Flatout Suspension GR coilover set up:
(for 08-14, 15-21, and 22-Up Subaru WRX & STI)
The first thing you need to do is measure your current ride height. There are three methods to do this; 1. Measure from the ground to the center of the wheel arch (our preferred method), 2. Measure from the ground to the pinch weld, 3. measure from the center cap to the wheel arch. Make sure to measure on level ground.
Setting up the front suspension:
Dual-height adjustable suspension design: This style has an adjustable hub mount bracket and adjustable preload.Move the adjustable hub bracket so the bottom of the bracket is flush with the bottom of the shock. This is not a set up, rather setting a base line. Install all four shocks, and then resume set up.
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Once the suspension is on, put the car on the ground (don’t worry about ride height yet).. You will want to measure your spring. You ideally want to see a spring sag rate of about 25%. If you have a 10” spring, you want your spring to measure around 7.5 inches top to bottom. For the purpose of example and simple math - let’s pretend you measure the 10” spring and it is showing a measurement of 7” under the weight of the car. At this point, you will want to place a jack under the car and move the large blue ring (spring perch) up 1/2”. Your spring will still measure 7”, but you have added 1/2” back into the shocks travel range. Once this is set, move onto the next step.
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Measure ride height again. If you are satisfied with the height, tighten all of the blue rings and check all of your bolts to complete installation. If you need to adjust the height, raise the car and loosen the lowest blue ring. If you need to raise the ride height, rotate the entire shock body counter-clockwise until the desired height is achieved. If you need to bring height down, rotate the shock body clockwise. Once you are satisfied with the height, tighten all of the blue rings and check all of your bolts to complete installation.
Setting up the rear suspension:
This style is very simple to set. Perch height determines the ride height. Once you measure ride height, if you need to raise the car 1 inch, move the perch upwards 1 inch. Everything on a fixed body shock is 1:1 for height adjustment. Your rear shock has a helper spring to help with setting up a minimal ride height. If the helper spring is fully compressed with the car off the ground, that’s fine. The helper will always be compressed while sitting on the ground as it is a 5lb rated spring.
Be sure to roll the car forward and backward about 10ft to help the suspension settle to get accurate measurements.
Your target ride height should be 28” ground to center of the fender arch up front, and 28.25 - 28.5” in rear.
Once your ride height is set and everything is in the final position, you need to tighten the rings. Hold a wrench on the perch, and a wrench on the perch lock ring and tap the wrench on the lock ring with a hammer until the rings no longer move. You will need to lock the hub bracket ring by tapping the wrench with a hammer as well. If you skip this or hand-tighten, the rings will eventually work loose and make noise. Use a hammer. Soft taps. Check all of the nuts and bolts again, 1 more time.