My 98MY 4 door turbo is in for its annual service next week.

I asked the dealer if anything can be done to dial out some of the understeer the car suffers from, particularly in the wet.

He said he would be happy to do it by changing the front setup to the Prodrive settings but thought i would probably want it changed back again as the car was likely to 'fidget' a lot and tramline quite badly.

I definately want to cure some of the understeer but don't want the car weaving all over the road either. Does anyone know the best compromise settings for adjusting a MY98 to?

Thanks, Marc

I recently had my geometry re-set to the prodrive settings stated in the FAQ. The car handles much better, with NO fidgeting at all.

MARC,modified anti roll bar links are available for the imprezza these fitted and the suspension set to prodrives settings we have no unhappy customers,and no front end damage repairs!
peter..

I have already altered my style of driving when the road is wet using a lift of the throttle or dab on the brake to aid turn in. I just do not like having to drive like this - its not very natural or flowing.

I do some outdoor Karting and HATE any sort of understeer anyway.

The car is in tomorrow and I am going to get the changes made so I'll report back as to whether its been transformed into an oversteering, unpredictable beast or the car it should always have been!

You could alter the way you drive. Even in the wet you should brake into the corner. This is sometimes referred to as "trailbraking" and should be a lighter application of the pedal than immediately previous. So, brake hard for the corner and without releasing the brakes fully,turn in then release. What this does is load the front tyres and give you more bite. At the same time it will lighten the load on the rear putting the car into an almost oversteering attitude. Incidentally, should the car begin to oversteer, at least you have caused it and expect it and as we all know is very easy to correct in the car. If you are experiencing understeer in the car under power then a very quick and sharp lift will toe it back. Some people advocate dipping the clutch under power but although this works I can't imagine it doing your clutch much good. With the current settings the car is very safe and if you dial out the understeer, you are going to be on the verge of oversteer a lot quicker. I have never tried the other settings and so maybe don't know what I am talking about but food for thought maybe?

You could alter the way you drive. Even in the wet you should brake into the corner. This is sometimes referred to as "trailbraking" and should be a lighter application of the pedal than immediately previous. So, brake hard for the corner and without releasing the brakes fully,turn in then release. What this does is load the front tyres and give you more bite. At the same time it will lighten the load on the rear putting the car into an almost oversteering attitude. Incidentally, should the car begin to oversteer, at least you have caused it and expect it and as we all know is very easy to correct in the car. If you are experiencing understeer in the car under power then a very quick and sharp lift will toe it back. Some people advocate dipping the clutch under power but although this works I can't imagine it doing your clutch much good. With the current settings the car is very safe and if you dial out the understeer, you are going to be on the verge of oversteer a lot quicker. I have never tried the other settings and so maybe don't know what I am talking about but food for thought maybe?

Ben is right of course, braking into the corner, then straight back onto the power just before exitting the corner and you should have more fun than a boring understeer.
I haven't tried the other settings either, but maybe I will, because it is sometimes annoying when you don't expect it to understeer!

Let me know, because I may well change it too!

Okay here's my initial feedback after changing the settings to those recommended on the faq last week.

The steering feels a fraction heavier, though no bad thing on a MY98.

The car does tramline a little bit more and the steering is less settled when centred. This makes motorway driving a little bit less relaxed.

BUT, the turn in seems more immediate and understeer is definately reduced. It will still understeer in the wet if you provoke it but you can now feel the tyres biting a bit more instead of just washing away as before.

Overall, the positives FAR outweigh the negatives.

OK, I'm booking it in now, my dealer says about £35, is this right???

I paid £18 at my dealer. It doesn't have to be a dealer though - you could take the settings along to any Kwikfit job.