David_Harden

Okay, I have to replace the dampers on my MY98 STi 4 Type R cos they're knackered.

The standard suspension is too soft for me. I hate body roll and I've already got 22mm ARBs and solid droplinks fitted so I need some recommendations for stiffer suspension units.

I am used to coilovers, which I had on my previous car (KW v3), but they were a little bit too stiff (80N/mm spring rates). I could (would like) to go with AST coilovers (perhaps with a 60/50 spring rates), but I'm skint at present.

What about KYB adjustable dampers (I don't even know if these are designed to fit the STI) with some stiffer springs (Tein, H&R, Whiteline, Prodrive)?

At the moment, I'm just totally lost with what to do. At present I think I might just have to break the bank open get the ASTs......

HELP!!!!

911

Follow the last sentence.
Not too sure about 60/50 and I've now gone back to 50/40's.

You have just missed a superb second hand set off a hillclimb car with just 1500 miles on them.
Graham

David_Harden

Oh.

I was going to go with 50/40 but seeing your comment on this forum, I thought maybe I could also go with 60/50. So, spill the beans. Couldn't live with them???

911

Remember my car is aimed at competition not the road.
I drove the car for 1.5 years on 60/50 and it was fine, bit hard but not at all bad.
I am trying (again) the 50/40 to have a little more compliance in the chassis to try to keep all 4 wheels on the ground when driving hard (not on the road).

My first AST's had 50/40 and they where very nice imho.

Hence the change.

Graham.

Andy Stevens

My KW v3 for classic Impreza came with 60F/40R out of the box, not 80, that would be firm!

911

80 is rock hard.
A general rule I was told to follow by Whiteline was to have the rears about 80% of the fronts.
Ie 50 / 40 is just that.

Andy Stevens

Does it feel any less sharp at the helm with the decreased spring rates Graham, is it an attempt to quell understeer?

Do you go as far as having the car corner weighted with you sat in it?

David_Harden

And to question further......how much body roll is there compared to the 60/50 setup?

911

Little feel difference on the road to be honest in all areas, roll/pitch'braking etc BUT Power Station did tweek the geometry at the same time which may 'mask' the change effect.
I have yet to tweek the 3 way AST's to suit the softer rates as the car is at API.
The car has not been weighted, but feels fine.
I once had my 911 weighted with a 70Kg compensation for me alone for hillclimbs and the difference was stunning.(or it was way out before!)
Adjusting a 911 is an art not a science....

Graham

Andy Stevens

Some of the race cars in the 750MC hot hatch category I used to run in were corner weighted. I couldnt afford coilovers at the time though so had to live with mine being compressed a bit on my corner. Popular job though, so must have made a difference even to 700kg 130bhp FWD cars.

David_Harden

Right, that's it. I've done about 3 evenings searching SNET and all over the web and I'm fed up.

Having been determined to get KYB AGXs with a new set of springs (saving about 400 quid over AST coilovers), I can't find a set of springs that I KNOW will be what I want. Their are lots of different options, STI pink, H&R, Tein, Whiteline, Eibach, Prodrive etc, but information on the spring rates seems very difficult to get. Just about everywhere talks about them in terms of lowering the car, but having a Type R, not a UK turbo, I can hardly trust that as accurate because how much they lower the car by must depend on what the standard springs are (stiffness and length).

The only substantial help I could find was:

NorthUrsalia.com: Spring Rate Chart

Not bad, but it doesn't help with Pink STi springs for classics (which I can get from Subaru, but at 250 quid I want to know what the spring rates are!!) and it doesn't help with whitelines. Eibach and Prodrive springs won't be stiff enough for me because they're no stiffer than the standard springs on the v4 STi.

What I don't want to do is fork out for new springs and dampers, paying someone to fit them, then end up changing the springs, because I'm not happy with the stiffness or the ride height. It's all the punt in the dark.

So,

I'm phoning Powerstation in the morning and getting AST coilovers. Okay so it'll cost me 400 quid more, which I can ill afford right now, but at least I'll know I'm getting the spring rates I want and I can adjust the ride height to suit.

Rant over.

Still, I do like visiting Powerstation.

911

Good call.
Talk to Curtis.
Take the wife as that will stop you emptying the wallet.....

Graham.