Suspension Install - Part 1: Nuts
 

So last weekend I thought I would get started on the suspension install. I'm going to go into some detail on this part. Started with the Tarmac 2s from Racecomp Engineering (who I can't seem to Mention here). Still working on getting those on the car next weekend I think lol.

Why jump straight to T2s over other options you ask? Well the first step was to realize I have no idea what I'm doing, which leads to needing to find out who knows what they are doing. It seems to me like RCE knows what they are doing so I simplified my decisions by just saying I'm getting something from them lol. As for which product, I bounced back and forth between Yellows+Dampers, SS1s, and T2s for like a month. Picked T2s in the end because I wanted the double adjustability to figure out this whole damping thing eventually. Might have gone SS2s had those been out at the time, but hey, now I have something that I probably won't grow out of for the next 9 years lol.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13076

These shipped with basic KW instructions, but I'd seen and heard mention that RCE had put together some more detailed instructions which Andrew sent over. The RCE ones are indeed better.

I also got Vorshlag camber plates up front and a new set of OEM top mounts for the rear. It really came down to Raceseng or Vorshlag because those are the only plates that add both camber and caster, and also have bearing below the spherical to reduce wear. I picked Vorshlag because RCE sells a set with the correct perch so I don't have to figure that part out because again, I don't know what I'm doing. Pic also includes LCAs because :D.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13077

First step was to integrate the coilover-top mount assemblies. Instructions say to use a strap wrench to hold the shaft, and torque the top nut to 26ftlb. Seems easy right? I didn't have a proper strap wrench so I removed the hooks off a rubber tie down strap and tried it.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13078

I was able to get the top nut to about 15-20 ftlb using this method while cramping up my hand holding it tight. The problems are that the twisted strap by itself doesn't provide much leverage, and I couldn't make it hold tight enough to prevent it from slipping. So, after some back and forth with Andrew I went and got an actual strap wrench.

Aaaand this was actually worse at holding the shaft. Maybe what I really needed was a good strap wrench, not a cheap one from the auto parts store? This one would just pill up and smear the shaft, if I got it anywhere near tight enough. Tried to get either my original strap or the strap wrench to hold 26ftlb for a few hours to no avail.

What I wound up doing on the fronts (after some more discussion with Andrew) was to use my torque wrench in reverse on the top 9mm outer hex profile and use a box wrench to tighten the nut. I was able to tighten it to 20ftlb on both sides. I could have gone to 26ftlb, but 20 seems plenty tight given I'm using a 9mm socket to hold the shaft.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13083

The rears were easy by comparison. Just had to use a clamp to hold the top mount in place on the workbench and tighten one nut at a time to 15ftlb. The shaft didn't actually rotate, friction against the top mount seemed to be enough to hold it.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13084

So that was an interesting day lol.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13082
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13081

Suspension - Part 2: Endlinks Suck
 

Next up, I figured I'd get the OEM struts out. First step is remove the brake line bracket and speed sensor clips. Brake line bracket was straightforward. The speed sensor cable is held to the strut by 2 clips. I was able to remove one clip entirely from the strut, the other I just removed the wire from the clip which is much easier (press the clip with a screwdriver), and I'll get the clip off once the strut is out. Apparently some of these clips are hard to source. I also unclipped the sensor cable from the wheel well in case I need a bit more slack/space.

Then it was the end links... Nine year old endlinks with rusted to shit threads are a PITA. Needless to say the end links are destroyed and I need new ones.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13080

The real question is whether I want adjustable endlinks, OEM, or go middle ground with some Perrin endlinks to match the sway bar... Need to make a decision this week or I'll be really behind schedule.

Oh, also I really hope that the "R" coilover gets mounted to the "RH" top mount and "L" to the "LH" top mount, or I'm going to have to do it again...

Get adjustable end links. I just went through this same install you will need these. OEM are to short and they suck

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

After speaking with RCE, RH is right and LH is left but make sure you are doing this from the perspective of sitting in driver seat facing out. Left is driver side and right is passenger side. Also make sure you put the top camber plates orientated correctly [emoji6] so you can dial in that negative camber

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

Agreed, skip the fixed length endlinks if you've got to buy a new set.

