Tech: Facelift Gen IV Suspension Info

by **Jimmy S** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:52 am

This is one for the dedicated Liberty boys...

Just wondering if the Liberty struts are the same as any other Subaru model? Looking at coilovers, and wondering if struts made to suit other models will fit the Gen IV(MY07)?

Anyone know?

Also, those of you who are running coilovers, what models do you have? opinions? pricing?

Cheers!

by **teK--** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:29 pm

Pretty sure the Outback struts are interchangeable. Don't believe Impreza ones are.

You may need to fiddle with the f/r spring rate since the motion ratio at the rear would be different between Liberties and other models.

by **swingn** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 1:49 pm

All Gen 4 suspension is interchangeable... Even sedan suspension can be used in a wagon with some modification.

Would touch Outback suspension as the Liberty has better gear (Unless your want that super raised look

) but I do know there of people fitting coil overs from / for the Liberty to them.

A lot of the front end set ups in the Subaru's are the same, but it's always the rears that differ. Pretty sure the Impreza has the same front set up as the Gen 4 Liberty's... Pretty sure the older model Forester is in the same boat.

Personally, I'd suggest buying something that is ment for the car you have. Main reason for this is because the spring rates & dampening rates etc vary from model to model... Obviously this is less of a problem when you have full adjustable suspension such as coil overs.

If you're wanting some good quality coil overs, I'd suggest getting in contact with Phat GT... He can supply you with pretty much anything & everything from Japan. My pick would be either HKS Hypermax 3's or Tein Flex... HKS is obviously a little more expensive, but either brand will be you what you want so to speak.

As always, happy to be correct if I've got anything wrong... :lol:

I do drive a Mitsubishi after all

by **Mr Cali** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:14 pm

I'm doing my research at the moment to do an upgrade on my suspension as well. From what I have read from various websites, liberty and WRX forums here and in the USA bang for buck you can't go past the BC coilovers. These coilovers are more suited to the road rather than the track but also perform quite well of adjusted right for the track. They are also adjustable to be only slightly harsher than OEM suspension with the ability to adjust height, damper, track and camber.
JustJap seem to be the major distributor here in Oz, and they go for $1299 delivered.
The installation Is supposed to be quite easy, just needing a wheel alignment afterwards.

I'm almost convinced with going ahead with this, just need to do a bit more research to be 100%

by **Mr Cali** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:46 pm

Link: http://www.justjap.com/store/product.ph ... t=0&page=1

by **swingn** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 3:41 pm

Not a fan of the BC coil overs personally... I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for".

Aside from that, I'd stay away from JustJap... But that's just me

by **Jimmy S** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:06 pm

I have a mate who brings in the HSD Coilovers, which I have had 2 sets of in the past and been really happy with, so I am trying to work out if they do a model to suit the Liberty's!

Otherwise, I will probably be going down the TEIN path, as I've been pretty happy with the TEIN springs I have at the moment!

by **teK--** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:13 pm

swingn wrote:Not a fan of the BC coil overs personally... I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for".

Aside from that, I'd stay away from JustJap... But that's just me

Me too. My budget wouldn't have bought coilovers of the quality that I would expect.

by **Mr Cali** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:20 pm

swingn wrote:Not a fan of the BC coil overs personally... I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for".

Aside from that, I'd stay away from JustJap... But that's just me

Normally I would definately agree with you on this, "do it once and do it right"
In my research of all possibilities I did come accross the BC coilovers. i was first very scepticle of them and the more I read about them the better.
A few things that I need in my suspension.
1. Comfort, my days of hard suspension for go kart handling is no longer important.
2. Still be able to corner hard though, but I do know that I have to sacrifice some handling for comfort.
3. Needs to be quite, no knocking clunking etc
4. Versitility, fully adjustable. No more camber kits, swapping different springs to get ideal height and stiffness.
5. Affordable
The BC gets the tick on all of these.

If you read the US forums, there is literally hundreds and hundreds of testimony from satisfied customers, from people who are new to coilovers to veteran track users. This is the reason I'm changing my opinion that sometimes cheaper can be good. Surely if these were no good I would have come across what problems they have had, but the fact that the problems are pretty non existent (besides user error when installing) is a pretty strong indication of the quality of these products.

