Scotty’s 18 GTS Levorg

[Scottyd]

Hi all, thought now is a good time to start a thread on my car.
so I bought it new in May18 and it came straight from the factory to me as I ordered it and had to wait a few weeks for it to get here. I actually wanted an STI but I really don’t like all that red in the interior . Shame really as I love the look of the outside of the STI especially in WR Blue Pearl. I would however like to get an STI front bumper for my car.
So I have only changed the wheels and added a EGT gauge so far. But that’s just the start for Lenny! Once the warranty runs out then I can go crazy with it, as long as the minister for war and finance approve lol (won’t be a problem )
So I changed the stock wheels for a set of 18x8 Oz Racing Superturismo LM wheels.
Anyway here are some pics...

 

[Guvna]

Nice Scotty, rims look heaps better, how's the suspension in the MY18? Much better than what you've been hearing about the MY15-17's?
I read they made some changes to the setup, wondering how much of a difference it made.

 

[Scottyd]

Thanks for the reply Guvna, ah I’ll have to look up what’s been said about the older ones... I think it handles awesomely, I’m very happy with the bilstiens! Can you tell me what the criticisms are that you know of?

 

[Guvna]

Hey Scotty, sure...
I have a MY17 GTS, the front end bottoms out on the bump stops with a real crashing thud, even on slight road surface level changes, must almost stop totally for speed bumps or it feels like your dashboard is going to fall apart. Rear end doesnt bottom out like the front end but is very floaty and takes way too long to settle after undulations, several undulations in a row will have ur luggage leaving the floor surface and crashing back down, undulations on corners can border on dangerous. They got it sooo wrong I am amazed. Wrong spring rates, too short a shock stroke on the fronts, poor compression damper on fronts and poor rebound damper on rear.
Unfortunately this story is not unique, many have the same complaints and experience. I’ve persevered with it as long as I can, it just makes me not want to drive it, which sucks, coz other than the suspension I love the car. Going to replace the Bilstein rubbish with coil overs in the next couple of weeks, can’t decide between the Silvers Neomax S and the MCA Pro Comforts though, it’s hard taking a stab, I’ve heard good reviews on here about both, it would be ideal if someone could take you for a spin in each so you know what you’re comparing and which you prefer. I’m in Melbourne, anyone with either of these coil overs up for taking me for a test spin? Once I decide and fit some I would offer to do the same for others as I think it would really help the decision making process.

 

[Scottyd]

Wow that is so different to my car! I have not felt it bottom out at all in the 2 years I’ve had it and the road I drive to work every day is pretty bad! It’s fairly firm too, although I remember the sales guy telling me that its slightly softer than the WRX, but I can’t tell the difference.

 

[Guvna]

Wow that is so different to my car! I have not felt it bottom out at all in the 2 years I’ve had it and the road I drive to work every day is pretty bad! It’s fairly firm too, although I remember the sales guy telling me that its slightly softer than the WRX, but I can’t tell the difference.

Ah well good to hear the changes they made to your year model and beyond have addressed the issues us poor buggers that got in early have experienced. Ahh it must feel great to not have to spend two and a half grand to fix their ball drop and get it perform how it should have from the factory ;((
Very disappointing for MY17 and earlier owners, but AWESOME for you which is good to hear. Hopefully I’ll be enjoying my Vorg as much as you soon as I’m biting the horrible tasting bullet and lashing out on some coilovers in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Scottyd]

Ah well good to hear the changes they made to your year model and beyond have addressed the issues us poor buggers that got in early have experienced. Ahh it must feel great to not have to spend two and a half grand to fix their ball drop and get it perform how it should have from the factory ;((
Very disappointing for MY17 and earlier owners, but AWESOME for you which is good to hear. Hopefully I’ll be enjoying my Vorg as much as you soon as I’m biting the horrible tasting bullet and lashing out on some coilovers in the next couple of weeks.

Yeah man that sucks that your suspension is that bad! Great idea going to coilovers! If mine was like that I'd have a set put in too!
I'm thinking about getting the Perrin Intake pipe, Perrin Blow off Valve, and a Grimmspeed 3 port EBCS and a Cobb AccessPort V3 for it. Maybe even the Grimmspeed stealth intake setup... But not sure if I should do any of this till the factory warranty runs out in 2 years time.

 

[Guvna]

Yeah man that sucks that your suspension is that bad! Great idea going to coilovers! If mine was like that I'd have a set put in too!
I'm thinking about getting the Perrin Intake pipe, Perrin Blow off Valve, and a Grimmspeed 3 port EBCS and a Cobb AccessPort V3 for it. Maybe even the Grimmspeed stealth intake setup... But not sure if I should do any of this till the factory warranty runs out in 2 years time.

