sccsiouxland

Well so it starts off like this...my sway bar order was canceled due to it being on a 2 month back order (which in the end it is good that it was canceled).

So I go to get my Azenis put on and I'm standing there watching the Mechanic and he takes off the rims and what do I see? All four of my struts are blown, completely covered in black thick discharge and one of them appears to be slightly warped. So basically I'm out an extra $600 plus the $400 from the tires. To top it off my front rim needs new lug nuts because the old ones are threaded and my alignment is completely off.

To make this thread less of a rant, I'll pose a question...

What could cause all four struts to blow on a car at 55k and only 3 autox races?

Also i've heard that struts should be replaced every 60k...is this true?

I guess this might explain why I was eating through my other tires.

EDIT: Some positivity...they are being replaced with KYB struts that have 90k/3 year warranty.

Update: Being replaced with KYB AGX adjustable struts

Learn to do as much of the work yourself as you can. hunt for good prices on parts. its worth it in the long run.

Ya I don't want to do it without any previous experience but the mechanic always lets customers watch while he does the work. And I'm not going to go with used struts or anything like that...I researched the struts, and they are the same price online as from him (in fact they are actually $10 more per strut online than at the mechanic). The work is being done at Siem's Auto Shop, i've had work done there before so I know he is reliable.

Hard to say why all four struts went out at once. Do you have any pictures of them?

I know when my strut went out on my car, it made a loud thumping noise...I was basically running on my bumpstops. No fluid leakage though.

I don't think they are completely gone yet, they are leaking though which if they leak down enough it would cause it to quit dampening the internals of them. I don't have any photos and my wheels are on now so I cant really get any good photos...but they are basically covered in a black oily/gritty substance coming from the top seal of the strut on all 4 of the struts. The front right one does squeak occasionally and both of the front do make a thud when I go over bumps. No real handling issues though, they still rebound fine...but they just started leaking a few days ago and from what fellow subie owners have told me it takes a month or so before they drain out enough to really affect handling.

Anyone have any clue what KYB AGX 8 Way Adjustable Struts will add to my points/classing? I'm at NXF +16 right now, any clue?

I'm guessing +3, but does the 8 way adjust-ability add points and they are inverted struts so would that add anything?

It will add 3 points to what you have if you have been running stock shocks.

Struts are blown and the car is out of alignment hum stock car with 55k? Has it been rallycrossed etc.. Sounds to me like its been abused a little more than just 3 AutoX's... My 02 GTI had 65k on it, struts were shot wheel bearings were going out, and the bushings were really weak. But that had just a few more AutoX's on it with Victoracers It probably had 40+ events on it.

Not a clue what the previous owner did to it, the stock struts were Monroes (not exactly known for reliability or longevity). Nonetheless I was at 55k and Subaru recommends replacement of the struts every 60k in the manual. I got them replaced with KYB AGX's today and even on soft settings they handle way better than the stock ones ever did, Highest stiffness i've tried is 4 out of 8 so far so I'm curious as too how stiff 8 will be cause on 4 I have almost no body movement, pretty much like I'm on rails. Even so it gave me an excuse to replace the struts lol

Good deal man. Sounds like they'll help keep the car more level so you can power through the turns even more!

Congrats, you will love those for autox. I have the same ones on my miata and they are great!