uwrx

I've been reading the various posts on the subject but I'm having a hard time deciding between the Eibachs and Prodrive blue for my MY02 WRX sedan with UK 17" wheels.

As the Prodrive blue is not sold on this side of the pond and I'd have to source them from the UK, I thought I'd solicit the advice of the experts.

Mike Wood mentions the blue are designed for the MY01 while the Eibachs are carried over from MY00 and have not been optimized. Yet, TSL seems to favor the Eibachs because of the progressive spring rate. Hmmmm, what to do?

Has anyone tested these setups back to back on a MY01? Insight on why you decided for one but not the other would be great.

Cheers.

Trouser

Hi Mate

the problem with this whole blue/grey thing is that it's so subjective!.. it all depends on the kind of driving you do, what the roads are like there (probably much better than here ) and generally what the car is used for.

Both springs work wonders on the standard chassis. We have covered equal miles and both in our 02. Currently running grey front and blue rear just to assess that the fronts are identical. it may be my imagination but we seem to be getting better results ride wise on 02 cars... Same part numbers for dampers AFAIK but feels different .. may be different gas or valving which will affect you choice of spring.

So there you go.. .. as little help as ever .. Grey's are a tiny bit firmer in their drive which many of our customers prefer.. but you won't go wrong with either!


Cheers

Paul
TSL

DrEvil

It would seem that when you run the Prodrive springs with Prodrive/OZ 10 spoke 18" with PZero Rossos, the issue with the rear end become apparent... as a few people running 17"s are not experiencing (noticing?) the issue.

I've just fitted GoodYear F1s and these seem to have improved the stability of the front/rear end of the car, I'm running PD/OZ 18"s and Prodrive springs.

Rgds, Alex

Jza

I'd go for the eibachs (standard for all models - grey colour).

I was surprised by the feedback about the rear end.... dont notice that all on my MY01!!!

I remember Prodrive's Mr Mike Wood saying that lowering springs were a bad idea - and that they would bottom out etc as they werent matched to the dampers.

So im very surpised that the new Prodrive kit simply invlolves lowering springs (same at front, lower than the grey eibachs at the back). That doesnt make sense and makes me think its all marketing bullsh1t....

Pays your money..... either way im not changing to the Prodrive kit - and i'll take Mikes comments with a pinch of salt in the future

Jza

MikeWood

Jza

What I ACTUALLY said was that lowering the car TOO FAR would mean that it rides on the bumpstops. Springs that are properly matched to the dampers will work very nicely.

Regards

Mike

Note to self:- Must brush up on Impreza knowledge as I obviously know nothing about them at all!

Jza

Right - did a search... dont want to accuse anyone so thought id find out the facts....

What Pete Croney said at the time....

"We (him and Mike Wood) are both in agreement that fitting lowering springs (only) to this car will be disastrous."

Mike said....

"The pictures you have seen so far show the vehicle at a slightly higher ride height than they actually are in use. We have a development car with the same parts fitted and it
looks much better in this respect as the suspension has settled over time.

We have done some work with the car at a lower ride height and found that it was actually much worse to drive as it constantly ran on the bumpstops, particularly at the front, leading to both unacceptable ride and handling."

Forgive me - but don't Eibachs/Prodrive springs lower the car about 25mm......?????

Can you see where im coming from Mike - or are you now saying that Eibachs aren't "lowering the ride height"?????

???????????

Jza

RichiB

Jza:

We have fitted loads of sets of Eibachs (grey ones) to my01 cars. There is no way an issue with bottoming out or getting anywhere near the bump stops. Stop worrying and get a set fitted they are the bizzo.

Rich
powerstation

MikeWood

Both the Eibach springs and our own lower the car to an extent, that's what they are supposed to do. The trick is not to lower it too much so that you don't get into all the nastiness descibed. As far as I'm concerned, ride and handling are more important than visual appearance, however reducing rideheight should, if done properly, improve handling as the C of G will move closer to the roll centre thereby reducing body roll.