Sounds good, I'd like to add a little performance myself but believe the CVT is nearing its peak at 350Nm already. I like the idea of a CAI too, I know its not required at the amount of power we could go to with the CVT being the limiting factor, but just for those beautiful intake sounds alone would be nice. Just a shame you have to get the ECU tuned to the CAI for it to work properly and not do damage to the engine. I was looking into the Cobb accessport myself but my enquiries ended in being told the Levorg isn't covered by it, I know the CVT WRX is basically the same but don't want to take the risk if Cobb said it's not compatible, a shame. Yeah the good old warranty question again, its a hard one, we wanna do things but having that warranty is so good. Mine is up in about 6 months now, seriously considering the CAI and mild tune, was originally thinking to tune it to the JDM spec of 221Kw and 400Nm, but really don't want to live that close to the edge with the CVT, so thinking to maybe only take it halfway there around 375ish Nm instead, little more safety margin then.

 

[Scottyd]

Hi Guvna, I just realised that my reply to your last post is not here.....
However, I’m thinking that my opinion of my suspension was overrated as I just hit a new pot hole on the way to work and I’m amazed that the wheel is not in pieces as it was very violent and the suspension did nothing at all!

 

[Guvna]

Hi Guvna, I just realised that my reply to your last post is not here.....
However, I’m thinking that my opinion of my suspension was overrated as I just hit a new pot hole on the way to work and I’m amazed that the wheel is not in pieces as it was very violent and the suspension did nothing at all!

G’day again Scotty,
Sorry to hear that man, if you’ve been happy with the suspension thus far after 2 odd years you could maybe just chalk it up to one really bad pothole, some are that bad no suspension can deal with it. I hope that’s all it is for you! You know it’s a real problem when you hit a pot hole and buckle both rims on that side of the car, that happened to me, found out when I went to replace my tyres, the two left side rims were quite badly out of round
Was able to get them rerolled though, 400 bucks later! Not happy Jan!
I’ve has the MCA Pro Comforts installed and done about 1200 odd K’s on them so far. A massive improvement on the MY17’s bilstein setup. The rear rebound is 100% gone, the harsh front end crashing is 90% gone, and the body roll (which I must admit I didn’t think was that bad) is way less than it was. The Mrs doesn’t feel sick on the twisty bits now
I do have a couple of issues with the MCA’s though, and will be contacting them next week to let them know the issues and see what their solution is. Hopefully it will be all good as the ride is much better than Subaru had it stock.

 

[MarkMelbourne]

I’ve has the MCA Pro Comforts installed and done about 1200 odd K’s on them so far. A massive improvement on the MY17’s bilstein setup. The rear rebound is 100% gone, the harsh front end crashing is 90% gone, and the body roll (which I must admit I didn’t think was that bad) is way less than it was. The Mrs doesn’t feel sick on the twisty bits now

I'm tagging you a lot today Guvna! Could you clarify what you mean by "90% gone" ?

I was hoping MCA coilovers would mean 100% front end bang gone. I want to be able to drive on country roads at 100km/h with the Mrs and baby asleep with confidence again. I can't drop $2.5k on coilovers if it will still interrupt nap time when I go over a country bridge at speed.

May I also ask how they perform when towing your camper? Similar, or what to expect? Thank-you kindly!

 

[Guvna]

I'm tagging you a lot today Guvna! Could you clarify what you mean by "90% gone" ?

I was hoping MCA coilovers would mean 100% front end bang gone. I want to be able to drive on country roads at 100km/h with the Mrs and baby asleep with confidence again. I can't drop $2.5k on coilovers if it will still interrupt nap time when I go over a country bridge at speed.

May I also ask how they perform when towing your camper? Similar, or what to expect? Thank-you kindly!

