think.

Personally I'd avoid 'used' ten year old inverted strut suspension. There's every chance it was pulled off the car because it was knocking....