New suspension option for Baja

[ppger]

It looks like these coilover kits are now available for our Bajas. They are made by BC Racing and are going for about $1K for all four wheels. I talked to the rep and they will keep you at stock height or up to three inches lower than stock. You don't gain anything in height. I want to stay at stock or go up, so I will not be getting these, but if you are wanting to lower your Baja for better street cornering, you might want these. You can apparently adjust height and damping without removing them.

I will probably stick to ordering OEM struts and coils from an 04-06 to put on my 03 for around $650-700. If anyone is interested, the Subaru part numbers for these are:

Rear coils: #20380AE50A
Rear struts: #20365AE22A

Right front coil (automaic): #20330AE64A
Left front coil (automaic): #20330AE66A

Right front coil (manual): #20330AE59A
Left front coil (manual): #20330AE60A


Left front strut: #20310AE45A
Right front strut: #20310AE44A

http://www.amazon.com/Racing-Series-Coi ... uctDetails

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BC-RACING-FULL- ... #vi-ilComp

[Rizzo]

That's cool!

Thanks for the idea on better stuff and the OEM Subaru part numbers.

[Acro2pilot]

I have never seen a coilover set that didn't have a range of ridge height adjustment allowing for some increase in ride height, and even if that was the case it is nothing a simple collar on top of the ring couldn't fix. Our CVs are about at max limit with an inch of lift from either strut top blocks or in this case, coil over adjustment. So while it wouldn't be of much use beyond either a stand alone inch of lift or so, or set to stock length with a lift kit in place, what would probably benefit is being rebuildable and adjustable to compensate for stiffer strings to increase payload. Might be worth a try.

[NonSequitur]

Has anyone done this yet? My front passenger side strut is leaking oil at the seal now, so needs replacing. I am looking at the BC racing coilover struts, and also these linked below from Megan Racing, which do have a suspension lift adjustment for $5 more.

http://ww90.andysautosport.com/products ... &year=2006

Just looking to see if anyone has done this and what their experience has been.

Thanks,
NS

[alpha_numeric44]

I put coil overs on an impreza once.

I drove straight back to the shop and removed them.

The ride was soooo harsh.

Made for the track, not the street.

Here's my setup:

I have an 03 and I lowered it with KYB G2s, and king springs from primitive racing.

Sits about 1" above the tire.

The front wasn't low enough for me so I cut out 1 coil from the spring to dial it in for the right look.

Its ok to cut some off the bottom of the front springs because of the way they mount, but not thr back springs.


Rides nice and firm, but not rough. Big improvement!

[bajabeliever]

Has anyone done this yet? My front passenger side strut is leaking oil at the seal now, so needs replacing. I am looking at the BC racing coilover struts, and also these linked below from Megan Racing, which do have a suspension lift adjustment for $5 more.

http://ww90.andysautosport.com/products ... &year=2006

Just looking to see if anyone has done this and what their experience has been.

Thanks,
NS

I have! I went with the Megan coilovers because they were cheaper than the bcs. I did the whole shebang myself and boy are my arms tired. It was quite the journey as the stock, multi link setup doesnt lend itself to coilovers very well. I say that because there is no camber adjustment on the rear wheels so I went with moog adjustable lower control arms for the rear too. That will lead to an issue with the swing arms that have the toe adjuster. I managed to find a setting on the control arms that didnt cause too much of an issue(relatively speaking) with the swing arms but for a while i thought id have to modify the swing arm or mount to get it to work. You will also need to modify the bump stop because you dont want it to bottom out. I cut about 2" off the top and I had to raise the rear setting on the coilovers. Up untill this mod, I thought suspension work was the easiest work but stuck bolts and getting multi link setups to align have changed my mind. I managed to break both my front axels in the process though (make sure you remove the axel nut before you remove the suspension!) happy with the result as the baja feels more agile and i dont have ugly camber issues in the back. I still need to take to the alignment shop to get a reading but theres not any adjustment that can be done as all the adjustments are maxed out. Id have to buy after market adjusters if there are major problems but feels great. I have yet to see how tire wear will be. This also helped with a suspension squeak i was getting. It came from either the swing arm or the control arms.

05 turbo at

[bajabeliever]

update: so I have gotten an alignment readout out and the rear lower control arms have gotten the camber within spec but the toe has been thrown out by .40?. I suspected thered be an issue, because they're (lateral and lower control arms) almost parallel and if you adjust one, you'd have to adjust thee other. The stock toe adjuster isnt enough to get it into spec. I had to pry bar it back on with its setting maxed out so I figured there'd be issues. I hoped this thread woudl've enlightened me on the full process and issues but I guess I have to be the trail blazer instead.
So the issue Im having is finding an adjuster to get part# 20250AE01A. into spec. I havent found an adustable replacement for the baja but I have seen sets for legacy and outback. The outback has the same arm as the baja so it'll fit. I wonder if it'll be strong enough when you load the bed tho? why dont they list the adjustable for the bajas? And do the after market toe bolts have enough/more adjustment to them than the oem? more research.
Another thing I discovered: my suspension squeak is still present. It can only be coming from the rear upper control arm or the lateral arm because I changed all the other major bushings. Ideally, to lower the baja, you'd have to changed three of the arms on the back suspension: the two mentioned above (lower &, lateral), and also the upper. If there was an aftermarket upper arm or mount that would adjust the bump stop for a lowered baja, thats the ideal.
One last thing: I noticed that its a bit more challenging to jack up the vehicle. Besides the obvious fitting the correct jack under the vehicle. Its the amount of jack it takes to get the wheel up and off the ground. the suspension seems to have a lot of travel going downward.
Cheers to anyone still modding and enjoying your bajas.