what can i do with this damned suspension!!!!

[crazy D]

hey guys, i have this lifted '84 wagon and i absolutly hate the suspension. i have stick up front and kyb gr2's on extensions in the rear. i hate the way this thing rides. what i would like to do is have some really long travel shocks, farely stiff. or do some sort of coilover set-up(soft for a coiover set-up). i really dont care about breaking axles if i get upwards of 10" of travel. i just want some lift, a better ride, and most importantly, to perform at its best off the road.

 

story time...

i was out wheeling"if you can even call it that" and i pulled up to this little trench ( about 12" across and maybe 10" deep) and my back wheel and front wheel picked up:eek: absolutly not acceptable, actually, down right ridiculous. im open to cutting and welding if its mild. throw out your ideas cuz im interested

 

remember, long travel is optimal. i am well aware of axle snapping. and i dont care. axles are cheap.

 

thanks -D

[The Beast I Drive]

Baja Racing suspension, duh? Just kidding, I saw this trick someone did on an 87 wagon; they took the left lower arm and swapped it to the right and vice versa, then put an eye in the end of the traction bar (which was now facing forward), and made a mount for it on the front of the engine crossmember, effectively creating an A-arm, and creating dramatic suspension flex capability. Taking off the sway bar, of course.

-Bill

[Numbchux]

well...if you're spending 5 digits on shocks/springs/struts....you might as well have some custom long travel axles made too.

 

 

boy, I wish I had the kind of money to have some custom, long travel coilovers made for an older subaru!

[WoodsWagon]

That's why you weld the rear diff. That way it doesn't matter so much if you're lifting a wheel.

 

4 wheel independent suspesion will always have limits for flex. That's why people run solid axles for real off road rigs.

 

You want flex, but without putting a solid axle, you ain't getting it.

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Step 1: Sell the subaru

 

Step 2: Buy a Samarai or Toyota.

 

Dalton, there is no easy fix for your suspension. You are stuck with what you got. Breaking axles isnt the problem... its keeping your camber. The engineering it would take to get shocks with 10" of travel and a smooth ride, and also giving you enough flex to keep your rear tires on the ground when climbing trenches would cost you thousands.

 

Now you know why i dont have my hatchback anymore :-\

 

-Brian

[crazy D]

k first of all, if your telling me to get something other than a subaru, i want you to leave this thread and dont post anything like it.

 

i'm just focusing on the rear suspension, but thats for the ideas

 

im aware of solid axles

 

front suspension can wait a little bit but if you want to contribute then go for it. try to use small words if possibe:grin:

[nipper]

You said to use small words :-p

Have you thought of a mustach bar on the rear differential then longer springs ? It does allow for bigger tires and hence mmore ground clearance.

 

 

nipper

[86BRATMAN]

You said to use small words :-p

 

 

Have you thought of a mustach bar on the rear differential then longer springs ? It does allow for bigger tires and hence mmore ground clearance.

 

 

nipper

 

I'm not even sure I'm following you on this one...

[Numbchux]

i'm just focusing on the rear suspension

 

in that case, why don't you read the thread you already created about this very topic, in which I gave you a full write-up of exactly how to get 10-12" of travel out of each rear corner. complete with numerous part numbers.

 

here's a link in case you'd forgotten how to search

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75307

 

 

I'd offer to spell it out for you.....but I already have.

[nipper]

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36824&highlight=mustach+bar

 

Look at the picture showing the rear end of the car. The bar that looks like a mustach. Someplace on here somone made a custom one that lifted the back of the car. It kept everything in alighnment (no eating axles) and allowed for large tires.

 

 

nipper

[86BRATMAN]

Ok, I follow now.

[crazy D]

in that case, why don't you read the thread you already created about this very topic, in which I gave you a full write-up of exactly how to get 10-12" of travel out of each rear corner. complete with numerous part numbers.

 

here's a link in case you'd forgotten how to search

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75307

 

 

I'd offer to spell it out for you.....but I already have.

 

thanks, but do we have to flip out about making another post?:-\

[crazy D]

on the rancho site it doesnt list how many inches of travel the shocks have

 

how much travel do kyb gr2 gas shocks have?without the extension

[Numbchux]

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36824&highlight=mustach+bar

 

Look at the picture showing the rear end of the car. The bar that looks like a mustach. Someplace on here somone made a custom one that lifted the back of the car. It kept everything in alighnment (no eating axles) and allowed for large tires.

 

 

nipper

 

the mustache bar has no bearing on ride height. and there are numerous ways to lower the diff to prevent axle damage. be it blocks at the mounts (like AA and BYB) or a plate to relocate that mount (like SJR), or a full custom mustache bar.

 

AND, that's only the rear mount for the diff. still have to do something with the front mount...

[nipper]

the mustache bar has no bearing on ride height. and there are numerous ways to lower the diff to prevent axle damage. be it blocks at the mounts (like AA and BYB) or a plate to relocate that mount (like SJR), or a full custom mustache bar.

 

AND, that's only the rear mount for the diff. still have to do something with the front mount...

