I'm not sure what a standard MY98 WRX saloon setup is for the suspension but this is what I have got

Standard dampers with Eibach springs with 35mm drop.
Rear powerflex solid drop links.
Rear Whiteline haevy duty anti roll bar mounts and bushes.
Front Whiteline bushes.
Alloy bottom arms with solid links.
Front 22mm Anti roll bar by zerosports.
Rear 22mm Anti roll bar by zerosports.
Front upper Cusco strut brace.
Prodrive geometry by scoobyclinic

Now, what I am getting is a lot of understeer in the wet and fair bit in the dry. This isnt just when under power, its all the time

Is there anything in my setup that would promote these symptons?

 

I would've expected the rear ARB to be stiffer (i.e. thicker) than the front. Other than that the spec list looks fine on paper. What are you geometery settings?

Stefan

 

you will get understear if you dont have a stiffer rear roll bar than the front.

 

i would remove the front bar and run a standerd one mate

 

To be fair if the OE ARB's are the same thickness, then understeer sould be the same as before. It would be reduced if you kept the uprated one on the rear and OE on the front.

However, I'd get the bumpsteer mod done and keep the uprated ARB on the front. Bye bye understeer

 

Bumpsteer mod? Hmm? I thought that this was the lowering of the steering rack to stop the change of track when hitting bumps. Right, wrong?

How does it help understeer?

 

The fact that the fr/rr bars are the same diameter is not the point. The arm length on each is the critical bit here. The longer the 'arm' the more twist is loaded into the main 'straight' of the bar.
The Whiteline rear 22mm bar has 3 setting on the arms (3 drop link bolt holes).
After endless juggling on hill climbs in competition i find the middle hole just about right FOR MY SET-UP which is a bit extreme (it is a 3000 miles/yr road car too)

I'm not too sure, but arn't the Prodrive settings a bit of a safety/road/tyre wear compromise? I think people are now going a bit more radical, Power Station are on the Type 25?
For advice go to www.whiteline.com.au and chase their threads.

911

 

911, its a zerosports ARB, not sure if that is adjustable, but what I was getting at was if all things were equal bar the thickness.

Bumpsteer - you are correct in what you say, and what happens when the car dives under braking (or goes over a bump) is that the front wheels toe out as the suspension compresses.

So if you imagine the car going round a corner loading up on the outer suspension, the wheel thats trying to point round the bend is getting pushed straight ahead as the suspesion compresses on the outer side, hence understeer.

 

Jay, I've been through all this on my hill climb Sti v3 used in serious competition.
The wat I finally killed understeer and got the chassis to be 'right' was to follow Whitelines spec, and a bit further.
WL anti roll bars @ 22mm Fr and Rr (rear on mid setting)
AVO coil overs with 300 lb fr and 250 rr + 30 mm lower
MRT top mounts
Camber bolts
WL rear ower track bars
Full Powerflex bushes
Whiteline Radical set-up geometry
17'' P1 wheels and Kumho tyres.

A lot done, but what a fab cornering car!

911

 

What wheels and what tyres are you running? Are the tyres the same front/rear?

Whilst bumpsteer might be useful, I think that anyone whose driven an Impreza for more than a couple of hours will probably drive around the roll understeer problem. Though it's a pain or worse if you suddenly have to wind off lock.

J.

 

Not my field of expertise, but is'nt it just a case of re-setting the alignment and adjusting the camber.

 

I have std anti roll bars front and rear, eibach springs, std dampers and geometry setup by power engineering, no understeer but not very good tyre wear, i think the geometry is the deciding factor, if its the prodrive settings then it will be "nice and safe" and not much tyre wear

andy

 

Missed the "Prodrive geometry by scoobyclinic" part of the first post.

Personally, I didn't like these settings. Preferred much more camber.

The ARB's do make a big difference to handling, but not on their own. You don't have to fit these to complete irradicate understeer, but cornering speed and grip through is so much better with them IMHO.

Stefan

 

I know I'm going to get shot for this, but can I put crappy flexible droplinks on the front to see if this helps the situation?. Its a WRX with the alloy bottom arms so I'm not sure if you can do this.

Interesting points about the geometry. May give it a chance with the above and then see about getting a better setup.

Thanks again people, very helpful.

 

Not sure the droplinks would make that much of a difference. You'd be better sticking the OE ARB on the front to see what it feels like.

Your rear ARB isn't adjustable is it?

Stefan

 

You can't get plastic front droplinks for ally front wishboned imprezas, not OE anyway.

 

Try what Ozzy says and report back!
911

 

I have a very similar setup on my car but without the front anti roll bar! Slight understeer in the wet but nothing to worry about. I would be tempted to try the standard front antiroll bar to see if that makes a difference!

If you have an adjustable rear ARB stiffen it and see if that helps.

 

Ok, going to try the oe bar on the front to see whats happening with the understeer. Will let you know.

 

It's worth looking at your geometry settings again. I prefer zero toe-in front and loads of camber

I still get power-on understeer, but only 4 wheel drifts on bends if I push too hard. Can introduce some nice oversteer if I'm very aggressive with the steering.

Stefan

 

its the front ARB!!!!

 

Ive just fitted a Whiteline 2mm adj rear anti roll bar and rear Whiteline drop links to our MY93 Type RA. Ive got a front bar on order but after reading this thread Ill see what its like as it is. The front drop links wouldnt fit, the bottom hole was too small. Are the Type RA drop links different from other Imprezas?

 

Dont you find the 2mm one a bit soft

 

You know what I mean