south_scoob

Would a thicker rear sway bar mess up high speed sweeping corners as a mod on its own? The car feels very fantastic in most situations with no real under or over steer but id like to have fun in the wet sometimes as its impossible to get the back out on a stock suspension set up. Will this just be a compromise for abit of fun at the expense off handling? Or does one realy help on all type of cornering Situations?

Dccd would be ideal for me as I have it set right back in the wet for some sliding action.

But some off us don't have that option so be nice to hear some opinions on just adding a rear arb.
Not looking to lower the car on shorter springs as this is usually a bad idea without matching struts. And I'm not interested in coilovers. Just abit less understeer.

Cheers SS

south_scoob

Drift mode on new RS sounds interesting! Would that be comparable dccd on wide tracks?

plenty

iTrader: (13)

The most rear-biased of the Imprezas are the classic or blob DCCD cars which have a 35F:65R torque split.

You can certainly introduce more mobility at the rear with a thicker arb too.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Yes, but leave the front standard, and don't go more than one size thicker.

Solid droplinks all round help too. And don't be tempted t lower it, it mucks up the handling.

sy.

iTrader: (8)

Tyres play a big part regardless of playing with the dccd or diff Arb, good fronts poor rears and damp greasy road job done

south_scoob

Exactly what I'm NOT after. I actuly like the 50/50 split as it makes the car so predictable.
I want good rubber all round and stock springs and shocks.
But I'm sure there must be a trade off for just adding a thicker rear arb for some slow speed fun in the wet. I'm assuming the car will feel more sketchy on say long sweeping 70mph corners where you hit rough ground or elevation changes. This could possibly lead to a sketchy moment.
I don't know why upgrading the rear and leaving the front alone would have any benefits apart from abit of sideways action on wet roundabouts in the wet (if that's even possible on a newage wrx as the understeer under power in the wet is so great I doubtful even the thickest rear arb will get me handling more like a rwd car on its own!
So my guess would be upgrading both front and rear would be the best bet from a handling perspective. But like I said I have my doubts what if anything a rear on its own would do to a newage wrx. Thanks

south_scoob

I do have a couple of spare rims I could fit seccond hand ditch finders to.

Pump them up to 60psi and go drifting all I want. However doing that would make me think I've bought the wrong kind off car

InTurbo

iTrader: (3)

Mine is neutral and adjustable.
Camber settings have been reversed from the oem set up, So one and a half degrees up front and only a degree in the rear.

Added a small increase in rear roll bar resistance and left the front standard.

And finally a bit of front rake lowers the front roll centre and increased it in the rear, also helping to reduce oversteer.

Altogether very neutral with dccd in auto and very oversteer based with rear bar set on the stiffer setting and dccd set to rear most setting.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

There are the down sides you've mentioned + potential for oversteer in an emergency situation.
But, a bigger rear bar transfers grip diagonally, from the the rear, to the front.
So, although you've lost more grip at the rear, than you've gained at the front, the overall balance is more neutral.
If you enlarged both bars, by the same amount, you'd end up with the same understeering balance.

For track use, a bigger front bar, with sticky tyres, would stop the front camber curve collapsing. So, although you'd eventually get understeer, it would be at a much higher speed - so you might not experience it. Balance the rear, with a bar that suits you.

south_scoob

Thanks this is a road going car only question. I don't think its seen any track action due to the only mod being the obligatory cat back system.

Although I've upped the power abit I feel it would struggle against more purposeful machines on track.

So what would "one size up" be for the rear? Would a standard sti bar do the job. Or is an adjustable one like whiteline etc with the extra? Thanks.

south_scoob

I think i understand what your saying. The cars set up to be understeery as the wrx is the more comfortable less handling orientated model and understeer equals safety. Fitting a rear bar alone would make the car feel more neutral.

But the thing is under most conditions I get neither over or understeer. Just alot off body roll. And by alternative name (anti sway bar) upgrading the front and rear together should eliminate alot of the body roll whilst keeping the all important wrx "magic carpet" ride?

Getting the back out occasionally in the wet controllably would be a bit of a bonus but I am abit bored with the handling now and do want to spice things up abit!

south_scoob

When I meen most conditions I meen feeding the power in when driving fast
The td04 is hardly a kick in the back type turbo so controlling the understeer is usualy easy enough.
But it does show its ugly head from time to time and just knowing there's no movement at all in the rear can make the wrx rather dull to drive fast.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

Standard struts are designed to control a certain spring rate and a certain bar size. Both springs and bars combine to give a rate.
With larger bars, your standard struts would be under-damped, create heat and lead to excessive wear.

As 'InTubo' mentioned rake is important:
A, relatively, higher rear ride height, moves the roll centre rearward, increasing rear roll resistance.
That, in turn, makes the front end roll more - helping turn-in response and reducing understeer, without the use of stiffer bars.
You want the smallest bars possible, on a road car, to avoid 'roll-rock'.
Roll-rock:
If the spring rate is relatively low and the sta bar is too stiff, a suspension movement, initially, occurring on only one side of the vehicle, will be transmitted to the other side, inducing an unsettling 'roll-rock' motion.

Excessive body roll?:
What mileage have the struts covered?

south_scoob

(edit 105k). but emissions aside I get my car thoroughly mot'd and would be told if any suspension components are worn. I wouldn't say excessive but it doesn't corner as flat as I like. But I guess from what you've said there's always a downside to an upside in this category.

Would my car have the adjustability as standard to do a full fast road geo setup? I tried with previous cars and have been told camber etc is not an adjustable feature. I was thinking about doing this anyway as I'm almost certain it needs it although I'm not getting any off the usual signs eg. uneven tyre ware.

Might also go for the smallest increase in rear arb one with the three settings soft medium and stiff and see were that takes me. Thanks for explaining everything!

south_scoob

I take it the rake on a Subaru is the opposite of what you mentioned. Ie higher front then back. Why do they do this? I suppose the only fix for something like that would be a full set off coilovers which wont be happening

2pot

iTrader: (3)

You'll get more of a performance advantage by renewing the dampers, every 50/60k.
By all means try a rear bar on it's lowest setting, to start with.
Do not underestimate the part played by the bump stops, they are a wear item.

Camber is adjustable - what yr/model Impreza?

2pot

iTrader: (3)

The Impreza has positive rake, it's the profile of the arches, that make it look negative.

There are alternatives for increased positive rake, if you've got a classic?

https://www.scoobynet.com/991887-pro...tunity-14.html

south_scoob

Its actuly a newage. From what I gathered id be more then happy with handling off a classic. 04 blobeye to be precise.

Maby I came across incorrectly. There's nothing "wrong" with the way my car handles in fact compared to most cars I've owned its decent. But being a wrx its a bit numb. However I'm not willing to sacrifice ride quality as Imo its a positive things that sets it apart from other performance cars that all seem to have a harsher ride then the wrx. If the noise, bonnet scoop and spoiler in the rearview wernt there you could be driving a mondeo etc in comfort terms. So maby I'm barking up the wrong tree looking for handling changes.

south_scoob

I think everyone needs to speek to someone like you before doing mods to there car.

I read somewhere recently somebody who fitted front lowering springs just to the front of his impreza to "level" it out when clearly if your right the rear just looks like its squatting due to the body shape?

I asume that guy would totally mess up his handling with miss matched spring rates front and rear and a more heavy rake then standard!

2pot

iTrader: (3)

Re-new your dampers and bump stops, as a matter of course.

These are good:
https://www.scoobynet.com/group-buys...mited-run.html