What kind of bracing is recommended for fast road for a classic saloon? Front and rear? Anyone bothered with anything under the car?

Not really interested in cosmetic appearance

Thanks

Z

 

There are loads of braces that you could use. There are the top mounted strut brace's and then the lower front brace's by various manufacturers (Cusco etc).

Have a look on http://www.j-w-racing.co.uk/acatalog/subarubars.html

I once fire walled (solid rear bulkhead) an RS2000 years back and that made a huge difference to the stiffness. Bare in mind though that the Escort could have 1 wheel jacked off the floor and keep the others on the floor, so not very stiff to start off with.

It would help loads with road noise though, which is why I will be doing it soon.

 

Excellant link thanks a lot.

I have just got back from another drive to workout what it is that is annoying me about the car. The car needs a geo check again but remains nervous on bends and the steering feel is still really vague.

On the limit it is still safe as houses but for moderate driving it doesn't instill the confidence I think it should.

I wonder if moving to 17" wheels would help this steering feel. It's on 16's at the moment.

I think I will go for bracing the front......I have whiteline arb on the back and eibachs and standard dampers. I suppose it could be dampers and an anti lift kit first?

Not enough money to do the lot sadly.

Thoughts anyone? Anyone in Sussex want to see what I mean?

Mark

 

I hill climb my Sti v3 classic.
The car has Sti front brace, MRT lower front brace, full power flex bushes, but the most significant 'stiffener' was a 6 point roll cage.
Not cheap, hard to fit, but fills you with confidence when those odd 'moments' happen........
911

 

Sorry, missed a bit.
17's and very good tyres will transform the car (I meam semi slicks for the road). I have ALL the Whiteline parts and some demon MRT parts plus a radical set-up which I think is very similar to the factory Type C settings, makes a massive difference.
911

 

911, can you confirm your set up. Currently building a sprint/hillclimb car to GroupN spec.

presently have the whitlines ARB front and rear, anti-lift, up-rated bushes, drop links, bump steer mod, subframe lock kit, sti front upper brace, prodrive/bilstien tarmac struts 40mm front and 50mm rear and OMP 6 point cage.

what settings are you using and anything else you can recommend from your experience

many thanks (sorry for hi-jacking the thread)

cheers
za

 

Za, just found this thread again!
My suspension is similar to yours, but i have added:

1
MRT front top mounts for max caster
2
Camber bolts all round for huge neg camber adjustability
3
Rear diff cage bushes
4
White line rear lower arms for wide track/adjustment of toe
5
Braced anti roll bar mounts
6
Front lower subframe brace from MRT
7
MRT steering rack bushes
8
Evil set-up from Whiteline extreem hill climb car, ie 4 deg neg camber all round!
9
P1 17'' alloys with Kumho List 1B tyres @35 psi all round.

That little lot makes the chassis rally good, hill climb or ordinary road. I drive the car to and from the hills (3000 miles a year)

Puzzled why you are building a Group N car? Hills and rally perhaps??

Anyway, hope this helps a bit. Don't come to the Midlands and blow my doors off!

Good luck. There are about 6 people I know who are hill climbing Scoobys now.

911

 

Nervous? Not normally an Impreza feature I'd have thought.

Short of changing the suspension for stiffer and probably lower, you could try a front, upper strut brace. Fitting 17s is a worthwhile idea too.

Thinks... what tyres and make of tyre are you running at the moment? What tyre presures?

J.

 

J raises a few good points here.
Some tyre's (sidewalls) are stiffer than others, and this can make the car 'nervous', I would say a little unpredictable. I hill climb my Sti v3 and have found Toyo's to be very 'stiff' and V70 Kumho much stiffer again.
The move to 17's makes a massive difference to the above obviously, but is a great combination IMHO.
Tyre pressures are a black art, and with a stack of mods, 17's and Kumho's I have found 35 psi all round great in the dry and wet, on the road or in competition.

I think suspension is about balance and the driver feeling confident and in full control. Once you have that go for the 400 bhp to now need (and can use....)
911

 

cheers 911, sounds like you have done your research on this one

is your car seam welded?? also where did you get the whiteline settings?

GroupN as I plan to also enter the Scottish Tarmak Championship next year.

cheers

Za

 

if anyones interested i have a full set of arb's and strut braces made by cusco for sale soon. pm me if your interested

 

Za, no, the shell is stock Sti v3. the settings are on the Whiteline web www.whiteline.con.au Site is not too easy to get into, but keep trying and you will find!
Although radical, my tyre wear is even right across, and after a good fast hill climb, the tread is hot right across, front and rear.

If I was really serious I would strip the car for lightness and weld the cage in, to the roof also.
911

 

Thanks to all

I'm running standard 16's with mid worn Toyos. Subaru did my alignment and although I haven't got a data sheet this time it was set to compliment my Whiteline ARB and Eibachs.

drb5 I have PM'd you re: the braces

Next stop to raid the bank for some 17''s

Done to death I know but checking my tyre pressures I think I'm losing a couple of PSI a week from one of the rears, which can't help when I check them monthly <duh>

I must say that it isn't a nervous as an old Triumph GT6 on twenty year old springs...I just get fussy when I read what can be achieved by the likes of 911 et al.

I'll do one thing at a time see if I can detect the benefits as I go.

thanks

Zoton

 

yhpm back

 

Zoton, one step at a time is a good approach. My pressures for 16's/Toyos are ideal for 17's/Kumhos.
Good luck with it all!
911

 

Is it worth fitting a rear strut brace to a MY99 classic?
I am currently running std dampers with Eibachs, STI front strut brace, ABP fast road geometry and in the next few days Whiteline front and rear droplinks (from the SN group buy that is going on at the moment).
I was going to order a Whitline rear strut brace but I dont know if it would improve anything?
Anyone any ideas?

Cheers

 

I presume your car is a Wagon?
If so then i would try the brace. i am not personally convinced about braces as they seem to be a 'fashion' part, and some designs are so weak they must flex as much as the body.
If Whiteline think its right I would go along with that. I have found them to know their stuff911

 

Its a saloon 911, I do wonder whether they are more cosmetic than functional unless you are running coil-overs and have sorted the rest of the suspension, I think the money would be better spent on an adjustable rear ARB

 

Or sh*t hot tyres, such as Kumhos.
I doubt that you will see (feel) a difference with the brace.
911

 

Doh! missed the point.
If you do not have the Whiteline front/rear bars, you don't know what you are missing!
Get them and a bloody good alignment done, and enjoy!
911