Other then it's price do you have any personal experience or dealings with them to warrant a bad opinion of them, or is that just a blanket approach you have?

by **drndrn** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:26 pm

I've got the BC BR's on my Lib,

I think for the price, they're amazing. Not saying they're better than others out there like TEIN (altho the LegacyGT guys always seem to compare the two) or HKS, but for the price they're actually really good. Comfortable, firm but not to hard so that you can't live with them. Adjustability is the same as most other coilover setups. No problems yet (have had them for a few months now), no clunking sounds or anything of the sort. So I'm pretty happy with them. I mean, there must be some sort of truth to what's being said if there are hundreds upon hundreds of testimonies on them.

I've also got mates with GTR's and EVO's and a couple of 350Z's that have them too and haven't heard any complaints to date.

My 2cents.

by **Jimmy S** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:00 am

Interesting... The BC's seem to be getting some big raps from a few different avenue's!

Not sure how the price compares to the TEIN's?

by **swingn** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:23 am

Fair call about the BC's... I can tell you I know guys who have them on RX7's amoung other cars that thing they are rubbish. I'm sure they are fantastic for the money, but as I said, you get what you pay for.

Personally, when it comes to suspension, brakes & tyres... I would always be going for a better quality product (If not the best) as opposed to looking for the best value option (Unless they are one & the same - IE, Kumho KU36 tyres)... Mind you, if the BC option was 1K & the Tein option was 10K, then I would be singing a different song

These are just my 2 cents guys... At the end of the day it's your money & your car... But considering there are countless members running Tein Coil Overs compared to a handful running BC's, don't you think there's a reason for it...?

by **drndrn** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 10:56 am

swingn wrote:Fair call about the BC's... I can tell you I know guys who have them on RX7's amoung other cars that thing they are rubbish. I'm sure they are fantastic for the money, but as I said, you get what you pay for.

Personally, when it comes to suspension, brakes & tyres... I would always be going for a better quality product (If not the best) as opposed to looking for the best value option (Unless they are one & the same - IE, Kumho KU36 tyres)... Mind you, if the BC option was 1K & the Tein option was 10K, then I would be singing a different song

These are just my 2 cents guys... At the end of the day it's your money & your car... But considering there are countless members running Tein Coil Overs compared to a handful running BC's, don't you think there's a reason for it...?

I agree with you when it comes to you get what you pay for, but I do believe the BC's are an exception just like the KU36 (although not quite to that extent).

Tens of people run TEIN's a swear by them here on our forums, but like I've mentioned earlier, a lot, maybe even hundreds swear by the BC's even with their snow/pothole covered roads.

That being said I'm yet to sit in a lib with Tein's so I can't really comment on them but if I wanted comfort as well as performance and budget isn't that big of an issue, I'd look at KW's like Clarence has, they're amazing.

by **Lib 3.0LR** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:32 am

What about a set of these,I'd like to know a price :?:

Looks like the best of both worlds :lol:

by **teK--** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:08 pm

My thought is that any company that does not predominantly make (struts) would likely subcontract the job out. In which case why not buy direct from a company that manufactures themselves, so you don't pay the overheads of rebranding?

Also the best measurement to the quality of a product is not the initial impression, since almost any new strut is going to feel much better than an old clapped out or underdamped set that it is replacing. The proof is in long term use (>30,000Kms), reliability, availability of spare parts/rebuildability.

For most people a pair of cheap coilovers may do the job, but at the low price ranges something's got to give when you are asking for all the bells and whistles as well. E.g. spring rates will not be as advertised and have high tolerances inbetween each spring, and also the damper adjustment mechanisms are not very accurate or are even totally wrong in some cases (Koni Yellow).

What this means is that it is very difficult to setup each strut the way you want it. For most people this does not matter nor do they care. Most people probably care though when they have to rebuild or replace their gear, which could have been avoided by buying something without all the bells and whistles (for the same price), would have lasted much longer.