[BAC5.2]

All installed! It sits a little low, but I haven't really had time to sort out preload and damping.

I'm going to drive it as-is for a month or so to let things settle, then I'll adjust preload and ride height when I go to swap out the rear bump stops.

My alignment is spot on. -1 degree of camber all around, 0 toe in the rear, +0.01 on the front, and 7.5 degrees of caster on the LF and 6.8 degrees on the LR. The caster is the result of swapping the camber plates left-to-right, and rotating them so they kick in-and-back. Spring rates are mild. 7k front, 8k rear. Nicely balanced. Once I tune it, I may decide to swap from 7k fronts and 8k rears to 6k fronts and 7k rears.

It needs some tuning, but the initial impressions are pretty good. I'll probably spend an entire day tuning in the next few weeks, but the first thing I have to do is swap out the rear bump stops and maybe get something to help adjust camber in the rear.

For the money (I think the FXT specific ones are in the $1400 range?), they can't be beat. The quality is astounding, and the ride is spot on for a daily driver (since they were, afterall, designed around daily-driving). They are also about 3/4 the weight of the stock stuff, which is nice.

I still haven't had the time to take measurements and model the suspension in 3D, but I think I have the ride height set alright. I'm at 15" front and rear from hub to fender, just about 2" less than stock. I'm not entirely sold on the ride height, I still feel like it's a little low. I'll sort all of that out when I go to tune the setup though, then I'll re-align the car and button everything up.

Pics tomorrow if it's sunny!

 

[Justforfun]

AH! You jerk! (I kid I kid) You have YET to post pictures of this thing, or have I missed them? I'm pretty much in love with the new Outbacks.

 

[fourortwowheels]

looking foward to the long term results, initial results are always positive. lets see after a year or too. :biggrin: did they come w/ strut tops or camber plates?

and pics or ban!

 

[wakeabyss]

:mob: We want pics now!

 

[BAC5.2]

They came with camber plates up front and a really neat pillow-ball rear hat that is sandwiched between rubber isolators. They are SUPER quiet.

This is actually the beginning of the 15 month long demo period for these. Since they are the prototype Outback specific coilovers, I'll run them for just over a year, then we'll ship them back to Japan for a full analysis. Preliminary (6 and 8 month) tear downs of their twin and mono-tube coilovers for the WRX showed nothing abnormal. Everything looked brand new, even the shock-dyno charts, and they were on cars that were AGGRESSIVELY tracked. I don't expect any decrease in performance, and I don't intend to remove them for winter or anything like that.

Just a super high quality part.... though I scratched the crap out of the rears when I was adjusting ride height. It's terribly inconvenient to adjust ride-height on the multi-link.

I'll get pics tomorrow. Here's a preliminary one, but the lighting casts shadows that make it look funky. Don't mind the mess.

 

[Duderotomy]

you just beat me on my classic post of:

I'm quite interested to see how this test turns out. I'll likely be in the market for a set of Legacy coilovers that will last through the winter.
More pictures in better lighting are a must! :lol:

 

[BAC5.2]

When it isn't raining, I'll take some outside in the sun.

I don't expect any issues. I'll be running them for my daily 80 mile commute for the next 15 months, rain snow or shine.

 

[Duderotomy]

do they offer any sort of thread coating to prevent possible salt corrosion?
I know Tein has something they use, but it just seemed like an over priced can of PAM.

 

[ScoobyDoobie]

responded to your thread on the other forum, but the prelim. photo looks good and it seems you've wasted no time on beginning the mods for the 09 OBXT :biggrin:

Can't wait to see some better pics (and pics once you get your new shoes :icon_wink

 

[Justforfun]

omg, its beautiful...

 

[BAC5.2]

do they offer any sort of thread coating to prevent possible salt corrosion?
I know Tein has something they use, but it just seemed like an over priced can of PAM.

The whole bodies are coated, if that's what you are asking. The inside of the collars look like they are zinc electroplated.

I doubt siezing will be an issue, and the collars have HUGE lugs on them to get a good grip with wrenches.

 

[Duderotomy]

The whole bodies are coated, if that's what you are asking. The inside of the collars look like they are zinc electroplated.

I doubt siezing will be an issue, and the collars have HUGE lugs on them to get a good grip with wrenches.

Yeah, thats pretty much what I was asking... I'm just curious to see how that holds up.
Sometimes a real winter can prove the best lab tests wrong. Sounds like they should be alright though, I know Tein doesn't have very big lugs in the collar for the wrenches.

 

[BAC5.2]

Unless it snows again, I won't get any winter data soon. We have abnormally harsh winters. Not because it snows a lot, but because they use so much salt.

The plus side to that is that the coilovers will have almost a years worth of wear and tear before the next harsh element exposure. Should be interesting.

The lugs on these are almost 1/4" deep!

 

[funkymonkey1002]

Do those outbacks have the same spacer blocks in the crossmembers/subframe etc that the older lateral link outbacks had?

 

[BAC5.2]

Sort of. We have about an inch of spacers in various forms throughout the vehicle, not much unlike the 09 FXT compared to the newer Imprezas.

So far everything seems alright with the coilovers. Not too harsh, not too soft. Body roll is greatly reduced, and my kidneys don't hurt after my 60 miles in the car today.

 

[BAC5.2]

Two slightly better pics...

 

[ScoobyDoobie]

Hey Phil, found something that I think would be up your alley for the OBXT. In NOVA too!

FS: (Norhtern VA) Custom Offroad Lights and Rack stuff for Outback 05-09 - Subaru Legacy Forums

 

[JStorm]

Looks good!

My D2's didn't fare so well with Ohio winter weather and resultant salt/brine bath. The damper cartridges fared well since they are PTFE coated, but the hardware of the camber plates and mounting ears of the bodies took the brunt of the damage. Are your spherical bearings sealed? Mine aren't and developed corrosion inside.

I would suggest frequent cleaning to wash away anything before it becomes a problem.

 

[fourortwowheels]

i cant believe you are nationally competitive on junk d2 coils!? but then again jstorm makes up for that with amazing driver skill. imagine how much better your car would get w/ some real equipment!

 

[JStorm]

i cant believe you are nationally competitive on junk d2 coils!? but then again jstorm makes up for that with amazing driver skill. imagine how much better your car would get w/ some real equipment!

Believe it baby...... and the coils are Eibach and Hypercoils, but I digress.....

I sometimes imagine how much quicker I'd be on better suspension, but I simply cannot afford them. My car is too ugly to sponsor unless a complete wrap is done....but we're trying to drum up support for better stuff.

Thanks for the compliment on the driving though. I give it 110%!!!!