Spec D suspension
 

In my seemingly never ending quest for a reasonably compliant suspension I have tried ASTs and BCs with the comfort option and whilst each of them has been a positive step away from standard it is still not good enough. I've also tried moving away from XL tyres to standard with another slight improvement.

I now have an opportunity to replace the BCs, part funded by others, and am wondering if perhaps moving away from the standard setup was not the best idea although, at the end of the day, I'm sure it should be a relatively simple balance between the the rates of the shock and the spring relative to the weight of the car.

I still effectively have a brand new set of the original shocks and springs which originally came off the car when new and wonder if replacing the springs and/or the bump stops would help but i would need to be convinced. I've read that the original problem was that the original ride was relying on the bump stops to limit movement rather than as a last resort.

What I am after is a suspension which has a similar ride height to standard, is firm for reasonable handling but is compliant enough to deal with all the speed bumps, potholes, etc in our poorly maintained roads without effectively being bounced up and down going over all the irregularities.

My Classic WRX could do it, why can't my Hawkeye?:confused:

Have you done any research relating to STi specific Prodrive springs with standard dampers and uprated bump stops? I know that the WRX Prodrive blue springs are supposed to be better suited to UK roads and improve compliance and handling which is an unusual double bonus. There has been a brand new set for the wide track (Prodrive black springs) on ebay on and off over the last few months for £150 which is a bargain, not listed ATM but may come back-up if not sold.

I've been running a group buy for the Prodrive blues for the WRX from Peter at PCA Dynamics who is an ex-Prodrive engineer that worked on all the Prodrive chassis setups for Imprezas etc. Check out his website as he has a few articles he's published on various Impreza Prodrive versions including an article on bump stops:

http://pcadynamics.com/magazine-articles/

He can re-produce any Prodrive spring and can supply uprated bump stops. Hope this helps

I replaced my spec d suspension with h&r springs and the prodrive bilstein front struts and is perfect for daily driving. Not crashy but composed and comfortable on long journies. I did have eibachs in but took them out after about 3mth as I found them too soft for the car

It drops 35mm tho which may not be to your liking

Rb320 springs maybe a more suitable alternative for you. Designed by prodrive for uk roads

Its as close as I could get it to my old classic running the prodrive wr sport springs with kyb shocks

What tyre brand and tyre spec are you running?
I have a standard suspension spec d and I cannot fault the ride.. was an issue but it was tyres!

Standard ride is poo, jiggles like a jiggly thing ! Only way mine got better was to remove the c frame to separate the vibration transference :)

Go and see Simon at Cheveron he is the Guru when it come to ride and handling set ups. I'm sure the man went to Hogwarts! When it comes to suspension he's a Wizard!

Originally, it was the Bridgestone RE070s followed by Goodyear's F1 XLs and latterly a combination of some secondhand standard load tyres Pirelli and Continenta, I think, just to see if it made a significant difference - it was there, but slight and when I'm alone in the car prefer the sharper handling F1 XLs.

Like the suspension. each of the tyre changes improved the ride slightly but still not good enough.

To be fair, when I'm by myself, I don't really care. It's when I have passengers I really notice the problem and, no, it's not the extra weight.