Im a forum virgin so please be gentle!!

I just bought a WRX classic and am really pleased however the suspension is too hard and bouncy, also the front ARB is bent and needs replacing,

Im not after a great handling car under "extreme driving" but something that is comfortable to drive (I have a 4-year old!!)

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

All depends what your budget is fella?

 

TBH i don't know depends on the kit and results!! I don't want to spend 500+ on a kit i will only take off cause i don't like it!

 

Is the car lowered then mate to make it to hard and bouncy or is it just tired and worn out?
Oh and welcome to SN fella

 

Thanks for the welcome

Im not sure either way!

I think its been lowered too far as the shocks still have the stickers on in Japanese but the springs are quite rusty it is quite hard, speedbumps are a nightmare and driving over a coke can causes me to hit my head!! straight roads are good though!

 

Also I forgot to say it wanders quite bad!!

 

Sounds like it has been lowered by the fact it is bump steering which can be solved with a roll centre correction kit but if you want to go back to standard height then I would be looking in the for sale section on here for a complete setup someone has took off to put uprated kit on.
I've got 2 rear standard height shocks which have done around 3k miles so VGC which you could buy of me if your interested which would only leave 2 fronts to find.
I've uprated to Bilstein prodrive shocks all round on mine!

 

I agree, sounds like you are the typical overdamped, overlowered, no travel springs/struts/coilovers. If you can snap a pic, we can tell you what you have under there.

A standard set of springs/fixed perch dampers would do you well. Unfortunately, its a lot of parts to buy and find piece by piece. So I agree with the others, search the for sale sections for people selling take-off struts. You can utilize all the parts (springs, tophats, bumpstops, perches, etc.) and just get fresh dampers. You'll have suspension travel, a milder spring rate and more forgiving damping.

 

Not me I bought it like it!!!

Il try take some pics on monday and post them

Got to strip it anyway and sort the clicking on the front wheel!

 

See if you can source a good set of second hand Sti Shocks/springs. They are all inter-changeable from '92-00. A good compromise between the OE WRX stuff and too hard (IMO) coilovers. example here, though I wouldn't pay £275 for these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Subaru-Impreza...item483f1b68b4

 

I as just looking at these what do you think?

 

Soz forgot the link

(Noobie error!!)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Seller has good feedback, so they should be as described, but he does seem to sell a lot of scooby parts and I'd be worried its a general photo of suspension (i.e. might not be of the ones for sale).

No mention of mileage and they seem cheap, but might be worth a punt.

They're from a UK car, so the ride will be well suited to our roads.

 

Thanx for the input

I was already watching these but didnt like the condition in the photo's

 

Thanks for your help i just bought them will post results when fitted!!

Now for front ARB as mine is bent!!!

 

Agree on the condition of the Sti ones and thats why I said they're not worth the £275. Good luck with the purchase

 

those will do you fine. you'll be much happier with the ride quality. Car will feel more wallowy but will be able to float nicely over b-roads. a larger rear swaybar and endlinks will bring precision back to your ride. enjoy!

 

The problem you have is prob s the lads above have described. the solution I dont agree with tho. You could be about to spend £300 on a set of used struts that you have no idea of the condition or how long they will last. They could be on the car 5 mins and spring a leak or 3 years with no issues.
In my opinion remove the jap set up you have and flog it on ebay. Speak to Bren at Apex and see what deals he is currently doing on the BC BR series coilovers or the Apex branded units. They are around £550 and would be a much better buy as they are new and are pretty good for the price. I had a set of the inverted ones on my race RA and they were very well made and worked well, and one thing I can say is that the after sales service is first class.
Link to the group buy below.

https://www.scoobynet.com/781390-bc-...lovers-27.html

 

i respectfully disagree, no BC setup will ever be as supple and compliant as the OEM WRX setup. Spring rates are too high and travel too limited. You are right, however, that its a crapshoot in regards to the condition of the struts. But like I said, he can pick up a set of new fixed perch struts to use with all the hardware he just bought for 89 quid. KYB's, koni's or tokicos and he's good to go.

 

Thanks peeps

 

Got a standard front ARB you can have for the cost of postage.

 

Cheers bud

How much?

Ill chuck a drink your way for the hassle

 

Cost of the postage only, call it a £10 due to the size? PM me your address and I'll send it Tuesday and because I'm nice like that, I'll throw in a standard rear one too, gets it out of my shed .

 

Absoluteley no chance ,not only does he sell lots of parts,,he is not liked by alot of ebay sellers who sell scooby bits ,as his price is normally miles cheaper than everybody else. .How is the o/p getting on with his new set up ???

 

Not bad, I ordered the struts off Ebay, they turned up two days later in really good condition, Fitted the rears and it is soooo much better, not sure about doing the fronts now as it is a smooth drive and the car sits level!

Also the struts that come off were Potenza Rally shocks no wonder it was so hard!

 

You need to fit both front and rear. The balance of you car, at the least will be horrible, at the worst, dangerous. You will have the tendency to understeer massively mid corner with the danger of snap oversteer with that comparatively softer rear end and stiff front. Install the front end, do it properly.

And don't forget to have your geometry set afterwards.

 

You were right!!!

I never drive my car hard, but in a moment of madness i threw it into a roundabout foot planted to the floor for a 4-wheel slide and guess what







Went str8 on

 

How not to drive regardless of understeer

If you have a classic, get theses and a nice set of P1 springs off Woodbutch on here and you'll have a great, capable and comfy set up

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m10b0s2628...O_2000_UK_SPEC

 

I respectfully disagree with you there.
My WRX on prodrive springs was harder than the car on BC's with 5/4 springs, and this was confirmed by a couple of mates who rode in the back at the weekend, both of who said it was far more comfortable than it had been with the OEM WRX shocks.

The trouble is, any dampers you buy second hand are going to have a fair few miles on them. If you whack lowering springs on em (if you chose to) it's only going to make it worse.
Paying slightly more for new kit, even if it's £100 more is SO worth it IMHO.

However, to the O/P - Arnie_1 is right when he says once you've fitted your shocks front and rear you should have a 4 wheel laser alignment and geometry setup; otherwise the car will likely still wander all over the road. It'll probably cost you between £100-120, but it will be money well spent.