- Andrew

The Perrin endlinks also suck. They stick out too far from the mounting tab and hit the inner fender at lock. I ordered whitelines but could not adjust them down far enough that the end of the sway bar would hit the lower control arm. So I set my car on the ground with no endlinks, measured eye to eye as best I could with the swaybar about where I thought it needed to be, and ordered a set in the correct range from whiteline that are shorter than the recommended if you put in an FRS as the model. I know these are not popular from previous quality issues but they have been okay so far for me.

What I also found for strap wrenches that works better on smaller shafts, is to undo the loop, wrap it a few times around the shaft(it will be offset because of this) then run it back through the loop and hold tight as normal. Gives it a little more to grab. This is why I went to just using the impact gun, less hassle.

The wrench I have looks like this one but different brand for reference, but is much smaller.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-8-...APWR/300117125

Anything I should know about combining T2s and the various end links on offer? Is the mounting point the same height as stock, any known combinations that don't work for whatever reason, etc?

I feel a twinge of guilt whenever I bust out the air tools. I have an assortment but can't remember the last time I used one.


There's another French -ment suffix! An assortment is a thing.


A fitment is a fucking thing, goddammit!


http://www.quickmeme.com/img/41/4111...ebc65b2dca.jpg

I am 2 using the Whiteline end-links without issues. I do have the Front Whiteline swaybar as well. I run it on the stiff settings

https://www.ftspeed.com/part/bsf45z-...7#.Y-6wVHbMKUk

It's more a combination of ride height and what sway bar you are running. Some of the adjustable sways out there, the tab is really long. My rear perrin bar actually contacts the bottom of the chassis on bottom out.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show....php?p=3270440

Well, I do have a perrin bar going in on kw-style coilovers...

From that older thread, looks like a lot of us where using the KLC180-210.

Well it looks like you specifically were/are on the KLC179? That's the official FRS part from Whiteline.

Looking on whiteline.au I was able to get the lengths for reference.
KLC179: 225mm-250mm
KLC180-215: 210mm-235mm

I think I started on the 179's but went to the 180-215. Looking back I was almost as short as the 179's would go.

Lol, Whiteline USA has a link specifically for the 180-215, lists them as in stock, but the item is just called "Sway Bar - Link Kit" literally everywhere including the cart lol. The details have no part numbers or lengths. I just thought it was funny.

https://whitelineperformance.com/pro...-sway-bar-link

You may also be fine with the 179's. That is why I recommend setting the car down with no links and then measuring. I used to only be -1.5" from stock on ride height, I think I am now -1.625"F, -1.5"R now. I changed my setup a few times and am not that good at documenting :D

Yeah, that would be the right way to do it, but that means I cannot order until after I have the coilovers installed and lower the car and set ride height. If there's a known good configuration, I'm going to go with that.

I didn't actually measure the ride heights before lifting the car either so we're going to see what happens when I stick the perches in the center of the recommended range and adjust from there. :thumbsup:

Ah, yeah good point.

Ordered the endlinks from Advance Auto of all places. Cheapest option that supposedly gets it to me next week. Hopefully that turns out well...

Whiteline USA was not inspiring me with confidence by not having the part number on the page.

Finished the exhaust install today. I bought oem header nuts, was holding them in my hand, then said "F* it" and torqued the lock nuts down lol.

They definitely ground down the threads just a bit going on, but I realized that all those threads were above the actual nut so I didn't really need to worry. It was about 8 ftlb of torque needed to just run the nuts up to the flange, so I split the difference when I set the wrench to 26ftlb instead of 22 which is the spec.

Used the lock nuts on the overpipe to header connection as well, but oem nuts on the overpipe to midpipe.

Now I need to figure out how openflash manager and romraider work again...

Suspension Part 3 - Front Struts
 

So I was able to R&R the struts this past weekend. RCE's instructions were good, got me 90% of the way there with some common sense filling in the rest.

Removal was pretty straightforward per instructions (with the exception of endlinks, but I already talked about that lol) Remove lines and hoses from strut, then unbolt the hub, then remove the nuts holding the strut on. Getting the bottom hub nut off was made difficult by the brake line coming out of the caliper in exactly the wrong position. I was using a deep socket with my impact driver, but could have used a short extension on top of that to get past the brake line. Also found yet another use for my transmission jack, as a stool for sitting.

