thecarman Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I plan to lower my budget EA82 rallyx car - 1989 GL-10 Turbo 4WD wagon. I've searched the forum and have gotten a lot of good info, but I want to double-check that what I'm doing will work before I pull the trigger and order parts. The car is stock - no 5-lug conversion. In the front - I will order KYB GR2 front struts from a 2WD XT. These are a bolt-in swap, and will lower the front end 2 inches, right? The car needs new struts anyway. But, ***can I run my stock GL-10 front springs, or do I need to find XT front springs?*** In the rear - XT struts would not lower the rear, so I could just order GR2s for my stock application and flip my top strut bracket for 1-inch drop. I could cut the stock coils if I need to drop the rear more, or order some aftermarket springs. Please - I'm not looking for opinions on whether or not I should lower the car for rallyx, whether this car is good for rallyx, etc. And I'm not looking to do a 5-lug swap, or spend the money on coilovers. I just hope to get the correct combination of parts to lower the car some for better handling (especially less positive camber in the front). And get the new struts that I need, so that I'll spend less time bouncing into the air at the next rallyx. Will this setup work? Are there any better ideas, given the constraints above? Thanks! Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[HTi]Johnson Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 You got it backwards...supposed to go up with the wagons, not down. geez! Just kidding, I don't have any advice for lowering one because all I do is lift it, but I think lowered EA82s look pretty sweet. Just please, no fart can mufflers. (This message was meant to be a Kudos) Maybe this will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I don't know where the flipping the upper brackets thing came from. but I've tried it, and the brackets did not fit upside-down.... also, the XT struts for the front give a lot of drop. I wouldn't go that low!! holy tire rub city! yes, your GL springs will fit the XT struts. if RallyX performance is what you're after. stock GR2s and RX front springs are the way to go. end of discussion. also look for some 12" long, 2.5" Diameter 250 lb/in Ground Control springs on Ebay. they fit perfect on the stock rear shocks, and yield some wonderful handling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 The 2" drop for the front maybe too much. I have pictures of the before and after when I did it to my RX. I gotta find them and i'll post them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Okay here we go.... pix! 15" Pug rims with 195/50R15's... Before: After: The tires rubbed so bad it chewed all the tread off one of my tires. You can see in this picture the outside corner of the tire and the marks left from my fender: It was so bad I had to go back to 13" rims: This is all with RX springs up front, which are stiffer than your GL10 springs. So you can expect your front end to be alittle softer and possibly lower than mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I still have a set of XT 2wd front struts.. I'm 5 lug now, so I'll never use them.. I have WRX struts and coilovers now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecarman Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks all for the info, and thanks SubaruJunkie for the pics! Johnson']Maybe this will help. Thanks! That was the main thread I had found when searching. Good info there. Johnson']Just please' date=' no fart can mufflers. [/quote'] Don't worry - it doesn't have a muffler at all! It fell off during our first race. We really need to cut off most of the exhaust before the next race - none is required. How about a 90-degree bend coming out the hood, right off the turbo? Sorry to get off topic... I don't know where the flipping the upper brackets thing came from. but I've tried it' date=' and the brackets did not fit upside-down.... [/quote'] I thought there was a thread on here about slight modification needed, but now I can't find it. I'll try it and see what happens - I can modify a little if I need to. About the tire rubbing - we are running stock 13-inch rims and stock size tires, so that should help keep the tires from rubbing? I don't want to go bigger on the tire diameter because I need the lower gearing that shorter tires give me (at least until I swap in a 1.2 ratio dual-range trans). I can trim/roll the fender lips if the tires rub. I still have a set of XT 2wd front struts... I'll never use them I'll send you a PM. Would be nice to play around with some before deciding which GR2s to order. Would like to try some RX springs too. Can I buy them new for a decent price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 ok ive been trying to go this route with my wagon and this is what i have been told or come up with. You can use the new kyb struts for the front you just need the xt springs. That is what lowers your car. For the rear is the tricky one. People like to say use aftermarked coilovers but like you i lack the funds. Someone told me on here that if you flip the top had on the rear it should lower you about an inch. Go ahead and get new struts for the rear as well. There has been some debate on weather to chop 1 rung off the rear spring. Might defeat the purpose because its more for looks then actual use. And keep away from calezb:grin: those are my springs and struts i just cant afford the 800 bucks for shipping:) (just kidding) Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I don't know where the flipping the upper brackets thing came from. but I've tried it, and the brackets did not fit upside-down.... I don't know why i't disdn't work for you. I did it, (on accident:rolleyes: 10 years ago) but it worked. I only noticed when I saw the car sitting leaned to one side. I've never intentionally done ti to both sides to lower a car, but I'm sure it would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subynut Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I put the xt 2wd struts on my wagon to give it better handling on the pavement. With 185/70r13 they rub just a bit while going over a bump and turning at the same time. I found the rear struts from a 87 4wd are lower than the struts from an 86 4wd. As a side note, might want to pick up a sway bar from a rx or xt6. I put one from a rx on my wagon and that helped quite a bit. Still need to get the rear installed to keep it in place now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 About the tire rubbing - we are running stock 13-inch rims and stock size tires, so that should help keep the tires from rubbing? I don't want to go bigger on the tire diameter because I need the lower gearing that shorter tires give me (at least until I swap in a 1.2 ratio dual-range trans). I can trim/roll the fender lips if the tires rub. When I had the 13's I ran 205/60R13s and did not experience any rubbing at all. However my car was never off road and had the stiffer RX front springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 here's what I'm talking about with that upper bracket: those 2 lines represent the angle of the wheel wheel. and you can see where that washer piece hits when flipped upside-down. now, a few minutes on a bench grinder, and that'd probably be solved......but I don't see how you could have done it accidentally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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