HELP!

[2nd year noob]

I own a 2001 Subaru Liberty/Legacy (BE) and am currently looking for some coil overs to replace my old struts. I have come across some coil overs that were designed for a b4 and a be5 and would like to know if they would fit. if anyone could help it would be much appreciated

[brus brother]

Welcome to the board. Unless you are about to careen over a cliff, HELP! is not a suitable title.

Please repost with sufficient information not to waste people's time who may have no knowledge or interest in your issue.

Perhaps something like "Which coil overs fit 2001 LL (BE)"

Edited April 9, 2014 by brus brother

[Rooster2]

Welcome to the board. Unless you are about to careen over a cliff, HELP! is not a suitable title.

Please repost with sufficient information not to waste people's time who may have no knowledge or interest in your issue.

Perhaps something like "Which coil overs fit 2001 LL (BE)"

Good response, as I generally don't bother to read, or respond to a topic that doesn't inform the nature of the post. The better a topic is titled, and the better the topic is written, the better the responses.

[1 Lucky Texan]

www.boxer4racing.com has some go fast bits for legacy-based cars.

 

I bought a strommung muffler from them in the past but never messed with coil-overs.

[tirod]

Here's the nitty gritty: I see why they are called coil overs, but in the big picture, they are just replacement struts. Very expensive replacement struts. Coilovers in the old school definition weren't part of the suspension locating structure, those used upper and lower A-arms to accomplish that. 

 

Which means the coilovers in question won't substantially change what is basically a strut suspension. That means on body roll, as the car leans over due to force, it carries the top strut mount to one side, and that directly affects the camber of the tire. With A-arms, body roll may move the upper A-arm mounts, but the spindle attachment follows a different curve that can compensate and you get a more desireable camber change. It can even reverse and lean the opposite direction. 

 

So, $2,400 dollars for coil overs won't substantially do anything to change the inherent setup, it will just allow ride height and valving changes in a easier manner. The incremental increase in performance isn't going to be 10X better because they cost 10X more than replacement struts. It will be much less, maybe another .3 G maximum. And that has a lot to do with tires, wheels, and driver expertise. 

 

If you are looking for a 1.5 G cornering monster with a Subaru drivetrain, the 818 from Factory 5 would be a much more cost effective answer. Subaru makes nice commuter cars, the WRX is ok for power, they aren't capable of track car performance on the street. It takes a track suspension, and that has been unequal length A-arms since the 1960's to get that level of performance. Struts are econocar back runners in the large scheme of things. 

 

The real issue with Subaru's is that the struts limit the size tires you can install. And tires are the make and break item to get to higher performance at the top tier.