JohnT

Just before the P1 was released there was great debate as to what mods. had been made to the suspension from the original STI5. Did this get resolved?
The reason I ask is that I find my STI5 very skittish on country lanes and the P1 is claimed to be the best handling Imprezza.

Pete Croney

The springs (only) were changed.

MikeWood

Depends if your car is a 2 or 4 door.
P1 was fitted with Type R dampers and unique springs. What is also important is the choice of wheel and tyre as this has a massive effect.

Mike

JohnT

Thanks guys, you can probably see where this is leading..
So as I have 17" OZ SuperT wheels on my 5 door STI would changing the springs/dampers to that of the P1 drastically improve the handling?

pwebb

John,

dampers are fine on the sti5 - you won't find better - and just to repeat - they are the same as the P1 is fitted with

If you have 17" wheels then you may find changing springs makes the ride intolerable - unless you can find someone who will sell you the P1 springs, as most other replacement springs are lower and harsher.

you may have better success playing with tyre pressures and/or changing tyres.

accepted wisdom is that P zeros and Bridgestone S-02 work best for 17" wheels.

ref: 'skittish'...

have you had the geometry checked ? - simple + low cost mod. Then there is the Whiteline ALK for the front which adds more camber and helps reduce lift and understeer. Solid links are available for the rear as well as thicker anti-roll bar but these may increase the tendency for oversteer...(sti a.r. bar is thicker already) its your choice as to what characteristics you prefer.

Paul W

JohnT

Paul,

Thanks for that. When I say 'skittish' I mean that on poor quality B roads the car feels very light and anything but planted. I have concidered Leda B etc. but I suspect this will make the car even more suceptable to uneven roads.
I have had the geometry changed to the Prodrive settings and the SO2 PP tyre pressures are 35 front/32 rear, the car is an STI 5 Wagon. On fast roads it's great however. Would fitting Powerflex Brushes improve things?

pwebb

hmm - I think powerflex kits are quite expensive for what you actually get ! - ie bits of plastic :-) - also the sti bushes are better quality already so you probably wouldn't gain much.
I run with 33 psi/30 psi front to rear but have stuck with 16" wheels + goodyear F1 - however with the pink sti lowering springs which are firmer than std. Uneven surfaces will have the car 'bottoming' out as there doesn't seem to be much travel - so I don't think the tougher springs would help you either - especially with 17" wheels - my car already 'thumps' into bad potholes.
Maybe adjustable suspension would suit you - if you can stand fiddling with it to suit conditions - Leda is certainly very adjustable when compared to say the sti adjustable dampers that have only 4 positions (Rock solid through very firm ) - the leda suspension does go all the way from wallowy soft through to track day stiff at least. Have you enquired whether those selling the leda kit would take it back if you weren't happy? - might be a good stipulation at time of purchase.

alternatively, hire two portly persons to sit in the back of the car and keep things planted ;-)

good luck

Paul W

JohnT

Paul,

I wasn't aware that the Leda B had such a wide range of settings etc. I think a call to ScoobySport is in order, espeically if they offer a trail period. Thanks for your input.

John

sungkono

I have an STI Type R Ver 5. I live in Batam Island Indonesia where the majority of the roads are windy and have some nasty elevation changes. I just changed the original tyres that came with the car to Yokohamas A- 520. This got rid of some of the understeer. I guess the front just grips that much better.

Front pressure is set at 30psi front and rear at 32psi. My reason was doing this is because with lower pressures up front, the tyres would have a wider contact patch which will increase front grip (less understeer).

Rear tyres will be stiffer and will also have smaller contact patch increasing oversteer. Lower pressure at the front will tend to reduce torque steer when you are accelerating, especially when you are negotiating undulating country roads.

You might want to reduce tyre pressure because I once had 35 psi all around and my car felt very edgy and did not feel planted when going through corners with major elevation changes.
Hope I have helped.

Mo

John,

I have a 5dr 94MY uk turbo which had terrible handling. So I replaced the dampers with units from an Sti-V type R (thanks Richard F!) and fitted Eibach progressive rate springs. Obviously not up to LEDA standards but a very good cheap option...all for less than £350 fitted. Only time I ever wish for more is on track.......but that'll have to wait....

MorayMackenzie

My STI 3 felt skittishat high speed over B roads... I thought it may be a limitation of the suspension, but when I mentioned it to Powerstation they suggested that the geometry could be adjusted to fix this. They then proceded to setup my car as the first "Bump-steer-removed" scooby. This transformed the car, making it much more stable at speed and more easily controllable on the limits.

At a later date, I had Eibach springs fitted at PS, this made a further improvement to the car, working extremely well with the standard STI dampers.

I would reccommend you consider going for Bump steer removal and possibly eibach springs to further refine things.

Oh, and replacing the whole lot with ex-works prodrive suspension would probably transform the car into a serious weapon... I would imagine... ho hum, is that the time.

Moray

dela

So P1 springs aren't commercially available then?

I'm sure Prodrive/IM would make a killing if they were, then again, I own an STi, so shame on me for thinking they would sell me anything.

dela