legacycentral bbs

to disassemble a strut by removing the top nut before jacking the car? as you jack up the car, the spring tension is gradually released. perhaps you would need to support the tires so the suspension doesnt stress the brake lines(I forget if it droops that much). It sure seems like it would work, and would save a good deal of time on those awful spring compressors. perhaps you would not even need one depending if your strut is long enough to thread the top nut on an uncompressed spring(lowering springs?).
thoughts?

that how ive always done it... makes things a lot easier.

no doubt. do you use the car to compress the springs as well?

na i wouldnt trust them to seat properly and it would be tooo sketchy for me, personally i would just use the compressor to put them on. You lowering your wagon?

yeah. not sure what I am going to do as far as springs though. dont wanna go too low, maybe 1.5" down in front and .5" in the back. want to keep stiff rear springs. probably end up going to some coilover sleeves again, using Afco stuff this time.

1.5"f/.5"r sounds to me like your handling will be all whacky

I bet a 1" rake wouldnt cause any handling problems, but this is why I want to go more in front than rear, kinda tired of the prerunner stance.

i dont know..... im pretty happy with my almost 2 inch drop looks great with the 16's..... fills in the fenders almost perfectly hehe
k im done trying to convience you.


on a side note just personal preferance; i set my wagon up with rake at first but it really didnt look that great they look really good with barely any if not non at all. just my .02

Think what you will, but a 1" drop in the front only will not allow the car to handle to its full potential. If it's more for looks then do whatever.

I do not intend to rake it. look how it sits now. lowering the front a little more is going to level it out. i just doubt that a 1" rake would change the handling all that much, our cars have a pretty good roll center and it wouldnt change the caster that much. but I still wouldnt do it.
gt2.5, I think I saw your car the other day, looked good all low and gold wheels on white is a good scheme. hell, gold wheels on anything is a good scheme.

It is level as it sits now, the fenders are just cut differently in the front and the rear. If you lower the front more than the rear you are making the car unbalanced. Not only that you'll be making the front handle worse than stock as you'll be visiting positive camber almost immediately.

I think you're confusing cars though, my leg is red and the wheels are bronze or gray or something. Also the way my car is now is horrible. It's a 50/53mm drop front/rear and the handling could be MUCH better, hopefully it will soon. Going to raise the car about 15mm I think.

i think he was talking bout my car.. since mine is white with teh gold and is just around the corner from where he lives...

Oh, my fault.

THAWA wrote:It is level as it sits now, the fenders are just cut differently in the front and the rear.

THAWA wrote:It is level as it sits now, the fenders are just cut differently in the front and the rear.

THAWA wrote:It is level as it sits now, the fenders are just cut differently in the front and the rear.

Just to make extra-double-sure everyone understands this...

And I sure wouldn't do the strut swap that way, especially when you can rent spring compressors from Autozone for free.

subyluvr2212 wrote:

THAWA wrote:It is level as it sits now, the fenders are just cut differently in the front and the rear.

THAWA wrote:It is level as it sits now, the fenders are just cut differently in the front and the rear.

THAWA wrote:It is level as it sits now, the fenders are just cut differently in the front and the rear.

Just to make extra-double-sure everyone understands this...

And I sure wouldn't do the strut swap that way, especially when you can rent spring compressors from Autozone for free.

people dont seem to understand that they need to measure ride height at the rocker panels not the wheel arches.

Actually to stay consistant it's better to measure at the arch from the center of the hub. That way you can compare to stock, and whatnot.

subyluvr2212 wrote:And I sure wouldn't do the strut swap that way, especially when you can rent spring compressors from Autozone for free.

Not everyone has an Autozone nearby. I'd have to drive about 60 miles away in order to that myself. Cheaper to just go to my local Auto Value and buy a $20 set to use whenever I want. But I do agree with you on not doing it that way (compressing with car). I'm pretty ghetto, but not that ghetto.

well the thing is, I plain hate using spring compressors. I dont think I will try reassembling the struts using the car's weight though. just not worth the risk.
it really doesnt matter where you measure the change in height, as long as you do it close to the wheel and with some kind of uniformity. but I would tend to do it thawa's way, just to keep it centered on the wheel.

THAWA wrote:Actually to stay consistant it's better to measure at the arch from the center of the hub. That way you can compare to stock, and whatnot.

i guess i should have been a bit more clear in what i meant. i meant comparing front height to rear height.

however, i dont see the problem w/measuring at the front and rear of the rocker panel as long as you measure from the same point every time.

So what brands/model of springs are you looking at. I may be acquiring a 94 Legacy GT Wagon in the next week and I really LIKE my H&R sport springs BUT they say they don't work for wagons. What gives? Who does make higher rate springs for these body style wagons?...

I know this is going in a slightly different topic but is related . 206er I'd love to learn from your research.

Your car will be SWEET! lower...

pretty sure your H&R's will work for a wagon too, depending on what struts they are for. the rates from the compendium sound ok for a wagon.

Yeah, I'm going to call them. I can't really see why it wouldn't work. But if you run your car through their site this is what you get...

Suspension
Stage Chassis / Drivetrain Notes Approx. Front Lowering Approx. Rear Lowering Part Number Sug. Retail Photo
Sport Spring Typ BC, BD, AWD not wagon 1.25 1.0 29868 $ 349.00 Kit


http://www.hrsprings.com/site/index.html

These have been awesome on my SS. If I get the wagon I would put GR2's on as well.

But not sure why H&R would single out the wagon and say "not wagon"?

Anyone else know?

H&R ftw.


I'm at about 1" lower all around, which is at the top of my adjustment. It has a little attitude (rake) and looks mint. I've thought about bringing it down another .5" or so, but this town is pretty ruthless on cars. It might ride better though. I jus don't want to spend $80 on a damn alignment.