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Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 2:26 pm
by shav
Adrian2627 wrote:Radlaide sounds safer than Sydney and Melbourne then. Good luck!



It's not bad, you just got to know where to ride. I would never drive in Sydney let alone ride. Melbourne, I hear the outskirts are better than inner city.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:21 pm
by kiahatsiu
Adelaide seems pretty cycle friendly. And is is dead flat too, well a gentle slope down towards the water.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:24 pm
by shav
kiahatsiu wrote:Adelaide seems pretty cycle friendly. And is is dead flat too, well a gentle slope down towards the water.


It is. You also have plenty of hills to choose from if you like to climb. Heaps of MTB trails here too.

TDU on this weekend.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:36 pm
by Adrian2627
But if you think riding in a QLD summer is tough then don't even think about Adelaide!! Went to a National Round there once and it was 45 in the shade!

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 4:57 pm
by kiahatsiu
Heat isn't too bad, heat + humidity on the other hand.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:59 pm
by Adrian2627
That's the worst thing about living here in Japan. A Tokyo summer, hot, himid, and a billion tonnes of concrete. It heats up during the day and then it radiates out during the night. That and 36 000 000 people running their AC on full bore. That's why getting out to the mountains and taking a gondola to the top is the way to go. Just need more that do downhill.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 12:21 am
by Adrian2627
It's been a while since I've done anything to my car other than change the oil and take it in for recalls. I've known the rear shocks were on their way out for a while and work finally paid our bonuses from 2015 so I've bit the bullet and bought some new shocks. I always thought coilovers were a waste of time for the street mainly because they are usually too stiff and with damping designed for the track however lately many of the makers here in Japan are focusing on building quality coilovers for street applications. Subaru wasnted AU$3500 for new OEM Bilsteins, aftermarket B12 are around AU$1500 and so were these HKS Hipermax IV GT Spec A. I decided to give the coilovers a try and see how they go. They certainly look better than the old yellow Bilsteins.

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They come setup for each car from the factory and will lower my car by 26mmF and 27mm rear. Not a lot by some standards over here but then I want suspension that works and doesn't look like my control arms are broken. The only concern is the fromt adjuster is on the bottom of the damper and sticks out in the breeze so could get nailed by a rock or something but I've not heard anyone saying this has happened to them. I've got a small tear in one of my front CV boots so that and the coilovers will be done tomorrow.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 7:26 pm
by gtbsti
Hi Adrian,
What are the front and rear spring rates?

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 7:37 pm
by applegeek897
Nice stuff mate, almost more are then car part!

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 10:53 pm
by Adrian2627
Coilovers are in and from the short drive I had they are definitely an improvement over the OEM Bilsteins. They feel more compliant and yet more controlled at the same time despite the firmer spring rate. I've left them at factory settings for now and will take some photos and measurements once everything has settled. So far I'm pretty impressed. They are certainly a quality product for the price and feel like a lot of thought and effort has gone in to development.

Spring rates front and rear are 6+2 and 7+2 respectively. The +2 comes from the 2kg bump rubber that acts to support the chassis as the damper nears the end of its stroke. The stock Bilsteins (JDM) have springs around 2-3kg so these are certainly stiffer but with the extra stroke made possible by reducing the adjustment range of the "standard" Hipermax IV GT the damping is given more to work with and given the limited travel available in the Legacy it seems to make a difference.

Next week I'll give them a proper going over and take some photos with my regular wheels on (I had to fit the stock Spec B rims with my winter tyres for the alignment at the Subie workshop). Not too sure on pricing in Aus, you'd have to check with HKS AUS, but I'd say they'd be in the same range as the MCA Blues and Shockworks which is pretty good for a made in Japan product of this level.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627 JDM Gen 4 Legacy

PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:58 pm
by shav
This sounds promising. Great write up Adrian. Sounds like the car is handling the way it should now.

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627 JDM Gen 4 Legacy

PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 5:42 pm
by Adrian2627
After a couple of weeks of driving around I can say that these are a great OEM replacement option for those looking for street performance/comfort rather than trackability or dumpability. Thy are firmer yet not harsh, comfortable but the car feels far better controlled especially during mid-corner bumps and braking. Turn in is sharper, body roll is drastically reduced, and overall the car is much better to drive. There's a little more noise from the alloy camber plates/spherical bearing but I've picked up some 1mm rubber to go under the strut bar and dampen some of the noise. It's no big deal and everything has passed the MRS test so if it makes no difference I can still live with it.

So far I'm still at the factory setting for both height and damping and it'll stay that way until I get it back to Brisbane. Height wise I'll probably drop it another 10mm all round (which will bring it to about -35mm). This will bring the rear to the tyre and the front will have about a 10mm gap. That's about as far as these will go as they've sacrificed some height adjustment to improve the stroke length. If you want more height adjustment then the regular GT version would be a better option.

Aside from a final height adjustment I'll probably just add some roll centre adjusters, get it aligned, and then fiddle with the damping (I still have to mount the rear adjusters). That will probably do things handling wise save for maybe changing to a 225/45 when the S Drives wear out.

Currently it's running
HKS Hipermax GT IV Spec A Coilovers
Whiteline Anti-Lift/Caster Kit
Cusco Strut Bar
18x7.5 +45 WedsSports SA-10R
215/45-18 Yokohama S Drives

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Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627 JDM Gen 4 Legacy

PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 6:32 pm
by bigBADbenny
Jtfc! Can't go wrong with Weds SA! A set in 9.5 +38 just went locally, one day: :air_kiss:

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627 JDM Gen 4 Legacy

PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 11:12 am
by madrig
very nice car !

do you have oem tinted windows or is a film ?

i know japan legacy have the oem tinted window , what i would love to have !

Re: Member Profile - Adrian2627 JDM Gen 4 Legacy

PostPosted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 11:40 am
by Adrian2627
madrig wrote:very nice car !

do you have oem tinted windows or is a film ?

i know japan legacy have the oem tinted window , what i would love to have !


Cheers mate.

The rears are factory tinted but the fronts are clear as per Japanese law. You can paint the rears here if you want as long as the fronts are untouched. Altough, many people run curtains on the front so they look like bad arse gangsters...and there's a thinking here that if you can't see it it's not there.