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FEAL 441 Max Travel

14K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  arcticscythe 
#1 ·
2013 Subaru WRX Hatch, Satin Pearl White 58k miles ( Drivetrain ) 14k (
Cobb Tuning SF Intake ( With Airbox ), Cobb High Flow Downpipe
Whitelines Anti-Sway Bars, Kart boys Endlinks, Back to black bushings, Perrin Pitch Stop Mount, Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace
Cobb Knob, Roof Rack, Gorilla Flaps, LED Light Bars, Bike Rack
Tuned by Eric @ Torqued Performance for 91 Octane ACN Fuel

Preface :
So I have almost 60k miles on my Chassis, not to get absorbed in a side notes but SOA built me a new longblock about 15k miles ago so my car now has 2 clocks. Back to the point I have about 60k on the chassis and I am running the stock suspension components ( Struts and springs ). While they have been very comfortable for my daily driving needs they were starting to get a bit noisy and they were not sucking up as much of the road as I was once so pleased to find. I knew that it was time to swap them out sometime last month when I rolled over a speed bump and heard that evil squishy squeak, kind of like rubbing an eraser on a wet piece of glass. It sounded as though the valving on my passenger side front strut was on its last legs and being beyond the 50k miles that I normally tell people to service their suspension It was time.

I set out to find myself a replacement for my stock suspension. My interests were in finding suspension components that were comfortable for my 36 mile daily commute and adjustable for my occasional canyon drive or track day. I typically recommend AGX struts with stock springs because they have a few adjustment points and they perform well enough for a daily driver but they were not available for my platform. I went further in that direction and the only adjustable struts I could find were Koni inserts that required me to drill/drain/cut. tap and press fit Koni strut inserts into my stock struts. For about $250 a corner I was not willing to tear apart my existing suspension and proceed to spend 2 days draining and cutting up my stock setup while my car sat on jack stands. I briefly looked at coilover setups but I ran into a problem that a number of drivers find. Entry coilovers have poor valving and poor rebound control and a decent set of coilovers will set you back between $2k and $3k. It’s worth noting that I also looked at replacing my worn stock setup with another stock setup and and the price I was quoted from my local Subaru dealership was almost 2k after taxes, and that's just for parts.

I was looking to preserve my stock ride height and find some adjustability so I posted a few times here and on other forums and made a few phone calls to local ( and some not so local - Thanks to @boo-key for the heads up on turn in concepts ) and I heard the same thing from each. The best setup you can get for less than $2k is either Koni inserts which require heavy modifications or FEAL coilovers. I called up FEAL and spoke with Oni and Zack. Both of them were exceptionally professional and they both work very closely with the technicians that build their suspension in house in Ontario CA. FEAL had an offering that fit my needs about perfectly.

Enter the FEAL 441 Max Travel. This coilover package has a few benefits over the other coilover options on the market for the 11-14 WRX, It is capable of running up to a 1.5 Inch Lift over stock and up to a 1 inch drop from stock without adding any preload to the springs and without harming the effective dampening of the strut inserts. They also include swift springs on all their builds and pillowball mounts for more precise steering input and response. It doesn't hurt that they come in cool colors and they are made a stone's throw from my city in Ontario CA. I ordered a set over the phone and in my conversation with Zack decided that for my driving style we would go with 8k springs and a .75 inch lift over stock.

Install :
Swapping struts for coilovers is a very simple process and realistically it should take about 2 hours, 1 six pack of your favorite fizzy beverage and a pizza to share with a friend ( the friend really helps ) This install is one I recommend using 4 jack stands for. You will need to be getting under the car with large breaker bars and that will require some extra lift over a single jack stand. I performed my install with 2 jack stands so I could finish the front first then the rear but we ran into issues of the breaker bar being too long for some of the spaces.

