Advice for springs?

[rookrex]

I've been looking alot at getting the SPT STi Pink Wagon springs. I've heard the wagons also take well to Epic Springs. I know that this is kinda a shot in the dark because there aren't alot of wagons on teh board. What setups do people have? Any other springs to consider or stay away from? I would consider coilovers but I think they're all out of my price range.

This is something I've never done and I have essentially zero knowledge of springs/struts/coilovers. Any advice will be helpful!

I have a cobb rear sway and helix endlinks that I'm planning on installing saturday morning. (no need to thread jack a BWW thread anymore! )

[Crispy]

I think RCE and Swift both make wagon specific springs. There's also the Saggy Butt Shims to help cure the problems.

[KSwrxWAGON]

Here's an older link for different spring rates:
http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/spring/spring.html

Getting wagon-specific springs will help keep the rear end from drooping since you can see the stock wagon spring rates are higher than the sedan. Do you want them to just lower the car or are you going for a hard spring that will help limit body roll at autocrosses? Get a front swaybar in the future...it keeps the car more balanced in fast transitions and reduces the chance of lift-throttle oversteer.

Here's a mega-thread for wagon suspension setups from NASIOC that has been active since 2004...BIGSKYWRX knows what he is talking about. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=478371&page=79

The RCE springs are probably what I would go for, but I would upgrade my struts at the same time. The ride will be flat, firm, and rock solid around just about anything. The Tokico D-Specs are decent and don't cost too much. Here is the RCE website: http://racecompengineering.com/osc/index.php?cPath=21_28_31

Hope that helps!

[rookrex]

I've been trying to read that Nasioc post for a little while, I'll try to check out bigskywrx posts.

I figure if I'm going to get something it ought to be functional and make the car look better. The more and more I'm looking at it, it looks like upgrading struts needs to be done too with most springs...

If you're going to upgrade springs and struts why woudn't you just get coilovers? It seems it would be close to the same price.

I'll keep reading! Hopefully I can find some ok springs that work on stock struts!

[KSwrxWAGON]

If I upgrade to coilovers, then I want the best and will blow more money in the long run. There are plenty of nice coilovers, for sure. The spring/strut upgrade is (or can be) less expensive and gives an easier setup. If you are going this route, you could certainly try to upgrade just the springs and see how you like it. When you are ready or when your struts give up, you could upgrade the struts later.

For coilovers, I would get ZZYZX and would be eating rice and beans for a year . You would gain a lot more adjustability and could really fine tune the ride for your taste.

[WRXNFX]

For coilovers, I would get ZZYZX and would be eating rice and beans for a year . You would gain a lot more adjustability and could really fine tune the ride for your taste.

Last I knew he had haulted production.

Springs alone will be fine especially on an 07. The shocks will go for years even with springs.

[TunedAlready02]

Ive put about 3k miles on my Tein S-techs with stock struts, no complaints thus far except for gettings stuck on the beach and bottoming out when doing some wrc in the country.

[fishawrx]

I've been using tien s-techs on my wagon for a few years now. No complaints. I might be able to help you w/ spring/shock install if you give me a heads up. I'm in OP and you're in PV right?

[Legacy]

Its already been said, but it all depends on what you want out of the car. Whether you want to track it, or at least want it to drive like you are in a track car, or if you want a lowered stance with a smooth ride.

I put Tein H-techs on the Leggy, just to get a bit lower, but keep the smooth ride. No complaints with the H-techs at all. Firm when you need it, but smooth for everyday driving. Haven't rubbed the front clip yet either, which is a definite bonus!

[rookrex]

I've been using tien s-techs on my wagon for a few years now. No complaints. I might be able to help you w/ spring/shock install if you give me a heads up. I'm in OP and you're in PV right?

Thanks! I'll definitely be hitting you up once I settle on a set. (looking for used ones now)

I also might hit you up because I have to do pads and rotors sometime soon and I have no idea what I'm doing....

[dukenukem]

Has anyone suggested Prodrive springs yet? If not then thats my suggestion.

[rookrex]

Has anyone suggested Prodrive springs yet? If not then thats my suggestion.

I've heard you can't buy them anymore, but that Epic springs are made by the guy that designed the prodrives and they are essentially the same thing. I'm leaning toward the epics, but i'm still waiting to see what pops up used.

[Hydrolix]

I have had the prodrive springs on stock struts. They drop was just about right. Ride was ok, but a little bouncy. Probably due to the stiffer spring on a not so stiff damper. These are considered performance springs as opposed to lowering springs. They are designed to match the dynamics of the stock struts so that you lose the bobble-head and lower the car a tad. They only lower the car 20mm both front and back as lowering the front more than the back, which a lot of lowering springs do, causes an imbalance in the car.

I liked these for a while but as I got more into autoX and such I wanted more and went to the BC Racing BR type coilovers with springs rated at 8K front/6k rear. They ride great on the street and are a lot smoother than the prodrive/stock strut solution. They are also 1 way adjustable with 30 settings and are only marginally more expensive than a prodrive/tokico solution and in the event that they ever need rebuilt BC Racing will mail you a brand new coilover with a box for you to return the old one in for $99.00.

Since my WRX is now more dedicated to AutoX and hopefully other racing in the future I'm already ready to upgrade to BC Racing's ER series coils which are 2 way adjustable with reserve reservoirs. Since you can custom order several different spring rates I'm probably going to go 10k front/12k rear this time upon the recommendations of a few friends I trust.

I hope that helps.

[ScoobyDooKC]

So, my rear suspension now likes to make a nice squishy sound when driving or just pushing down on that side of the car..... new struts needed probably?

I was thinking of going cheep and getting kyb gr2's, and thinking of either getting STi springs or SPT pink wagon springs...I've been reading a bit and it appears that for an '03 like mine, you have to swap in some '04 parts in, like a tophat and other stuff...is that right? Might be interested in buying such if needed......but if there were direct drop-in wagon springs besides stock OEM, I'd jump on them.

Oh yeah, this is an '03 wagon that is a DD, but frankly I wouldn't mind something with a firm setting, and wanting to keep this semi affordable, so no coilovers etc. It's at 95k now, so I

Am I looking in the right direction?

[Hydrolix]

IIRC, 2003 had different tophats for the rear springs than the STis. To use a STi spring you will need either the STi tophats or an aftermarket one designed for the STi.

I know you are on a budget, but if you are buying new parts you are looking at around $500 for a set of KYB G2s, $250-300 for the STi springs, and I'm not sure how much for the top-hats. Of course if you find all this stuff used you can get it cheaper, but if you are buying new why not pay slightly more for the coils. BC Racing BR Type Coils retail for $999.00. I can probably get them in for you for less than that.

If you were just swapping springs that's a lot cheaper than coils, but if you have to get struts too then the price difference is negligible and well worth it for the coils. Plus you won't have to assemble them either