Hi all,

Now I'm able to give my Spec D a few more beans as the engine loosens up, I've been finding the ride and handling is a bit .

When pushing through long sweeping bends at speed, the car seems to "corkscrew" and the back end feels like it's bucking around. It also feels like the car is ready to go at any time. I'm not at all confident in it yet. Maybe I need to go on the Prodrive driving day so I can find the STi limits safely?

Maybe it's becasue I'm just not used to it yet, but sometimes I think my old MY03 WRX was more predictable in corners and gave a better ride. As for the ride "comfort" in the STi, well that's best left unsaid. I nearly bit my tongue the other day going over a pothole..lol!!!

So where do I go first. I'm trying to do as much research as I can, I'm leaning more towards comfort and predictability as opposed to stiffness and outright grip...

Tyres: Standard RE070's.
Suspension: Factory standard all round.
Geometry: All untouched.

Help me out here guys....

 

Hi Mate,

Have you had the car from brand new?

Sounds wierd that you have this issue with the handling, although I have heard of some Subaru's coming out of the factory with crap geometry settings.

Would advise you go to Powerstation and have a fast road set up done. I did and it makes the car feel more stable and grippy.

As far as comfort is concerned, STI's were never made for comfort, very stiff and hard ride.

But I would never want to compromise the handling for comfort.

 

Yep,
Had it from new. First brand new car I've ever had...lol!!

I think the geometry settings may help as you've suggested, but out of the box, I'm not really happy with it now that I can press on and explore.

Naturally, there is some trade off between handling and comfort, but you have to be comfortable with the handling too..!!

Seriously though, my mind was first pointing the finger at the stiff sidewalled RE070's, then at the suspension, then the geometry. Now I'm wondering if it's me , maybe I'm too old and should have gone for the 335d

 

Hi mate, you are experiencing exactly what I am. Went from an 04 WRX to 06 STi, and as you say, it doesnt feel that stable (although I suppose compared to other cars we are pressing on a bit), it snatches and tramlines all over the place aswell. Apparantly the tyres do play a big part, but I am assured that simply getting the geometry sorted is a big improvement. Personally I am about to get prodrive springs and get the geometry done in the hope that all is well and then change the wheels/tryres when they are more worn.

 

Keep us updated Lucky.....

 

4 Wheel Geometry, at the likes of powerstation etc will improve no-end.

Depends if you're wanting to mod it to improve it; if so, there's whiteline goodies - ARB, ALK, PD Springs which for a half a grand will make a vast improvement.

Tramlining was awful when standard. Changing wheels & tyres changed that. Can easily drive one handed now, without fear of ending in the hedge.

 

Cheers for that gaz.

Its ridiculous really that you pay £2**** for a car that needs sorting to make it handle properly. Something subaru should be addressing and offering free geometry checks and adjustment. Any other car that pulled around and generally didnt handle properly, whilst also causing uneven tyre wear, would go straight back to the dealer to get sorted, but apparantly with these its just a 'characteristic'.

I'll keep you posted on the prodrive bits.

 

Have seen a few peeps on here with Newage Sti's talk of a big improvement moving to Prodrive springs (which are also fine for the warranty).

On my WRX the Prodrive springs stiffened the car a bit and made it far more stable. Apparently on the STi they actually make the ride more comfy, yet at the same time improving handling (there is a God ! ).

Oh, and the Whiteline ARB as per Gaz.

Just help thinking that most Imprezas are just the basis for a good car !!

Andy Mc

 

This sounds interesting. On another post Mike Wood mentioned the need to ensure the Prodrive springs are specific to the 06-07 cars as they have less suspension travel than the older shape cars.

Anyone else out there in Scoobynetland fitted the Prodrive springs to their 06-07 STi care to pass comment..?

 

When I was asking about various options, I was advised (not by Mike Wood to be fair) the Pro-drive spings lowered the car and therefore made the ride quality worse although since then Mike offered some advice and said that it was important for the bump stops to be changed at the same time as the prodrive springs as the original suspension relies on the bump stops to control ride height.

 

I had the same issues on my MY05 STi from new (which pretty much matches the 06/07 setup).

