Front is high compared to rear? Rough ride? Liberty 2.0GT

[Dsemaj]

Hi guys,

I recently upgraded from a 03 WRX to a 05 Liberty 2.0GT.

The car has had a lot of work done it by the previous owner and has done 174k now. However, I've noticed that the front seems to be running a bit high, especially compared to the rear. I've also noticed that the ride is a bit on the firm side, especially on crappy bumps - however I did drive a few other Libertys (another 2.0GT and a 3.0 SpecB) and they seemed to ride on the firm side, so not sure if normal.

The shocks were recently replaced by a local Subaru specialist when the previous owner had the car. Just wondering if it could be something do to with old, sagging springs (had similar issues on an old E34 5 Series BMW) or whether there could be something else wrong suspension wise? Another mechanic friend commented on how all the bushings had already been replaced and it looked like a lot of work had been done on the car.

Thoughts would be appreciated!

[HardwareBoB]

Common problem
Either get new springs, coilovers, or put in some "saggy butt spacers"

[Dsemaj]

I see! I figured it might be something due to bad springs

Are there any springs that anyone can recommended to team with stock shocks? (as they've just been replaced anyway)

[bigBADbenny]

Try a search here but kings epic Eibach H&R Vogtland swift.

Just get Shockworks if you can't stand anything but the very best

[alexeiwoody]

There's probably nothing 'wrong' with your springs. The stock height on these, even on brand new springs tends to be low at the rear, higher at the front.

You'd want to get different springs altogether, not just new OEM, if you want to even out the height.

[bigBADbenny]

or saggy butt spacers or even wagon springs.

this forum is googlable too, it all been discussed in great detail.

rough ride? your dampers are shagged.

firm when they need to be soft. eg bumps.
soft when they need to be firm. eg in corners.

[Dsemaj]

I tried searching but couldn't find anything specific to my issues. I appreciate people not searching on forums can be annoying, thanks for the help guys

The dampers (I assume you meant shocks) are brand new, done around 7,000km ago (genuine units fitted by specialist). Bushings were also done recently too. It's more firm when it needs to be soft, i.e. going over a lot of fine imperfections on a badly maintained road. I had a MY03 WRX before, and that seemed to ride a lot better than the GT.

While I understand the front will always appear higher than the rear (arches are at different heights anyway), I've noticed other normal N/A Libertys don't look as high at the front (and appear to be stock), and the gap seems to be a bit high. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't look like an Outback on the front, but when you view the car side on, it definitely appears like it's dragging it's arse around.

What spring would give the least drop while providing a good ride? I'm not interested in dumping the car on stock shocks, been down that path before...

[Dsemaj]

Bit of a bump...

Anyone have any opinions on getting a set of brand new rear springs? I imagine that the the issue would eventually come back, but if fixed it for a few years? Would it even fix the ride height?

[alexeiwoody]

Bit of a bump...

Anyone have any opinions on getting a set of brand new rear springs? I imagine that the the issue would eventually come back, but if fixed it for a few years? Would it even fix the ride height?

The answers to all your questions are already in the comments.