JVAB for RS 2.5

They usually include strut tops?

Quote
MConte05
They usually include strut tops?

That's a choice people themselves will make before hand.
The vast majority of Sunie gusy I've done and man it must be more than 30 cars or more, have opted for standard top mounts, so I machine the insert tops ---they come as an unfinished 22 x 110mm bar---top work with stock or GpN.
A fair number know they will be using spherical bearings so I finish them for that but that means I leave a big fat (stronger by multiple factors) 19 or 20mm pin.

Now in my opinion---and what the fawk do I know, just been making suspenion for competition vehicles since 1975-----ALL the shiney made in China but labeled as Japanese cutsie top mounts use waaaaay smaller bearings than I would for even a street car, so rally quality top mounts using a 7/8" or 22mm bearing would mean custom top mounts.

Considering how well OEM or GpN top mounts have been working for everybody---and the fact I have made Subie top mount my 'default" top mount---I'd say you can save a LOT of money and not worry about spherical bearing....


(some cars have truly appallingly weak top mounts---Xratties, VW and Audi particularly--and there I've either copied Ford works spherical bearing mounts or for VW, supplied Subie top mount and reinforcing plate for the tower)

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Quote
john vanlandingham


If Bilstein ever gets the tubes for these ever again

Err what? Backorder? Not making them anymore?

---

Brap Brap.

Quote
biggreen96

Quote
john vanlandingham


If Bilstein ever gets the tubes for these ever again

Err what? Backorder? Not making them anymore?

First big wait on the shaft.. then i got a few fronts at 190mm

Now I'm waiting over 2 months on rears---out of upper tubes.

Still making them and it seems they have a big demand somewhere in S.America that buys PILES..

Hard for me to order some in advance cause i never know if the next thing is a Subie or a Corolla.

I did get Mark Piatkowski and Kevin Turners stuff shipped out (straightening inserts and replacing battle damaged ears) but a Subie set for a guy in Barbados is sitting here waiting for rear insert.
VERY frustrating.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Me on stage with JVABs on the car. Nothing rough @ idaho to test them on really ... but with NNR this weekend, (has a few embedded rocks, Ruts, Jumps and Very big jumps) should be giving them a work out !

Quote
john vanlandingham
First big wait on the shaft.. then i got a few fronts at 190mm
Now I'm waiting over 2 months on rears---out of upper tubes.
Still making them and it seems they have a big demand somewhere in S.America that buys PILES..
Hard for me to order some in advance cause i never know if the next thing is a Subie or a Corolla.
I did get Mark Piatkowski and Kevin Turners stuff shipped out (straightening inserts and replacing battle damaged ears) but a Subie set for a guy in Barbados is sitting here waiting for rear insert.
VERY frustrating.

Reminds me of what Barrett said a few years ago when a local guy was waiting on a set of his struts. He was just waiting on inserts but Bilstein kept sending them all to some crazy guy up in Seattle.

Quote
NoCoast

Quote
john vanlandingham
First big wait on the shaft.. then i got a few fronts at 190mm
Now I'm waiting over 2 months on rears---out of upper tubes.
Still making them and it seems they have a big demand somewhere in S.America that buys PILES..
Hard for me to order some in advance cause i never know if the next thing is a Subie or a Corolla.
I did get Mark Piatkowski and Kevin Turners stuff shipped out (straightening inserts and replacing battle damaged ears) but a Subie set for a guy in Barbados is sitting here waiting for rear insert.
VERY frustrating.

Reminds me of what Barrett said a few years ago when a local guy was waiting on a set of his struts. He was just waiting on inserts but Bilstein kept sending them all to some crazy guy up in Seattle.

Yeah, he whined and wheedled and flat lied about " I can send you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooOOO many Subie customers ---if you cut me a deal on a set...


and never ONE referral. And then he comes here to complain about people copying "his' design..
I think my karma ran over his dogma...

or...
Life's a bitch, iddint?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Yo Doood!
Replacement bottom tubes are packed, herding the girls into the car...just occurred to me:

You better clean up the threads on wash 'em good cause you will need to retain your lower spring seat and lock ring..

When they seem "seized" they aren't. They're just dirty.
So suds 'em up and use a stiff nylon bristle brush, maybe a fingernail brush or something like that, and clean the threads above and below the seat and lock ring, clean and bare.
Shoot some slick 'um on (Gunk is nice) and run the lock ring DOWN a good bit now hose off hard jet the area below the lower seat, more slick 'um and run the lower seat down into the clean bare area..

Water and soap and scrubbie for the dirt, lube and propane on the bottom part of the lower seat and they will always loosen..

Don't force things work in one direction (down towards the clean) and back off and wash, then continue again.

(By the way, THIS above procedure, which can be time consuming, is why we should have made better efforts ad returning YOUR existing tubes for me to shorten. I've done this, you'd get the tubes ready to install...

I HAVE to send 2 day at this point because of the 4th so stand by for the shock....

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Alex fresh tubes, already greased up, went by Express mail, be there tomorrow. Email sent with tracking.

Get those other tubes back to me ( UPS Ground is OK) just as soon as you can I NEED them.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I was looking at Ohlins inserts the other day. JVAB+ in the future?
40 mm insert single to three way adjustable. Only $1000-1400 per insert.

Oh jeez. Good to know that could be an option though. Are there any other companies you would trust for rally stuff John? KYB?

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Brap Brap.

You'd be talking about $5000+ for the Ohlins stuff I referenced. At that point you may as well get 50s from DMS or RSSP or similar.

Sorry I should have said "insert options".

Who makes the inserts for the STi btw? Are those bilstien or KYB?

---

Brap Brap.

Quote
biggreen96
Sorry I should have said "insert options".

Who makes the inserts for the STi btw? Are those bilstien or KYB?

Only other options I can think of than any of us can really afford is the JVAB "home made" 50mm Bilsteins.


All of the things are virtually identical internally, hell the guy Odi called me about dead 50mm DMS and I suggested he check out using the ordinary pistons and shims and piston ring off any "B46' family Bilstein and bet him a nickle they would interchange. He called two days later with his DMS rebuilt and said I won my nickle..
So aside from the way any adjusters may be packaged, if the things are so similar as to have interchangable internals, I find it hard to justify 500-1000 for a single insert for US and our level.

It seems that there are some Subie inverted things 9like I just bought) which are 38.5mm and may be KYB.
JDM cars sometimes get 40mm Bilsteins, but I am sure they are very short---160mm travel max in front.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Pretty sure the STi inverted struts are made by KYB... I have a couple sets of them around, and i think the housings actually say KYB on them, but i have never looked close. They make really good struts for a reece car, or there was a while we kept a set of these as spares for the rally car.


Bilstiens for Subies....very rare, only UK, only for a couple years. Good luck finding a set, that is forsure. And yes they were made for slightly shorter than OEM ride heights. I do really wish that Bilstein would have made an "OEM" replacement shock assembly for Imprezas....they have picked up the ball with the new 2008 plus impreza's, but the only thing they make for 1993-2007 is their PSS9 coilovers...which are nice.


IMHO, if you guys are serious about looking for inserts, start talking to roundy round dirt track shock manufacturers. There are alot of manufacturers out there, and they are making advancements and coming out with unique stuff. I don't think it would take alot of adaptation on their part to make a smooth bodied, chrome plated "shock" which could be used as an inverted insert.