Does anyone know, or has anyone successfully adjusted their trunk torsion bars to their liking? I'm wondering if it is possible to tweak the bars to increase the lifting force. I want to both make it more obvious the trunk has been popped as well as soften the slam of an unsupported close. Thanks.
As far as I know there is no way to adjust them (at least in GD cars). The spring rates are different however from base model (wingless), WRX (midwing), STi (whale tale). The STi torsion bars are the stiffest - if you're wingless and have STi torsion bars installed, your trunk lid doubles as a catapult. If you have an STi wing and STi torsion bars, I think you're S.O.L. in regards to getting more "spring" out of them. If you have a WRX, perhaps the STi torsion bars is what you're needing.
I have a 2017 WRX Limited with the factory lip spoiler, but I don't think it adds much weight. I do have bags mounted to the underside of my trunk so those do add some weight - perhaps as much as the STI wing (if not more). Thanks for the tip. I didn't realize the STI has stiffer torsion bars. Suppose I'll have to see what I can find on the used market or humor myself with what the dealer would charge.
Minnetonka Morries offers a discount on parts to MNSubaru members, yes? Might give them a try to order up some.
I swapped the springs on my 05 STI when I went to a "Winless" trunk lid. It was a total pain in the ass! The STI springs are scary.
Well.... That was a bust. Picked up the STI torsion bars at Morrie's Minnetonka and installed them today. Nearly an hour of cursing and pinching fingers and I was rather disappointed to find the STI bars did nothing different than the WRX bars. Perhaps they are one and same for the 2015+ models. Perhaps I should look into a gas strut instead...
Nuts. I ended up just installing the regular WRX torsion bars instead of the STI ones. Turns out the STI Limited (with the lip spoiler) uses the same bars as the WRX (makes sense). As a result, the parts I ordered were also listed as for the STI, so I mistakenly purchased the wrong bars and ended up exactly where I began. If anyone wants to know, the correct part numbers for the STI (with big wing) torsion bars are: 57529VA021 (RH) and 57529VA031 (LH). Since the regular WRX bars were such a pain, I'm going to just have the dealer install them for me. I dang near broke a finger trying to shove the bar into the bracket when it slipped out and smacked the trunk roof hard enough to make my ears ring from the metal-on-metal clank. I absolutely need all my fingers to do my job so it's not worth risking it. Here's hoping this will do it and I'll end up with a happy trunk.
Maybe this will work, it lists a few Subarus: https://www.che1.com/product/tl105-electric-tailgate-lift-assist-system/
What is the big advantage of getting the trunk to open all the way when popping it? Seems like a lot of dinking around (especially if you're going to have a dealer install) just for that. If it was springing open violently and you were changing to a less aggressive spring, I could justify the need, but....
I'm not trying to get the trunk to open all the way when I pop the latch. I just want it to open up a few inches so that is is more obvious that the latch has been popped. I've had it happen before where I must have sat on the trunk release button on my keys while at my office and the trunk was open the whole day. I park where I can see my car from my office window so having it ajar a little will notify me of that, if it happens again. Also, I want to have more lift to help soften the slam of an unsupported close. Honestly, I wouldn't mind a little catapult action since it would be kind of handy to have the lid pop fully open like when I'm wrangling kids and trying to get groceries into the trunk. Really, this is an issue I brought upon myself since I have those MOLLE bags attached to the trunk lid inside to house some gear. It cleans up the trunk a bit and keeps junk from rolling about, but it does add some heft to the lid.
If you want it to “catapult”, use the STi torsion bar with a wingless trunk! Almost comes off of the hinges...ask me how i know.
That strong, huh? Now it makes me wonder how heavy the wing really is. I'm guessing it is made of fiberglass/plastic? I'd guess I have a good 8-10lbs worth of junk in those trunk bags.
The GD STi spoiler was pretty heavy. I would guess between 15-25 lbs? When i took it off and had a wingless one on there it would toss stuff to the hood. Lol. I’m not sure about weights on newer models. I think that the old ones were plastic. Usually the aftermarket look alikes were fiberglass
The trunk quest continues... I got the STI bars for the big wing trunk and they are a good bit thicker than the OE bars, so they won't fit into the slots on the trunk pushrods. Nothing my Dremel couldn't do to solve the fit issue, unless anyone here knows that would be a bad thing to do. Guess this may be a mod to put off till the warmer months arrive unless I can either get into a heated garage or see if JMA is willing to do it. Just putting this info out there for anyone who is looking to do this mod in the future.
