Struts: Stock vs. GR-2 vs. AGX

Mark

Mark

Active member
Can I get a quick run down from someone in the know.

I've decided against running a crappy set of coilovers. I want a decent ride that I know will work well and last awhile. I want KYB's no question. My question is are the AGX's worth the extra $50 per strut ($200 difference in total) vs the GR-2's? Are the GR-2's just stock quality/ride or are they also more performance oriented. I don't mind spending the difference, just want to know that it will be worth it. Also if anyone could lend me a hand in picking out the best springs that would help. I'd assume new top hats would also help since they are orig and have 150k miles on them. Is there another car I can pull the top hats from that might work well?

 
The Gr-2's in my opion are a balance betwenn oem and the AGX,not as tunable,but a very solid ride, I have the Gr-2's on my Obs and they are nice,not super sporty or anything but nice. I've been running the AGX's on my RS since I bought it,and it's hard to tell if it's totally theAgx's or a combination of the springs(ProDrive) and strut braces and the rs itself but at first it was great,handled like it was on rails,ya know. but not once did I ever adjust the stiffness on them and now they're worn right out. I weighed the pros and cons of both,and decided that from my experience with each model that for waht i want to do and what I was looking to spend extra for the AGX's, that it wasn't worth it,I just got a set of NIB GR-2's shipped to my door for $245,and the AGX's would have been right around $500,so that made it pretty easy for me. They are both quality units and I think you'll be happy either way,but I figured i'd share my experiences with you since no one else has to this point. Good luck

 
figured we pretty much have the same car,so i'd offer my .02, also ebay is where i found those gr-2's

 
amazon they have em for 62 bucks.

i think those will be them. where'd you find the prodrive springs?

 
amazon they have em for 62 bucks.
i think those will be them. where'd you find the prodrive springs?
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I had Prodrive springs and AGXes on my dear departed 00 RS--a car that did tons of backroads bombing, many recce runs, and won a bunch of rallyxes. It was a super combination, sporty when it needed to be and totally DDable when dialed to soft. Put 50k on the setup and it drove as well the day I sold the car as the day they got bolted on. Have not heard or seen anything re AGXes wearing faster than GR-2s except for the post above. Either choice is OEM quallity equipment.

That said, Team O'Neil runs GR-2s/OBS springs on their school Imprezas, which drive great and get the crap beat out of them all day every day. the GR-2s and AGXes share identical hardware -- strut rods, strut bodies, knuckle ears etc -- except for the AGX adjustability. OBS springs give an RS an extra half to 3/4 inch ride height and xtra wheel travel, and you all know how I'm a broken record about wheel travel bein whazz izz what all about for a Suby on rough roads.

If you are thinking of AXing or RXing this car, go for the AGXes--their added damping will make a beeg diffrence. If it's mainly going to be a street car, GR-2s will be fine. Just don't lower the car too much, OK?

 
street car with part time auto x. i think i'll go with the GR-2's. i dont have the know how to make the adj struts worth the while. i know this and have accepted it. perhaps in the future

 
i dont have the know how to make the adj struts worth the while.
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huh? don't give up/give in so easy for a measly $250.

for autox, just set AGX fronts to 3 (out of 4), set the rears to full stiff (8) to help rotate the car in the slow tight bits

for DD, all to full soft

for RallyX, set fronts at 2, rears to full hard (8) and the RS turns like a bastid soon as you give a half turn of steering and dab brakes at same time

not Rockit Science....It's Easy!

 
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LMK if you want some help changing them
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I really like the GR-2s I've put on all my scoobies. They last longer, for me, than AGXs. And the GR-2s are are like stage 2 compared to stock struts. Big noticeable difference.

 
I have run both and now I will only buy Grp 2's.

I had AGX on my RS with 225lbs springs up front and 200lbs springs in the rear. I had the rear AGX's set to 4 out of 8 for daily driving and both struts blew in 7 months. I only did one rally x on those struts too! I replaced them with Grp 2's and those have held up well for 14 months.

I do nt auto cross but for rally-x and DD the grp 2's are where its at and cheap as hell to replace when the time comes.

 
anyone consider AGX in the rear and GR2 in the front? would save a couple hundo and it would seem like a similar outcome. stiffer rear for tail happy fun with more of a neutral front but still a performance oriented setup.

 
HAHAH GR2s ARE STOCK!!!!! (just a little heads up) (stock for a WRX that is)

and i got all 4 on nick's car for 250 shipped off e-gay. you can get AGXs for 350 shipped. (for all 4)

 
mark you can get much the same tail happiness with a larger rear sway bar. find a stock WRX sedan bar, it's a great and affordable upgrade to a GC...but get ready to countersteer quick, or else it's spin time =P

I think that much of the unhappiness ppl have with short service life from AGXes is due to sticking overly stiff springs on em, they'll handle 25 or 30% stiffer than stock, but not 50% stiffer. if you want to go with >250# springs, you'll want more damping than AGX or GR-2s can provide.

 
I changed my stock shocks before last years AX season to the GR-2's. After about three events I was wishing I had shelled out the extra scratch for the AGX's. Definitly would have been nice to be able to tune my car a little bit more, and I defintly can't afford do buy new ones this year (as well as the fact that I should just go right to coil-overs).

I would say that if you know you aren't ever going to be adjusting your shocks, go with the GR-2's and spend the savings on something else like a RSB. But if you think it's a possibility that you might want the adjustablity, AGX.

You would have to ask him, but I think EvilAsPie is running AGX's with stiffer springs in his AX GC. Hopefully he can chime in.

 
AGX's are about 450-500 shipped. GR-2's are 250-300 shipped. Thus the dilemna. I don't mind spending extra money, but only if they are worth it. i plan on putting a quality set of springs on, i just haven't researched them enough to know the best set to go with.

 
answer probly depends on how competitive you are and how competitive you want to be.

if you want a fun street car with a little AX on the side = GR-2s

if you want to focus more on the competitive side = AGXes

either way, make sure to budget in the $$ for new strut tops AND the replacement shock booties and bump stops (bump stops almost always blown on used struts). leaving these bits out saves some $$ but gives a half-arsed job.

 
i have my final decision. i'm getting GR-2's. the primary reason, as nigel pointed out...i need new top hats, bump stops, etc so i might as well get that whole package and save a little scratch. GR-2's, good springs, F/R sways and endlinks and revamped stock everything else around it should be a nice tight little suspension package.

 
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