Removing Stock struts / Springs :
I start most suspension jobs by hitting all the parts I will be removing with PB blaster. I like the way PB Blaster smells but if you are not into that smell it might be worth spraying outside then rolling the car into the garage. Spend a few moments watching cool Subaru Rally videos while the parts soak and then get down to business. I prefer to work from the bottom bracket to the top because the bottoms are the hardest part to break free. I also marked my camber bolt with a paint marker so i knew generally where my suspension was setup before the process. Start by pulling the 2x 14mm bolts holding your ABS sensor and brake lines to the strut. Then you can move on to the harder bolts. Remove the 2 19mm bolts and nuts and the bottom of the strut assembly will be free. When you are removing the bottom bolt and camber bolt on the front struts be careful not to let the strut body jam into your front axle boot, the stock setup is under some tension from the springs and I found that using a small screwdriver in the bottom hole let me control the strut without damaging the axle boots. Then you can move up top and use a 12mm deep socket to pull the 3 nuts holding the strut assembly up. It will take some wiggling to remove but hey are pretty easy. Clean up all the threads with a nylon brush and get ready to install the new front coilovers.

For the rear It is strongly recommended that you disconnect the swap bars to allow the A arm to lower enough to pull the struts. The rear struts are under a considerable amount more tension than the fronts and will require some downward force to release them from their slots. To remove the rear struts start by removing the 19mm bolts holding the bottom of the strut in place. Then moving into your trunk pull the liner and the 2 side panels to expose 2x 12mm nuts. I used a ⅜ CV extension and a 12mm deep socket to remove those nuts and make working in that space easier. Then once the top is removed you will need your friend to apply downforce to the hub that way you can remove the top portion of the strut assembly from its seat and lift the bottom portion out of the arm. Again follow the same progress and clean up any mounting surfaces or threads with a nylon brush and some simple green before preparing yourself to install the new coilovers.

Installing the FEAL Max Travel 441s :
As always begin by making sure that the connections are all tight and that they match the required specs for your parts. I called Zack at FEAL suspension to verify that I had the correct bottom height and made sure the the springs were under the same amount of preload tension ( About 4 mm ). Use the included tools to be sure that all the collars are tight and starting with the front units start by lifting the new coilovers into place. Be sure the the camber adjustment plate is facing the correct direction ( perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle ) I loosely install the nuts that hold the coilover up in place and move onto the bottom bracket. Using a tap set or alignment tool, align the bottom hole of your strut assembly and thread through the 19mm bolt and hand tighten the nut, then install the top camber bolt and adjust it as close as you can to straight ( you will need an alignment anyway but getting it close saves your tires for the drive to your alignment shop ) Once the coilover is installed reattach the 12mm bolts/brackets that hold the ABS sensor and brake line in place and reinstall your tires.

The rears are very easy following the same process. Install the top into its seat and tighten the nuts holding the strut up, Push the bottom into place and reinstall the 19mm bolt and your swaybar into their factory locations. There are no sensors or cables attached to the rear coilovers so your job is just about done.

Adjusting :
I used the settings that were recommended to me by the team at FEAL. For daily driving 15 clicks on the front and 15 clicks on the rear. I also tested them at 10 clicks in the front and rear and While it was very soft and cushy for driving around with the family. I think I want the car to feel stiffer even on my daily driver but I will be playing with those settings for the next few weeks Im sure.

Alignment :
You are playing with the alignment bolts and adjusting where the top of your struts contact the car. It should go without saying that you need to take it to an alignment shop before you do any real driving.

Wrap Up:
If you have an 08-14 WRX the options for struts are few and far between. FEAL makes some excellent products with a bit of racing pedigree and they come in considerably under the cost of their closest competition. They also offer some of the only coil overs in their price bracket that offer stock ride height and soft lift.
 
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#2 ·
OK so I 've ridden on them for about 400 miles now and I figure its as good a time as any to writeup my feelings on the new setup.

1. The Ride Height - So I as a bit worried about raising the overall right height of the vehicle because I didnt want to lost the sports hatch feeling. I must say that the feeling is absolutely still there. My final lift after all was said and done is about .9 inches. Its enough that I dont scrape my front bumper on driveways and my mud flaps dont scrape and rub on the pavement on winding freeway on ramps. It also feels different sitting down in the car, Less like falling into your seat and more like sliding horizontally into the cabin. Its difficult to describe but it feels like the car is coming to you more than you coming to the seat.

