Handling Mods

[Megaman]

Hiya,

Could I have some ideas and advice about mods to improve the cars handling. At the moment I have been told that anti roll bars or strut braces will help to stop the car understeer. Do you need both front and back for this and is there a certain way you need to set these up to get these handling charachteristics. I find at the moment that the car does understeer quite a lot so would like to try and change this.

Secondly im going to eventually have to get coilover suspension to replace the default struts that keep keeling over due to design fault from what i can see. Is there much difference between all of the options out there for coilovers or do they all mainly do the same job?

Ive found some TEIN coil overs which have adjustability inside the car which sounds good. Although this seems to be one of the only companies to offer such functionality so dont know if this is a cheap gimic or if it will work. Details are:

Tein Suspension

Tein EDFC (Electronic Damping Force Controller) makes it possible for the driver to control the damping force at the touch of a button while in the drivers seat. This is accomplished by controlling stepping motors installed on each shock absorber. Because the damping force can be controlled with such ease, the driver can adjust the suspension to suit all road/track conditions. Thus allowing the driver to fully enjoy the driving experience.

£280.00 + VAT (£329.00)

Tein Suspension

Tein Type FLEX damper kit was designed to provide driving comfort and sports performance with its full-length adjustment system. We have incorporated separate height and preload adjustments, which allows you to have various set-ups to meet different road conditions. The FLEX damper kit includes pillowball uppermounts and is compatible with EDFC, for maximum performance for the street. This kit will fit all 4 and 5 door models.

£1050.00 + VAT (£1233.75)

Finally as mentioned with the anti roll bars, its okay buying the adjustable kit but it is more important to have the kit setup properly. I dont want to compromise the superb handling charachteristics of the subaru by installing the anti roll bar and the coil over suspension so it is important that the car is setup properly. I expect with coil overs you can adjust how hard the suspension is along with ride height etc. Anyone any advice on this to keep the car handling well?

Lastly the other coil over systems seem to be manual i.e. you need to get out, take the wheel off, get a toolkit out and tweak the settings then repeat for 3 other wheels. In reality i take it that you just set it and forget it once you have got them installed?

Thanks

Mega

[WR1 Bro]

Interestingly enough, on this site the people with the most luxurious suspension set-ups are two of the people who probably drive more sensibly most of the time.

My handling mods have been a living project to date:-

Stage:-
1) Front & Rear STi strutbrace
2) Whiteline front and rear roll bars, ALK and braided hoses
3) Whiteline front and rear drop links and rear rollbar mounts
4) AP front and rear brakes

Next stage Exe TC suspension.

I'm very happy with the firmness of the strutbraces and ARBs. However, it isn't a daily drive. Having said that I would keep the car the same for a daily drive as it feels more focused and driver feedback is much improved.

When I get into a standard WRX it is a shock how civilised it is in comparison.

[Megaman]

Okay would changing from the default spring setup to coil overs make daily commutes unbareable then if setup correctly as coil overs are what all the garages seem to suggest to get round the failing rear struts.

As for the other bits you lost me a bit there, I thought a strut brace and anti roll bar were more or less the same thing. If there is an easy way to reduce understeer that doesnt cost the earth and make the car a nightmare on long daily drives then i am happy to try it.

Thanks for the feedback

Mega

[WR1 Bro]

I think with coilovers you pay for what you get. I've heard mixed opinions on Tein... From too crashy to fantastic. I guess this is very personal.

Strut brace - bar that joins TOP of struts.
Roll bars - these fit underneath the car.

That is the limit of my technical knowledge.

Without a doubt the anti lift kit and front and rear arbs do reduce the understeer. Down side, they can gove the odd banging noise at low speeds. I went for Whiteline and have been very happy with it. Some people go for Perrin but I can't really comment as I've not drive a car with the Perrin kit.

[WR1 Bro]

forum/viewtopic.php?p=131401#131401

[Megaman]

Thanks mate, thats cleared things up a bit. It must just be the strut braces ive seen then that claim to help stop understeer. Having these alone without the underneath mounted ARB's would this reduce understeer at all?

[WR1 Bro]

Thanks mate, thats cleared things up a bit. It must just be the strut braces ive seen then that claim to help stop understeer. Having these alone without the underneath mounted ARB's would this reduce understeer at all?

I had these strutbraces fitted prior to the uprated ARBs. It certainly made a "small" difference but the biggest improvement cam from the ALK and ARB's.

[marky mark]

The easiest and cheapest way to reduce understeer is a rear uprated ARB and drop links. cost about £130

A whiteline ARB on the stiffest setting is disconcertingly tail happy. Bro's car drives nicely and he has all the front whiteline stuff as well, but if your main concern is reducing understeer for minimum outlay then tightening up the rear is the way to do it.

Avoid Tein coilovers (i had type flex with EDFC). They feel great on billiard table roads but are awful on anything else. Noisy, bone jarringly harsh, and downright dangerous on the country B roads.

[Megaman]

thanks for the warning mark, do you recommend any alternative coil overs or would you recommend some none standard shocks that stop the rear ones going and banging away.

If im changing shocks to stop this recurring banging issue then i want to make sure what ever i get is going to last. handling wise im happy with the car as it is so dont want whatever i get to make it any "worse"...

[WR 1mposter]

I've got the exe-tc coilover fantastic bit of kit, fitted by exe-tc at there workshop, 1st class service and will even gave it a checkover FOC when I was passing.

Also whiteline f/r arb's, alk, the finish leaves a lot to be desired after a few months they do rust fairly badly, also have f/r sti strut braces.

[marky mark]

For a road car on UK roads, All the jap coilovers are very harsh. If you have to change them (the standard ones are very good all rounders) then bite the bullet and go for Exe-tc or possibly AST's. Both are pretty compliant.

[Megaman]

(the standard ones are very good all rounders)

I thought everyone on here is saying the standard shocks/struts break sometimes twice a year on the WR1...

Will alternative standard shocks fix this or do you have to go the coil over route?

[marky mark]

They don't break!

They knock a bit thats all.

When you say alternaqtive standard shocks, do you mean conventional alternatives to the standard shocks (i.e not coil over type)? I'm not sure of any decent ones to be fair.

[Megaman]

Hiya,

>They don't break!

Mine seem to have broken. When ever I stop the car it slumps backwards, kind of sinks. The knocking is annoying but I can live with it. It must be having an effect on handling if it keeps just dropping randomly like that.

>they knock a bit thats all.

Yer I dont mind that - its annoying but if it still worked id be happy with it.

>When you say alternaqtive standard shocks, do you mean conventional alternatives to the standard shocks (i.e not coil over type)? I'm not sure of any decent ones to be fair.

Yes thats what I mean, any that dont seem to start knocking and start slumping after a period of time. Anyone any idea what is actually happening, im interested to find out why they suddenly start knocking like they do after a period of time.

[WR 1mposter]

There are no answer as to why when or who !

Seen sommit on scoobney stating that it was desidgn fault with the rear left hand side of the car or sommit .....a while back and have slept !


Stop dithering and fit some coilovers
and while your at it arb's alk also