Yes, 2 of mine have ill-definded indexing. I've told Powerstation of this and that will get back to AST.
I should add that 'my' AST's are being used to develop the units as a Powerstation effort, hence all my changes.

Glad the 7/5 settings are to your liking; i tried harder still, but gave a negative effect IMO.

As to strut braces.
It is my thought that they do very little until you fit poly bushes in all the suspensin and then add them to complement the stiffer set-up.
The chassis is definitly harsher with poly bushes but i don't mind that at all.
My Sti v3 has no top front brace due to the big V8 TMIC, but it has a Whiteline lower front to tie the subframe to the shell better. I can feel no difference with or without the top front brace. Marketing bling IMHO with stock suspension.

Graham

 

If your refering to the stuff above the ALK, they are the spacers required to fit the ALK. The front impact circular beam has to be moved down to clear the deeper ALK.

Anders

 

Graham,

thanks for the setup tips, got to agree that 7f/5r is even better than 5/5, now feels very neutral and yet still easy to recover....as shown in this vid in very wet conditions!!(not as good as your effort - hey we all start somewhere!).

Cheers,

Mark



slippin&slidin.wmv

 

Hi Graham,

Was your 911 at PS today? If so, very nice - your AST's convinced John "I'm only coming along for the ride" to have the full T25 kit fitted to his Classic while he was waiting for us!



Rich.

 

No, my classic 911 is snoozing right next to my Sti at home (I hope) and hasn't run for 4 weeks.

The AST's are really nice and it is no wonder people are drawn-in to them.

We are mad!

Graham.

 

Full Type 25 kit is excellent!!!! It really is hard to describe how good it is, I have had it fitted on my Spec C and was the best thing I have done, recommend it to anyone



Just one small problem though it’s developed a knock on the front drivers side, every time I go over a bump, its grating on me now??



Any ideas???



Am back up to litchfields/powerstation for my service in Feb, don’t know if I can put up with it for that long though...

 

damm..... your right will kick him off and hope it stops

 

Mine are rock solid, no noises at all, anywhere.

Graham.

 

I have recently fitted the AST's and agree with everyones opinions here, they are excellent I got rather a good deal on mine, as PS had fitted them to a mates car that was being chopped in and so they were liberated FOC before anyone could notice I also have the Whiteline rear ARB & links. On friday I had my geometry set up by Stuart Tams, whom although is now partially retired and usually only sets up the geometry on Williams F1 new chassis' at the develpment stage, I managed to get him to set up my Scoob. I think he was qualified enough

I initially tried them at 7f5r as others have mentioned, but have softened them right down as all my miles at the mo' are commuting drudgery. I am going to Devon in a few weeks and that break is going to be my testing and develpment session to find my ideal set-up

Before fitting the AST's I had ARB set at the firmest, after trying the other 2 settings this was by far the best for my driving style. I have since left it on the firmest with the AST's. I was going to start playing about with the tyre pressures to get the sort of balance I like, but I will instead try to achieve this with the adjustment on the AST's. I like the car to be planted on the road with a turn in like it's on rails, but I also like the back end to break loose easilly if provoked, like a RWD car would do. I was wondering if having them set stiffer at the rear would achieve this, for example 5f7r At the moment when on the 7f5r setting the car is very balanced and gives no hint of either under nor oversteer, but I find it difficult to break the back loose and drift it around a corner, such is the grip level. I particularly enjoy steering with the throttle around tight hairpins, and this has got more difficult although my speeds and control through all other corners has greatly improved/increased.

Also, what settings would you consider for a trackday ? For instance, if I find that 7f5r is my ideal, would 9f7r be a good starting point on track or is it trial and error dependant on which track you're at ?

 

IMHO:
The adjustable **** only varies damping of the spring. If you stiffen it then the damping appears to add to the spring stiffness as sudden movements are highly damped and the spring will be arrested too much.
I feel there are settings to suit spring rates to 'critically damp' the spring, ie to dampen occillation asap yet allow progressive movement.
Fro a stiffer 'chassis' you need stiffer springs, critically damped

This was why i went from the normal 50/40 spring rate @ 7/5 clicks to
60/50 @ 11/7

Note the significantly higher damping in the front.

As some know, my Sti V3 is a road driven hill climb car with lots of mods as well as the AST's, and there is a high degree of personal 'comfort' in the settings for my style of attack on the track.

Interesting subject isn't it!

Graham

 

Does anyone know how you adjust the ride height? Is it anti or clockwise? Do they click and how much does this increase the ride height which I need to do as my tyres are rubbing.

 

anticlockwise to raise the ride height (looking down on the strut), they dont click, it's just a big nut on a screw thread. Use the supplied orange handled tool and hex key. (hex key to unlock the nut and the tool to turn the nut once unclamped)

Andy

 

Hi guys,

I've been finding in this ****e weather with all the salt and grime on the road that the car is loosing its grip especially on roundabouts when you turn in deep...

My AST's are currently on the 7f / 5r settings. (from soft)

Should I adjust them to make things less harsh ?

