Member Profile: HyRax

[Boostaddict]

Super tidy as per usual

[dr20t]

Awesomeupdate

Really like the way you post your reviews of mods

Very tastefully done too

Mick

[HyRax]

Thanks guys!

[McDoof]

What are your thoughts on the Rota wheels as far as quality goes?

[shav]

Just read your last major post Jeff. Love your review of the coil overs. Nice work. Makes me want to get some now. haha

[HyRax]

What are your thoughts on the Rota wheels as far as quality goes?

Aside from the centre caps not liking a lot of heat on the track, I find they work very well - no issues day to day and no issues on the track. I've had my wheels for a few years now.

Just read your last major post Jeff. Love your review of the coil overs. Nice work. Makes me want to get some now. haha

Cheers. They do feel pretty good. If you like to corner hard and stay flat, they are a boon, but if you want to do a lot of trackwork, you'll need something better than BC Racing long term - the spring rates on my BC BR's are too soft for everyday trackwork.

I wouldn't recommend them for those who want to keep the "luxury" ride of the factory setup, though. Probably look at normal lowered/STi springs instead if you want to be lower but not too firm.

[shav]

Cheers. They do feel pretty good. If you like to corner hard and stay flat, they are a boon, but if you want to do a lot of trackwork, you'll need something better than BC Racing long term - the spring rates on my BC BR's are too soft for everyday trackwork.

I wouldn't recommend them for those who want to keep the "luxury" ride of the factory setup, though. Probably look at normal lowered/STi springs instead if you want to be lower but not too firm.

Good point. I am one for flat handling and comfort levels. I just reverted back to OEM springs recently from the Teins and since doing that I have come to love the comfort all over again. Plus I dont feel as if I have lost much in the way of handling to be honest. Not sure why or if its the fact that my previous shockers were rooted, I have wider wheels or what. The car just seems to handle quite nicely. Much nicer than before the Teins.

[McDoof]

Cheers. They do feel pretty good. If you like to corner hard and stay flat, they are a boon, but if you want to do a lot of trackwork, you'll need something better than BC Racing long term - the spring rates on my BC BR's are too soft for everyday trackwork.

I wouldn't recommend them for those who want to keep the "luxury" ride of the factory setup, though. Probably look at normal lowered/STi springs instead if you want to be lower but not too firm.

Good point. I am one for flat handling and comfort levels. I just reverted back to OEM springs recently from the Teins and since doing that I have come to love the comfort all over again. Plus I dont feel as if I have lost much in the way of handling to be honest. Not sure why or if its the fact that my previous shockers were rooted, I have wider wheels or what. The car just seems to handle quite nicely. Much nicer than before the Teins.

Sway bars. probably the best bang for your buck handling improvement. Now if I could just get time to fit mine.

[shav]

Sway bars. probably the best bang for your buck handling improvement. Now if I could just get time to fit mine.

Yep, done those to front and rear. I reckon that has definitely helped for sure. Set to full hard.

[HyRax]

Sway bars. probably the best bang for your buck handling improvement.

Absolutely.

Yep, done those to front and rear. I reckon that has definitely helped for sure. Set to full hard.

Same here - they made a huge difference by themselves.

This weekend I'll be trying out Whiteline's "grease-free" bushings. I want to see if they perform as well as they claim, because regreasing after rain or dirt is the only bane of aftermarket swaybars.

[shav]

Sway bars. probably the best bang for your buck handling improvement.

Absolutely.

Yep, done those to front and rear. I reckon that has definitely helped for sure. Set to full hard.

Same here - they made a huge difference by themselves.

This weekend I'll be trying out Whiteline's "grease-free" bushings. I want to see if they perform as well as they claim, because regreasing after rain or dirt is the only bane of aftermarket swaybars.

Yeah let us know Jeff. Not that Im having any issues but it would good to know the options should I come across any problems.

[Jiyujin]

Hey Jeff,

I really like what you have done to your Lib .... also thank you for the tutorial vids. They have been very helpful!

Cheers,
Al

[HyRax]

I really like what you have done to your Lib .... also thank you for the tutorial vids. They have been very helpful!

Thanks! Having fun and sharing the knowledge and experience makes it all worthwhile.

[HyRax]

Last night the Whiteline Grease-Free Technology bushes went in, replacing the traditional yellow Whiteline bushes that need to be re-greased periodically particularly after heavy rain or driving on dirt. If you don't do this, the swaybar fails to rotate within the bush and binds, ruining the handling of the vehicle and causing it to cock a leg when turning into and up certain driveways.

Re-greasing, whilst not difficult, is still a relatively annoying task to perform - it can take as little as 15 minutes per end to do front and rear, but that still doesn't change the fact that it's annoying, so Whiteline's claim to have "grease-free" bushes is an attractive one and one I was keen to test.

The bushes are the cheapest part of any swaybar, so the $15 per pair it cost me to get a pair of replacement front 22mm and rear 20mm bushes was small enough that if it didn't work as claimed, I would hardly be out of pocket to care.

The install process was simple enough:

1. Remove the existing bushes.
2. Clean everything as much as possible with degreaser.
3. Install the new bushes, this time without grease.

So here's the two packages I bought - a 22mm and 20mm kit. The "grease-free" aspect is a new coating inside the bush made up of hundreds of "hairs" that reduce the friction coefficient by a huge margin. Sticking your finger in there and wiggling it around is... pleasantly slippery...



Anyway, I started with the rear. I pulled out one of the original bushes and compared it to the new one and found I made an error on ordering, failing to indicate which model of Subaru the bush was intended, so the new one is about 5mm wider than the original. The extra width does not interfere with the curve of the swaybar so I decided to press on with the install. If it causes problems, I'll just order some of the correct width later (but given the swaybar doesn't really move sideways that much anyway, I can't see it being an issue).



I've already posted before shots when I did the AVO re-enforced mounts, so here's the post-install of the new bushes. Everything nice and clean after spending a few minutes degreasing and wiping:



Looks good.

Now for the front.

While the front was not binding like the back was, it was still pretty grainy and grubby down there.



Like the rears, the new bushes were 5mm wider than the old ones:



And after cleaning everything and installing the new bushes:



So now the big question: "How does it feel to drive?"

Not putting on grease had already psychologically prepared me to hear it squeak like buggery which you expect a lack of grease on bushes to do, but it didn't feel that way at all - they felt exactly like they were freshly greased. The binding was gone, the car was flat, there was no squeaking and no cocking of a rear leg entering certain sharp driveways. It felt completely normal.

Going for an extended drive, the car felt great. The imperfections in the road were being absorbed again (binding bushes usually amplify the minor imperfections in the road somewhat) and turning into a corner once again felt easy and assured.

So now the big test will be when it rains again, which will have to wait. Will it bind again? How much dirt will the new bushes gather with no grease for it to stick on? Will dirt get inside the bushes and upset the smoothness? Will the hairs on the inside of the bush wear out over time turning it into a normal bush? The latter is my biggest question - all other benefits aside, even if these bushes lasted only 12 months and needed to be replaced with new ones every year, that is much more preferable than having to re-grease the bushes on average once a month.

[shav]

This is a great write up Jeff. Im keen to hear your reviews in the wet. I have a sharp driveway as you describe and almost every time I enter it, the inside wheel cocks up. SO no doubt I am in need of some new bushes at some point.