Subaru WRX Forum banner

I'm lost help with suspension

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  dub81 
#1 ·
I'm a complete noob when it comes to cars suspension so sorry for these all time dumb questions.

what is the difference between coilovers and struts? is a coilover just a better version of a strut? do u just buy coilovers and replace the struts with them or what? or are they two seperate things that the car needs and are both on from factory?

I ask because I think a strut or something is blown on my car (03 wrx) and on right turns it sounds like something is scraping or anytime it need to compress a little bit from a dip or something(sound comes from left rear tire area)

so I want to upgrade them, but need help in the knowledge department of this. What are the best ways to upgrade your suspension little by little besides the ebay h brace(gonna order one soon).

How should the process start? get struts, then coilovers, then sway bar etc?

I drive my car 95 % on the streetm but I do enjoy the dirt roads around my area time to time.
 
#2 ·
Coilovers are springs with an adjustable perch to sent the ride height. Coilovers can be part of a strut setup though. Struts are really the part up the center of the spring, as most people call it a shock absorber. A strut will have a mounting point typically that bolts straight up to the axle or wheel hub. Coilovers usually employ stiffer springs than stock, so you can lower the car without bottoming out the suspension. Coilovers give you the ability to change the ride height of the car, but not much as far as really changing the suspension stiffness. That's where an adjustable strut is usually combined to change allowing more fluid or more stiff movement from the damper, overall changing how quickly the car rebounds a bump and stops the spring from bouncing around. Make sense?

Also, for your setup, a blown strut will often make a pretty awful sound, as there is no more oil inside it stopping it from moving quickly. The car will also seem to have a looser spring in the corner that's blown. You can usually see an oily mess around the strut if it's blown too.

You can get a set of struts cost effectively, and keep your stock springs, or you can find setups that have struts and coilovers or springs combined. It comes down to your budget and preference. It takes about 2-4 hours to swap them all depending on how familiar you are with the cars and how sticky the suspension bolts are. You'll need a spring compressor as well to get them off yourself. I'd probably recommend getting it all at the same time to save the extra labor, but that's me. Gas charged struts don't typically wear out as fast on lowered cars and often come in adjustable variants.

Lastly, if you're driving on dirt roads quite a bit, I wouldn't really consider lowering the car at all, to save from bottoming out the car much. But you can get coilovers ad leave it at stock ride height. You'll just lose a little suspension travel. I went with STi pink springs and am very happy with the result. It didn't drop it much, probably less than an inch, but it comes out to what you expect and want from the car. You can find lots of information regarding what sway bars would fit your desires as well. The sway bars are a lot like a spring, but they really only do anything when you have a different load on each side of it (i.e. cornering). Search for sways and you'll see a ton!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top