New springs and struts - just checkin'

Thanks fellas!

Silver, that's nailed the struts. I don't think I read your earlier post carefully at the time, partly 'cause I was expecting it to be a reply to Eastie's question rather than mine, partly 'cause I was expecting Gary to sort those things for me without me having to know the details, and mostly 'cause I have the attention span of a drunken rabbit. :eek:

Mr Turbo & NachaLuva, that sounds like what we are after: a 30mm(ish) lift (plus about the same from the spacers).

Dobinson's have parts as follows:

Front: C55-044 (25mm lift)
Rear: C55-065 (30mm lift)

They only do one type for the rears, but for the fronts they have another part which they say is good for "40-80kg of accessories (bull bar or winch)" and 30mm rather than 25mm.

I'm thinking that these sound like pretty much direct equivalents to the Kings parts, though it's interesting that Kings ONLY do lowered and raised rear springs, there is no "standard" part listed.

But now I have yet another question! I'll make a new post for that.
 
silver said:
KYB shocks are valved at 20% harder than the OEM shocks, i know this because i spoke to the KYB bloke when i originally changed them, and it is to allow for suspension wear. If you are going to change your springs and do a lot of offroad stuff it might be worthwhile to consider the OEM shocks. They []might not last as long but could give you a better ride over the rough stuff[/b].
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There are also differences between the different springs, as I understand it. I remember reading in a thread somewhere here that Kings and Dobinsons have different ride characteristics, and Silver says something a bit similar in his first post.

So, thinking about it, I don't care much about off-road ride - anything nasty I'm going slow anyway, and I don't care much about ride on the black stuff (how bad can that be?) .... it's ride on bad roads that matters most. Corrugations, potholes, unexpected rocks. I'm talking long distances at (typically) 80-100k over the typical ruts and corrugations you get on outback roads like (e.g) the Birdsville Track (which was pretty bad last tike I was up that way). And next year, with any luck, the Gibb River Road.

I'm not thinking about my own comfort here (though that's nice too) or even about the safety of the various expensive and delicate things I cart around all day (cameras, lenses, and computers - none of these like vibrations much) , I'm thinking about the reliability and longevity of the poor little Forester.

It's 10 years old and yes, it's built like a Subaru, but everything has its limits, and the more vibration and stress I put on things, the more likely they are to break.

So, am I right in thinking that stiffer suspension really doesn't matter much for tricky off-road work?

Am I also right in thinking that a softer ride on (bad) roads is a good thing?

Given that I want a 25-30mm lift and carry weight in the rear, what does this mean for spring choice and strut choice?

(Sorry for being a pain!
 
Tannin said:
There are also differences between the different springs, as I understand it. I remember reading in a thread somewhere here that Kings and Dobinsons have different ride characteristics, and Silver says something a bit similar in his first post.

So, thinking about it, I don't care much about off-road ride - anything nasty I'm going slow anyway, and I don't care much about ride on the black stuff (how bad can that be?) .... it's ride on bad roads that matters most. Corrugations, potholes, unexpected rocks. I'm talking long distances at (typically) 80-100k over the typical ruts and corrugations you get on outback roads like (e.g) the Birdsville Track (which was pretty bad last tike I was up that way). And next year, with any luck, the Gibb River Road.

I'm not thinking about my own comfort here (though that's nice too) or even about the safety of the various expensive and delicate things I cart around all day (cameras, lenses, and computers - none of these like vibrations much) , I'm thinking about the reliability and longevity of the poor little Forester.

It's 10 years old and yes, it's built like a Subaru, but everything has its limits, and the more vibration and stress I put on things, the more likely they are to break.

So, am I right in thinking that stiffer suspension really doesn't matter much for tricky off-road work?

Am I also right in thinking that a softer ride on (bad) roads is a good thing?

Given that I want a 25-30mm lift and carry weight in the rear, what does this mean for spring choice and strut choice?

(Sorry for being a pain!
Click to expand...

If you want to go the rolls royce option, you could get a custom made progressive spring. I will be doing this one day when my current springs wear out, but they are fine for now. If you are interested in this, Trutrack in North melbourne will get the job done for arouns $160 a wheel, springs only.

As for comfort on bumpy roads, everything is a compromise. My view is that a firmer spring is more likely to deliver this than a softer spring.

I think in the end you want firm springs. Kings do a raised rear special (which have the suffix RRSP). I have these and I'm pretty sure kevin does. They allow you to load up the bakc and they are less prone to sagging. I reckon you should either go this option or a custom made. If I were you I would do the latter becuasee it gives you much greater control over what you want, for not much more money.
 
Appreciate the replies also and sorry to mix Q's in your thread. I went with new kyb's + raised king springs in the back(05xt) and left the front alone. The back now looks about the same as the front in terms of ride height. Ride seems more controlled/comfortable than it's ever been. This pic should give an you an idea of what this combo comes out like (tyres are 215/60 R16's).

