MY01 WRX PPP.

Suspension guru's advice sought....

Whilst cornering on roundabouts - at slowish speeds, the front of the car seems to "bounce" around the corner under power.. as the car starts to roll a bit it feels like the suspension doesn't flatten out the bumps as it should (so it reacts to any bumps???) - the front left of the car doesn't stay flat instead it seems to rock up and down and give a wobbly feel... which prevents me from pushing harder. It seems to bounce, drop down, bounce again (once i think its near bottom of the suspension travel), bounce again and so on. It doesnt clank or do anything nasty like that..it doesnt feel broken...

Its done it since day 1 but i'm looking to spend a bit to sharpen the car up (warrenty runs out soon ) and this is one of the worst handling traits my car has.

Any ideas what this could be and what i need to do to fix it?

Ta

Jza

 

jza, it sounds like its underdamped to me. i.e the damping force is not sufficient to contain the spring force. stu.

 

So does that mean there is something wrong with my shox or "do they all do that sir" ?

Jza

 

tyre pressures OK?

have you got soft sidewall tyres on (eagle F1s etc) which allow the car to bounce? I've just had a moment in my MY02 taking a downhill, tight right-hander where I thought I was going to kerb NSF wheel as the majority of the car mass transfered to that corner and tyre took the brunt of it

are the dampers OK? Are you still on the OE set? How many miles have they done? Only as you hint they are still the originals at the end of the warranty...

Are you still on the original springs or have these been changed which "may" contribute to damper failure?

IMO I wonder whether the bump setting of the OE dampers could do with a minor tweak upwards at the design stage to slightly stiffen them? It's a compromise between initial roll/dive and comfort over bumps. I've got Prodrive springs on (which don't damp before anyone says so ) with the OE dampers and still find that there's some initial roll at times before the system stiffens up

I know what you mean about it being unnerving round corners

I suppose the ideal way out would be a fully adjustable set of coilovers but (apart from the big bucks ) could you put up with the inherent stiffness increase and would you know how to set them up? This might be an option as you're coming out of the warranty.

Apple

 

Jza

I'd go with Kippax's diagnosis.

It sounds like the springs are too powerful for the dampers (are the springs non-standard and the dampers standard?), so the car is effectively underdamped. It does not mean that the dampers are functioning badly, but that they are possibly designed for a softer spring.

All the best

Simon

 

Thanks guys - your right - i've had the stiffer springs fitted - so the dampers cant cope as well as they would with softer springs..... i get it

Looks like a new set of coilovers will sort it out.. but for now i'll at least not worry about it

Jza

 

Or you could save some mullah by going with KYBs or Tokicos that are not flashy, adjustable, all singing coilovers, but have a spec to better match your needs.

Well, to save mullah you wouldn't spend it in the first place, but that's not the point is it?