Hi All,

I've had my 56 plate hawkeye impreza sti PPP spec-d for nearly 2 years now and I've been slowly working my way round the car fixing issues as they've come up (knocking rear shocks & droplinks, 4 wheel geometry check, blowing exhaust, secondary air system delete kit, diff & gearbox oil change, tyres) and generally spending lots of money and enjoying my car!

But ... I've left this one until last because I really don't know what to do. For some reason the car has forester front shocks and because they are wider than impreza ones they rub slightly on the inner arches and make the car look a bit lofty, I've no idea what the front springs are but could be forester sti springs - the car is VERY stiff all round with very little dip/dive/roll and still handles very nicely.

So, I'm looking to replace the front shocks and will no doubt need new springs to go with them so may as well change the springs all round.

I've done lots of research but really don't know what to do for the best and don't what to spend lots of money (need some for pads & discs all round and the next set of tyres!)

The rest of the suspension is as follows:
Whiteline front ARB & Droplinks
Whiteline adjustable rear ARB & droplinks
KYB 'standard' sti rear shocks
Red rear springs, guessing at prodrive ones

I'm not looking at coilovers or anything expensive or extreme and I'm currently thinking of:
Shocks - either standard KYB front sti shocks (to match the rear) or I saw a pair of RB320 ones recently at a decent price (I think they'll fit as my car as it is a hawkeye sti wide track like the RB320)
Springs - standard sti fronts, Prodrive lowering spring all round or something else all round which still lowers the car.

I'm not look to be silly low just a bit lower than standard and definitely lower than the current forrester setup!!! Currently the top tyre to arch gap is about 60mm front & 40mm rear.

The car is really stiff at the moment so I don't mind if it is still stiff or if it softens slightly (I do have 2 young children...)

Can anybody give me some pointers or a nudge in the right direction for a NON money no object solution. I could do with some advice as I appreciate that suspension set-ups can make or break the feel of a car. It feels really good at the moment but looks a bit silly and the rubbing noise is really annoying plus the front has obvious +ve camber which quickly wears the outer edges of the tyres.

Sorry about the long essay! It's only my 1st post too lol.

Cheers,
Chris

 

pca dynamics might have a suitable sti set on the way:
https://www.scoobynet.com/suspension...some-info.html

might be a useful read:
https://www.scoobynet.com/suspension...e-heights.html

 

Thank you for the links, funnily enough I spotted those after I posted.

After a quick scour of eBay I have found:
A set of red prodrive springs - they would match my rear setup
A set of black RB320 springs - I understand that these only fit RB320 rear shocks but are interchangeable at the front so would be a miss-match of spring type
RB320 front shocks - will these fit straight onto a hawk sti widetrack?

Failing that, looks I like might have to get KYB front shocks or wait for these other ones to become available.

Any ideas gratefully received, thanks
Chris

 

Rb320 front struts will fit on to your hawk but your need the matching rear dampers as there a completely different rate to the kyb struts.

I have a set of 5/4 spring rate BC type ra coilovers coming off my hawk next week if that's any interest to you.
There only 6 months old.

If you do go with the kyb struts I also have a set of stock sti springs if you need them.

 

I'd go with what matches the rears or wait for the PCA Dynamics springs, I have a full set of his springs for the measly sum of £200 it's the best thing I've done to the car.

 

I don't think KYB do aftermarket replacements for widetracks yet, pretty sure only dealers stock them and hence you get rinsed for it but someone might know otherwise.
Tried Import car parts?

I think aftermarket OEM style shocks are still only available for the 5 x 100 PCD models.
Similarly, Pedders do em but only for that size.

You can go the coilover route but if you want comfort forget it, the best thing you could probably do would be to buy a second hand set of widetrack STI shocks and have them professionally stripped and rebuilt, AND have whoever does the work install grease nipples on the rear shocks so they can be re-greased without having to strip the units down in future - should sort out your knocking problems.
My car had standard STI shocks with Tein springs when I bought it and it handled well, was comfy and nicely stanced.
The rears started knocking about 6 months later and I went for coilovers, and they're just not as good on our shoddy UK roads nowadays, but they were a cheaper alternative than sourcing 4 new ones from a dealership.

 

Thank you all for your advice so far, I've doing doing a bit more research following your input and talking to my local impreza specialist and have come to the conclusion that I have the following options:

New KYB sti front dampers and impreza cups + a set of replacement springs (either 2nd hand prodrive, or new PCA dynamics)
Complete (spring, cups & dampers) 2nd hand standard sti setup off a hawk and consider replacement springs all round but not necessary
2nd hand set of coilovers from a Hawk

Coilovers seem to be the easiest option to be happy that I've got all the right bits to replace the dodgy front setup that I've got, despite it not necessarily being the best answer, I'd rather get sti front shocks and PCA springs but I'm nervous of it turning into a bigger job than I'm expecting (also needing this that and the other)

Just researching BC type ra coilovers and different spring rates but running way outside my knowledge comfort zone now - how do they rate against other brands (specialist I spoke to wasn't very polite about them?!)

Think I also need to research suspension components so I understand this whole top mount, cup size thing and what differs with a forrester.

Cheers,
Chris

PS. seems like a friendly, helpful site this...

 

Can anyone offer advice regarding the different spring rates? What is stiffest and what is the softest that can by used?

Any experiences welcomed!

Thanks,
Chris

 

I fitted RB320 front struts on my 06 STI to replace the originals that were knocking. I've got (rebuilt) standard rear dampers, but Tein springs all round. Ride/handling is absolutely fine, and imo better than stock.

 

Im a bit late to this, but we do do lowering coils for wide track Sti.

 

Front and rear rates, at ride height, and rates just before coil bind?

 

Where's Pedders01 answer gone?
It was here this morning.