AST's on a MY05 Spec C, worth it?
 

As above. Did a search & not much, if anything, on SN ...

It's £1450 + VAT at Powerstation so would have to be pretty special to be worth the £'s.

TX.

I have had 2 sets of AST's on my humble Sti V3 hillclimb car.

They are a big improvement over the good stock units, but the focus of the car is to hillclimb, I just drive on the road to get to the tracks and back.

I'm not too sure it is worth it on a road only car, as the Spec C i once drove on the road was superb imho.

You could do worse than talk it through witrh Curtis at Powerstation. He has his own line and will guide you through the options sensibly.

I first had the AST one-way adjustables, and then the fancy remote canister 3 way adjustables.

Graham.

There are plenty of threads here on ASTs in general but, as you suggest, maybe not that many on Spec C's specifically.

What are the differences between the stock Spec C and stock JDM STi suspensions for that year?

TX, what do you feel is wrong with the OE set-up? It's all too easy to get it wrong when replacing the suspension.

911 - good advice fella, I'll give em a call.

Tim - time you upped the post count ;)

MR - car seems to be a tad "nervous" on the road & tramlines pretty bad. Could be the tyres which remain the Jap RE070's that it arrived with? It "crashes" around a fair bit too which may just be a Spec C for you? I'm no mechanic or indeed a driving God so I'm just unsure as to whether standard set up is good/great (nowt to compare it to) or whether AST's will improve things?

TX.

IMHO:
Take the car to a good alignment company, Powerstation, Mocom above etc who actually know Impreza's. Get the car re aligned especially if the car is on factory supplied settings.
The Spec C I drove (a Litchfield car) had none of the traites you describe, just really really nice balance and very supple and well damped. It was their Time AttacK racer, but at the time had stock suspension BUT had been on the laser jig. Stock wheels and tyres too.

TX ditto what graham says my car was transformed when I got the alignment done.

Don't get me wrong, there is nowt wrong with the car; it just seems sensitive to the shockingly bad roads we have in the UK. I'll check out the alignment issue & give P/Station a call. Thanks chaps.

TX.

Copied from their website:

Stage 1
Rear Adjustable Roll Bar
Anti-Lift Kit
Front Adjustable Roll Bar
4-Wheel Alignment
£460* + VAT

All needed or just the alignment?

TX.

Chat with Curtis there, he has a direct line as you will find when you call the switchboard there.

He did the Spec C I drove and all the Litchfield 2.5's etc as well a the time Attack cars so he 'understands' a bit about Impreza's.

The alignment he has done on my racer several times now takes a good 3 to 4 hours if he starts from scratch and mighty accurate he is too.

you will find him very easy to talk to and zero sales pressure, just a definition of what is needed and then the cost to do that.

Graham.

TX start with the alignment before spending money needlessly.

Our development car was the same spec as yours - from testing with OE suspension and larger ARB's I was slower around track in any conditions other than fully dry and warm, the feel from the front end had been completely lost. Not a real problem in warm dry conditions as you can ignore the lack of feedback and rely on the grip from the front tyres however in cold or damp conditions where the RE070's have little grip you just couldn't get the front hooked up.

The ARBs combined with different tyres and coilovers may then work but IMO with the OE suspension leave well alone.

The Spec C is amazing out of the box. Leave alone after a good alignment.

F

So - are there any differences? [see - I am trying to up my post count, TX ;) ]

TX, mine is all standard parts but had the geometery done by powerstation when it arrived. Does the car feel genuinely nervous, or just lively? The back end on mine really moves during cornering, but that is what I wanted:D
(sometimes catches you out if you hit a mid corner yump, be ready with the opposite lock:):))
Tramlining has only become noticeable as my RE070's have approached the end of their life; are yours still fresh?
Can see the benefit of the AST's to reduce the crashing. This is due to the stiff setup which you could reduce using the adjustment on the coilovers. Not to sure this fits in with the Spec C ethic though TX.
You'll be fitting soundproofing next:rolleyes:

iput the AST kit on my jdm STI and it made a big difference (in a good way:D)

Thanks for the replies gents. The alignment looks a good bet so I'll give them a buzz.

MM - you cheeky bugger! Not going soft it's just that I've got nowt in comparison; perhaps I need a spin in yours just to see if it's any different?! As above, I'm no driving God so have yet to see the back end moving about! Yes, the tyres are a bit low, probably only got a few '000 miles left.

More than welcome anytime TX, though mine is definately in need of some new rubber. Just have to decide on more RE070's (235's of course:D) or moving to 18's at great expense.....

Mine also feels very light at the front sometimes and i have also thought about going along the AST route, everything you say about yours TX seems to be the same with my Spec C.

Will go along the alignment route first also.

Mac

The car's fairly hardcore so perhaps I just need to get over it!

MM - can you pls send me a PM re where you live, ta.

Mac - you're too far away!

TX.

mine is the same tx very sensative car lots and lots of grip . but feels like it just going to go wrong at any time wich it never will think its just down to the fact of how the spec c is very raw and direct in the way it changes direction so easily. have looked in to some coliovers my self the exe tc fast road coliovers look really good for our roads.

from waht i have looked in to think its down to the hard springs:wonder::wonder::wonder:

eibach hmmmmmmmmm:wonder:

ps also had my geo done last month at roger clarke and it did make a difference lot more smoother pre and post corner and mid corner. less twich

^^ Cough ... what are "coilovers"?

TX.

My RE070'S were the same awfull "tramlining" towards the end of their life. I run the Toyo T1R now and never have a problem even when they are totally knackered !!