Get the geometry sorted (its almost definately going to be out) and you will find it easier to predict.

Ultimately it will tramline and move about more than a WRX though... the STi is a more precisely tuned car and designed to respond to the inputs in a more positive manor. The tyres i wouldnt change for the world... the advantages of the RE070's are worth the sacrifice in comfort IMO.

Also bear in mind that you have an active centre diff now... which the WRX wouldnt have had.. so it will feel massively different with the power on as the power is moved around the diffs for max grip. This can at times almost give you a sense of too much grip and make it feel touchy. (where perhaps you are/would expect the WRX to understeer/drift)

Most of all... enjoy it!

 

ive had the prodrive springs fitted to my07 sti,a great improvement from standard,however the tyres are next to get sorted.the bridgestone potenza's are just plain dangerous IMHO!

Gonna be swapping for some 18 inch alloys fitted with either yoko parada or michelin pilot sp2's very shortly

The prodrive springs have done away with the bouncey rear,and as said above has made the car a far better drive and "improved comfort" which is a big shock with lowering springs

Had the geometry set up to prodrive spec's,also gonna fit the whiteline ARB and droplinks,i had this setup on my03 sti,and it handled like a dream,no noticable understeer,also the bridgestone tyres are a joke in the wet,and tramline badly when crossing white lines or uneven road(which we have a lot of in this country)

prodrive springs are the first step fella,around £400 fitted with geometry done,a vast improvement!

mark

 

 

I think you will find a MARMITE opinion of the RE070's. Some love them, others hate them.

I love them, and a friend even bought some for his Evo 8 (which ran 380BHP on Powerstations rollers) as a replacement for his Yoko Prada's and he says he wouldnt even think about changing now.

Its about the setup that you prefer, spending £50 on getting ur geometry set up correctly and then make the decision would be my advice.

 

RE070s - At the moment, I am nervous of them when it is wet and whilst I like the idea of the ultimate dry grip I will almost certainly go back to the F1s I used on my old Classic as I can not bear to be “woosy” (doesn’t look right but rhymes with *****!!) in the wet.

Tramlining - Since having the AST stage 3 fitted and, probably more importantly, getting the tracking properly set up, I find the tramlining virtually non existent.

Ride Quality - Far superior with the AST Stage 3 kit but a small potential issue with spring rates. In some instances, which have not been extreme by any means, I have noticed what appears to be the front wheel bounce up to the bump stop with very little provocation. I have spoken with Curtis at Powerstation who is happy to change my springs with heavier duty ones (current fitment 50/30 F/R and with 6/4 clicks on the shocks - suggested springs by Curtis is maybe 60/40). I am of the opinion that the AST rates fitted to my Spec D were those based upon Classic development with little consideration given to the fact the Spec D is over 20% heavier. I have agreed with Curtis I will play with the shock settings before making my mind up on the springs as I need to be sure before changing as I do not want to compromise too much on the ride quality I currently have.

 

Got the prodrive gemoetry settings dialled in today up at Elite in Essex.

Felt like a different car on the way home. Much more predictable, no tramlining, great turn in. Fantastic.

As for the geometry settings that Elite found before the new ones were done, well, the least said the better. They must have a guy with very dodgy eyes doing them at the factory....

 

The first thing I'd change, and did (05 STI) is change the tyres. Those RE070's are sh*te IMHO. In the wet it's dangerous.
I changed to Michelin Pilot Sport 2's with Prodrive PFF7 Alloys. Dry and especially wet grip much improved. Even in the dry, on RE070's I found the car understeered far more than with it on the PS2's.
I also got the Prodrive spring kit put on it. Again Handling is transformed.

I know it's money you have to spend on your car that you'd prefer not to (afterall like you say you've spent £2**** buying it) but it is money very well spent.

 

The tolerance limits for factory cars is from 1.5mm toe in to the same toe out. Ideally, for the optimum camber it should toe-in, but not all do.

A car with a toe out will feel and behave differently than one with toe in - especially at the limits. Seeing that toe has a knock effect on the camber it doesn't help matters.

