Strange handling
 

Hey, got my WRX STi version 6 classic (330bhp), no suspension mods but has had the alignment (camber/toe/caster) set.

When I got the vehicle, it had a fast road set up on, which had set 1.5deg camber on the front and rear with toe in at 8mm, or something similar. Forgive me if I've said the wrong values, I've not got the sheet with me right now. Long story short, the handling was mighty impressive, it felt like it was on rails. I'd go around lanes that had S bends and it would just drive around perfectly.

I recently was recommended to alter the alignment so I went ahead and did that. The steering immediately felt lighter and I felt that as I was going around corners the back end wanted to give. In fact when we were testing the vehicle, one of the engineers accelerated around a corner and the vehicle started fishtailing a little. He said it was fine and that the vehicle was so easy to gain control of again by straightening up that it wasn't a problem and that even though it was dry the road was probably greasy.

Having raised concern, the owner went ahead and took me for a drive in it and I was frankly amazed by how he was driving it. Seemed to handle perfectly but there is no doubt he is a formidable driver! He said that there is more grip on the front now compared to the previous set up.

So I'm a little confused; I'd probably put it down to me being pretty poor as a driver with no real track experience trying to accelerate at the wrong time on bends however.. it didn't seem to give me problems with the previous set up. Contariwise, I'm having great fun putting the throttle down and having it slide a bit which is teaching me a bit more about handling a vehicle.

Could there be a problem or is it just that I should adjust my driving style?

Very interesting.
Could you post the before and after settings? And your tyre pressures.

Hello, sorry for the slow reply, been extremely busy.

The old setup of my vehicle was: -

Front
Left camber / right camber: -1.02deg / -1.10deg
Left caster / right caster: 2.22deg / 3.02deg
Left toe / right toe: -0.9mm / -0.9mm

Steer ahead 0.0



Rear
Left camber / right camber: -1.14deg / -1.21deg
Left toe / right toe: 0.7mm / 0.9mm

Thrust angle -0.01deg





The new settings, I do not know. They said that they didn't provide the print out as they don't want their setup being visible to others. I was told that I now have much more negative camber on the front but the rear was hardly touched.

I must say, if I do take it around a corner too sharp, it tends to want to slide at the back now but is very easy to correct. When going around a corner, I get the feeling that it wants to oversteer.

Again, not the most experienced driver but definitely noticing it being more challenging to drive, even if a little more rewarding. To reiterate the owner of the garage took it for a drive and pushed the car to test and was able to take it around some roads with bends and camber at 100+.

Take it somewhere else and get a print out.
I'm wondering whether you've now got 0.5 more front camber than rear (ie 1.5 front, 1 rear), as opposed to a more controllable 0.25 difference, for a road car.
I'm also wondering if you've now got toe out on the rear. As opposed to a more controllable (less steering input) slight toe in front and rear.
It might be a more entertaining set-up, but if it's a road car, you don't want to be tooling 'round constantly on the edge of your ability. Particularly with the poor weather setting in.
Tyre pressures make a huge difference. Start at 37 front 34 rear. Adjust to suit ride/handling.
HTH
You might want to start reading about adding caster max 6.5 positive on a classic.

I see, I might take it to the place where I had the original setup. It certainly is harder to control than before simply because it feels like the car wants to Slide a lot more..

The tyre pressures are currently 30 rear, 32 front as recommended by the garage. What value does caster add and does 6.5 caster require any additional parts? I have heard about caster mods before.. I hear there is a lot I can do to improve handling, such as coil overs and rear strut braces etc,

I'd do brakes first: front 4pot, rear 2pot with stainless pistons, braided lines and a brake stopper bracket on the master cylinder. I like ebc orangestuff pads on the road. Speak to Godspeed brakes.
Then start doing the suspension bushes.
You can fit a 8/10mm spacer to the control arm to increase caster - over 5 degrees positive would be nice, 6.5 max.
You can do the free caster mod - 180 degree rotation of the mounting arm. If you do either, spray the bolts through the alloy arms, thoroughly. You can knacker the arms by stripping their threads.
If your sensible enough to notice geometry changes, you should definitely experiment with higher tyre pressures.
HTH

Agree on the pressures - the garage is wrong - I'd try 35 F 33R but experiment to see what suits your style.

The front is heavier so you normally run slightly higher pressures front end, and this would also help you balance out the tail happyness a bit

Any update OP?

Having a tail happy car is something I personally would not like, and is potentially dangerous, especially if your driving confidence is not strong

All well and good when you're in the mood and it's a planned thing, but it's the moment which catches you out and you find yourself in the situation needing to trim a little speed and you can't as the rear is on the edge as it is.

Too funny your paranoid garage not wanting to give out geo readings, but the result may be increased front grip (extra camber). Perhaps to take things further, as suggested, get another reading done and post it up. We'll know what we're (you're) dealing with then