I did a quick comparison without disassembling anything and it looks like you might lose somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" of drop with the Vorshlag plates vs what you get with the standard RCE perches on OEM top mounts, if that matters to anyone who reads this.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13089

I set both front and back coilovers lower perch height to the middle of the range given in the RCE instructions. I did not measure the car beforehand, but I figured this might be a good starting point. Debating whether to lower the front/raise the rear a bit right now based on the Vorshlag note above. Also set all bump/rebound settings to recommended settings in the RCE recommended settings document that is separate from the install instructions.

Getting the T2 struts on was also pretty straightforward using the instructions. Basically the reverse of removal. Some notes:
-Vorshlag lock nuts are 13mm, not 12 like OEM. I thought I was going crazy for a minute lol.
-The washers for said nuts go on the nut side of the car, not the camber plate side. I learned this the hard way. Lock nuts are annoying to unscrew and rescrew.
-Make sure you put the wheel speed sensor clips on with the release facing out, especially if they are already closed without the line in them. I also learned this the hard way.
-The tapered bolt for the left hand strut goes in reverse of OEM. This is great, why don't they both do that!?! Ok I know it's cost savings for manufacturing both brackets to be identical but access to the nut is easier on the back side. I just did both in reverse.
-If you have the same Pittsburgh 1/2" drive torque wrench I do, be careful of hitting the end on the fender when tightening the lower nuts. I learned this the hard way as well :(.
-I noticed the lower nuts were coated in the Subaru pink threadlocker. Applied some blue Locktite. Probably not necessary.

The T2s have a slotted upper hole so I pushed the hub/bolt all the way inboard before tightening to get some of that sweet camber. I'm assuming that's the right way to do that, then dial it in with the camber plate on top. Tightening the nut seemed to try to back the hub off from that position so holding it there until friction was high enough was necessary.

Also interesting to note. T2 struts with Vorshlag top mounts weighed in at 13lb each, approximately 1.5lb less than the OEM struts and top mounts.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13088
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13087

I got the suspension done, but I'll be doing the writeup at a later time. Now I'm looking at what changes are being made between my tweaked stage 1 (that I've been running for years) and stage 2+ oft ots tunes. I'm sure this is written down somewhere and discussed already, but I figured I'd keep my running list of notes here:

Timing:
-Stg2+ zeroed out the compensation per cylinder tables. Never really knew what this did but my guess is zeroing it reduces complexity of what the ecu does. End effect should be increased timing at the top end?
-IAT compensation is different. I remember adjusting this on mine, but it looks like the whole table is shifted a cell on 2+. Or I screwed up mine and that's why I dropped IAM a bit when it got hot...
-Base and KC Advance tables are the same except for the high rpm and load quadrant, which the 2+ map gets quite a bit more aggressive. These add more timing (sometimes 4° or more) where it appears the per-cylinder compensation tables were originally pulling 1-2° for a total of ~6-7°. Seems like stage 1 left a ton on the table that header unlocks, or there might be something odd with the definitions file making compensation per cylinder negative? Need to look into these.
-Everything else is the same.

Fueling:
-Same except for the same general region as timing. Stg2+ leans out the high speed/load corner of the map. Headers are either magical or I feel like I'm going to get a bit more knock at the top.
-MAF scale is increased by ~1% in the upper third of the range. Interesting as the stg1 maf scale was just about perfect for my car.

AVCS:
-Reminder to myself if I make any changes to these, make them for both "safe" and "normal", OFT tunes have these set the same.
-Exhaust table seems to have eliminated the lump between 2000 and 3200. Other than that, it's added ~+5° retard at the top end. I have a feeling I'm going to have to play with this one a bit to match the headers, but that's going to be all new territory for me.
-Intake table seems to just have eliminated some strange valleys at the low end and smoothed out the rest. The biggest changes are below 3200rpm and high load (which probably is a region the car won't be in). Stg1 had this set at 40 where stgè+ has this set down at 10. Interesting to see what happens if I try to get there while driving.

Bunch o logging im going to have to do I think to see how well it performs.

Suspension Part 4: Rear LCAs.
 

