Edcase

Some people were asking for some thoughts from my post in members gallery, so I thought I would cross post them here too:

For those that haven't seen the thread, the setup is 2002 WRX, Eibachs, TSL geometry, whiteline 22mm rear antiroll, Powerflex rear droplinks and now a front strut brace.

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Regarding the strut brace, even at 30mph it is instantly noticeable that you have it fitted. As soon as I pulled out of the driveway I could feel the difference. The front wheels of the car feels so much more connected to the steering wheel, and with the rear antiroll upgraded you can really feel (and control) every movement through the steering, brake and throttle inputs.

There is a junction near me that is basically a 360 degree loop onto a different road, and I nailed the 2nd half of it in 3rd for the first time ever, and rather than understeer, the whole car drifted only a handful of inches. My brakes now feel utterly awesome, even with 4 adults in the car.

On the downside, while we are talking about brakes, I have noticed that the ABS is now kicking in a lot more, mainly over bumps, and / or when turning. I was pretty much expecting this. However after Japfest I was experimenting with tyre pressures and so mine are currently running about 4psi over, so I am going to try putting them down to 29 or 30 and see if the extra secondary cushioning from the tyre dampens the ABS sensitivity.

The only other small downside is that you need slightly more effort to hold any great amount of lock on the steering now, as obviously you are fighting against an utterly rigid front end. Nothing major, but worth a mention.

Overall, I think with the extra 4psi out of the tyres I will be very happy with the brace, and it does show that regardless of how stiff the new shape cars are, it is nowhere near rigid as the brace makes an instant difference. If you go anywhere near a track, get one, as I can already forsee huge benefits. If you do mostly sweeping b roads, its also worth it, but bear in mind the added ABS sensitivity over bumpy cambered road. I will update thoughts on that once I've taken out some tyre pressure.

Here is a pic:



Thanks to TSL as always for the parts.