Claudius

They are this model, gravel spec with 60 N/mm springs front and 30 N/mm rear. Not sure about the compensator spring rates.



I had the cartridge cut down and the hydraulics softened to make them raod useable. Cost £300. They are pretty good, but a little jumpy from the back. I'll have to play with the rebound settings, but they are a bitch to access, given that the screw is on top of the damper They are still a little on the hard side though, not absorbing bumps and holes as comfortably as the Öhlins I have on the Evo. I believe that's dut to the rebound setting being completely open, allowing the wheels to go into a small hole too quickly and then coming back quite suddenly. I really have to play with all those settings, but they're a bitch to figure out, with the rears influencing the front etc.

Anyway, sorry about bothering you with my BS, they're the ones in the pic above

I'm sure Alyn will confirm that these are the same as the earlier Proflex shocks, but simply assembled in Belgium.

[Edited by Claudius - 5/4/2003 5:13:26 PM]

STI VIII

I own a STI '03

I want to change the suspension!
I hear (and read) Leda is the best but noisy.
I dont want any sounds coming from my shock absorbers so what is the best kit to go for??
I spoke a dealer here in Holland and he was very pleased whith Bilstein!
Is there someone whith a Bilstein suspension who can tell me if its any good?
Or some oder recomendations?

Thanks in advance.

Roald

madou

Why do you want to change the suspension ? What are you trying to achieve ?

Leda fan club is active in parts. I have it on a MY98. I'm sure that Leda R&D has increased to the extent that they now rival serious makers such as Proflex and Ohlins ... ha ha ha ... how quickly I have adopted the fine English sense of humour

Bilsten had a good reputation, but have tried to go down market with mixed results, witness PSS-9 kit for Impreza, ... oops valving, ... oops strut length, what's my wheel travel again ?

If you want ride height adjust only you may want to investigate Proflex "Shocks for Daily Use"

http://www.belgiumact.com

or if you have deeper pockets and don't buy the Leda "they all do that Sir" rattle stories on Coil Overs Type 46HRMX for the New Age

http://www.ohlins.com

Best to drive a your model with the suspension you intend to buy fitted to see if it actually does what you want

Look on the Bright Side, you live in Rotterdam and have a MY 03 STi

STI VIII

At first I find the ride very nervous!
And second the car is to high on its feet.

I heard Leda is the way to go but if it ratlles I'm not sure.

But Thanks for the links and what do you mean by Greetings.
Roald

Kippax

it depends how much you have to spend roald. i personally trust the ledas. its easy for me in the UK to get different springs for them, get them re-conditioned and get the damping rates adjusted internally. i dont know of any other company who offer this service for £1200.

the bilstein PSS9 kit seemed to have a fundamental damping problem.

stu.

madou

Roald

During what move do you find the car nervous ? When people say nervous they often mean during a corner. If so do you mean during turn in, mid corner, or exit ?

Proflex "Shocks for Daily Use" are ride height Adjustable. Is it the look of the ride height that bothers you, or would you be happy if the handling was to your liking at this ride height ?

Proflex UK via AS Performance http://www.as-performance.co.uk sell "Shocks for Daily Use" made up to your own spring and damper choice at GBP 1150 + UK Value Added Tax @ 17.5% = GBP 1351.25 inc vat. As per Belgium ACT website Euro price is Euro 1500 ( GBP 1049.70 @ 1 GBP = 0.6998 Euro )

"Fundamental Damping Problem" arising from valving on Bilstein PSS-9 is claimed to be resolved. This still does not resolve the problem the strut is the wrong length and so cannot provide correct wheel travel. Unfortunate, as other PSS-9 applications, such as Porsche 993 are well regarded

OK, I admit I like Utrecht better :-) but you still have nice new car

Apple

"or if you have deeper pockets http://www.ohlins.com"

last I heard these were approximately £2400 per set and were released sometime near January 2003

Apple

Claudius

Leda is rubbish. They leak, fail, stick, etc.

You're Dutch, get Proflex. They are the best you can get with Öhlins, but Öhlins are Swedish. You will have better support in the Netherlands with Proflex. And dont get the road kit, that's for pussies What you want is called Proflex Evo 3

I saw your message on that Kraut BBS LOL

STI VIII

Thanks for the replies.
Its a small world!!
I thought Bilstein is from Germany soo lets ask them ;-)

Proflex is a good idea Claudius .