 

dealers are supposed to check geometry before letting the cars out - they dont always though!

my 05 STi wasnt, and I got it back into the dealers at about 1800miles, and they set it up for me. afteer that it was fine!

my 03 STi didnt need this, and was always fine.

get your dealer to do it for you, at no cost!!

 

fitted yoko parada spec 2 tyres on rota rims yesterday,sorted out the tramlining/road noise etc,also far better grip in the wet then the potenza's

just the whiteline bits to fit and the jobs done !

marcus

 

When I queried this with my dealer they were happy to re-check the tracking (no cost was mentioned) but it seemed a bit pointless as I was off to Powerstation for new suspension and tracking.

Dealer did suggest that the geometry was checked pre sale and it would have been within tolerances which would seem to be very generous.

I would advise anyone with tramlining problems with a new car to get the dealer to check tracking properly and give you the before and after settings. Whilst the tyres (RE070) do not help, they are not the sole cause.

 

I have the Prodrive springs fitted to my 06 Spec D. Whilst it hasn't made the ride much more comfortable, you do notice a bit of an improvement. The biggest change though was in driver confidence, particularly over less than perfect road surfaces.

Before the car felt like it would dart off and pulls every which way folloing every small bump and camber change in the road. Now it's a lot more confident and you can actually push on quite hard.

The RE-070 tyres play a huge role in the poor ride, and nervousness - they have very firm sidewalls, and are the worst tyres I've driven on the road for tramlining and fidgety ride. Of course, on super smooth surfaces in the dry they are fantastic, offering huge levels of grip, fantastic turn-in and feedback through the wheel. Unfortunately, the roads in the Uk are mostly less than perfectly smooth and we do suffer the odd rainshower from time to time.

On my last car (an 02 STi with the Prodrive springs fitted), the car was very settled, and probably the best all round tyre I used in some 70,000 miles was the Michelin PS2, though I did go through a few sets of Goodyear Eage F1s as well. The F1s probably had the slight edge in the extreme wet, and on cold icy roads, but the PS2s were better everywhere else, and road noise levels were also quite low. I'll be getting a set once these RE-070s are worn down, though that's likely to be next year as I've still got my winter tyres to use from December - March

John

 

There seem to be a number of owners complaining about geometry on 06 STi's especially for some reason on the Spec D.

Had mine last Nov, and its been a nightmare on tyres. The original RE070's were shot on the front after 3500 miles (the rears were hardly worn) - most of that motorway miles rather than backroad thrashes. Replaced them with F1's which I've always used, and had full alignment/geometry setup done. I needed another set of F1's on the front at 13000 miles (worn to the wire on the outside edge, totally unworn on the inside edge) rears fine - now on 20000 miles and I'm having to prepare to replace the fronts again shortly - probably within the next 1500 miles.

Its always the front outside shoulders that wear - and no, its not excessive cornering as the insides still have masses of tread. The rears that were put on at 4000 are still fine.

From experience I'm used to replacing the front F1's every 15000 and the rears at 30000.

This one is just bonkers. I've gone though nearly as many tyres on this car as the last two put together with a total of 120,000 miles between them.

By the way, anyone elses steering wheel not sit exactly square (if you know what I mean - no jokes about it being round ) - the actual streering wheel looks as if you are steering to the right when it should be straight.

Gareth

 

Prodrive springs are pretty cheap and essential to get more out of your scoob. I am getting PD springs straight away for the new SpecD. I have them on MY03 WRX (Mocom'd)

Further to springs on the WRX I have the HD Mounts, 22ARB and Alloy Drops. With a specialist alignment set up like the one I have from Mocom you really can chuck these beasts into corners without too much concern.

Please don't assume your dealer has done the allignment properly (or indeed at all !), go to a specialist, ideally with settings recomended by someone like Zak from Mocom.

Originally I had the PD springs fitted and allignment by a dealer. Springs were installed fine, but the allignment was a joke ! I had lots of understeer on right lock, no wonder as the right front wheel was alligned straight on for right lock I think I got charged for allignment that was not done

This time round it will be dealer supply, Mocom fit and allignment to avoid any trouser accidents.

 

ive just bought an 06 sti (not spec d) and was going to take it to be alligned tomorrow as my steering wheel looks like im steering to the right when going straight