i've decided that to make my car quicker I need to sort out the handling, so it has new eibach coilovers on which are Street pro ones and these make the ride quite compliant and do not make the car bounce.

Now, I know scoobies are prone to understeer but mine is pretty bad, it a Version 6 RA limited, on tight bends or roundabouts, it just keeps on pushing wide, tyres are in very good condition and it's not a grip problem. I swear I could corner faster in my DC5 and that was FWD. On less tight corners it's a dream and I can cary a lot of speed (more than my DC5), so how do I minimalise this constant brushing wide.

 

wheel alignment check would be a good start

 

Where is your dccd set?
Does it push (understeer) in the fully Open position (green on dash)
Get the car to a good alignment shop such as Powerstation.

 

It has had the alingment done by API when the suspension was fitted. The DCCD is set to lowest green light position which I beleive is more power to the rear wheels, my thoughts are if I put more power to the front then this will cause more understeer. I may play around with the settings.

 

thicker rear anti roll bar if you havnt already done it, if you have then you are probably going into corners to quickly, all cars have their limits

 

I don't understand how a thick 'rear' ant roll bar will cut out understeer, please can you go into more detail.

 

if im truthfully honest, i dont know the full and concise explanation behind it, but it was some information that was given to me via a thread on here when i was having similar problems and i tried it and found that it works, which is why i suggested it.

im sure someone slightly more technical will be able to give you a better explanation

 

More power to the rear pushes the nose out, you need to move the dial up slightly, have a play, preferably on a nice open airfield but I found that all the way back gave you BIG understeer, up a couple of notches and it becomes less so

Tony

 

I drove the car after we fitted the coil overs and set it up and it was a good as a scoob can be, at that level. Careful!, because throwing all sorts of trick bits at it, can be expensive and ultimately fruitless.

Bring it back and let me have ride up a road that l use and l'll soon tell you what may or may not be wrong.

I suspect that you are trying to drive it like the DC5 and it won't do that.

Subaru have way of getting round corners that is different to most other cars and it is just necessary to get used to it and then push it the way it wants to be pushed.

David APi

 

That's interesting, could you explain a bit more

 

Yes, it would be nice to hear a little more. Car dynamics is a black area to me. rwd = oversteer, fwd = understeer afaik. Keeping the diff fully open should be the best method of getting rid of the understeer from that logic, however I have heard other people say what was suggested above.

Also this may sound strange softer suspension often develops more grip. I think it allows more weight to be transferred to the tyre that needs it. No matter, a stiffer rear roll bar reduces rear grip, thereby helping the rear end to slip and reduce understeer. Alternatively a softer front roll bar can be fitted to help reduce the understeer.

Of course this all falls firmly into the black area that I have no clue about

 

Hi David:

Thanks, I've been meaning to come down for a while but been busy, no excuses now as I would like your opinion, as I said on fast A roads it's a treat to drive, it's just struggeling on the tighter bends. It could be my driving style needs adjusting, it's been 3 years since I have driven 4wd so some lessons may be in order I'll see you soon.

Tony, thanks for the info, I will dial it up a single notch to see if it makes a difference. Thanks to all for their advice

 

It's a fact that no matter what you do to an Impreza, it will never turn in like an Evo.

Tyres certainly help, An Impreza on Proxes 888's is a far better turning in, roadholding, car than any other Impreza.

Tracking and camber adjustment help lots and a bit of fiddling with roll bar stiffness is also a good idea. BUT, you can get lulled into buying every trick piece and spend thousands on adjustable struts and springs and poly bushes etc., when somewhere in the middle of all that, is where you would be happy with the car.

Most customers here are happy with a camber set up, a tracking set up, stiff drop links and perhaps a set of lowering springs. That gets it going how the customer wants and hasn't broken the bank.

David APi

 

I run an MY98 WRX with standard shockers and eibach springs coupled with 22mm front and rear antiroll bars.

I always found that when cornering that the car would understeer when cruising through a corner but would turn tighter with a little more power applied.

Also, I tried a standard WRX anti-roll bar (14mm?) and found the front a bit better for cornering grip but not as nice if this makes sense.

Another test to do is what I do to get a comparison. I have a Vectra SRI (old style R plate) and use the same road on the same day to find out the grip levels. Its amazing just how tight the front end on the Scoob is after driving the Vectra!

Wayne.

 

Have a look in the projects section "Searching for the perfect chassis".

J.

 

But you will need a lot of coffee to get through it all.
The Author

 

I would agree with David, Subaru's especially (but 4WD in General displaying my blue as opposed to black oval heritage) need driving in the right way to corner well, also the extra torque from a turbo engine can often lead peope to think its responding less well under power when in reality there is a lot more torque being deployed to upset the handling!

Having said that I don't know how the beef hook fely he had more front end grip with a softer (well that's what he implies) rear ARB as that is contrary to all logic as well as contrary to classical suspension theory!

One option is shiite rear tyres, I can almost oversteer at will at the moment, but thats a temporary measure!

Simon

 

I am sure the tyre choice has a very marked influence and the geometry need to compliment the tyre is equally important.

 

Simon, my fault mate. It was the front antiroll bar I changed! Not the rear.

Wayne.

 

As above, my "feeling" is that the rear sits flatter, causing the front to feel more "pointy" instead of rolling around.... R888's didn't make as big a difference as the rear ARB has since Monday night.

Dunx

 

Using a stiffer rear bar works because it forces the load on the rear tyres to be more uneven when normally the car would roll more to adjust the force on each tyre. Having a bigger load on one rear tyre and less load on the other has the overall effect that there is less actual grip, so the rear is 'looser' with a thicker bar. This is experienced as oversteer.

 

I would agree but I have pictures of mine on three wheels on circuit whilst over-steering (badly), and the NEW stiffer rear bar must help keep the car on the ground and thus give more grip....

We will see at Blyton in two weeks time....

Dunx