Manford

My wrx understeers like a b**ch!

Don't have to go onto roundabouts quick, but the front just seems to wash away. It seems fine through the lanes but lower speed stuff like roundabouts there's just no front end.

The front of mine looks very high, which I know they all do on standard springs, but want to check its right, could someone measure the gap from tyre to arch on theirs for comparison?

Fitting the solid rear drop links would help, but how much?

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Before we get technical, what tyres do you have fitted?

Manford

Bridgestones RE050s, came with the car.

Don't like them, noisy and crap in the wet.

Looking at the Dunlops....

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Sounds like you might be running a lot of front camber and cold worn tyres won't help either.

Welcome to Impreza ownership, despite what people think they don't handle too well out of the box and need at least a Subaru specialist geometry set up to help them out a bit.

Manford

Is the camber adjustable on the standard set up? don't you need adjustable top mounts for that?

bludgod

iTrader: (3)

there are adjustment bolts on the bottom end of the suspension strut (i believe it's the top one that rotates?) so you can get a little adjustment there.

*edit* - yup it's the higher of the two bottom ones:

fat-thomas

iTrader: (4)

I don't think these are standard fitment and they are crap also, just used for fitting stance crap rims.

bludgod

iTrader: (3)

yes - I should've said that particular foto and those particular bolts aren't standard. But the picture shows where the standard adjustment bolt is. It too is adjustable - just not as much as the aftermarket adjustables adjust.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I have Eibach camber bolts all round and they will let you get more than the standard set up is capable of giving, although I wouldn't run what they give on the road as the low speed driving just feels weird and quite slipy but it's better on track and high speed when the suspension is loaded up.

I've had RE070's twice now and they are crap once they get beyond half worn, I have a set in the garage that have maybe 4mm and I swapped them because they are just dangerous particularly in the wet, I'll chuck them in the boot to use at my local track here that's notorious for killing tyres, but they won't see the road again.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

On the standard set up the top bolt IS a camber bolt on the front and has a lobe on it but you won't get much more than -1.5 out of it, which is about spot on for normal road use and a bit less at the rear, depending how you like the car to behave, you can only get more with the camber bolts.

I run -2 on the front in the summer or for track days and depending on my mood - 1.5 rear for more active rear or -2/2.25 rear for a bit more stable high speed cornering.

ST-X

RE050's aren't bad tyres, but there are better. They're in the upper 10% of tyres you'd choose to run though so they shouldn't be that bad! RE050 Pole Positions are better (stiffer sidewall and slightly tackier rubber), while the RE070 are a different beast entirely. So tyres shouldn't be your issue, especially as they're fitted all round.

It's possible a rear brake's binding (is it equal understeer in both directions?), or that a wheel's taken a knock and the geo's a bit whacked out.

Have you driven an AWD car like the Impreza before? So many people complain the Impreza understeers but the reality is that they're coming off throttle into a corner, the effect of which is, you guessed it...understeer! The Impreza really doesn't like coasting into corners but is way better if you actually use the throttle to turn the car once you've got a bit of load onto the outside tyre. This isn't an attempt at teaching you to suck eggs, more experience of seeing people complain that the Impreza's horrifically understeery when it's just their driving is still mentally in FWD hatch territory. The Impreza isn't a lift off oversteer hoot in the way of some French hot hatches but it's not an oil tanker and can easily be provoked in whatever way you see fit. Turning in on the brakes or a wee dab of the left foot can resolve any mid-corner tendencies, while in a DCCD equipped car you tend to keep your right foot involved and let the diffs sort things out for you. Most people just need a bit of learning on how to set the car up on the approach relative to most neutral FWD cars.

bludgod

iTrader: (3)

^^ This! - My first week of impreza ownership was getting this discovery, it still doesn't compute sometimes that you need can forcibly will it round a corner when the voice in your head is saying it can't be done and you should brake. First proper run in a DCCD hawk STI was a real eye opener too - seemed like the grip would never end at the front or rear!