Unusual suspension query

[Aidos]

The dilema that i have is this:

20" wheels that came when i bought the car. Need a sidewall tough enough to tow a light tradesman's trailer on. Want to stay away from scrapping wheels as i like to give it a bit around the twisties.

The tire i need is fairly large due to needing the toughness to handle a bit of weight, this plus the 20" rims has meant that the rear (mostly left for some unknown reason =\) scraps if it dips down much. The fronts haven't scraped yet to my knowledge.

Talking to my mechanic, we have come to the conclusion that we need to adjust the springs to counter this. I don't want to change the size of the rims just yet if i can get away with it.


Am i heading in the right direction to help this?!?!
Advice from the suspension experts would be awesome =D

Aidos

[zch91]

Stiffer suspension.. Coilovers would be ideal due to the damper adjustment you'll have.

What size tires are you going to run? Keep in mind legalities with having incorrectly sized tires..

[Aidos]

Stiffer suspension.. Coilovers would be ideal due to the damper adjustment you'll have.

What size tires are you going to run? Keep in mind legalities with having incorrectly sized tires..

Pretty sure i've got 225/35 rubber on them now (too late to be stuffed double checking). W95 rating.

The tires that came with the car were terrible, over stretched and cracking around the edges. They had a W86 rating which didn't even match what the car itself normally needed. Came from a 'reputation' tyre place too as i got the receipts when i bought the car.

If i went in the direction of changing over springs, would there be an option there? Stiffer springs would raise the ride height or just stop it from dropping so much under load?

I want to steer away from a harsher ride if i can.... =\

[Dropz]

What I would do: 17 inch wheels and tyres with a good load rating.
Bilstein shocks and STi springs. It will have a bit less squat when loaded up, and it will still be comfortable due to the tyres actually having a sidewall. Which is also a handling gain.

Oh, and it will look alot better.

[Aidos]

What I would do: 17 inch wheels and tyres with a good load rating.
Bilstein shocks and STi springs. It will have a bit less squat when loaded up, and it will still be comfortable due to the tyres actually having a sidewall. Which is also a handling gain.

Oh, and it will look alot better.

I'm spewing over the 20" wheels the idiot put on this thing. He was going for a pimp/drug lord look i reckon..

I don't have a heap of $$ to throw at this at the current moment (made a few business purchases recently) so i'm after an easy way out for now if i can. It's got the Bilsteins on it being a spec b. STi springs make it firmer, but they also lower it no??

I'm not 100% up there with springs and suspension. Is there a way to just raise the rid height a little bit for the time being until i can look at rims and coilovers in the future?

[Dropz]

PM t.renshaw34. He raised his car using strut top spacers. You can purchase them in varying thicknesses. Depending how thick you go you may need to get longer strut top studs installed also.

[cruisn]

Buy a s/h set of GT 17" wheels and sell 20's. You will come out with a few dollars in your pocket.

I wouldnt tow on those.....

[Aidos]

I was just looking into spacers as an option. Maybe i can use them as a quick fix until i can swap rim sizes and/or go coilovers..

I'll be posting these rims to sell soon and see what happens.

Cheers for the help guys =)

[seanmau5]

Don't take the 'quick fix' option with spacers, listen to what Mark said.. Buy yourself some 17" or 18" OEM Subaru wheels and sell the 20's on eBay.. You'll probably come out in front

[Aidos]

Don't take the 'quick fix' option with spacers, listen to what Mark said.. Buy yourself some 17" or 18" OEM Subaru wheels and sell the 20's on eBay.. You'll probably come out in front

After thinking it through i think you guys are right. Just make the change now.

From someone's experience, what is the best way to do this? I'd like to make the swap all at once, rather than buy 18" ones then having to spend ages trying to sell the 20" ones.

Dropz do you know anyone in Adelaide with a set of 18" to sell??

[seanmau5]

Don't take the 'quick fix' option with spacers, listen to what Mark said.. Buy yourself some 17" or 18" OEM Subaru wheels and sell the 20's on eBay.. You'll probably come out in front

After thinking it through i think you guys are right. Just make the change now.

From someone's experience, what is the best way to do this? I'd like to make the swap all at once, rather than buy 18" ones then having to spend ages trying to sell the 20" ones.

Dropz do you know anyone in Adelaide with a set of 18" to sell??

You would need to find someone that wanted a swap basically.. Good luck!

You could probably sell the 20's and in the meantime pay someone a 6 pack to borrow their wheels until you find a set to buy. There are plenty of great blokes on here that would be willing to offer you theirs

[seanmau5]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19204

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19293 (pricey)

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_trks ... &_from=R40

[Dropz]

Gumtree.

[Aidos]

Thanx for the help guys =)

I'm looking around now and can see a few options, unfortunately none are in Adelaide which is easiest for me to get to. I'm up in Adelaide on Monday so I've got a couple of days to try and work something out.

Ideally I'd love to buy sum wheels when i go up there, swap em straight over, then sell the 20" ASAP for a price to at least cover what it's costing me.