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Suspension upgrades - am I on the right lines?

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Old 19 January 2005, 01:15 AM
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MadDogWRX
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Question Suspension upgrades - am I on the right lines?

I`m looking to spend a couple of hundred pounds some sort of suspension products and wanted some opinions on what would give me the best handling for the money.

My idea -

Front strutbrace
Rear ARB 22mm
Anti-lift kit
drop links (front and rear)

Am I on the right lines with the above set-up.


Thanks in advance
Paul

MY95 WRX = standard suspension + 18`s
Old 19 January 2005, 01:23 AM
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ozzy
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Yes. I would also look at getting your geometry setup properly. That makes a world of difference.

Depending on settings you may need to fit some camber bolts to the rear struts. £25 from Camskill - http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.p...=m10b0s188p512

If you really want to kill understeer, then positive static caster is a very good method. You would need top mounts to adjust that from OE.

Another method is static camber, but that can destroy tyres on motorway cruising.

I prefer the Whitline settings way over the Prodrive offerings. Whiteline settings are on Page 2 of this doc - http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/fac...s/ck_wrx94.pdf

Stefan

Last edited by ozzy; 19 January 2005 at 10:44 AM. Reason: tired and confused
Old 19 January 2005, 01:25 AM
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ozzy
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Just to add, the Whiteline ALK adds some static and dymanic caster, so that could be sufficient to avoid top mounts. Haven't driven a car with ALK, so can't really comment on it effectiveness on std suspension.

Stefan
Old 19 January 2005, 07:13 AM
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911
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Gents:

I have been through all this lot to the max extreme(and cost) but IMHO:

For a good road car on a limited budget (anything will cost more than £200)

Sti suspension
Whiteline front and rear bars
ALK/camber bolts front and rear
A good set-up to Whiteline specs (great advice above)
Great tyres

That will be a nice every day chassis.
I wouldnot bother with the brace/drop links.

That will have you wanting more.....

Add MRT top mounts to dial in lots more positive caster (not more negative camber)
Add very high wearing but sticky tyres
Align to Whiteline Radical settings
Remove all rubber from the suspension pivots for plastic (rough on the road)
A decent coil-over system and carefully selected spring rates.

You will have a rocket of a chassis then which will amaze you, might even keep up with the microchip controlled EVO's!

I have all the above and a few bits more on my competition hill climb/road Sti v3 and it truely is a great chassis.But this all costs, ie about £1500.

If you follow Whiteline suggestions off their site you wont go far wrong.(IMHO)

Enjoy,

911
Old 19 January 2005, 10:05 AM
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MadDogWRX
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Thanks for the advice.

Which of the Whiteline settings would be best Race or Sport.
Old 19 January 2005, 10:43 AM
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ozzy
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Sorry, I did mean positive caster - effectively moving top of the suspension towards the windscreen. Was tired and confused it with negative camber.

Depends on your use. Personally I would go with Sport. Also depends how good a driver you are. I very good chassis can give too much information to some drivers. Perhaps a day spent with a good instructor would get more out of the car than simply throwing bits at it.

Stefan
P.S. BTW, I'll be the first to admit to being a cr@p driver with plenty still to learn
Old 19 January 2005, 12:59 PM
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911
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Cool

As a cr@p driver and a pretend racing driver (I do try hard) the beauty of the mods is the stability of the car and the ability to change direction so much better than stock.
In the fully modded state understeer is gone, but the steering looses it's sensitivity, but i'm so scared racing it I don't notice

I would go for Race settings. The car will drive great, true and square (if it is aligned well, no Halfords job here!) just need to watch the tyre wear.
The sticky tyres mod just means it all happens at a (much) higher speed........

Just do it!

911

Last edited by 911; 19 January 2005 at 01:00 PM. Reason: spelling again..
Old 19 January 2005, 01:56 PM
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TomCat
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If you're anywhere near Cheltenham, take your WRx to PowerStation & ask their advice - Bumpsteer mod & 4 wheel geom is a must for classics, but after that the sky's the limit

Phil
Old 19 January 2005, 06:11 PM
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911
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Good advice from Phill!
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