First suspension upgrades?

Post by **Sabre** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 2:29 pm

Ok, I've been thinking about doing some suspenion upgrades for awhile. I already have a front strut bar. Here is what I was thinking:
Rear Strut bar
F/R sway bars (recommendations?)
Steering ushings (recommendations?)

What do you all think of the above? Would Kartboy droplinks really do much for me? I presume they are just for tighening things up.
Thanks!

Post by **ElZorro** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:18 pm

One word: floccinauccinihilipilification.

Post by **Sabre** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:34 pm

elzorro wrote:One word: floccinauccinihilipilification.

Exqueeze me?

GVR4-308 · Post by **GVR4-308** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:42 pm

No entry found for floccinauccinihilipilification.

Did you mean floccinaucinihilipilification?

....

1 entry found for floccinaucinihilipilification.

Main Entry: floccinaucinihilipilification
Function: noun
Definition: an act or instance of judging something to be worthless or trivial
Etymology: the parts of the word each mean 'at nothing' or 'with a small price'

Yeah, so I'm bored.

Post by **ElZorro** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:46 pm

Well, floccinauccinihilipilification is how we Americans spell it, the Brits spell it floccinaucinihilipilification and the French spell it suckoursweatynutzyoulowlifegoodfornuttinamericans.

Post by **ElZorro** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:48 pm

Oh, btw, sorry for highjacking your thread. :shs:

Post by **Sabre** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:52 pm

elzorro wrote:Oh, btw, sorry for highjacking your thread. :shs:

:pokey: :numchucks: :rant:

GVR4-308 · Post by **GVR4-308** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 4:06 pm

drwrx · Post by **drwrx** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 4:11 pm

I have been following the SCC Project STi and they have had nothing but problems upgrading the suspensions of both the STi and EVO to get better handleing. The Praxxis set-up turned out to be a major pain in the ass, and in the end, there were almost no performance improvements over the stock set-up. They also tried a spring and shoch set-up for the EVO that didn't improve on the original (though I can't recall what it was). There does seem to be one piece in common with both that is really worth doing. Adding a bigger rear sway bar does tend to improve the performance overall. Both gained .03g on the skidpad from the larger rear swaybar, and they claim that lap times improved as well.

Clearly, an awesome set of coil-overs will improve handleing overall, but they have to be set-up right and dialed in perfectly or you may never get out of them what they are capable of. Think serious cost of money and time here.

I would also be a bit wary of just throwing on a set of lowering springs. You may gain in one area while sacrificeing in another.

Post by **complacent** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 8:14 pm

Strut bars make a slight difference, (I have both F and R) Springs CAN make a difference (depends on brand, rate, etc) and I would ONLY do a rear bar in an STi. The truth is most drivers prefer more neutral handling, or even slightly biased towards oversteer. Oversteer is a proven advantage particularly in autocross where rotation has a very high value. It's certainly more fun to drive that way. So to sum up, I would go with F&R strut bars, and a rear sway. You're gonna spend the money anyway, it's the path of the helpless modder... Stay away from the front sway unless you actually enjoy understeer. Blech.... Just my .02USD. YMMV...bla bla bla. Back to my vanilla kernel.

colin

Post by **Sabre** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:37 am

Thanks for the input guys

I think that a R SwB and R strut bar (already have the front) are the way to go. I really can't complain about my handling, but there always seems to be room for improvement

These will probably go on order after my EM comes in.

FT_SELGP · Post by **FT_SELGP** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:00 am

I would disagree with the rear-only anti-roll bar and rear strut bar.

The purpose is to increase the front grip first. The STi has tendency to snap-oversteer under power and body roll is too much. A front anti-roll bar actually helps in improving the front grip and bringing it to a more neutral handling state. However, with the stock suspension setup or simple spring upgrades, a front and rear anti-roll bar is even a better option.

I would stay away from the rear strut tower bar on a WRX-platform sedan.

Post by **Sabre** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 9:01 am

FT_SELGP wrote:I would disagree with the rear-only anti-roll bar and rear strut bar.
The purpose is to increase the front grip first. The STi has tendency to snap-oversteer under power and body roll is too much. A front anti-roll bar actually helps in improving the front grip and bringing it to a more neutral handling state. However, with the stock suspension setup or simple spring upgrades, a front and rear anti-roll bar is even a better option.

Interesting point of view. I've never had my rear come out (except when it's wet) but I have definitely felt the front give way a little.

FT_SELGP wrote:I would stay away from the rear strut tower bar on a WRX-platform sedan.

Why is this? I have the front and I presumed that the rear would help the stiffness back there.

What anti-roll bars do you all recommend? FT, could you give me an idea on $$?

FT_SELGP · Post by **FT_SELGP** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:54 pm

60% of weight being in the front, chassis stiffness is most vulnerable there. The rear does not flex much. With the rear strut bar, I personally and couple of other drivers felt that it makes the whole chassis more bumpy especially under hard breaking on irregular surfaces. Obviously, I am talking more from track experience than street driving, but it is also evident on the street.

I would highly recommend the Cobb or Hotchkis sport anti-roll bar kit, they are $350 a set, front and rear. Later you might want to think of Hotchkis adjustable end-links as well, which are roughly $140-150 range.

If you have not seen our test on front anti-roll bar few months ago, take a look as to why say it will help front grip

: http://www.selgp.com/sti_modifications.htm

Post by **Sabre** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 3:39 pm

FT_SELGP wrote:60% of weight being in the front, chassis stiffness is most vulnerable there. The rear does not flex much. With the rear strut bar, I personally and couple of other drivers felt that it makes the whole chassis more bumpy especially under hard breaking on irregular surfaces. Obviously, I am talking more from track experience than street driving, but it is also evident on the street.

I would highly recommend the Cobb or Hotchkis sport anti-roll bar kit, they are $350 a set, front and rear. Later you might want to think of Hotchkis adjustable end-links as well, which are roughly $140-150 range.

If you have not seen our test on front anti-roll bar few months ago, take a look as to why say it will help front grip : http://www.selgp.com/sti_modifications.htm

Thanks alot for the info. BTW, I love your testing methology, it appeals to the engineer in me

I'll hopefully be calling you in the next month or two to order these!

FT_SELGP · Post by **FT_SELGP** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 4:03 pm

My pleasure, call any time

Willy24 · Post by **Willy24** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 3:51 pm

I got the Cobb F/R Anti-Sway bars from FT and have been very happy with them. They did not cause any problems (rougher ride, etc...), and definitely helped limit the body roll on both the street and at Summit Point.