Im getting ready to order springs and struts and was looking for some feedback on springs before i order.

Background:

90 lifted/subframed loyale (obxt's old car)

2.2 swapped dual range

Im getting the kyb gr's as well and was wondering which spring you guys prefer that have them. The moog 854's or the 856's? I livein the mountains on a dirt road and do a mix of road and offroad driving. Ive read 2.7's thread but im unsure about a few things. Are the 856 that much stiffer than the 854s? It is mentioned that the tempo springs help the axle angle where others make it worse but is that the 854s or 856s or do both not hinder the angle? 

I finally have a decent job and eliminated my debt so i can put money into Lt.dan(loyales name) that he deserves. 

4 hours ago, armedequation said:

Ive read 2.7's thread

Personally, I do not like cutting springs, ride is too harsh, dampening effect suffers greatly. ended up using the Kia springs suggested as an alternative in 2.7's thread. 

To add a stiffer, almost progressive firmness to stronger hits, I utilized a shorter stock spring off of the EA82 rear coilovers. 

Works great, dampens smaller hits perfectly while not jarring my teeth out, and stiffens when hit hard to keep from bottoming out over a jump.  Maybe someday, I'll even get around to cutting out the rust, ha. 

Charles,

Thank you for response! In my haste i forgot to ask if anyone has tried the kia springs so im glad you responded. Couple of questions

1) did ypu just try the kia springs first and then found that you needed something more? Or did you do both springs from the get go?

2) are you using the top hat thats listed in 2.7's thread?

3) did using the kia springs negatively effect your axle angle?

 

Im not keen on buying a new spring only to cut it either. Nothing is specifically mentioned about having to cut the 854s on either 2.7s thread or adventuresubarus webpage. I dont want a super harsh ride 

Edited July 27, 20196 yr by armedequation

     There were two kia springs listed, I started with the softer Kia springs, they worked for daily, but they were a bit soft when off road. Then moved to the stiffer ones. They were functional, but not being progressive, I would bottom when landing a hard bump or smaller jump. Neither set squeaks or moves.

     The rear springs fit almost perfectly inside the stock spring perches, only had to slightly adjust the bottom of the spring. I used the ones off the rear of the same vehicle when I replaced them to have new on all 4 corners. Later, I cut them about 2inches, set so they have almost no preload, only enough to hold them in place. Work great for stiffer rebound before it bottoms. 

I am actually running new stock EA82 struts and tophats. It is in a 1977 coupe, so the strut top mounts and adjustments were all modified for adjustments anyway. 

 

Okay cool. I may just try using these tophats then. Oddly enough the tophats seem like the most expensive parts on the list. I havent decided which way to go and may just do the new struts for now and upgrade the springs later. Knowledge is power and having choices is even better.....

Eta: gonna place my order tomorrow for the 854s and the struts

Edited July 28, 20196 yr by armedequation

i have the progresive tempo springs i dont remeber the part #but i know one is progresive and one isent the progresive springs worked good the initial rid is good when i put the winch on almost as heavy as the engine the springs stiffend right up and suported the front end well to much time with the winch on thefront softend up the springs alot and the progressive coils just went in to coil bind and dont realy do anything anymore

i would say if your gona offroad alot go with the stiffer non progresive springs

if your doing mostly street driving get the progresive springs

and dont cut the springs

According to 2.7s thread the 854s are non progressive. I ordered those along with struts and accord springs for the rear. They should be here friday! Im stoked

Thanks forthe info Ferp

 

Edited July 31, 20196 yr by armedequation

On 7/27/2019 at 10:21 AM, armedequation said:

... I've read 2.7's thread ...

I hope that you find it useful, let us know the results.

Kind Regards.

Maybe this thread could be Helpful, also:

~► https://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/130950-suspension-improvements-for-subaru-loyale/?page=2

Kind Regards.

Thanks 2.7! 

I got the springs  and struts but will have to wait as i need to order too mounts  for the front and bushings  for the rear. Bushings are pretty worn so id just like to go new all the way around.

And a big thank you for that write up! 

 

Just a bit of an update with some info. 

I got the following 

Front top mounts:

Moog k9557 - there were 2 other brands listed on summits website but it didnt specify whether they came with the bearings or not. I tried to call customer service but my kids wouldnt let me stay on the phone longer than the 15 minutes i was on hold for...

Summit did not list a bushing kit for the rears but i found a couple of options on rock auto. 

I went with the following:

Westar st3984

They had a bushing kit from gabriel as well but they didnt look as stout as the westars. I wouldve ordered the moog fronts from them but they wanted you to buy 6 at a time.

I should get both sets next week and will update

no worries i had the same question when i went to buy mine and i just kinda guessed and i guessed wrong lol atleast for my aplication

Following for updates, it's nice to see real world results. I'm looking to stiffen up the front end in my loyale as well. 

Hey grizzly,

Just a small update. I actually didnt need to order the westar bushings for the rear struts because new bushings came with the struts. However new bushings didnt come with the fronts for some reason. Instead of spending anymore time on hold i just ordered the kit for $20. I should have everything i need by friday so i should have some updates by next weekend at the latest. Needless to say i am getting antsy to get this done to say the least. 

Front bushing kit part number: 

Moog k9221 ~ comes with 4 bushings and hardware

Edited August 10, 20196 yr by armedequation

Started on the rears. Got rears off. Gotta put them together on my friends compression tool. Took pics but they were more than 2mb. Will redo the pics and post

38 minutes ago, armedequation said:

Took pics but they were more than 2mb. Will redo the pics and post

 I use an app for that literally just called "reduce photo size"

It functions, nothing more  nothing less. 

Edited August 13, 20196 yr by armedequation

Haha thank you Charles!

I feel old now lol

So update time. I got the rears installed and there was a noticeable difference in ride height. Took it for a little spin and it felt great. Came home and promptly took front off to do. We will see when i can finish them. Had a 60 hour week last week and  worked over the weekend.

I will say this though, im very happy with how the rears felt on my tiny drive.

just be aware the extra ride hight might play havok on your cv joints you might need more sub frame drop depending on your setup

It kinda wierd how dramatic that last pic makes it look. It definitely an increase but not as much as the pic makes it out to be. Wont know until i get the front done and on and some real driving done

I also carry 2 spare axles eith at all times

Edited August 20, 20196 yr by armedequation

your rig will settle alot but still the springs should add 1.5-2"of lift so depending on your lift you might need to do some more work from the looks of it it would be easy enuff to modify your struts just by looking at the pics you posted but i dont realy know dosent matter the big lifts look great on these cars

there is alway cutting a coil or 2  but only do that if a your lazy or broken

It will look a lot better once i get the fronts on...a lot less rake. Looking at It from the rear, It didnt change the axle angle all that much. Hope to have fronts on in next couple of days.

Already getting orders for firewood which is delaying things a bit

the cvs will pull out of the cups if you have too much lift

usaly with a lift like that you drop the sub frame if you add more lift you need to drop the sub frame the same amount

 

so if yo have a 2" lift no sub frame drop

3" lift you need a 1" sub frame drop

4" lift 2" drop

5" lift 3" drop

 

 

The rear diff is incorporated into the subframe and both were dropped when the lift was done. If need be i will make drop brackets but im gonna roll with it first and see what happens. With tires on the angle isnt as bad as the pic above with the tires off and the back end jacked up