coilovers for my 09 wrx?

[doctahank]

hello all!
I just purchased an 09wrx and i absolutely love it, but i want to lower it a bit and improve handling. I do not want to just lower it for looks. I was looking into coilovers... maybe some by TEIN and then adding some whiteline sway bars with the kartboy endlinks. I feel like this will make a very well handling street/track car. The only hesitation i have on this is that i have had cheaper coilovers before and they sucked! but this was probably due to the poor quality of the coilover.

The other option is to do some lovering springs, probably whiteline) and new shocks (KYB) that are made to handle the increased spring rate.

What do you guys think? coilovers? which brands?

and which sway bar to use on each of these set ups
thanks!

[c2bcoolwrx]

Since you have an '09 there is not much out there in terms of suspension upgrades. Personally, I would not do coilovers unless I had $2k or more to spend. Cheap coilovers designed for the Asian market just suck for a DD on our crappy roads here in the US.

As for lowering springs, I would NOT use the whiteline ones. While whiteline makes some great products, their springs just are not one of them. Also, do NOT use any spring that says it will work with a '08 WRX b/c the 08s struts are not nearly as capable as your 09s. Thus, this means springs that will work with the '08 will actually be softer (lower spring rate) then your stock '09 springs.

The best springs for the '09 WRX are the ones you are running right now. 08-09 STi springs will not fit due to the STi having shorter springs in the front; see this thread:

08 sti pinks fit 09 WRX - NASIOC

RCE is in developement for some '09 WRX specific springs and those would definitely be your best bet once they come out. RCE/Myles makes some of the best springs out there, so I would wait for those. Here is the thread about the RCE springs (Myles confirms he is in development sometime later in the thread, page 3 or so):

Lets get some 09 WRX specific springs made (gauging interest thread) - NASIOC

[c2bcoolwrx]

Just in case you want more info on why cheap coilovers suck...Here is a copy of a post or 2 I made on clubWRX not too long ago:

Many people don't realize that coilovers can be a big headache for a car that is daily driven. Cheap coilovers (generally costing under $2K) such as megans, BCs, teins, helix, etc use cheap components. Coilovers have a lot more components and moving parts than a normal spring/strut combo, hence much more pieces to rust, bind, and/or fail. Also, coilovers tend to need a lot more maintence causing more downtime and cost.

Many of the cheaper coilovers made in Asia and/or designed for the Japenese market suck and are not meant to be daily driven on our crappy roads here in the US. Many of these coilovers are designed for the track and track surfaces are vastly better than most local roads. That is why European market coilovers are better for US roads (better components and better valving designed to run on crappy roads).

I suggest you read these threads:

1) Coilover selection - NASIOC (look at post #13: tein coilover failure, also look at post #27 & #38: great info)

2) BC Racing Coilovers or Megans? - NASIOC (look at post #11, #20, #55)

When it comes to coilovers here is where I look (in no particular order):

1) TIC/AST
2) RCE
3) Blistien
4) Ohlins

However, in your case I do not believe the above 4 companies have coilovers on the market yet for the '09 (but I may be wrong). If you are really interested in coilovers I suggest you contact Tony or Clint of TIC or Myles at RCE. All of those guys/both of those companies really know WRX/STi suspension and are highly regarded as the gurus of the subaru suspension world (USA based at least).

Helping you to enjoy your car. - Turn In Concepts

:: Racecompengineering - 410-579-1501 ::


Edit: RCE does have coilovers for the '08+ WRX: RaceComp Engineering Online Store