Taking of the DMS need something better
 

I am going to pull the DMS struts off my car. I have had enough of the bush wearing out. I have grease points in the struts and give them grease every 3,000 k but they still fail. Also when they get mud on them they bind up and won't move which causes more problems. I need to find a better soluation so if anyone has a suggestion let me know. I am looking at putting Knoi's into the struts. Any suggestions?
Tony

I'll trade you my coilvers for the DMS struts... I will even relocate my perches so they can be raised higher

Tom

Tom what shocks are you using also what springs?

My spring rates might be a bit high for you

450 fronts
380 rears

All with koni struts

Tom

They would be Tom I have 275 front & 225 rear tried 400 front and near ripped my teeth out on dirt but were brilliant on tar. Its suprising how the handling changes for the better when you run high spring rates. Is there a how too on the Koni Struts as I might put new inserts into my DMS strut and get rid of the shocks as long as I can get rid of the bush.
Tony

The koni instructions are crap... but relatively simple onmce you have got them in your hands and see what needs to be done... You need stock svx struts to put the koni inserts in. You also need to weld on the perches for the coilovers. I can talk to ground control about getting softer springs that will be compliant with my coilovers. I would love the dual adjustable DMS's for my tarmac racing but I never go off road... with my SVX that is;)

Tom

I was doing some thread cruising on the subject of the Subaru OEM struts - are they still prone to leaking after a few thousand miles due to a defect?
When my struts do go, Im going to use springs to do a conservative (.75-1") drop and use the OE struts and install them myself.

There is no defect besides the fact that they are 15 years old and have been sitting on a shelf. The seals get dry rotted and leak just as soon as you start driving on them. Benenbob and TE1221 are two people I know that can vouch for their failures. It is in your best interest to find alternatives to the Showa struts. The only alternative are Konis, The coilovers from Motorsport warehouse, and the DMS coilovers that Desertrunner has. So that being said, the konis are leaps and bounds cheaper and they have a lifetime warranty.

Tom

::shakes fist at stock struts::

My two rear are blown 14 months after I bought them and subaru would not warranty them.

Now my rear end jiggles like no other... Now I'm doing it right this time and going with the Koni/GC setup since my car is no longer a daily driver.

What about this thread?

I was going to suggest that.

The way I see it, there is a reason there is only a 1 yr. warranty versus a lifetime warranty with the konis... That is a deciding factor that tells me one company will back up their product while others won't

Tom

I am going to give them one more try, I plan to put covers over the strut shaft to stop dirt getting in the top also move the breather up the tube from the bottom and fill the bottom of the strut tube with a light oil. It seems that even though the bushes are designed to run dry I think the dirt kills them. Will be interesting to see how much longer we get.
Tony