Author : John, seasoned mechanic with 15 years of professional customization experience. Find him on Instagram @alcyone_pilot
Introduction
Do you have a 1980s Subaru with OEM blown air ride or 35+ year old blown shocks and limited options for replacements and no aftermarket? Good news, there are solutions through Maxpeedingrods, a company specializing in aftermarket performance solutions since 2006. Through trial and error, Alcyone, pilot of Alcyone Mods Channel, has discovered an over-the-counter solution to give your Subaru ride comfort and adjustability for the value-concerned enthusiast. Enter the T6 coilover, which has significant improvements over their previous designs.
Suspension Differences and Similarities
The original Honda Civic/Accord set offered by Maxpeedingrods gave ride height adjustment of 1-3 inches with moderate-quality materials, leaps and bounds above the Loyale wagon shocks that are available through eBay, Amazon, and parts houses. The wagon OEM struts are unfortunately too tall for GL sedan, coupe, and XT, presenting damage to the inner CV axle boots causing costly maintenance for the owner. Enter the Maxpeedingrods 88 Honda Accord coilovers. They share a similar weight (the Honda is about 200 lbs heavier) and similar mounting, being that both the Subaru and the Honda use a pinch knuckle design with a 1/4 inch difference. What makes this mod challenging is modifying the rear fork mount (though not ideal) to work with the Subaru’s rear swing arm suspension.
Unbox T6 Coilovers
The T6 coilovers showed up fairly quickly and in good shape. The packaging wasn’t damaged, with its signature black box and gold writing intact. Once the live unboxing was done, I got to see the anodized black shock bodies surrounded by light blue coil springs, giving a beautiful contrast. Each coilover was individually wrapped in plastic, surrounded by formed foam to help prevent damage during shipping.
Removal of Old Struts
Putting on the T6 coilovers for Honda Civic 1992-1995 EJ EG EH 1996-2000 EJ EK EM requires slight modifications to work with 1985-1994 EA82 Chassis Subarus. Additional parts you may need :
1.1/4 inch pipe (spacer for front knuckles)
2.OEM rubber top hat or 120 cm triangular bolt pattern camber plate
3.Rear Miata 1st coilover mount or use bent fork method
The first step is getting the car (EA82 chassis) on a concrete slab or stable surface to raise the car on jack stands on level, secure ground. Undo the wheels and start the strut removal process. The front struts will have three 12mm head nuts holding the top hat to the wheel arch. The bottom has a 14mm head bolt pinching the lower mount and a 14mm head bolt attaching a tab to the knuckle. Removing these 5 fasteners should result in removal of the front struts. The rear struts are simpler, held on by two 17mm head bolts at the top mount and one 17mm bolt attaching the strut through an eyelet-style bushing to the rear swing arm.
Coilover Modifications
The T6 Honda Accord coilovers will have the front coilovers with a pillow-bearing, non-adjustable top hat, and the rear with a rubber bushing top hat. Two studs for mounting to the Honda will have to be removed on the rears. The front top hats won’t be used for T6. The front coilovers will have the top hat removed and either replaced by the stock OEM rubber mount top hat for EA82 chassis or aftermarket Subaru Impreza 2002-2007 GDA GDB Front Camber Plates Kit For Coilover available on Maxpeedingrods website. To do this modification, the knob adjuster will have to be removed first with the supplied hex key, then undo the spring preload, finally removing the center nut and place the either OEM rubber top hat or aftermarket camber plate (reuse spacers that came with the T6 top hat). Now take the 1/4 inch pipe and cut it to be around the same height as the supplied lower mount sleeves. The only reason this is used instead is the 1/4 difference between Honda and Subaru pinch knuckles and the T6’s absence of the mounting tab.
Rear Coilover Mods
Keeping one of the coilovers intact as reference, undo the preload and remove the top hat from the coilover. Take a carpenter’s or sledgehammer and an appropriately sized socket placed on a secure surface (a sturdy workbench or even a concrete floor with eye protection – gotta keep those peepers safe). Place the socket on the bottom of the stud, with the nut at the very top of the stud sitting directly above the socket. Use the hammer to firmly shove it through the top hat. Do this until both rear top hats have the studs removed. Replace the T6 top hat and add the stock Subaru EA82 top mount with the center nut. The rear lower mount needs to be addressed in one of two ways:
-Plan A, you bend the supplied lower mount inward to clear the trailing arms fork, making sure they are parallel (not advisable);
-Plan B, purchase lower rear coilover 1st gen Miata mounts from Maxpeedingrods and switch them out.
Once all four coilovers are modified, they will be ready for installation on your EA82 chassis Subaru. Go through the process of installing all modified T6 coilovers, set ride height and damper (24 clicks of adjustment from soft to hard) to your specific driving style. Enjoy your new T6 coilovers on your Subaru EA82 Chassis!
Those using this modification must understand the risks involved, professional installation or supervision is advised for this project.
