Nose high BP wagon after Bilistein install NOW WITH PHOTOS

[dumbskate]

So I had the lovely, near new Ennepetal Bilsteins http://www.ennepetal.co.jp/01ss/poline/subaru/suspensionkit/page1.html installed to replace my BP wagons worn struts and springs and handling has improved 100% which is great. Now all I have to contend with is the "nose high" appearance the car has at present. It was very similar to this with the old struts/springs but I had put this partly down sag from the worn out rears. I know that the arches are larger on front of this model (often wish the designers had stolen more of their design from Audi in this regard) but my current gaps between tire and arch are ~40mm rear and ~100mm front

Obviously based on these measurements I want to drop the front and hopefully by 50mm. I would like some advice on going about this. Here is what I know about my current set up.

- Japanese aftermarket Bilstein struts with part numbers matching those of a Spec-B Rev. A Legacy (possibly tuned for 18" rims)

- Springs - could be sedan springs??

- Pictures of the struts and springs from my previous post: http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic,23056.0.html

- My wagon is a NZ new manual and although this may be a stab in the dark could the reduced weight between an auto Spec-B Rev. A Legacy and my car be partly to blame here?

- Part number stamped on struts: Rear# are EB5-0704084 Front #are EB5 0704084 The other thing # pressed into the front are 05021 A393 20310AG140 (seems to match Spec-B Rev. A Legacy)

Any help really appreciated.

I know that a 50mm drop may be a stretch but as I am not fully aware of how the strut/springs setup effect the final height of these cars I though someone with more experience may be able to share a little guidance.

Car level with 180,000 km worn struts:

<br>

Car level after Bilstein struts installed

[Drunkenmonkey]

You sure you have wagon springs not sedan springs

[Guest]

Get the front springs compressed slightly (Shock Shop, Penrose) and it'll even out..

Had a similar story with my BG5 (previous life..): sedan springs & shocks = jacked front, sacked rear..

[dumbskate]

 Drunkenmonkey said:

You sure you have wagon springs not sedan springs

I could check the little coloured dots to be certain i suppose but they came out of a lowered outback but I never viewed them in the car. Was there a Spec-B Rev A sedan? That's what the strut part# match too.

[dumbskate]

 gmeago said:

Get the front springs compressed slightly (Shock Shop, Penrose) and it'll even out..

Yeah the height at the back is great so if a little compression will bring the front down then that's probably the plan.

[WRXONP]

by law compressed springs need Cert . not to mention they ride and handle like crap because when you compress your just ramping the spring rate through the roof . i would say just use lowering springs to get the height you want

[Guest]

My guess is that you have outback front struts not legacy

outback are 50mm taller from lower mounting to spring platform

This is all at a guess - I have not seen the parts mentioned nor how your ride height looks

[dumbskate]

 Ichi Ban said:

My guess is that you have outback front struts not legacy

outback are 50mm taller from lower mounting to spring platform

This is all at a guess - I have not seen the parts mentioned nor how your ride height looks

Yeah that would be my least favoured outcome. The part numbers matched a Spec-B Rev. A Legacy so I'm still leaving towards right struts with wrong springs. Thoughts?

[dumbskate]

So its look far more likely that these are the right struts (part numbers match but are for both wagon and sedan) however the springs are most likely from a sedan.

Because the rear sits at a nice height can i just swap out the front springs? I'm guessing so but would like a second/third opinion.

[Flat4]

I have the same problem with my BG. I put it down to my non turbo wagon being lighter at the front that GTB's, because the springs I have are definitely from a wagon

[dumbskate]

 Flat4 said:

I have the same problem with my BG. I put it down to my non turbo wagon being lighter at the front that GTB's, because the springs I have are definitely from a wagon

yeah its an issue with all manuals especially the N/A ones as they are the lightest up front. I had a little lift with the original front struts but these new ones have doubled that. Checking the coloured dots on the springs this weekend should settle whats really going on here though.

[Guest]

 dumbskate said:

So its look far more likely that these are the right struts (part numbers match but are for both wagon and sedan) however the springs are most likely from a sedan.

Because the rear sits at a nice height can i just swap out the front springs? I'm guessing so but would like a second/third opinion.

Sedan and wagon same height but outback is higher by 40 or 50mm

[funkytown]

what numbers do you need - i can check on my OB?

[dumbskate]

 funkytown said:

what numbers do you need - i can check on my OB?

Front strut part number is 20310AG150 and other is probably 20310AG160 but didn't check both before install. If you could check and confirm that these are Only in the legacy and not out backs that should put the possibility to rest. Also if you have a list of the spring colour dots used that would be awsome.

[funkytown]

where is the part #?

[dumbskate]

I thought that was the part number? The whole info stamped into the front strut is:

Info I have is:

Rear# are EB5-0704084 Front #are EB5 0704084 The other thing # pressed into the front are 05021 A393 20310AG140

Any help really appreciated.