2. Rebound Settings - My daily commute consists of 36 miles of some of the worst freeway in the country. the 405N is basically a paved motocross rocker line that lasts for 20 miles. The constant thud thud thud thud became a part of my existance. With the rebound settings at the factory suggested 15/30 the bumps were still noticeable but I felt like the suspension was sucking up alot more than the factory struts. Getting onto and off the freeways didnt feel like the suspension was crazy soft either, just less jarring on my way to the office. Just for fun I dropped the adjustments to 8/30 and is was considerably cushy. at 8/30 the body was rolling more than I was used to on the off-ramps but I could see leaving the setup in that configuration for my 405 commute. I took advantage of a canyon drive oppertunity on Sunday and set the rebound to 25/30, With the setup this stiff I could feel every bump but the car stayed glued to the pavement.

3. Noise - There has been a minor increase in the volume of the total vehicle since lifting it about an inch. I am not sure if it is more audible because there is more room for the sound to bouce around under the car or if the pillow ball mounts just translate more noise into the cabin but I can definitly tell that there is an increased road noise. I am not uncomfortable with the noise produced and neighter are any of the passengers ( 2 fell asleep in the back seat over the weekend ) so it is not bad, just keep in mind that stiffer mounts will be louder than the stock struts.
 
#3 ·
Sounds like a great product. I am not a fan of coilovers mostly because the springs are all complete overkill. 8K all around on a WRX? Especially one raised? Does not compute. I think of a performance spring more in the 5K range and even that being overkill for a street car. I doubt they offer something as mild as 4K on these types of coilovers. I also worry how adjustable they will be after some salt cakes in there. D-spec struts used to come with cables so you could access the rear strut adjustment on a sedan (I guess you don't have that problem) and that was for a simple spring/strut setup!

Nothing against FEAL, this is just a grossly under-served market. FEAL should come out with some 08-14 and 15+ WRX/STi replacement struts.
 
#4 ·
They offer springs from 4k to 16k but I choose the 8k setup because I was interested in tightening down the suspension a bit without lowring the car. Honestly I was originally looking for some adjustable struts rather than coilovers but I am pleasently surprised at the customization and comfort from this particular set. The boost in height doesnt hurt either : )

As far as salt is concerned thats mostly a non-issue with parts in Southern California. my 3 year old stock parts were just dusty with road grim and a quick shot of simple green cleaned them right up. I also took a moment to lubricate the threads with a few drops of purple aerosol lube so hopefully they will be easy enough to lower a bit around summer time.
 
#5 ·
Chassis dynamics are easily disrupted by changes in spring rate, ride height, and dampening. Changing any one of the three requires some substantial adjustment to the other two. Also, the chassis itself is designed around a certain geometry and getting too far away from that can lead to a lot of complex things.

To simplify, in general you want to raise ride height also with an increase in throw, a drop in spring rate, and a reduction in damping. You've raised the ride height and increased the throw and DRASTICALLY increase your spring rate. The damping is adjustable but I'm not sure there's a value that would make sense. I mean there are certainly other concerns than handling around a track but the dynamics of your car are pretty different.

Most coilovers function best with a significant drop because they have significant spring rates. That's the appropriate ride height for that chassis with such springs. That also requires much more powerful damping (which is why you need the beefier strut than stock to run beefy springs). This reduces throw in proportion to the increase. The spring is giving you the performance advantage by decreasing the movement of the tire from external force compared to a street car that has to deal with larger road contortions. Some can be raised back up for "street driving", you'd also want to loosen their damping and they wouldn't exactly handle well just not jar your teeth out.
 
#6 ·
@articscythe I am stoked to have finally read this review! I am going to email this soon to see what I should do for my setup. Also sorry for not getting that pic of the rub marks up last weekend I got sick and decided sleep was a good remedy.

So back to the suspension, I'm gonna see what I should do for sways ect and try to price this out so I can save up. Also thanks for the write up!

@mosc
I read your statement on suspension and I agree with you. If you change one part the geometry is off and needs change to the rest, but if you increase throw and reduce spring rate would that basically be a super soft long travel spring? I ask because my daily needs new suspension soon and I want a 50/50 setup for aggressive canyon driving and fun on dirt roads without a significant drop in ride quality. For example, my stock setup is pretty good even in aggressive driving. I took it up a road here and I think time wise I was better than my G with harder suapension, but I was barely able to keep contact. Needless to say the ability to have a little better canyon times but be able to go all out on a dirt road would be ideal for me, if possible.
 
#7 ·
"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to arcticscythe again."

nice write up. good stuff as always bud! i enjoy the follow-ups and how in depth you go with descriptions.
 
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