A little thread resurrection here :D

How are you getting on with the struts and springs still running the same ?
I wonder if those oem struts are still available.

Oh, I like thread resurrections, especially when they're about my car, and suspension :)

Yeah, struts & springs combo going pretty much exactly the same as they always have

The set-up deals brilliantly well with most stuff

A loop I like driving goes over the Long Mynd in Shropshire. As you're coming down (the pretty steep hill road) there's a section of sucessive undulations where things can get slightly bouncy and if you keep going at them in the wrong way could possibly bottom out.

My Forester STi deals with this road alot better of course

Other than that performance is difficult to fault, at pretty much any road speed , any condition

I fitted a new set of Yoko AD08's at the start of the year, and recently in the warmer conditions have been pulling some amusing G-force (well, certainly more than other times of year)

I dare say you could still get the OE V5/6 red dampers (those are the ones you mean, right?)

Pretty expensive, maybe worth it, certainly worth it if you can find a low mileage used set

Which reminds me, I still have mine (1K miles if that) in the loft. Maybe I should let those go now??

I'm assuming you sold the type r then ?

I was talking suspension with Stu 53 and he pointed me to your threads. I need to replace my set up on the RA and I wish to stay sensible as it's not track focused also I don't want it on the ground. It's head scratching as yes P1 springs are held in high esteem but no longer available new, also struts... Ok Sti RA struts what are they comparable to, where in the KYB scale would you have to look to match to OEM level ? My initial thoughts are KYB with Eibach springs.
My set up now is type r struts second hand with an unknown spring black in colour, car sits to high and feels a little "bouncy" on the rear.

Thanks for you write up's it's been interesting reading through them.

I have been reading this with interest as my type r has coilovers which I find a little too harsh. I have just finished refurbing a used set of p1 struts and springs. Stripped them and added the grease nipple mod to allow for future greasing should they knock. Now its ready to fit the damn council in Sheffield are resurfacing the roads meaning the coilovers work well on the smooth roads, less the bumps.

Problem I have now is that the coilovers are too hard on b roads, a57 for example, but I'm unsure if the standard p1 suspension, albeit with a 22mm white line adjustable arb, is too soft and bouncy? I could change the springs, but what to?

My springs are black but have a colour code on them which equates to their poundage. There is a U.S. site which lists the codes.

Sell the Type R - nooo, never!

Problem is the springs. Eibach's are too soft and too low. Better off sourcing low mileage P1's, or perhaps some new joy might come from the efforts of 2pot on his 'P1 springs' thread...

If you can put up with you have now, I would be inclined to stick. You could spend a fair bit and find a minimal, if negative change

On suspension is your foggy sti suspension standard or some changes thanks

I was just off to the group buy section to say - Eibach will do a minimum run of 25 sets of P1 springs - helps having leverage from the designer.

Although it's greatly damper related, both Scott and I, find the P1 rears bouncy. But, one of the P1 suspension design parameters, was comfort over longer distances. Don't think that's so important now.

The available kyb dampers and koni inserts have been tested at Bilstein. I've also dropped off 22b rear struts and the wr early struts.

The new, less compliant, rear spring design is the same ride height as the jdm 22b and the wr99. That's 6mm lower than the P1.

The new, front spring design will be taller than the lowered sti pink, and taller than the early, closed, ground top, wr blue. The new spring rate will split the difference between the two. The new front spring will be 10mm lower than the P1.

The trick is getting the new spring to fit/work with new kyb/koni and existing bilstein dampers + a lower rated set of springs to work with kyb excel-g's.

Forester FSTi - totally standard (well, almost)

I was very surprised indeed when I bought the car to find it did everything in a way I was completely with. All my previously owned Imprezas' have seen hefty suspension mods to get them to perform the way I wanted, not to the Forester

STi worked a little miracle on the car in getting it just right. The car was lowered considerably, extended bottom ball joints added to keep roll centre.

Dampers and springs are just right. They give long travel and deal with typically poor UK roads brilliantly

Roll is kept in order with decent sized arbs, it was given a closer ratio 'box with extended 6th, big Brembo's, 18" alloys along with some engine mods

In short, a better rounded product than many Impreza's

The only thing I changed was the rear arb for a slightly thicker one which dialed out the 'safe understeer' most manufacturers set, trimmed the handling a little, and changed the rotational balance of the car to a more neutral, provakeable oversteer :)

Here it is doing just that

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e...o/P1040613.JPG

Good work. I'm subscribed :)

And am certainly looking forward to trying a set of the finished springs

Bonesetter thanks for that ,i have same model has you so may just change ARB

Hi Glenn - did you get round to your arb swap?

