STI suspension

[smc]

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.


To do this proper, you WILL need the adjustable camber plates to get the correct alignment on the rear suspension.


Start by creating a cardboard template. To do this, just jab come cardboard over the mounting brackets and then trace the plate out.





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.


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.




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.

[icingdeath88]

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.

[SVX8588]

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 ), 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?

[smc]

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.

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

[aust92pearl]

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

[Stevebsy]

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.

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

Thanks.

[SVX8588]

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