STI suspension
 

Allrighty. Ive been wanting to post up on my suspension swap for a while. So, here we go.

As you all know, coilover and suspension upgrades for our cars are far and few between. And for some reason, the moment SVX is mentioned on a product, the price skyrockets!

So, one of the simpler upgrades you can do to your car is install an adjustable STI coilover system.
Its not as hard as it looks! Believe me. Here is the key. You need the suspension for a 2005 / 2007 STI. Thats because they have thicker uprights on the knuckles than a WRX.
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles003.jpg

To do this proper, you WILL need the adjustable camber plates to get the correct alignment on the rear suspension.
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles005.jpg

Start by creating a cardboard template. To do this, just jab come cardboard over the mounting brackets and then trace the plate out.
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles006.jpg
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles007.jpg
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles008.jpg
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles009.jpg

Mark a center point on the template and what orientation the bolts are. Then simply place it ontop of the strut tower or inside of the tower. Align the bolt holes so they are in the proper orientation and your center mark is in the middle of the tower hole.
Drill the 3 holes and and test fit the tophats.
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles010.jpg

Install to the uprights:
If you have the 05/07 sti coilovers, then the fronts will mount right up. Install the lower bolt into the coilover mounts. You will find that the upper mounting hole is apporx. .24" off where it needs to be for the SVX uprights.
Just take a 1/2" drill bit and ream out the holes on the coilover bracket to match. Install upper bolts and your done with the front.
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles015.jpg
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles013.jpg
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ndaxles014.jpg

For info on how to weld on tabs to keep the front swaybar, please refer to : http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=41831

As I simply removed the front swaybar for one that ill will be fabricating at a later date.

The rear gets interesting. The template procedure is the same for the rear as it was the front. However the mounts for the uprights are too narrow and need to be widened to fit the thicker size of the svx knuckles. To widen them, I found it quick and easy to simply heat the coilover brackets with a torch and give them some quick love with a hammer to bend them outward just alittle bit. They then slide on nice and easy. The mounting holes are in the correct position on the brackets to mount with our uprights with out modifying them.

Thats is it! In my case, it took approx. 4 hours for the install with a floor jack and a drill.

Any questions, feel free to ask away.

Re: STI suspension
 

What specific brand/set of coilovers did you use? And what camber plates?

This actually seems like less work than doing the Koni inserts. The only real issue remains the sway bar. Mounting the sway bar endlinks to the control arm will make the sway bar a little less effective. And it's already not doing that much.

Re: STI suspension
 

That looks pretty easy. Probably easier on the wallet than some of the other options, too!
How long have you had this setup? I'd be interested to see if there are any issues down the road (pun not intended :lol:), like tires wearing funny. But I guess if you had the camber properly it would be fine.
Isn't the SVX heavier than an STi? Did you have to get stiffer springs?

Re: STI suspension
 

Ive been running these for about 4 months. The aircraft landing struts (as to what my friends have lovingly called them ) I have Stance GR+PRO SSD coilovers. They are oversprung at this point, even for track conditions. 11k/9k for the coils. Ill be changing to Swift springs soon enough. Id imagine that they would even be stiff on a track prepped STI. Bouncy bouncy. I wanted to dampen my suspension, not cease its movement all together. :lol:

The camber plates are an option on the coilovers, and im glad that I got it.
The valving is well suited to track conditions. There is next to no body roll, even w/o the swaybars. What little there is makes the car easy to flick around corners. The only down side in my case, it that the car it stripped of all the interior. Which makes is VERY nose hevy and throws the brake balance off toward the rear. Under hard braking, the rear locks up and induces copious amounts of oversteer. Aside from that, its a splendid suspension.

http://stance-usa.com/sus/products/c...supersportplus

Re: STI suspension
 

so are you suggesting the 11k-9k setup or
the 7k-5k one ?

is there any other coil over setups that can be just as easily modified to fit ?

obviously not that D2 brand on ebay
ive heard of horrific breaks and lucky close calls in
feather weight civics :eek: :rolleyes:

Re: STI suspension
 

For this you are talking about the hole that attaches to the spindle, or one of the tophat holes?

Thanks.

Re: STI suspension
 

I think he means where it attaches to the spindle, since the tophat mount bolts are like M8, which is way smaller than 1/2 inch :)

Re: STI suspension
 

In all honesty, its hard to say. In car with full interior and a passenger, it may well have a better ride than mine with the current 11k-9k. But this really depends on what you plan to do with your svx. Autocross? Track? Aggressive street? For autocross, You cant beat the 11k 9k. Braking is now stunning, even with stock calipers and rotors. Nice and flat. No dive when you slam on brakes. Cornering is excellent. But only on smooth surfaces. The suspension has enough give to keep you in contact with the road surface over smooth undulations, but harsh tarmac with ruts and ripples. Youll be hating it.

Autocross, the 11k 9k
For open track and very spirited driving, the 7k 5k
Mind you, every car is a little different, as is its driver. It all depends on what your looking for.


In regards to the uprights, Im talking about the mounting on the knuckle to the coilover. :)

Re: STI suspension
 

For reference, most of the ground control conversions that were done for track purposes used 450f/375r springs in lb/in. There were also some that used 350-375-ish ones in the front, with proportional rears.

11Kg/mm is 616 lb/in. That's really stiff. :eek: Like really stiff. No wonder, man.

Here is a chart to help people with converting.

I would also like to point out there should be a very wide variety of STi coilovers out there. So there are a lot of options for those considering this route.

Re: STI suspension
 

Would the stock STi suspension work with this type of approach? And would the rears install with the same type of modifications?

Re: STI suspension
 

Why havent people gone with this more? With a small amount of modification and less hurt on your wallet, it just seems like a good option.

Re: STI suspension
 

In the front, yes. Exact same install. Camber is in the stock position. So the tophats will bolt up just the same as demonstrated here. However in the rear, I have the adjustable plates at full negative camber and Im just shy of stock rear camber. This is due to me bolting them on the the correct factory orientation. If you were to install stock STI top hats, you would have substantial positive camber. IF you use stock tophats for an STI, you will need camber bolts installed in the uprights to correct for it. But thats nothing really considering your swapping in another suspension.

The coil weight im currently running would not be that bad IF they were a better coil.
http://www.swiftsprings.com/products...r_springs.html

Im thinking ill loose 100lbs in the front and 175 in the rear and ill be happy. But then again, I have VERY little track time with these to be certain. Only one open track day and Reno Fernly Raceway. And I was not pushing it at all. No cage, still and automatic and light in the tail. What I felt, I liked to a point. Ill know better for balance of the car once I get the cage in *stiffer chassis*, install a rear spoiler and swap in the 5mt.

Re: STI suspension
 

Fear of the unknown. Once you start popping holes in your car, your committed. :D

And in all honesty, I doubt anybody knew it would be this easy.

Re: STI suspension
 

What about height?

Re: STI suspension
 

I do believe that the stock sti suspension will lower you by about 1.5" or so as our strut towers are taller than theirs. This is all an assumption on my behalf, as the coils were set up for a STI lowered by 2" when I received them. Upon install, the svx had a drop in height of 3.5" or so. So it would stand to reason that the drop in height could be expected from the stock impreza coils.