Have an Sti v3 and was wondering if it's better to do suspension mods before engine? As the car is quick as standard was wanting to make it handle better, Have tein springs already so was thinking of Whiteline rear ARB, rear wire drop links and Anti lift kit then geometry set up. Has anyone done this and felt a difference? Also do i need front drop links or is the STI ones ok? Cheers

http://bbs.scoobynet.com/suspension-12/658902-anti-lift-kit.html



speak to 911 as he has seen it, done it ,got the Tshirt:)

Always suspension, brakes and tyres before engine.

If you want to drive 100 miles and beat the next guy get the suspension done first and foremost.

The car will be faster, have easy handling (control) and done properly, you can use every bhp from the great engine that is the V3.

When you come (quickly) to the tricky bend, the car will brake true, carry speed through and come out safe, sound and on the right side of the road.

The other guy telling you at the start he has 500 gazillion bhp at 4.8 bar at 2000 rpm and gets 48 mpg will be so far behind or in the hedge you will be planning the next bend looming ahead with confidence.

Hillclimbing is just a country road (B road) where you know nothing is coming the other way. You must have a precise sure footed car.

I did the chassis in 3 bites and added a nice simple engine (370 x 350) and always used good tyres. It was 3 bites because the Rules kept on changing!

It is a fast balanced car that simply needs a good driver...:norty:

Just look how fast Rob is in the Sti RA V3. Complementary parts that work.

Before you leap into the chassis, think a bit about what you want of the car.

Faster/better road spec?
Road / Track?
Track?

There are your 3 bites.

:D

In the rain!
DropShots.com (http://www.dropshots.com/911#date/2003-01-09/05:36:04)

In the dry, so much fun this run was, my fav video of 2007, class win and record.
DropShots.com (http://www.dropshots.com/911#date/2003-01-10/18:22:20)

I'm really looking for a nice driving experience for the road? Cant see myself ever using a track or strip (look after it and scared lol). Just enjoy the odd drive home on the night shift:norty: . Plus the safety aspects must come with better handling?

mine handles awesome on the a/b roads with kyb agx dampers, prodrive settings with std 95wrx springs. Lovely and complient just what ya need no bouncing around on rock hard suspension.
Just goin to get the bushes done next.

172 does have a very good point there, for a nice road car with an edge, the stock suspension, esp on a B road takes a lot of beating, but i would use the uprated Sti system, possibly level with 172's set-up.

I loved my stock Sti V3 suspension; it was just so good as the 'all-rounder', and I kept it when I went Coil-overs for the track. 20K jap road miles and not a spot of rust on anything!

It would be a very interesting exercise to simply change my AST's to stock Sti with all the other bits/setting left in place.

In your situation: 22mm rear/ALK and a good alignment will make the night-shift drive home a buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ! :D

I am going down exactly this route, I have always believed a car that handles precisely will be faster overall than a car with masses of bhp - no point with all that power if you cant control it?

I have gone for a track focus as that is my eventual plan (I want to hit about 3 to 4 tracks in preperation for my end of year run at the Nurburgring).

I have the following waiting to go on:

Coilovers - set the dampers to softest and changed to softer springs
Prodrive Pillow Ball Top Mounts with +1/-1 degree setting
Cusco Under brace - tightens up the front of the car
Rear Strut Brace - Not a requirement but I prefer the rear of the car to break loose a little and this should help keep the rear nice and flat (already got the stock STi front strutbrace)
Uprated Front and Rear Bushes - x2 front & rear for the ARB's

The above should sort the handling out. Next on the plan is to get whiteline front and rear anti-roll bars, droplinks and hopefully if the budget stretches to it, completely replacing all the bushes for Powerflex items and of course some proper geometry setup for fast road and track usage.

Only after the above is done will I start considering upgrading the power plant.

I have a question mark against tyres at the moment, currently running Bridgestone RE70's on 17" alloys with 40 profile. They are amazing in the dry weather but a little harsh on ride comfort but they are scary in the wet so I need to find tyres that work well in the crap conditions we see most of the year. For the track I am looking at some Toyo R888's for some some semi-slick fun.

Forgot to add, wheel size is something you want to consider. I am sticking to the 17" alloys that came with the car (OZ Tourismo's) as it was obviously setup for these.

I've heard changing to 18" can mess up the geometry so you would have to consider getting the alignment done again as well as lower profile tyres (35 maybe?) and lowering the ride height.

I am going to lower my car but not by a great deal, just enough to tuck the wheels up to the arches but without ruining the geometry.

172 does have a very good point there, for a nice road car with an edge, the stock suspension, esp on a B road takes a lot of beating, but i would use the uprated Sti system, possibly level with 172's set-up.

I loved my stock Sti V3 suspension; it was just so good as the 'all-rounder', and I kept it when I went Coil-overs for the track. 20K jap road miles and not a spot of rust on anything!

It would be a very interesting exercise to simply change my AST's to stock Sti with all the other bits/setting left in place.

In your situation: 22mm rear/ALK and a good alignment will make the night-shift drive home a buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ! :D

When i had the 172 clio little would live with me on a/b roads the std setup was perfect, but what is amazing is how many owners insisted on fitting cheap badly matched coilovers and lowered them to there bumpstops!!!!
They would never hear anything bad said against there ££££ purchase though lol.

Whiteline gear it is first then! Do i need to bother with front drop links? As i've heard the STI one's are steel anyway?

The steel stock Sti front links are fine, just look a bit naf.
I've raced on mine for years, now have free moving Whiteline links.

Ass the advert says:

Power is worthless without control.

Cool mate, thanks guys. Going to start looking tomorrow for the parts:) . Forgot to ask would a rear strut brace help?

In a Wagon yes. In a saloon? not at all sure.

Might add stiffness, will add weight.

IMHO the only brace that works well is a lower front as there are no parts that can pivot or hinge as there are on all the other braces.

Best braces I've seen are on the EVO's...

Would replacing the standard bushes for the stiffer poly bush or powerflex ones be a good place to start?

I have removed all the rubber from the chassis in my car years ago, and all is well, drives/sounds fine.

I would in the front replace the lower wishbone front mounts and the ALK if fitted does the rear mounts. The geometry will then be as tight as is practical with a road car.

I have removed all the rubber from the chassis in my car years ago, and all is well, drives/sounds fine.

I would in the front replace the lower wishbone front mounts and the ALK if fitted does the rear mounts. The geometry will then be as tight as is practical with a road car.
Hi Graham,
what do you think about this suspension setup: standard sti v6 springs, sti v6 sti genome dampers, gr.n geometry, front/rear strut braces; it's a wagon.
i'm planning fitting 22mm front ARB/ 24mm adjustable rear ARB.:D
cheers

Daniel

If you can add the Whiteline ALK, and maybe some camber bolts to each corner incase the alignment cant be optimised. Not sure what Group N geometry actually is numerically. (?)