tractor pole Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Soooo.... I want to make an extra set of springs/strut assemblies for summer driving. I am thinking if going with KYB GR-2 (or Excel-G that's the new name) Front and rear.with a set of coilover sleeves. has anyone used these shocks/struts with coilovers? and good/bad experiences. I want to retain my set I have now for winter: Front 94 Legacy struts and springs with Ea82 top hats. Rear stock 91 Loyale 4wd shocks/springs, planning on making a small 1" spacer to level out with front height. thanks, Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarutex Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) Yes and no. When I lowered my first RX, it was with one of the generic coilover kits off ebay. Not great quality products, but I was young and learning. I used low mileage front wrx struts (did this in conjuction with a 5 lug swap). Those did not last long. In the back I used brand new GR2's. Those seemed to do great with the setup. I would try and focus on quality parts for something like this, and go easy on the spring rates... your kidneys will thank you later! I will also add I just put some of the GR2/excel G's on my wifes Forester XT with a set of Swift drop springs. Roughly 1.5" drop. I did a lot of research before buying this stuff, and the general consensus on the 'net was this was a solid setup, only to be outdone by bilstein or koni inserts. So, i felt pretty comfortable that the struts were up to the task of daily driving duty on a lowered spring. Edited March 15, 2012 by Subarutex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor pole Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I was thinking about the spring rates, the springs that came with the kit (for an Impreza) are 500lbs, I think. I will give them a try and order up new lower spring rates if I don't like them. also thought about trimming the lower perch for the stock coil down so they aren't so big around so they would be dedicated for the coilovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obk25xt Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 also thought about trimming the lower perch for the stock coil down so they aren't so big around so they would be dedicated for the coilovers. I did that too. Makes for a cleaner looking install too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Depends what you want. I had stock struts (which is essentially what GR2s are) with Ground-Control sleeves on my loyale, 250lb/in front, and 275 rear. I liked it, but it needed better dampening. I had found an application (NB Miata rears) that would allow KYB AGXs, but I think if I had gone any further, I would have found an application for Koni Yellow inserts. Before that, I had 450/500 sleeves (generic 2.75" ebay kit), which were positively terrible. That exact spring set ruined at least 3 sets of struts on 3 different cars, probably another since I sold them.... I'm currently running GR2s with WRX front springs and 250lb/in eibach springs (from Ground-Control). EA82s use a 2.5" ID spring in the rear, I've slapped coilover springs (10" long, IIRC) on stock struts in the back a few times. No sleeves necessary. And, I currently have 4 KYB Excel Gs, and a pair of Summit Racing coilover springs, 10"x2.5" 175lb/in, those, plus a pair of the old Ground-control adjustment sleeves and top hats will be going into my Celica this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor pole Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Depends what you want. I had stock struts (which is essentially what GR2s are) with Ground-Control sleeves on my loyale, 250lb/in front, and 275 rear. I liked it, but it needed better dampening. I had found an application (NB Miata rears) that would allow KYB AGXs, but I think if I had gone any further, I would have found an application for Koni Yellow inserts. Before that, I had 450/500 sleeves (generic 2.75" ebay kit), which were positively terrible. That exact spring set ruined at least 3 sets of struts on 3 different cars, probably another since I sold them.... I'm currently running GR2s with WRX front springs and 250lb/in eibach springs (from Ground-Control). EA82s use a 2.5" ID spring in the rear, I've slapped coilover springs (10" long, IIRC) on stock struts in the back a few times. No sleeves necessary. And, I currently have 4 KYB Excel Gs, and a pair of Summit Racing coilover springs, 10"x2.5" 175lb/in, those, plus a pair of the old Ground-control adjustment sleeves and top hats will be going into my Celica this weekend. So what I want is a little lower... not dragging the rockers or rubbing fenders low, just an inch or so. I had a feeling that the spring rate was way too high at 500lbs. I think I will start looking for some Eibach coils that are a lower spring rate. I do like the adjustable feature of the sleeves. Did you use the NB Miata rears or just figure out that they will fit? I also don't mind paying a little more for some good struts that will hold up to the coilovers. however I was too cheap to just buy ground control coiloevers in the first place. oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I have the GR2s for an Impreza on my XT6 with the coilover sleeves and I also have the AGXs on my RX with coilover sleeves. Only issue I've had has been on the 6 due to added weight over the front. If I hit big enough bumps, the struts will bottom out. Working on a fix for that currently:banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor pole Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I have the GR2s for an Impreza on my XT6 with the coilover sleeves and I also have the AGXs on my RX with coilover sleeves. Only issue I've had has been on the 6 due to added weight over the front. If I hit big enough bumps, the struts will bottom out. Working on a fix for that currently:banana: Russ, I remember you telling me that you have ebay coiliver sleeve sets so you remember what spring rates you have? I am thinking about going with the AGX's front and rear if the NB Miata rear will fit already have them saved on my Amazon wish list. not going to take it to the track but I would like to be able to adjust the dampening. this project is turning into more of an obsession:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Yes, I did actually run the Miata rears. They were used stock take offs, but they worked fine. they use a larger spring though, so you pretty much have to run sleeves. Search this section for threads started by me, there's a thread dedicated to the suspension on my Loyale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor pole Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Yes, I did actually run the Miata rears. They were used stock take offs, but they worked fine. they use a larger spring though, so you pretty much have to run sleeves. Search this section for threads started by me, there's a thread dedicated to the suspension on my Loyale. found it. thanks! I already have sleeves so I just have to play with spring rates. Man those Miata struts look really short. my wagon is going to be low!! (for the summer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Yea, they are shorter. I was having issues bottoming out the stock struts at the height I was using, so I specifically looked for shorter ones. NB Miata front struts are almost identical, except they are like 3" longer. So if you're looking for stock height, that's an option. Check out Summit Racing brand springs, seem to be the cheapest option for 2.5" springs I've been able to found. Lots of options in length and spring rate. http://www.summitracing.com/search/Department/Chassis-Suspension/Section/Suspension-Components/Part-Type/Coil-Over-Springs/Brand/Summit-Racing/?Ns=Rank%7cAsc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I don't remember what the spring rates where. It's been 5 years since I looked at the ones on my RX and almost 3 since I put them on my XT6. Going to be doing some suspension swapping between both cars here real quick and I will look when I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor pole Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Yea, they are shorter. I was having issues bottoming out the stock struts at the height I was using, so I specifically looked for shorter ones. NB Miata front struts are almost identical, except they are like 3" longer. So if you're looking for stock height, that's an option. Check out Summit Racing brand springs, seem to be the cheapest option for 2.5" springs I've been able to found. Lots of options in length and spring rate. http://www.summitracing.com/search/Department/Chassis-Suspension/Section/Suspension-Components/Part-Type/Coil-Over-Springs/Brand/Summit-Racing/?Ns=Rank%7cAsc I will look into the front Miata struts. and check out the springs at summit. thanks I don't remember what the spring rates where. It's been 5 years since I looked at the ones on my RX and almost 3 since I put them on my XT6. Going to be doing some suspension swapping between both cars here real quick and I will look when I do. cool thanks I will be bringing the wagon in to you for an alignment when I get all this stuff done. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I have a set of Impreza GR2s from my XT6 that I would see if you're looking for a set at a good price. Probably let them go for $75 and they have 15k miles at most on them. Putting my AGXs on this weekend:headbang: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tractor pole Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 I have a set of Impreza GR2s from my XT6 that I would see if you're looking for a set at a good price. Probably let them go for $75 and they have 15k miles at most on them. Putting my AGXs on this weekend:headbang: PM sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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