Can someone please explain why my2001 WRX understeers. My mate has a 15 year old integrale and i can't keep up with it on the twisty roads. I see that Demon Tweeks has some camber adjusters that help to cut out front lift and understeer, has any one used them and do they cause rapide tyre wear. Is it because there is too much front bias on the transmission or am i just driving it wrong!

 

Most cars have designed in understeer, the ways around it (or reduction) are to have the Prodrive geometry settings done and also have the bumpsteer mod (my car is fortunate enough to be one of the few if not the only subaru that doesnt suffer from this understeer lark )

Tony

 

take it to powerstation.. ask them to do the bump-steer mod and to fix your geometry settings to their standards.

also consider an anti-lift kit at the same time

u can also go for sway bars, uprated springs etc... but essentially the bump-steer mod and geom settings should fix it.

could also be your tyres if they're still the crappy standard ones of course.

 

can you give me a webb address or phone number for powerstation

 

http://www.powerstation.org.uk/

 

Understeer only happens in extremis- at least with my car anyway, only ever notice it on track days. If you are getting a lot of it perhaps your tyres aren't upto much.

the Impreza seems to have a reputation for understeer but you have to be doing some insane speeds on road for it to really set in, excpet perhaps on very tight hairpins and roundabouts. Personally I reckon the 'grale is just a better car (flame suit on!)

 

AFAIK you can't bumpsteer mod the Bugeye...for classics only

Midlife.....

 

The Integrale is a lighter car than yours, which makes a difference to cornering ability, acceleration and braking. The relative skill of the driver may also have something to do with it.

Eh? Camber adjusters adjust camber, the anti-lift kit doesn't, but it isn't the best answer as it makes the car more prone to diving under braking. In any case, I don't think you need to muck about with things like this.

TBH the relative ability (or willingness to take risks) of the driver is likely to be the principal factor in situations like this. What do you mean by "understeer"? Is the car actually pushing on under power, or is it simply that the guy in the Lancia goes round corners quicker than you? Why don't you swap cars with your mate and (once you've got used to driving an LHD car hard) see if you still lose out?

If your car is less grippy at the front than it should be, the best cure would simply be getting the geometry and alignment checked as suggested above. You don't necessarily need to use PowerStation, have a look in your regional forum to see if there's a well respected four wheel alignment centre nearby. You can also do a lot for the balance of the car by making sure the tyre pressures are right.

Oh yes, as Midlife says, the "bump steer mod" isn't necessary on the new shape cars, Subaru got this right in the factory.

 

I have a friend with Integrale and I can say that even with my standard WRX03 (his Lancia is slightly modified) I am almost always in front of him on cornery B roads and bear in mind my WRX is quite a lot heavier and I am a "everyday" driver not professional.
I believe in every case the WRX is easier to go in the edge compared with the Lancia.
JIM

 

This whole understeer lark must be down to the charactaristics of the car or your driving style. If the nose of any car starts to push away from the way you want either cornering or under power, then that's understeer in my book.

Even top professional racing drivers alter their cars setup to reduce understeer if they don't like that feel from the car. Others can drive around the problem, but why should you when you can fix it mechanically.

Personally, I hate understeer. I much prefer an nicely balanced car with a little bias towards oversteer. If only I could afford an STI

I would try the simple things first - tyre tread/compound, tyre pressures, geometry (remember you can adjust camber on a std car) & alignment. Then you can look at ways of increasing front-end grip through the likes of bumpsteer mod, stiffer rear ARB, uprated springs and/or dampers, etc..

Stefan

 

I sorted most of the understeer problems on my STi with a bigger (24mm) sway bar on the rear, along with the heavy duty mountings. Its an adjustable type and I know it has a major effect on the cars handling because when set to maximum it oversteers and on its softest setting it goes back to understeering.

 

Sorry, but... What a 4%$% is the Bump Steer Mod??

Regards

 

scub,

Most people complain about understeer, until it oversteer and the shock makes them hit the dead pedal, overcorrect and bang.

Having said that, if you are sure you want more oversteer, a cheap simple way is to adjust your 19" camber bolt on the fronts. Cheap as chips....

 

Dial in 1 degree of negative camber using £25 camber bolts and this will reduce/remove most of the understeer. The down side of this is uneven tyre wear and can cause the car to feel nervious, tramlining etc.

Understeer is inherently safer than oversteer for your average driver. Hence why manufactors setup production cars like this.

Somebody like John Felstead would be able to comment more on the best set-up.

Mark A

 

Why not fit a front strut brace? mine only cost £60, fitted it in 10 minutes and the front end feels much more directional than before.. (MY03 STI)

 

...Or maybe not. Strut braces are more placebo effect than anything else given the strength of the bodyshell itself. Either way, they won't make any fundamental difference to the handling balance of the car.

 

A "friendly" but more rear bias setup is maximum camber front with zero toe and factory camber rear with some toe out (I prefer at least 1min per wheel) along with an adjustable rear ARB in middle position.
Not dangerous on wet road and doesn't cost you more than few pounds.
JIM

 

I have a 2002WRX which when new I also thought had way too much understeer and body-roll.

I did a series of modifications in phases - each phase progressively increased how pleased I was with the handling until right now --> when I think the car is perfectly set up for b-roads and track with a slight tendency to oversteer:

Phase 1: 4-wheel laser alignment and Eibach springset
Phase 2: Powerflex solid rear droplinks and STi front upper strut brace
Phase 3: Whiteline Anti-lift kit and 24mm rear adjustable anto-roll bar (on stiffest setting)

Most aftermarket places can source these parts for you - I got Phase 1 and 2 done at TSL, and Phase 3 at Powerstation.

Hope this helps

 

Excellent infoe, thanks for the list, I have completed (1), will try (2) and (3) next (although probably without the strut brace)

Which tyres are you using?

 

DubaiNeil,

I'm running standard 17' wheels at the moment with GoodYear F1 Eagles --> excellent tyres in the wet and and the dry!

Within the F1 range I actually much prefer the GSD-2s, not the GSD-3s, which although newer in design seem way too soft (I saw excessive side-wall wear on them but the GSD-2s seem to keep their shape better)

cheers

 

Its a toss up for me between the Goodyears or the Bridgestone S-03's, but wet performance really isn't an issue!

I'll have to see what is available locally and move from there.

All of which will help me corner