Which suspension??

[Q]

I've been through quite a few suspension combination's on my Liberty and still haven't found one I'm happy with so I thought I would put it out there to find out what others recommend through experience.

My list so far:
1- OEM struts and springs. Under damped and I found them completely unable to deal with anything other than billiard table smooth roads. Almost dangerous at speed when mixing corners, bumps and anything over 100kmh.
2- OEM struts and king springs. Same as No1 with a dose of harshness thrown in.
3- Ohlins struts and king springs. Beautiful ride quality but a little on the luxurious side of things for me.(Sold these as I was going to sell the car at this point, perhaps a hasty decision but the valving would have bugged me).
4- Bilstein HD struts, OEM rear spring and Pedders front springs. Quite good but the high speed compression damping doesn't flow enough oil quickly enough resulting in a ride that can be harsh especially over sharp edge bumps.

There is always going to be some sort of compromise when it comes to suspension unless BIG dollars are spent and this is especially true with the Liberty as Subaru in their infinite wisdom designed a car with very limited suspension travel which makes my goal of having BMW/Audi ride quality and sporting ability really quite difficult.

Basically any drop in ride height is going to result in a loss of ride quality unless the valving of the strut is set up very specifically for the spring and/or the travel is somehow lengthened. This brings us to coilovers. I have always stayed away from them as I've always thought they would be overkill for the road but now I'm not so sure. Racecomp in the US does a Liberty/Legacy specific revalve on the KW2 coilover and has had great reviews on the end result both in ride quality and handling but of course its more than a couple of dollars and the killer here is shipping (and potentially import tax). Bilstein/Ohlins coilovers are also another option but again more dollars. Anyone have coilovers installed and want to give their opinion?

I spoke to Fulcrum and they can revalve the Bilsteins for $120 per strut which is also another option I am thinking about and at a quite reasonable cost although I think it may take a few revalves to get it right.

One of my main questions is regarding springs. Alot of people say King Springs/Pedders etc are crap and to stay away from them. Why? Surely a spring is a spring and as long as the spring rate is as advertised and consistent (re linear springs) then one brand is as good as another? If there is a difference can someone explain it? Everyone raves about the Eibach springs and the ride quality but imo this is just down to the limited drop which leaves the strut with more travel to deal with bumps and nothing else.

Anyway, are you happy with ur suspension or what are your plans to make it better

[teK--]

Where did you get the Bilstein HDs ???????????????

[tangcla]

I have KW Racing v2, slightly firmer than the revalves from USA but still quite good. Much more comfortable than the OEM shocks with aftermarket springs.

If you want Euro ride quality, you could try doing what the Euro cars do - soft springs and have a long and soft progressive rate bumpstop so the car is constantly riding on the bumpstop. This is then used to absorb vibration at all times, but when push comes to shove, it will handle very well. Mercedes and I think VW has been doing this since the 1980s. It also reduces the 'reliance' on springs, too. - It's on my to-do list, one day.

[Q]

Where did you get the Bilstein HDs ???????????????

Brought them in from the US when the dollar was doing well from gtworx.com

[teK--]

Ah I thought you would have brought them in from the States (I can't find them anywhere in Australia). Looking at their site they are only offering one method of shipping, for $34.USD. I think their ordering system doesn't realise where I am .

Looks like I will still be needing to get the Bilstein B8 Sprints.

Back to the OP's question. Revalving should no be hard if you put the intended springs you want to use on a dyno and match the damper rates to the spring. If you otherwise know the spring's specs then you can bypass the dyno process as long as the springs are still relatively new. This will give a perfect match the same as what you would have with coilovers. It would only need revalving if you, as the customer were then not happy with the damping rates.

So the important thing is to firstly select the correct spring for your application I.e. the amount of lowering you want and the spring rate. A spring is definately not a spring! Everything down to the type of metal and the quality of the rods used by the manufacturer, to their quality control, heating, quenching, and shot peening processes will make a huge difference.

Accordingly the consensus is that the Eibach Pro, TEIN S-tech, H&R are pretty much the preferred for a controlled ride. STI springs are also pretty good quality but overpriced. King Springs, KMAC, are pretty much on the bottom of the list. I would go for another set of Whitelines but they don't have them for the earlier Gen IVs anymore.

[Sentinel]

Nice write up TeK. That's the second informative post that I've read from you lately and I find your posts easy to read and easily understood. No doubt a great help to those on this forum mate. Well done and thanks for posting.

To the OP - that says it all.

My 2c - I'm running c/o's when I never thought I would. Heard too much negativity around them and then I did some of my own research. Funny how your perception changes! Love them! Especially the damping control.

[Johnb]

put H&R springs on my car in combination with Koni Sport adjustables and I'm very happy with the result. Rides much better than the STI springs and standard Bilsteins. Handling is very controlled but I also have cusco strut bars and lower bars on my car now.

[teK--]

Thanks Steve for the encouragement, it's appreciated

[sundayDriver]

put H&R springs on my car in combination with Koni Sport adjustables and I'm very happy with the result. Rides much better than the STI springs and standard Bilsteins. Handling is very controlled but I also have cusco strut bars and lower bars on my car now.

John,

how much was this setup??

[Johnb]

Sunday,

give Capital steering at Fyshwick a ring, they did my car and can quote you. They are also a distributor for Fulcrum and can quote on Tein plus a range of others.

Can't remember how much it cost for the Konis as I had a lot of work done all at once (Konis, H&R springs, LCA and inner bushes, roll adjustment kit, sways, camber bolts, reinforcement mounts, cusco bars).

I have the bilstein struts on my car and the Koni inserts for the front had to be machined 2 one thousands to fit correctly.

I bought the springs from Tuspeed after much research and they were $525 plus postage. Great ride for a lowered spring as they are a progressive.

[tangcla]

I know someone who works at Wholesale Suspension in Penrith if anyone needs Bilstein, Eibach or Koni stuff, as well as Super-Pro bushes and Whiteline.

[Q]

I know someone who works at Wholesale Suspension in Penrith if anyone needs Bilstein, Eibach or Koni stuff, as well as Super-Pro bushes and Whiteline.

Any chance you could get a price on Eibach springs 7716.140??

[Q]

Thanks to Clarence I got the springs a little cheaper

I'll get the Eibach's next week so I'll fit them before revalving the Bilsteins and see how the ride quality is and update then. I'm not convinced on the progressive spring rate but I'll give anything a go once!! First thing I do to my bikes if they have progressive springs is to put them into the bin and get some linear ones in there. Makes it much easier to get the valving right.

[Adrian2627]

Thanks to Clarence I got the springs a little cheaper
First thing I do to my bikes if they have progressive springs is to put them into the bin and get some linear ones in there. Makes it much easier to get the valving right.

I have the same feelings about progressive mountain bike springs but I'm pretty happy with the progressive Whiteline springs on Billsteins in my car.

[smythie]

First thing I do to my bikes if they have progressive springs is to put them into the bin and get some linear ones in there. Makes it much easier to get the valving right.

Funny, the Kayaba forks on my old 600 didn't need any spring/valvine changes. Just needed a good injection of talent