It as then we noticed this issue. You cannot remove the differential oil drain plug without interference from the Mangus subframe.
So we cut out the offending area and used a piece of chromoly tubing to make a nice filler section. now the drain plug can be accessed without removing the subframe and diff from the car.
Next we installed a set of Spoon Sports rigid collars in between the subframe and the chassis. The rigid collars fill the gaps between the subframe holes, the chassis holes and the bolts to absolutely not allow any movement between the subframe and the body. Believe it or not, you can actually feel the difference when you do this.
Here is how the rigid collars fit on the subframe. You can see how the flange absolutely locks the subframe into the chassis of the car.
The subframe is lifted into place on the car.
You can see some of the Spoon Sports rigid collars in place here.
4 comments
Are rigid collars worthwhile on something like a GC Impreza that has a rubber bushing where the rear subframe mounts to the body? Relatedly, is there any disadvantage to a permanent installation of any of the various “lock-down” shoulder bolts in the same application?
No they work great, I use the Whiteline locks myself.
as a GC owner who also has the Whiteline lockdown bolts, I’m also very intrigued by the improvements made by these Spoon Rigid collars and their replicas.
Not to mention the improved fatigue life of steel. If you have any kind of off-road excursion those aluminum parts fail catastrophically. I have seen aluminum front spindles sheered in two.