About the ride :
I'm gonna let them check the wheel-alignement today maybe the handling wil improve!


And what I want from a suspension is :
not to be noisy.
it lowers the car.
It improves the handling!!
Adjustable shocks.
And it must last for more than 50.000 kilometers.(without rebuild)

Greetings.

Roald

STI VIII

Its nervous during turn in and mid corner , corner exit is ok (pedal to the metal)!

Thanks for the link.

Roald

Claudius

Hi Roald

It is unbelievably small!

Generally, Germans are more concerned with getting the biggest, widest wheels and lowest possible ride rather than efficiency and handling. They even came up with something called "Federwegbegrenzer" so they can lower the cars even more without bottoming out the struts. It will make your bumpers and exhausts scrape the road, but it wont be efficient...

Proflex Evo 3 is the best you can buy for more or less sensible money.

That's always a good thing to do. You will find too much toe in and not enough front camber...

The Proflex will give you all of the above with additional comfort. It may be a little noisy, but nothing scary. Regarding rebuild frequency, it depends on how you drive. If you just cruise along with the additionnal back road blast, you'll be fine for 10,000 km. If you use the car on track or for rally, you'll need to have the dampers serviced every other event or so. I use the equivalent of those, Öhlins, on my road car and get the oil and a few rubber parts changed once a year. Costs 110 EUR.

Kippax

claudius, i have never had the problems you refer to with leda's and do not accept that they are rubbish as you put it.

i find your irreverent replies unnecessary and irritating.

Claudius

Ok.

I recommend everybody who wants to know more about suspension actually goes to the link you provided and reads it. My replies are far from being useless! Unlike your suspension setup! LOL

Kippax

claudius,

i dont remember using the word useless. you dont seem to have much else to do judging by the frequency of your posts. i wouldnt advertise the fact that you spend most of your time behaving like a pr!ck on the internet and excusing yourself with smiley icons.

stuart.

Claudius

I dont remember you using it either.

I cant remember apologising?

madou

Apple

Basic Ohlins dampers ( single adjust for bump and rebound, no height adjust ) work out a c. GBP 2K for an old shape Impreza

Ohlins Sweden recommend you use the Eibach Pro-Kit springs with them

Talk to Jorge Iribar at Ohlins UK Sales, he has them in stock www.activatech.co.uk

Problem with the above is that you are close to c. GBP 2.5K by the time you have them fitted, for which you should be able to get good secondhand Proflex Evo 3

http://www.belgiumact.com/full%20bearingw.htm

AS Performance were very helpful, gave me a guide secondhand guide price of GBP 1.5K ( need refurbishment ) to GBP 2.5 K ( good condition ), but said they don't seem to come up that often, and I haven't had any luck in finding a set :-(

Would also consider Proflex Evo 2

Claudius

Are you sure? I dont think they have been around for long enough...

Claudius

I know a guy in France selling a set of Aragostas for 2000 EUR.

STI VIII

I asked a price for the Proflex GR Na and the price is 4500 Euro!!
Proflex suspension with only highted adjustment are 1800 Euro!

I can get the Bilstein suspension for under 1500 Euro
And Koni is even cheaper here in The Netherlands and there both fully adjustable.
The problem is that I dont now how the ride is gonna be with the Koni's !
One thing about Koni is that there quality is outstanding.
And the factory is about 40 miles away so if there is a problem I think its easy to fix!

Leda b is gonna cost me about 2000 Euro!
These are prices without fitting.

So what would you do??

Roald.

Claudius

I would buy the Proflex Evo 3 because I am me and I know that the suspension is the most important thing on the car, but I can understand what you mean about the huge price difference. Koni quality isnt "outstanding" I'd say; and these dampers arent the same design either, they are dual tubes AFAIAA.

madou

Claudius

Thanks !

Which model are the set of Aragosta's ?

http://www.aragosta-suspension.com/gallery-sh.html

Aragosta don't have a UK distributor though, which is why I was trying to find secondhand Proflex, and get support through AS Performance

stavros

my advice........TEIN