Suspension Height Issue after installing GR2s

GLCraigGT · Post by **GLCraigGT** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:32 am

About 9 months and 10k+ miles ago, I installed GR2s in at all 4 corners of my 94 Legacy wagon. When the install was done I noticed that the front end sat higher than before. At the time I figured that it's just being new struts and everything would settle in after a while.

Well last weekend I took a measurement from the center-line of the wheel to the bottom edge of the wheel-well, at the front and rear wheels. I compared those measurements to another 94 legacy wagon and found that the measurement at the rear wheel is the same but my legacy sits over an higher at the front wheel.

Has anyone else ran into this?

I did double check that the part number on my front GR2s are correct, per the KYB catalog.

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:46 pm

It's very possible the KYB struts all the way around sit slightly higher then stock. Read this info I got from KYB.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... yb+fitment

impreza_GC8 · Post by **impreza_GC8** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:38 pm

Interesting. I have GR2's waiting to go on my Legacy and I'm interested to see if that happens to me as well. My Legacy is the newer body style though so I might not have that issue. You may want to try the Paranoid Fabrications saggy butt spacers, they will even out the drop.

93Leg-c · Post by **93Leg-c** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 8:17 am

GLCraigGT, I've installed 3 sets of GR-2s on 3 of my Legacies and everytime the front end sits higher than when the original struts were on the cars. The first time it happened, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on and how to fix it. I ordered several sets of struts from Subaru, several sets of GR-2s from Autozone, contacted KYB, and installed different brands of struts on my Legacy.

Bottom line is that the original height struts for our Legacies are no longer made. The original factory-installed struts have been superceded by struts with different specs--they all make the front end sit higher when installed. One old-timer parts guy at Autozone showed me the old parts catalogs and all of the many struts and the many different part #s for the bc's were superceded by the struts having the same part number.

What I've done to make the front end sit near the original height is to install lowering springs. You can get springs from Whiteline, H&R, etc. Some guys have installed coilovers. Just search for the threads that discuss these options.

With the factory springs and with the GR-2s installed on my '93 ss, I had a gap of 4 1/4 inches from the top of the front tire (205/55 16) to the arch of the fender. With the Whiteline control springs, the gap is now about 2 inches (or 13 3/4 inches from the center of the hub). On my '98 wagon with GR-2s and Whiteline flatout springs, the car sits about 1/2 inch lower than the control springs.

impreza_GC8, since your Legacy is an Outback, which is made to ride higher, you may or may not have the increased ride height issue. If your Legacy was the "L" or Brighton, you would have the same issues of the first generation Legacies because the front suspension is almost identical to the first generation Legacies--the front struts are the same (same part #).

Oh, BTW, the rear struts now being made are made near to the original factory specs as regards the ride height. It's just the front struts that are manufactured to make the car's front end sit noticeably higher.

Arctic Assassian · Post by **Arctic Assassian** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:26 pm

There is always the option of Sti takeoffs. They lift the whole car evenly.

Aerotech · Post by **Aerotech** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 8:15 pm

Interesting... I have GR-2s on my car, but no lifted front end. Of course, the struts were made back in 2001, so this might have been before all the one-part-fits-all consolidation. I'll probably have to deal with it when these struts wear out.

GLCraigGT · Post by **GLCraigGT** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 3:29 am

Thanks for the info everyone. At the moment I'm trying to buy a house so I have not had too much time to look into this. My next step is going to be finding some 98-01 Impreza RS front springs and go from there.

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 4:11 am

The different spec struts must be gas or have different spring perch heights than the OEMs as they were shitty hydraulic units and otherwise wouldn't contribute to ride height.

Post by **Legacy777** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 7:07 pm

The perch height is what is different.

JasonGrahn · Post by **JasonGrahn** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 8:31 pm

get some lowering springs. problem solved.

_Aramchek_ · Post by **_Aramchek_** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:43 pm

What exactly are the lowering springs to get,I'm getting some GR2's and want to keep it all level and nice.

JasonGrahn · Post by **JasonGrahn** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:02 pm

link!

macipusy · Post by **macipusy** » Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:38 pm

The GR2 and AGX struts have the spring perch at a higher level in the front. I found this out the hard way on my 98 Legacy wagon.

This time I went with the AGX and Grond Control coilover kit to have ride height adjustment to counter the problem. Worked great.

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Suspension Height Issue after installing GR2s

Suspension Height Issue after installing GR2s