 

Didnt someone here not long ago make a mustach bar to lower the diff and the suspension (or did i see it some place else). Then they were able to put much larger tires on the car.

 

I could have sworn i saw it here.

 

nipper

[Mike W]

To get the most travel you'll get out the EA81 you're looking at a lift kit with longer shocks and the EA82 longer axle joint mod. Building up three or four rear axles with the longer joints is pretty easy, just messy and you need donor axles from somewhere. Go to all that hassle and it still only gets you like 1-2" more down travel and still runs the risk of hyperextending the axle joints in some gnarly inconvienient place.

 

If I don't just get me a 'Yota truck, I'd like to build up a '83-'84 wagon for mountain adventures. I want a car for blasting up potholed to heck logging roads, getting over burms, ditches, etc, and ugly/old enough that it doesn't tempt thieves at hiking trailheads. I'm thinking EJ22 and suspension from a newer Outback/Impreza/Forester under the EA81 body. I like the skinnyness of the EA81 wagons but the new generation suspension is wider and allows use of rally spec longer travel struts and axles. Obviously connecting the new style crossmembers to the EA81 body will require some creativity and I'll be grafting in rear strut towers, etc. If all this proves feasible, my final product would be a EA81 wagon body with new style rally suspension, outback wheels for city and 14x27" Kuhmos or 15" rally tires for going to the mountains. A lot of trouble to get a skinny old gen outback but it might be fun putting it together. That's my thoughts on getting longer/stronger indendent suspension under an EA81 car. I could also argue that a stock EA81 wagon is the perfect all around car.

 

Howsabout a complete Sidekick/Tracker front end. That gives cheap tubular aftermarket A-arms and axles strong enough to handle 31-33" tires with a locker. Or if you really want to get mutant, there's VW/Audi quatro stuff. They have locking diffs and might allow use of 930 CVs, long buggy rear trailing arms...

 

Sorry for the long wierd post...I'm brain dead from sleep deprivation.

[crazy D]

yeah,

 

 

ok so far the only one who's pretty much told me how to do some long travel is numbchux(thanks)

 

i want to know what are some good shocks out there, and how to mod them. and how nice wi the ride be

 

looking for something similar to uberoo's thread with the springs.

 

thanks

 

 

 

:-\

[s'ko]

yeah,

 

 

ok so far the only one who's pretty much told me how to do some long travel is numbchux(thanks)

 

i want to know what are some good shocks out there, and how to mod them. and how nice wi the ride be

 

looking for something similar to uberoo's thread with the springs.

 

thanks

 

 

 

:-\

 

It really depends on how much work you want to do to the wagon.

 

are you going to lift it? Getting longer shocks for the back will raise your tail up and give you a rake.

I used a set of Chevelle shocks along with my 5 inch lift. Worked nicely and they were less than 15 bucks a piece.

 

You probably need to give some thought to what you want to do. Then you will get more helpful answers when you say you want more suspension travel.

 

BW

[monstaru]

those shocks are mad soft.:-\

[crazy D]

if you look in the right hand corner from when i post you can see i have a lifted wagon, thats why i posted it in the offroad section. i really do appreciate the help tho. thanks guys:)

[subynut]

If you want flex, drop a solid axle in the back. Independent is for handling, not flex. It can be done, but, no ways cost effective.

Here's a comarison between my Suby and my Sportage:

(I know, I'm bringing up that "infierior" off roader again, but bare with me)

See how much flex the solid axle gives me? Even looking at just the Sportage, the rear has alot more flex than the front. It's the nature of the beast. Subaru's susention is awesome, but still independent. A solid axle not only gives you more articulation, but it also gives you increased strength.

Here's the link to my folder with the rest of the pics.

Gotta head for bed, kant 'pell anymores.

[Numbchux]

If you want flex, drop a solid axle in the back. Independent is for handling, not flex. It can be done, but, no ways cost effective.

Here's a comarison between my Suby and my Sportage:

(I know, I'm bringing up that "infierior" off roader again, but bare with me)

See how much flex the solid axle gives me? Even looking at just the Sportage, the rear has alot more flex than the front. It's the nature of the beast. Subaru's susention is awesome, but still independent. A solid axle not only gives you more articulation, but it also gives you increased strength.

Here's the link to my folder with the rest of the pics.

Gotta head for bed, kant 'pell anymores.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here.....and guess your subaru still has the front sway bar, and is resting on the bump stop in the rear.

 

that's pretty crappy travel. hardly comparable.

 

 

the shocks won't lift the car.....

 

chevelle shocks are very soft

 

the rancho/rough country ones I listed are designed for offroad use, and are valved as such.

 

and since you're still using your stock torsion bar, it won't effect it that much, because your "spring" rate doesn't change, just the damping

[crazy D]

maybe mike B will jump in here. he's got a 4/4 in lift and he was using a different shock with no extension on his turbo brat

[Andy FitzGibbon]

Basically, for the kind of travel you're talking about you'll need to pretty much rebuild the Subaru's entire suspension as well as the drive system from the gear boxes out (ie. axle shafts). Something that can't really be described very well in an EZBoard post.

Andy

[75subie]

who gives a damn momentum is key:Flame: