Rio struts + '10 wrx springs

[rollertoaster]

I was gonna cut my rio springs. But I grabbed one of my factory rear springs off my wrx because it's the same diameter and about the same spring rate. The free length is about the equivalent of cutting 2 coils off a rio spring. So I'm gonna give it a try and see how it goes.


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[M3NTAL]

Good deal

[Safety Guy]

Well, this looks interesting! Keep us posted.

I just picked up two '04 Rio front struts today. It would be nice to have a spring that doesn't need cut and is "Goldilocks" sized.

Karl

[rollertoaster]

the great thing about the 08+ wrx rear springs is that there is about 10 different spring rates available between about 170lb to 250lb. I'll try to bolt these on tomorrow and see how the ride and height is

[Safety Guy]

That sounds very promising!

Karl

[nitrofarm]

Sub'd-

[rollertoaster]

If you are looking for stock ride height with a stiffer feel this is for you. I put them on and it looked a little high, but after a spirited test drive it settled back down to stock ride height. I caught a little bit of air a few times and it did not bottom out (It did before). I was driving on some very rough roads (think Tarmac rally).

The bad news:
I bought used complete rio struts and they might be a little weak. The ride feels a little underdampened like the struts need to be replaced, not bouncy like a Honda on coilovers.

Even with weak struts it feels great and I'll get replacements soon.

I used 2010 wrx (base) rear springs
For stiffer you could use 2010 premium rears
Or 2011 for even stiffer
For a softer spring 2008 base (even premium may be softer)




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[Safety Guy]

Good news!

Here are two ebay ads for WRX rear springs, both used:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-2007-SUBARU-WRX-STI-EPIC-ENGINEERING-REAR-SPRINGS-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem564192f869QQitemZ370467338345QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004-2007-SUBARU-WRX-STI-PRODRIVE-REAR-LOWERING-SPRINGS-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3cb5f2107fQQitemZ260750577791QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

They look a bit tapered to me. Do you fit the wider part up into the top of the strut and set the narrow end onto the spring seat? These are also "lowering springs," so maybe they would be lower for the Festiva as well. Do you think they'd fit as well?

Also, any idea on how to find out how stiff these ebay springs are?

Karl

[Safety Guy]

Not much since I haven't taken them apart yet, but here are my '04 Rio Cinco front struts:



Note the three bolt strut mounts, vs. the earlier ones which matched up with Aspires and Festivas perfectly.

Question: Would drilling out my strut towers for the two extra bolts be worthwhile, or perhaps just cause some more problems? The only advantage I can think of is to use the newer mounts instead of having to source used Festiva or Aspire mounts, or get new two bolt Rio mounts.

Thoughts?

Karl

[rollertoaster]

Those lowering springs are for the wrong year range. You would need 08+ , they are not tapered and fit perfectly. I'm not sure you would want lowering springs due to the stiffer rate that may overwhelm the strut. Just cut a set of stockers. You could easily and cheaply source the 08+ springs from one of the subaru forums.

From the pics of your cinco struts it looks like two of the holes are directly apart from each other. Can you verify that or is it the camera playing tricks? It that's is the case, you could just hammer out the extra stud and bolt it up. If not you could knock out 2 of the studs. Insert the remaining stud in the front hole. Drill the other two from the bottom then, reinstall the studs.


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[Safety Guy]

Thanks for the spring tips.

I'll have to look at the strut mounts more carefully. I thought the two closer studs would need their own holes drilled. Maybe one is directly opposite, though!

Karl

[getnpsi]

oooh i didnt know the even later rio front assemblies work, I just always skipped over the 3 stud ones and was looking exclusively for 2 holed ones. That means even newer and fresher, and generally heavier cars which we can assume more dampening, at least if the strut is still doing its job you guys rock

[91mcnasty]

Don't be scared to drill some holes!!!

[Aaronbrook37]

Well, this looks interesting! Keep us posted.

I just picked up two '04 Rio front struts today. It would be nice to have a spring that doesn't need cut and is "Goldilocks" sized.

Karl

Theoretically, Karl, doing Nate's DIY coilovers would still work wonders here. Just do a little more experimentation with ride height and shock/spring dampening balance and you can find a good happy medium for both! Heck, if the spring diameter matches up with one of the sets of coil springs, you could skip the adjusters and just run the springs.

the great thing about the 08+ wrx rear springs is that there is about 10 different spring rates available between about 170lb to 250lb. I'll try to bolt these on tomorrow and see how the ride and height is

I presume you're talking about aftermarket springs here? Even though the Subaru engineers love having unique models (ever heard of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec-C Type RA-R before?)...

For stiffer you could use 2010 premium rears
Or 2011 for even stiffer
For a softer spring 2008 base (even premium may be softer)

Some hard numbers from NASIOC for those interested:
2008 WRX - 151lbs/140lbs
2009-2011 WRX - 216/193lbs

2008-2010 STi - 217/194lbs
2011 STi - 251/297lbs

From the pics of your cinco struts it looks like two of the holes are directly apart from each other. Can you verify that or is it the camera playing tricks? It that's is the case, you could just hammer out the extra stud and bolt it up. If not you could knock out 2 of the studs. Insert the remaining stud in the front hole. Drill the other two from the bottom then, reinstall the studs.

Don't be scared to drill some holes!!!

I completely agree with mcnasty. The Mitsubishi guys do this all the time... just line it up and fire away! The strut hats may need some boring too, but that's relatively easy work. It'd be worth it in the long run if this is a quality long-term solution to our shock woes.

[rollertoaster]

I was referring to stock rear springs. The base and premium models supposedly have different rates. I think I saw that on 3gwrx but I haven't seen it confirmed anywhere else yet.


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