Now thats a tidy looking Type-r, im going back and forth trying to decide my next buy between the Type-r or P1.

I would say that a good P1 may be hard to find and as its spent its entire life in the UK weather conditions a recently imported type r may be the way to go.

Bonesetter i am going to change arb but not yet done it ,i will have to pull my finger out

That is true, I'm now leaning towards the type-r for that very reason

Bear in mind this Type R is a V-Ltd WRX so has ABS and no DCCD, which is what I wanted

All very near same spec as a P1

Cheers

The grade and kms of an import would be more important to me than model spec, any colour except royal silver, I've had two uk turbo's in this colour over the years.

I agree about that. The dccd with a standard controller is a bind and abs is the better option.

On my last MY98 wrx had abs and I fitted dccd with a decent auto controller which worked well.

Cross post from a suspension thread, but thought it good to post here too by way of an update:

For the sake of balance

I was out in my Type R a few days ago for a 150 miler, for the first time since onset of winter, and the experience was nothing short of stunning I had forgotten what the car goes like

Steering input gives the car the sensation of rotating on a pivot, the point of which is my driving seat. This feels a little odd to begin with, but very soon becomes intuitive

This helps the car go around a bend enormously

When pushing on, the wheel can be flicked on corner entry to transfer weight, and the car is already 'turning' and set-up for the bend's exit

Power can be brought back on much earlier to power the car through and out of the bend - it's nothing short of a thing of beauty to use. The car is easy and stable to drive fast - almost drives itself and is devastatingly fast cross country

My Type R has had V5/6 STi red dampers (brought new from a dealer), and currently Bilsteins (P1/WR etc) with OE P1 springs

Front bar is 22 on stiffest setting

Rear is 24 on middle

The car NEVER understeers - something I don't want any of

It also will only oversteer if very aggressively provoked. I never worry about the car oversteering, and consider the balance neutral and safe which is always my number one driving priority

If I set the rear bar to soft, I get understeer

The roads I drive on have a mix of pretty much everything in them - yumps, compressions, off-camber, hairpins you name it - 'suspension' copes with with it all with no issue. no rear wheel lifting, jacking etc

The ride is comfortable with a 'float' (springs) which is progressive with loading

I've owned many Impreza's over the years and tried many combinations, so speak from real world experience, not to mention a broken wallet

I have just fitted a rear bar on on my Swift Sport daily for more rotation and dial out factory set understeer

Of course, there are many different ways to skin a cat, as well as different folk having different preferences

Other points perhaps worth a mention:

ALK
Castor mod
Front H brace
Sill brace bars
Diff brace with solid bushings
In-car rear floor brace bar
Drop links, steering bushes
Brembo's
17" Yokohama AD08's
330 BHP

Yes, the most stunning & fun car I've ever owned

That's interesting to know. I have the same model but running standard sti suspension at present. Standard set up is nice but I do think certainly some uprated roll bars are required so it corners flatter. Certainly good to know that list of parts works well. Any up to date piccies?
Paul

Here she is

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...d72c2543e6.jpg

THE best of all scoobies

Great Picture :thumb:

Thanks Funkii

Here's another from the 'burst' which I think I now prefer


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...700e84f29c.jpg



6' Splash

Beautiful car, but does the jdm hatch live? And how does it compare?

Thanks hedge :)

The Type R is a proper Scooby :notworthy

There's just no hiding the later car's weight. 1250 vs a rather lardy 1480 Kg's

The R is so much more lively, agile and responsive at all speeds You can change your line more easily, rotate the car through bends more effectively. The whole experience is more intuitive, fun and raw

The hatch rewards a smoother driving style. I'm sure if some of the bush 'slop' was taken out things would improve

I'm collecting the hatch from TDR Warwick today, it's had some turbo problems after a right balls up by Chevron Motorsport Stafford :mad:

Couldn't Chevron rectify the issue? Or, did you lose confidence in them?

Both

It's a long and expensive story, not just the turbo and I don't want to soil my Type R thread with all of it, but my experience was Chevron pushing for your money

Still looking good Nigel.


Roof vent is a nice touch.

most of the bushes are done on mine; good that you have it back. Jap Performance Parts have 2x vf jdm gr turbos for sale, less than 500 notes