Your advice on my next wagon

[jonboy]

Hi everyone. I currently have a 2002 TSR manual which has been a great reliable wagon but as you all know they are really under-powered. Because of this I am looking to upgrade in the next couple of months to one of the BP 3.0R B-Spec wagons with the 6 speed manual.

We do a lot of traveling up to Ruhapehu in winter and camping trips in summer and end up with a crap load of gear (tent/tables/etc..) stuffed into the back and the roof box. Because of this the back end really sags and the front rides up high.

My question: is there any modifications (springs/shocks) that I can make to the new BP to stop them sagging so much when loaded up? (If they even do). The new one will probably have 18" wheels and they look like there is not really much clearance in the wheel arches unloaded. Or am I better off getting an Outback?

[funkytown]

they still sag a bit in the rear on the BP legacies, stiffer springs / struts sort that out but the ride quality will be worse.

I have a BP outback and they sink a little, but nooo where like the straight legacies do. Only come in tip/auto for the outback as far as i\'ve found though. regardless the EZ motor is a very silky tasty option - you\'ll love it over the tsr donkey.

[jonboy]

Yeah, cant wait to ditch the TSR. The difference between that and the turbo\'s is massive. Passing in a TSR: Get a run up, drop to 4th/3rd rev the crap out of it. Passing in a turbo: wiggle your big toe.

I have seen one Outback on TM with a 6 speed manual (possibly an incorrect listing?), but all others have been tip/auto.

I can live with the Legacy sagging a bit but wonder if the wheels will rub? I suppose I could go for a tippy Outback. I will have to take one for a test drive and see how the gbox handles. Would probably be better for getting up the mountain when the road is slippery

[Drunkenmonkey]

The traction control in the autos is

Really smart for what you pay, I had some fun in some mud bogs one day and it surprised me, would be perfect for the snow, Te 5 speed autos are impressive as well, some out backs come with self levelling shocks, factory tires won\'t rub either

[jonboy]

Now self-leveling shocks I like the sound of! I could live with a tippy Outback if it had those. Is there any way of telling if a particular car has them?

[funkytown]

no every OB has those though. unsure how you tell - i just know ours doesnt

[ADIKT]

You wont have any rubbing issues what so ever. i bagged a 07 legacy wagon. When fully slammed on 18s there was no rub at all. And it almost sat on the ground.

one option is you could put in on adjustables with adjustable damper. put it on softest setting when empty, stiffen it up before you load her up ?

only prob is thats a good 1300 + cert :-[

[Drunkenmonkey]

That is true funky they don\'t all have it,

I\'ll let you know in a few hours if 245/40/19 tires rub on outback a

[jonboy]

 ADIKT said:

You wont have any rubbing issues what so ever. i bagged a 07 legacy wagon. When fully slammed on 18s there was no rub at all. And it almost sat on the ground.

one option is you could put in on adjustables with adjustable damper. put it on softest setting when empty, stiffen it up before you load her up ?

only prob is thats a good 1300 + cert :-[

Thanks, that\'s good to know. I\'m interested in adjustables, but dont really know that much about them. I dont mind spending $ to get them fitted and certed as I intend on keeping the car for a while. The new Legacy looks incredibly plain and boring so wont be upgrading to one of those!

So how do adjustables work? Are they a mission to stiffen? Or are they like air shocks and you just pump them up?

[ADIKT]

 jonboy']

[quote name='ADIKT said:

You wont have any rubbing issues what so ever. i bagged a 07 legacy wagon. When fully slammed on 18s there was no rub at all. And it almost sat on the ground.

one option is you could put in on adjustables with adjustable damper. put it on softest setting when empty, stiffen it up before you load her up ?

only prob is thats a good 1300 + cert :-

Thanks, that\'s good to know. I\'m interested in adjustables, but dont really know that much about them. I dont mind spending $ to get them fitted and certed as I intend on keeping the car for a while. The new Legacy looks incredibly plain and boring so wont be upgrading to one of those!

So how do adjustables work? Are they a mission to stiffen? Or are they like air shocks and you just pump them up?

Most brands will have a knob on the top of the suspension body sticking out the top hat - turn to desired setting.

However - some brands go softer than others.. you will need to do a bit of re-search to find the right ones for you

edit -

[kamineko]

 ADIKT']

[quote name='ADIKT said:

You wont have any rubbing issues what so ever. i bagged a 07 legacy wagon. When fully slammed on 18s there was no rub at all. And it almost sat on the ground.

one option is you could put in on adjustables with adjustable damper. put it on softest setting when empty, stiffen it up before you load her up ?

only prob is thats a good 1300 + cert :-

Thanks, that\'s good to know. I\'m interested in adjustables, but dont really know that much about them. I dont mind spending $ to get them fitted and certed as I intend on keeping the car for a while. The new Legacy looks incredibly plain and boring so wont be upgrading to one of those!

So how do adjustables work? Are they a mission to stiffen? Or are they like air shocks and you just pump them up?

Most brands will have a knob on the top of the suspension body sticking out the top hat - turn to desired setting.

However - some brands go softer than others.. you will need to do a bit of re-search to find the right ones for you

edit -

how does changing the shock valve dampening affect the rideheight due to a constant load?

what i mean is, it shouldn\'t, and this logic is an accident waiting to happen

increasing the valving will reduce the average rideheight as you go over bumps, (restricting the travel)

but the neutral rideheight is set buy the spring rate and its pretension on the strut

[ADIKT]

Disregard my idea then. Thought hardening up the shocks would create less sag when fully loaded. my logic aint on track today

i stand corrected.

So what your saying is install stiffer springs?

[kamineko]

in this pic you can see the two adjustments on the shaft

the spring preload is set according to the spring spec and the neutral weight of the car

then the bracket is set on the shaft at the desired road height

as i understand, increasing the preload again to raise the car would reduce the range of the spring, not good

long story short, there\'s an art to setting adjustables. if you had both ideal settings worked out, you could change it but what a mission