New to subaru with a few questions!

[Vortex]

Hi,

I'm a defector from the German side.

Always wanted a scooby and finally took the plunge and bought a "practical" car, a WRX Wagon blobeye (at least that's how I sold it to the gf).

I've got a bit of a dilemma, this will be my daily drive, but I also want some performance out of it.

Recently serviced it at TDR in Warwick, and I've decided to upgrade all suspension parts since this is quite an old car.

Spent about 1400 on ARB from Whiteline, links, STi control arms, Tein coilovers, steering kit, etc, and I was told that it would require 12 to 13 hours of work to fit it all!

Isn't this a bit excessive? I mean, there are a lot of parts being replaced, but 12 hours?!

Anyhow, looking to get other quotes from the West Midlands region, so I would appreciate any recommendations on mechanics/garages in Coventry, Leamington, Warwick or Leicester.

 

[Jay762]

Wotcha and welcome - TDR are a reputable place to get work done.

The work you have asked them to do is time consuming - that is also assuming all of the nuts / bolts come away and don't need cutting off - I recently did ARB drop links on my car - each one took 3 hours!!! 2 hours 55 minutes of attacks with plus gas, blow torch, hacksaw and dremmel cutting & grinding discs (you couldn't get an angle grinder into the space).

Are you replacing the bushes at the same time as these will need to be swapped from old to new as well - again assumption that the OEM ones are still fit for purpose and will fit the new items e.g. the ARB thickness, are you replacing like for like or are they thicker diameter? 

[Vortex]

Hi Jay,

I got different quotes and to be fair I think TDR are the place to go, others said "I'm not sure how long it will take" and some just openly said they won't do it.

I think some of the nuts/bolts might need cutting because they seem too rusted. I've managed to source all the parts myself, some for a bargain price.

I'm not changing bushes, apart from the ones that already come with the Whiteline kits (ARB, anti-lift, drop links, etc).

Reason is Mark from TDR told me not too since this will be a daily driver it would ruin the ride for me, and it seems to make sense.

My aim is to have a very sporty dd, so I've gone with:

- STi control arms

- Tein basis Z

- Whiteline ARB 22mm front, 24 mm back (should make it oversteer rather than understeer?)

- Whiteline drop links front (for STi, Mark suggested it is worth an upgrade) and back ones

- Whiteline anti-lift kit

- Whiteline bump steer kit

- Compbrake camber plates (front only)

If it wasn't for the need to fix some rusted parts (radiator support and engine cradle) I would have kept it under 1K which hopefully would be a good upgrade.

I've also gotten a pair of stainless steel/teflon brake lines because I know from motorcycles it makes a big difference in the braking feel.

I might take some before-after pictures for !Removed! and giggles.

 

[Tidgy]

May be a bit high maybe an hour but not by alot, keep in mind its a 10+ year old car and the bolts will be a right mess meaning extra time to sort them out. Your talking alot of components in that list, plus you have geometry setup time in that as well which for a proper job will be a good hour or two given its going to be a full setup.

 

[Vortex]

@Tidgy yeah I kinda got that, apart from suspension I also need some fixes with the engine cradle and radiator support frame, so I guess 12/13 hours isn't that bad.

I'm stuck looking for new insurance, my policy runs out and all the quotes I get are  £1K+ and it's driving me crazy...