G’day Mark, no problem, happy to assist. What I mean by 90% gone? Well it’s not JUST the struts that cause this thump, though they are 90% of the problem. It’s also 18” rims with low profile tyres, and other components of the suspension that add to it. There is absolutely NO bottoming out thump with the MCA Coilovers, but because they are not as soft as the standard bilstein setup was they are firmer and respond as such. They don’t bottom out but you will still hear and feel the BAD bumps, but you won’t feel like it did damage to something when it does. The car is way more settled, significantly less body roll, no bouncing rear end at all, but the ride is a lot firmer. I like the firmness so I highly recommend Josh at MCA and his products, don’t forget Coilovers are really essentially for track, which means they will always be firmer. The car responds to every bump and deals with it swiftly ready for the next, so you do feel everything but not in a bad way if that makes sense. The car feels WAY safer and the steering more responsive and MUCH more fun. If you are looking for pure comfort only (like driving on cushion of air type comfort) I wouldn’t recommend Coilovers, they are performance orrientated, but for a performance product the MCA’s are very comfortable. For cushion comfort a suspension shop for replacement struts and springs would be the go. Just remember unlike Coilovers there will be no height or dampening adjustment possible.
As for towing, let me first clarify, I camp in a tent or swag not a camper trailer. I tow a 6x4 box trailer with 5’ enclosed sides to take the extra comforts with me
Not that it had a problem towing before, but towing on the MCA’s is a lot better than it was stock, if your ever experienced the rear ended bouncing away on the bilsteins, you can imagine how unsafe it could be with a trailer. The firmer springs and dampening internals settle the rear very quickly even with a load on. I understand the hesitance to drop that much dosh on Coilovers, and though we should never have had to, they’re worth every red cent IMO, but the ride won’t be for everyone and there’s really no way to know yourself until tou buy and try, OR meet up and get taken for a spin, which I’m happy to accommodate to make it less of a gamble for you as you’ll know exactly what they’ll be like.

 

[MarkMelbourne]

Well it’s not JUST the struts that cause this thump, though they are 90% of the problem. It’s also 18” rims with low profile tyres, and other components of the suspension that add to it.

Thank-you, I understand what you mean.

If you are looking for pure comfort only (like driving on cushion of air type comfort) I wouldn’t recommend Coilovers, they are performance orrientated, but for a performance product the MCA’s are very comfortable. For cushion comfort a suspension shop for replacement struts and springs would be the go. Just remember unlike Coilovers there will be no height or dampening adjustment possible.

I think you hit the nail on the head here: My family situation has changed and part of me does want a pillowy ride like an Outback. Do we know of other owners that have gone a pure comfort route? I guess I could ask DHF Hallam for advice (or if you know of another specialist you like please let me know).

As for towing, let me first clarify, I camp in a tent or swag not a camper trailer. I tow a 6x4 box trailer with 5’ enclosed sides to take the extra comforts with me

This is exactly where I have been until now - but after baby I'm at the point where I want a 15minute full setup on my own. While expensive, some of those camper trailers offer a lot of convenience and fantastic novelty

OR meet up and get taken for a spin, which I’m happy to accommodate to make it less of a gamble for you as you’ll know exactly what they’ll be like.

Such a nice offer - actually @robo498 was kind enough to show me his MCA setup the other week. He has basically said same as you. Now I have to consider if this is going to be right for the family and for towing ... or whether I am trying to use the wrong tool to solve my problem. Anyway, it's so valuable to be able to hear first hand the experiences other owners have had going down the MCA route.

 

[Guvna]

I think you hit the nail on the head here: My family situation has changed and part of me does want a pillowy ride like an Outback. Do we know of other owners that have gone a pure comfort route? I guess I could ask DHF Hallam for advice (or if you know of another specialist you like please let me know).

I can't speak highly enough of the guys down at DHF Hallam, all very nice, all very knowledgeable and helpful. I'd definitely give them a call and talk to Harsha or Dinuka and see if they have any recommendations. If its not urgent, I'll be down there again next Thursday getting my ride height adjusted and wheels aligned, so I can put the question to them then, see what they think and let you know after

 

[robo498]

I can't speak highly enough of the guys down at DHF Hallam, all very nice, all very knowledgeable and helpful. I'd definitely give them a call and talk to Harsha or Dinuka and see if they have any recommendations. If its not urgent, I'll be down there again next Thursday getting my ride height adjusted and wheels aligned, so I can put the question to them then, see what they think and let you know after

I agree they are great, I am going Saturday just to get a balance and raise the ride hight by about 2 cms all around.

 

[Guvna]

I agree they are great, I am going Saturday just to get a balance and raise the ride hight by about 2 cms all around.

Sup Robo, you originally left yours stock height yeah?

 

[robo498]

Yep, but I feel that the rear had dropped a little more... and thought another 1cm at the front as I am going to the snow and may need put the snow chains on? That will help a little....I hope!

 

[Guvna]

Yep, but I feel that the rear had dropped a little more... and thought another 1cm at the front as I am going to the snow and may need put the snow chains on? That will help a little....I hope!

Don’t forget your COVID test for the snow bro