Okokok. Let's get this part out of the way. These things are way too pretty to be put under the car. But that's where they go so I got on with it.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13092

First step is removing the old LCAs. It was interesting to me that all the rear suspension components are basically held down by the strut and want to lift when it is removed. That's a product of the bushings being held in compression I think. I wound up removing the strut first per the RCE instructions, but I'd just remove the LCA and let the strut hang there for a minute if I were to do this again.

Assembly instructions from the Verus support site were good. Straightforward to put together but a bit tricky to get set right. Took me a while to figure out how to do the adjustments off the car. I set the rough measurements equal to using the method in the pics below, measuring between a bolt and the furthest point on the hub hole. (~18.25" for me)

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13093

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13094

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13095

It's not perfect, but it doesn't have to be until measuring the camber on the car. But me being a perfectionist, I counted the threads on the adjustors to get it even lol.

Assembled weight of each is 2.2 lb, about 1.4 lb lighter than stock with a similar center of mass. Honestly it's light enough that I second guessed myself on actually using it lol.

Reassembly required a bit of force. Had to flex the forks just a bit to get them to fit around the new coilovers. Don't know if that is necessary on stock coilovers. Bonus of this design is ot makes accessing the bump adjustment easier btw.

Got all the holes lined up one at a time. Odd mix of wrenches needed for the new hardware that comes with the LCAs, but it's all noted in the instructions. Then I tightened the nuts on the adjustor. I need bigger wrenches ...

Fun fact, the reused inboard nut is both a top lock nut and seems to have been coated in Subaru's pink thread locker. :iono:

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13096

Suspension Part 5: Rear Coilovers
 

[placeholder so I don't go out of order]

4/11 edit: Ok, so I was intending to show some pics here and talk a bit about the install. But I'm now one broken phone and 6 problems later so I lost the pics and forgot things. Install went fine following instructions. Some tips I do remember:

1. Make sure you have a magnet on an extendable stick. It's really easy for the top mount nuts to fall deep behind the rear seat or otherwise under stuff. Happened to me twice and I went fishing.

2. Just pull the LCA off the spindle. It will save the effort of trying to push the spindle down far enough, then have to remove the bolt anyway.

3. I was surprised that everything on the rear suspension wanted to move upwards when disconnected from the coilover. Bushings all seem to be flexing rather than rotating so natural full droop is actually above where the strut forces the suspension to.

Planning to cut the trunk sides somehow to get easier access to the top adjustments, but didn't do that yet.

Fun story: did the sway bar install, but I'm fairly certain I used the wrong grease. When I unpacked the instructions I lost the grease packet that came with it. After some searching I found an unopened grease packet that looked a bit like the one I saw with the instructions and did the install. Now I can't manually rotate the sway bar in the bushings at all (endlinks not connected yet).

Grease packet says it's energy suspension formula 5. Was super sticky, maybe I should have double checked when I realized that...

Is this normal or do I have to pull the damn thing back out again?

Edit:. Further research indicates this is probably the right grease... Hmmm still seems odd

Sway bar saga part two! Made a thread about this here (https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152754). Basically I gotta wait for Perrin to sort out their bushing supply before they can send a new set. In the meantime, it should be good with some shims to get the car down and set the endlink length, drive around the "block", set ride height and do the alignment. Why yes, I am going to attempt a string alignment myself. This should be fun.

Oh and first autox event of the year is on the 2nd...

So while waiting for new swaybar bushings, I got the car on the ground to start getting ride height and alignment done. Eyeballing the toe, seems fine to drive a bit considering it's on old dead tires I need to replace anyway. Took it for a slow drive around the neighborhood. Some notes on that:

-Turns lock to lock with no problems, but didn't want to return to center by itself near full lock. Odd considering I now have more caster. Maybe alignment will make this better?
-Now getting a clunk/thud from the rear when I release the clutch in gear, especially in reverse. Possibly this "driveline lash" I've read about?
-Car tracks pretty straight as far as I could tell. Still going to put a string box together for toe.

Edit: Clunk is normal effect of the diff bushings. Same driveline lash, new sound.

So, got initial measurements, working on figuring out what to target.

