1991 Legacy suspension mods

[Nessmaster]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums and I'm pretty new to the car scene as well. I've recently come into possession of the family's 1991 Legacy L, none-turbo. The car was bought used and has been through a minor wreak.

I want to do some "small" mods on it. Nothing that requires too much work, as I don't have a workshop for cars. I was thinking of something along the lines of a front strut tower bar for starters. I've read a couple of posts saying that the older legacy's benefit more from a strut tower bar because of the less-stable chassie design. However, I have also read some posts saying how people could hardly notice the difference. Do you guys think I would gain any noticeably benefits, handling wise, from a front strut tower bar?

What are some other easy to do, relatively cheap (not surpassing the $200 range), suspension mods that would benefit a 91 Legacy?

[greg donovan]

get some used 15 inch subaru wheels and some good tires.

get a bigger rear sway bar.

get some good brake pads and probably some new rotors.

get some good brake fluid.

there are also good stainless steel brake lines for improved pedal feel.

whiteline makes something called a anti lift kit for the front control arm that improves the castor of the front wheels and makes turn in feel more precise.

i gave you a bit of a starting point. if there is some stuff you are unsure of do a bit of searching around this site there is tons of good stuff on here.

i know i wandered away from suspension mods but all of this stuff works together to make the car handle better.

since you have a 91 with the tapered rear springs you should be able to use the newer tapered oem sti spring for a spring upgrade. read throught the stickied threads to double check.

the GR-2 struts are a good upgrade for a reasonable cost for new struts.

each of these things will cost around or under 200 each.

i would put wheels and tires at the top of the list, though.

you wont notice the strut tower bar on the stock wheels and tires. there is so much flex and roll in the stock sized sidewalls.

1.wheels + tires
2.brakes
3.springs + struts
4.upgrade rear sway bar
5.anti lift kit
6.front strut bar

wheels tires and brakes will make it feel like a new car and make it a lot of fun to drive.

[Nessmaster]

Hey thanks! This is what I was looking for, a starting point upon which I can build. I will look into the upgrades you recommended.

[IronMonkeyL255]

No mention of swaybars in the final list?

personally, I would slot sways in there before ALK.

[greg donovan]

No mention of swaybars in the final list?

personally, I would slot sways in there before ALK.

doh, you are right they should be before the ALK.

[Nessmaster]

Is there an actual, noticeable difference between different wheels? I'm talking wheel only, not tire. Also, are the stock 91 Legacy Subaru wheels 15" as well?

[n2x4]

Tires make a 10x bigger difference than wheels. However wheels do help

The main differences between wheels include:

The weight. A lighter rim is better, however light rims can be expensive. You can also get wheels that are wider than stock. That allows you to run wider tires than stock which really helps your cornering since there's a bigger contact patch with the road. Wider rims and tires are the shiznit.

Depending upon your Legacy's trim level, you could have 15's. Odds are they're 14's though. If you're not sure, you can just look at the tires on the car right now and on the side it'll show the tire size to be like 185/55/14. The third number is your rim size.

If you were to compare 2 15" wheels, both the same width and weight, you wouldn't see any difference in performance.

[greg donovan]

Is there an actual, noticeable difference between different wheels? I'm talking wheel only, not tire. Also, are the stock 91 Legacy Subaru wheels 15" as well?

since the wheels on your car are 14" the upgrade to a 15" or a 16" will be very noticable.

15" is probably the best compromise in cost/performance/ride quality. when you get into 16" sizes and larger the price jumps up a bit and there isnt much in the way of performance tires in the 14" size unless you get into 14x7 race rubber.

you want to keep the overall diameter of the tire the same between a 14-15-16 so that means you will 2-3 less inches of sidewall to flex and roll over when conering.

www.thetirerack.com is a place where you cant get good deals on tires and learn a little about tires. if you call them the sales guys are very helpfull on helping to pick tires that fit your needs.

your best bet is to find some used 15 subaru wheels and get some new tires.

[ej22t kid]

I would say get your self some old 2.5rs rims with some 215/45/16. personaly i would go to discount tires because i have got screwd too many time by the Rack.
Falken tires are really good i have always liked them and Khumos

Fun fact: those rims are lighter than real GAB wheels