Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and just got my -05 sti a month ago. Since it's going to be my trackday toy and everyday drive I installed some AST coilovers and Whiteline swaybars to get the handling right as I had read that type25 should have a good suspension setup.

Now I'm pretty suprised how bouncy the car is on standard roads. I don't mind hard suspension, but none of the earlier cars I have driven with coilovers used to bounce like crazy on smooth roads.

Tried to set the dampers on hard and on soft but no real difference in the bounciness. I tried to ask about the springrates I have but didn't get an answer yet. This is now anoying to the point where I'm thinking of switching back to stock setup.

Is this normal with every coilover set on STI or have mistaken to buy wrong coilovers for my use? Or can this be fixed somehow?

Thanks for any input you might have...

 

Buying coilovers without knowing the spring rates is plain dumb.

Keep the suspension standard and upgrade the brakes.

The suspension is not the weak point on track days, the brakes are.

 

Agree with Davy.
If you must have coil-overs (I do) then getting the rates right is critical, and super stiff is not the answer.
Getting the dampers to do their job is trial and error. I hired a sprint track to get it right in safety in the end.

You have them now, but for circuit track days the stock set-up would be good, antiroll bars as you have and some killer brakes (which i thought you had as stock), just some Red pads?

Graham.

 

Agree with what's been said so far.

I drove an old UK wagon on STiV type R (is it any different to a normal STi) dampers and Eibach springs for a couple of years with a good few trackdays amongst it all. It was only when I begun to run slicks that I decided a change was needed as I was experiencing far too much body roll with the additional grip - even with stiffer anti roll bars.

I fitted AVO coilovers with 325 or 350 fronts and 250 rears and I will forever regret it. It would bang and crash with the slightest dip in the road, cats eyes would jar your spine and if you hit a section of road with a few undualations one after the other you had no hope; it would bounce you from one side of the road to the other. The shafts also showed signs of leaking after the first week. The dampers were recalled and I fitted the next generation which were no different, still as harsh as the first set although they'd altered the ride length as I now had to run the rears at their lowest setting to match the standard ride height and within weeks the shafts were covered in oil.

Off they came and on went a set of fixed Ledas - what a revelation - I no longer get bounced from one side of the road to the other when things got a little bumpy - the damping actually worked! However......road ability was still compromised, I had to back off a lot sooner than I had to with the STiV setup. There's no doubt than on track they are superb but for our roads I'd stick with something a little more suitable.

I've just got a new STi from Japan and thought about changing the suspension but thought hey, give it a go. They've done so much with the chassis that it's probably far more capable than I am as a driver on our roads so I did - I left it standard and thank god I did. It's like driving a luxury car! I've had various fast(ish) cars over the years and all but one I've modified the suspension; some really have needed it as standard they were real bad but the 05 Impreza. No. On track maybe, there is too much roll but then it depends on what you want. If you're chasing the last tenths for the quickest lap time then yes, go for coilovers and such like but I bet I wont be very far behind what with my standard set up ;D

If you are thinking of purchasing any of these set-ups please try before you buy, pick your favourite bit of road or track, one that you know well so you know what to expect, and try it out. You may even save yourself a few quid!

 

I have Ledas (standard fast road spring rates) and must say that compared to my old STiV setup they are far more compliant and take pot holes etc far better. No crashing or banging. These are set quite soft, initially i had them set 14/12 (front/rear 24 point adjustment) and found them very stiff and a little boucy at slow speeds on rough surfaces. Changed to 6/4 and found them excellent and even a little too soft, so now run 8/6.

Would'nt consider ever going back to the STi setup, for road or track. Guess it's just taking the time to get the settings right (and spring rates) and not buying ****e like AVO .

Tony.

 

Did you source the AST setup from Power Station? Who fitted it for you?

If it was all done by PS then it should be spot on as they're considered the gurus of suspension. If you didn't get the kit from PS then it might be worth giving them a call to see if they can help with the problem. They have an excellent reputation on here.

Re the brake comments, I thought the STi came with a decent set of Brembos?

 

Thanks for the comments. Yes these came from Powerstation and seems there might be a problem with -05 model and the inverted dampers. Let's see what happens... It might not be a spring issues as I had read about the spring rates earlier and just wanted to confirm that they actually are what I though I was buying. Might be a newbie in the forum but not with coilovers

And for the brakes, I have motul rbf600+ with ebc redstuff ceramics helping me out. Waiting for the first trackday to see how they perform.

 

Most sadly I have AVO units.
Now 9000 miles old, road and hill climb, no leaks or breakages (a record?)

Wish they would expire so i could justify a new set of LEDA's! They are not good units.

I have 300 lbs front and 240 lbs rear on my Sti v3, damping 70% hard front and 60% hard rear. Seems ok.
I have driven an Sti RA with DMS 50mm Gold Aussie suspension on a sprint track, just so good it is untrue.(they were £2000 also!)

Graham.

 

I find my AST's (on a classic) a lot better than the standard suspension. Its nice and compliant at slow speeds but remains composed as you up the speed.

I run mine at 6 front and 4 back for normal road work. I think the spring rates are 180 front and 150 rear, but thats for a classic so yours will be different.

 

Tony,

What ride height do you have? What spring rates are you running?

I picked up a set of used Leda's with 325/225 f/r spring rates and started with settings at 6/4 f/r but found it to be too soft. I am now running 12/10 f/r but I experience bounciness on slow speeds as well as cruising on the motorways. I'll try your settings for the street.

Anyone tracked this setup? What setting do you have them set to?


Thanks,

Goni.

 

I made the big mistake of fitting a Spax RSX Adjustable ride hight/ damping to my previous car (supercharged MX5) and they were really bouncy, so much so that the rear wheels would leave the ground during corners. I even spent a small fortune on having the car corner weights adjusted and full set up done and it still handled like a pig. The shocks were sent back to Spax for a Dyno test which suprise, suprise said they were fine!

In the end I had to sue the retailer to get a refund.

 

IMHO:

On the Impreza the rear spring rates need to be 80% of the fronts, 325/225 is about 70%
Whatever springs you have the damper needs adjusting so it does actually stop the spring occillating, so stopping bouncing and cr@p handling.
This takes a bit of experimental trial and error to get right, and it is a fine line!

I have a set of crude AVO units on my hill climb/road car, and it works fine, no bouncing, and the rattles/noise has now gone away!

the modern correctly engineered AST's should be fantastic, and the LEDA's, if good condition, just as good.

That front'rear ratio needs sorting though IMHO.

Good luck!

Graham.