Height:
FL: 14 0/16" FR: 14 2/16"
RL: 14 1/16" RR: 14 3/16"

Not too bad, considering I set perch height with a caliper... I also only have 1/4 tank of gas. I think I'm going to try to get just over 13.75" up front and maybe 1/8-1/4" higher in the back. Which puts me at about an inch from official stock numbers up front and, when I fill the gas tank, should drop the rear .8-ish from stock.

This is where I mention the left rear of the parking space in the garage is about 0.5" lower than the other 3 wheels. Didn't think to get some plywood under it until after it was lifted again.

Camber as measured:
FL: -1.2° FR: -2.4°
RL: -1.3° RR: -2.5°

I don't really believe these are completely accurate at the moment. Did some adjustments on the top hats for now to add a bit up front. Looking for 2.3°. I'll wait on the rear for round 2 I think.

Up down up down up down...

Setting ride height and camber. Going for a short drive after each adjustment. On my 4th attempt now, but the 3rd attempt numbers were really close. Over adjusted the front left too low, so I have to go up 3/16", but that should make it pretty close side to side. Back is currently around 13 and 15/16" which is about where I want it. My hope is bringing the front left up a bit will drop the rear right 1/16 to be perfectly even. Springs are tricky lol.

Camber-wise. I've managed to get the hang of adjusting the measured angle for the ~0.3° slope of the garage. I got a magnetic digital angle gauge and I measure to the brake rotor. Add .3 on one side and subtract from the other (after confirming with straight edge between the wheels).

Got the front camber to about -2.3 even on both sides. It bothers me slightly that the camber plates have to be set asymmetrically, but such is reality. I think just the slots on the struts are good for about -1° (+-.3° side to side). The rest had to be camber plates. I think I could probably get a max of -4° on the right side, and -3.5° on the left side of I maxed out the Vorshlag camber plates.

Still struggling with rear camber. I started with about a degree of difference so I extended the left LCA about 3mm. That got it to about 0.8° of difference. Wondering how far I can extend the LCA. It's probably fine to go pretty far out considering Verus says you can get 7° out of it. The adjustments threw my rear toe out of alignment of course. Quite noticable on the short drive last night.

Why am I typing stuff up here rather than finishing the work? I stripped the set screw hole on the spring perch. :bonk:. I'm going to try and find a larger set screw (just goes through plastic) as a temporary fix today. RCE has spare parts of course so the right solution is to disassemble the coilover and reassemble with a new spring perch. I suppose I could also drill a new hole, but would probably want to disassemble the coilover to do that...

Shout-out to Andrew @RCE for answering the text on a Saturday. Some pics of the process below.

First time setting up the string box to get an actual toe measurement. The rear has been difficult (thread) but in messing around with the toe and camber adjustment randomly I seem to have hit the jackpot on the left at least lol. Too bad I have to mess it up because the camber is too high...

Also gave up on using the digital gauge for camber. Useful for shimming the car to level, and getting real time feedback, at least up front. Hanging some string is better and more consistent.

V My ultra professional readout lol. V

14/16? That's pretty close to 7/8, isn't it?

27/32, or one tootsie roll.

Yes, but it saves me having to compare 7/8 to 13/16 and do a conversion in my head.

so 13 14/16 in(1 tr/(27/32 in) = 16 4/9 tootsie rolls.

Exactly.

+/- froghair

I had RCE T2s on my STI for many years (actually, they're still sitting in a box in the garage 5 years after I traded in the car, I should find them a new home). I f'ing hate KW's spring perches. :mad0260: The set screws strip. The bumps the wrenches fit in strip. They get jammed up with dirt and debris.

If my car didn't come with MCS, I'd probably get Fortune Autos just for their spring perches. I ran Ground Control coil-over adapters on a couple cars many years ago, and their clamping perches never gave me an issue. Fortune's new clamping perches look quite similar.

-Mike

Folks have you tried the metric system? It's pretty neat. :)

Never stripped a set screw but I have lost one. No other issues other than hitting myself in the face with the wrench. I actually like the perches because they're light and they don't rust or get frozen to anything. :iono:

- Andrew

I don't have a metric tape measure :(. Going to get one as soon as I remember when I'm shopping lol. But yes, mm all around would be nice.