 
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Cheers lads, all of that is a great help. Eastie, the picture is worth a thousand words! Dulagarl, Gary is going to get either the Kings or the Dobinsons, subject to price and availability, in either case for an approximate 30mm lift. For shocks, we are going to go the Subaru ones (the same part but valved a bit softer, according to Silver) if the price is reasonable, or else the KYB. We are aimiong at doing it this time next week. (I already have the Subtle spacers.)
 
I'm going for the Subaru shocks for a few reasons. $60 per corner cheaper,i hope to change cars in the next 2 years and hopefully it might soften the ride a bit.
The springs have cetainly done the job in the rear of the car for towing but the ride is a bit too firm for me. Otherwise i'm happy with it.
 
Set of Kings on the way, and Subaru shockers. I must remember to take some "before" pictures first!
 
Looking forward to seeing them :)

You'll have to get a few before & after measurements also, while you're at it :iconwink:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
my04tone said:
Happy with my heavy duty Kings, i have the RRSP in the rear, now for the OEM struts.
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Tannin said:
Set of Kings on the way, and Subaru shockers. I must remember to take some "before" pictures first!
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After fitting raised springs its a must to loosen the nut at the back of the front control arm rear bush then retighten it, all with the wheels on the ground. The raised springs twist the bush which will eventually lead to it being damaged, so this tension needs to be released....
 
NachaLuva said:
After fitting raised springs its a must to loosen the nut at the back of the front control arm rear bush then retighten it, all with the wheels on the ground. The raised springs twist the bush which will eventually lead to it being damaged, so this tension needs to be released....
Click to expand...

Mine were installed by Lucas Automotive 18 months ago and he did the job bang on, knowes exactly what he doing with offroad cars, he actually these days runs some rather competitive rally cars.

Lucas's old car, i was one of the few allowed to take it home as a demo car, it was a rather wild machine to drive and handle as it had buckets of grunt.

lucas10gt.jpg

lucas6kw.jpg
 
NachaLuva said:
After fitting raised springs its a must to loosen the nut at the back of the front control arm rear bush then retighten it, all with the wheels on the ground. The raised springs twist the bush which will eventually lead to it being damaged, so this tension needs to be released....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I'll pass that on.

silver said:
How much did Subaru quote for the struts???
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No idea mate. Gary did happen to mention that the Subaru ones were cheaper, don't remember how much. We haven't really tallked about price; I'll get the bill in a day or two.

(Shouldn't I shop around for the cheapest quote and manage the detail? No! I've worked with these guys for years. I'll start questioning what they charge me for the parts they fit to my car the same day they start questioning me about what I charge them for the parts I fit to their computers! :) )
 
Tannin said:
I hear what you are saying, lads, but what's the go with insurance?
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taza said:
It's the legal limit in all states of Australia so you'll be fine.
As Dulagarl said let your insurance company know and you'll be right. ....
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I just called RACV Insurance. They told me that they no longer bother keeping a record of modifications, and will still cover claims provided only that the vehicle is roadworthy according to VicRoads. So I didn't have to notify them at all. Two things to note:

1: RACV Insurance is a front-end for Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the largest general insurer in Australia. (Yes, QBE is a much bigger company, but most of QBE's business is done overseas. So far as Australian business goes, IAG is the giant.) Chances are that the same rule will apply to other IAG products (I'm guessing that these would include the peak motoring organisations in most other states, plus various retail outlets, but you'd have to check.)

2: Make the call anyway! Always better to be safe than sorry, so for the price of a phone call, check with your own insurer anyway.
 
Before: early this morning, the frost still melting.

130708-090701-.jpg


After: it's almost dark and the first chance I've had. Hand-held, f/8, a 12th of a second, ISO 6400 .... try that with a phone camera!

130708-173951-.jpg


They said to drive it round for a few days and bring it back for a wheel alignment next week. First impression is that it drives very well, at least around town. My favourite speed hump, the one that I religiously go over at 50km/h every morning, was the only real test. Sometimes I watch stupid city kids in their lowered bling-ridden jam tins having to slow to walking pace over it and I just smile. Tonight, even better than before. 50km/h, straight over, barely noticed it. :)
 
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Good to hear, Tannin.

BTW, you have had a case of keyboard bounce, methinks :raz:.
That's ISO 6,400 ... . Still a good one! My camera phone loses the plot a long time before that!

My dSLRs don't, however :iconwink: :biggrin: :cool:.
I would have been at ISO 1600, f/4 @ 1/13th for that shot.
The IBIS helps :cool:.
 
Looks great Tannin!!!:cool:

I just put new struts in mine, amazing difference, and I still haven't drivin it except to drop it off for alignment.
 
Looks good alright. Next thing is to get some 65 profile rubber on those wheels.
 
Ratbag said:
I would have been at ISO 1600, f/4 @ 1/13th for that shot.
The IBIS helps :cool:.
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IBIS ... so which one are you using, Pentax, Olympus or Sony?

(The f/8, BTW, was 'cause I wanted the depth of field and I reckoned the IS (in lens in my case) would get me out of trouble. But it was very dark - I had to set the ISO looking through the viewfinder 'cause it was too dark to see the top of the camera.)
 
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