So, I'm going to upgrade my suspension cause I'm bored with stock. It's a DD for now, but I like to drive it fairly spirited. It's an 02 WRX Wagon. I would appreciate any comments or experience with related setups and performance in winter and summer. So here is what I'm thinking... Installed: Perrin PSRS 17"x7.5" Rota Tarmac II's Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 225/45R17 - Summer Nokian Rsi 205/55/16 - Winter Purchased: KYB GR2 Wagon Struts Front/Rear Perrin 22" FSB/Endlinks Perrin 22" RSB/Endlinks Intending 2 Purchase: Prodrive Springs Cusco Camber plates - Front STi Group N Top Hats - Rear Rear Camber Bolts Prodrive Steering Rack Bushings Perrin Rear Diff/Subframe Lockdown System I intend to install all the purchased and Intended stuff at the same time. Let me know what ya think. Will there be rubbing with those tires? Will it be scary in snow? Thanks, - JFK
What's the offset of the wheels? I'm running the same tires on 17x7.5" SSRs (+50 offset) with Prodrive springs -- and no rubbing. You should definitely get some camber bolts for the rear also and maybe think about a rear strut tower.
You need rear camber bolts with prodrive springs? Thats weird. My car has more of a drop and all my specs came out. Is it a wagon thing?
Not sure if they're completely necessary...but would it hurt to have them installed? The wagon doesn't drop very far in the rear with prodrives, but it'd be nice to have the option just in case. oh...+48...yeah, I know, not optimal for the wagon.
^ The rears have a tendency to be in the negative camber range. I've noticed on most the wrx suspension I've done that the drivers side rear is usually worse. -1.6 to 1-9. Camber bolts will allow you to make the car turn a bit better and you won't have to fight understeer as much. WRXEcho, looks like a great set-up, but why did you go all out then only go with GR-2's instead of AGX's? just wondering
You'll want them if you want your cross camber to be zero or if you want to pull some camber out. I've run a set in both wagons I've owned.
ScubaSteve: WRXEcho, looks like a great set-up, but why did you go all out then only go with GR-2's instead of AGX's? just wondering I researched on nasioc and other places, and read some conflicting reports about having the GC fronts. I know people run em', but there were some reports of those not being suited so much for the wagon. I also decided, since I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to suspension, that if I install them myself, It would make my life easier to have wagon specific struts. I was planning on the AGXs until I read a bunch of stuff. I realize the GR2s are just a slight upgrade from stock, but if they suck, I can always sell em' and get AGXs.
You can probably skip the rear Group N tops if you want to save some cash, since you won't notice much of a difference over the stocks. Additionally, you may want to try to resist temptation and install all of that in stages, so you can get a feel for what difference each item makes. I would install the struts, tops, camber bolts and get an alignment first, wait a bit then install the sways, then the bushings and subframe.
One cautionary word of advice for a daily driver. A general rule is, the stiffer the suspension, the less grip in ice and snow. When we ran the Sno*Drift Rally in our WRX, we removed both sway bars completely and ran the struts at full soft. That being said, the RSi tire will make up for some of the lost mechanical grip. If you are willing, I would do what you are talking about and just remove the sway bars when you put the RSis on. If you need the RSis, you don't need the sways. YMMV, Mark Utecht
I just installed KYB AGX with Prodrive springs. My stock GR2's finally were giving out after 30k miles with the prodrives. I would just go with the AGX from the start.
so, just to confirm, if I did eventually go the AGXs, I would need the GC fronts, and the 02 rears correct? is there any modifications to the GC to make them more compliant with the wagon? or is it basically plug n play?
GC Fronts are plug and play on the WRX Wagon. Well... plug and play except for dremeling out the tabs where the brake lines connect. That's a great setup, and I ran those same wheels with the same size tires on my 02 wagon with no rubbing issues. If you REALLY want to spend the extra $50 go ahead and get the Cusco Camber plates versus the front Group N tophats. Otherwise, you'll be able to get plenty of camber (unless you want to go past -1.5. I got mine to somewhere around -2.0 without camber plates) with the Group Ns. The Cuscos are a pillowball top and are noisy. You will lose a lot of compliance and come snow time (as previously mentioned) you're going to want a little more compliance. FYI, I did eventually go with Cusco tops, but not until I put the DMS coils on. Otherwise that's a nice daily driver setup. The 22mm swaybars are a good tradeoff between aggressive driving and daily driving, however, as also previously mentioned, when the going gets slick, the more independent wheel travel you can get, the better. Honestly, though, unless you're driving super aggressively or like an asshat (there's a difference) on patch-ice roads you'll be fine with that setup. Enjoy it.
If I were you, I would buy my JIC Coilovers from me at a steal of a price. http://mnsubaru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19520