Any advice appreciated

 

Slow down.. ..The grit/salt is acting like marbles/ice, drive to the conditions and stay safe..

John

 

but throwing the car around on the grit laden roads is more fun

Andy

 

I probably will be shot for this, but still it's worth reading :

I had an AST suspenion on my Classic, and it was the worst thing I ever bought for my car. Read on....

AST is a Ducth company, I'm from Belgium and I had the set wayyyy before they started working together with Powerstation., so no things are related, and I'm certainly don't blaming anyone there !!!

I had several warranty cases about knocking, excessive play in the damper shafts...all solved without problem.
For driving, at least when they were working, they performed fine, but I sold the set just because I was tired to take them off for "fixing under warranty" problems....

 

Balanced feed-back is always a posative thing.

As you say, early units, and the crop of posative comments about AST's are those made quite recently by AST.

I would like to think that AST listened and learned from the early days, and that development since is benefitting those today (like me!) who have these excellent units.

As you say too, AST stood up for the re-working which bodes well for those buying today.

Graham.

 

What size ARBs do powerstation spec with the T25 kit?

 

22mm

 

Yes. On the one way AST's the 'click' is not always well defined.
3 of mine were great...CLICK... but the last one was light to sat the least.
Iain is right (of course).

Don't be afraid to experiment a click or 2 either way.

Have fun!
Graham

 

Seems like there is a small community of AST owners growing up here - maybe we should have a sticky for the various settings info.

One thing I have found with the three ways is that being able to set the high speed compression soft, but keeping the low speed firm, is a great help on bumpy or rutted tracks, like at Blyton a couple of weeks ago. Also the course at Elvington can have a few kerbs and bumps. It might all be in the mind of course, but if I see a less than nicely smooth tarmac track I wind the high speed setting down to soft.

Dave

 

That implies you are winding the high-speed bump up for smooth tracks then. I don't quite follow the logic behind that. What do you feel are the effects or benefits from incresing high-speed bump on the smooth stuff?

 

Hi Duncan,

I think its more a case of me winding back (softer) the high speed compression settings from the recommended smooth track settings, given by various guys here on SN. I find this really does help on rough tracks, as the car is more settled.

Your question is a good one, which I don't have the experience to answer as I have not tested with just high speed compression changes on smooth tracks. In theory if you have no bumps then high speed compression settings are not that relevant - but thats a guess. Others are far more qualified on this forum than me.

Dave

 

I have also recently taken the plunge and gone for the T25 AST set up, i got it in the group buy and agree the guys at powerstation were excellent. I have been stunned by how much quicker the car is, I recently improved the brakes with ferodo pads, Godspeed discs and braided hoses, but i now think the weak link (apart from the driver) is the brakes, i am just comming at things so much quicker.
I have not messed with the settings, i am on 5 front 4 rear as set by PS. I will have a play with the adjusters in the next few days.... and report back

I agree though, awsome set up, wish i had had it done long ago

Cheers Paul (v7 STI 328 bhp on PS rolling road)

 

Glad to hear your happy, try 7f 5r from soft, rear ARB on mid setting and tyre pressures 34f 32r, asuming your spring rates are 50f/40r..
All the above seem to be where most people end up, on saying that not every one is the same..
Also take a look at your ride hieght, from the edge of the wheel arch through the center of the rim to the ground, remember that the rim size and tyre aspect ratio will have a effect on this..
The learning has only just began..

John

 

I agree with the above. I have the Powerstation T25 handling pack and after some experimentation settled on 7 Front and 5 Back - fantastic handling and grip with really good ride quality

 

How do you compare the ride with standard uk classic suspension (MY2000) , is it firmer and you put up with it on bumpy B roads, or is it firmer with good damping so is on par with standard suspension?

I know that it is hard to have a comfortable and well handling car at the same time, just interested in your thoughts.

Esp if I would have to put car on soft setting it would mean buying kit a waste of money.

Car 100% road use, handling my priority.
Currently got alignment, anti lift kit , and up rated rear anti roll bar and drop links all from Powerstation.

 

worth mentioning that what settings to use will also depend on the car i.e. newage/classic etc - even if you have the same spring rates.

i've had mine on my 04 sti for 2 days and am very pleased i made the change. The car has a softer/more compliant ride whilst being miles better on cornering with absolutly no understeer

Thanks to Fuzz (andy) and gerry for doing the work. The knock in the offside front disappeared as soon as i left P/S and the whole set-up hasn't made a single noise since - i took a mate out for a spin today and he couldn't belive they were coilovers. He also commented on what an improvement they were over the o.e. kit

 

Phew.
Great bit of kit, glad you are enjoying them.
I will let jerry know you've said thanks.

Andy

 

cheers
on previous cars the changing from standard suspension did really spoil ride,even though handling was improved.
Even to the extent that some B roads had to be driven slower due to the less compliant ride and bumps.
Just planing my next visit to Powerstation!!
Very pleased with current set up anyway.!!

Your Sti was probably stiffer than my car from standard, so that could why you are well pleased.