Perhaps Pete's comment should have been qualified with 'without proper and exhaustive testing of many different combinations of springs with different rates and rideheights'

Mike

uwrx

If there's one thing I want to improve with new springs its the ride quality. Right now my car “jiggles” over small road imperfections--the dampers reject the bumps and the driver gets them all. This seems to be a trait the MY01 cars with 17" wheels and standard suspension have.

Has anyone with 17" wheels noticed an improvement in this area after fitting either spring kit?

stu200

iTrader: (1)

uwrx,

I'm with you on wanting to know about this. My car's going in to the dealer next week to get the suspension checked out, as sometimes it feels like it's wobbling on the suspension mounts.

I'm on the standard 17" alloys, and have tried tyre pressures of 33/31 and 31/29 front/rear with not a great deal of difference.

At the moment it sometimes "floats" left and right whilst on the motorway, and it's certainly dented my confidence in the car

NBW

<diplomat mode on>

I thought it was generally accepted that:

1. Changing springs is a bit of a lottery - you'll never know how well they'll work with the existing dampers.

2. Lowering a Scoob more than ~30mm makes it practically unusable on the road.

3. Exceptions to point 1. are Eibach and Prodrive.

<diplomat mode off>

AliWrx

Stu2000, what tyres you running on mate? Is it a five door?
I had a simmilar problem to you on Avon ZZ1 before with the car wondering on motorways, making the back end feel well, odd and very unnerving. Eventually switch to P-Zero Rosso's which improved things but now i am besieged with tramlining. A visit to TSL is in the diary to get it sorted out.

Alex, you definatly had the same problem as i, have the Goodyears improved it much?

Ali

stu200

iTrader: (1)

Ali,

Nope, it's a 4-door (with 2500 miles on the clock) on the OEM Bridgestones, until I can srub enough tread off them to justify the cost of replacing with either S-03s or Toyos.

MarkWRX

Hi,

I had the Prodrive blues fitted on Tuesday by TSL and the geometry set up as well. (As well as a few bits and pieces I wasnt intending to purchase )

I must admit I am amazed how different the car feels compared to before. It really is like a new car and I havent stopped grinning all week whilst driving it

It turns in so much better, I have had no understeer (It no longer feels like a FWD car), the tramlining has gone and to top it all the ride quality seems better!! The only times I can feel it is going over speed bumps.

Im not sure how much of this is down to the Geometry not the springs but its the best money Ive spent so far. I cant now beleive how bad the car was before.

Myself and Graham drove my car on Blues and his on Blue front/grey rears back to back on Tuesday (Graham rather more agressively than me ) and they did feel noticibly different, though mine is on 18s with PZeros and his the standard 17s.

Through one or two of the corners mine on blues did feel a bit more 'jiggly' at the rear (not sure if thats the right word) but Im no expert and I am more than happy with the feel of the prodrives on my car. I went back over the same route a third time on my own, and this setup certainly gives me a lot more confidence to carry more speed through cornering now. The roads round TSL are great I wish we had some like that round here.

The other practical advantage for me is that the blues are a subaru part which makes it easier with the insurers.

In conclusion this is all very subjective and after reading a few reports on here, I too was worried about making a decision but I am more than happy with my setup for the type of driving I do and the roads I regularly drive on.

I would also suggest that the Geometry setup is a must and many thanks to Paul and Graham at TSL.

Cheers

Mark

Mark A

iTrader: (1)

Buy the Bilstein coilover kit and reach the handling navana.

Mark A

uwrx

Thanks Mark! Sounds like its hard to go wrong with either of the kits. Do you know the specifics of the TSL geometry set up? I've been looking for geometry numbers I can take to a local shop since the time I drive up will most likly be the first time they've seen a WRX

Eibach guys, did you install the Eibach Pro kit 7710.40? This is the kit Eibach.com recommends for the MY01/02 WRX. It differs from the <MY00 kit (7705.140).

Cheers.

Trouser

...... Mind you.. the vast majority of this discussion will beome academic in approximately three weeks time ....

........

Then Eibach will have sent their first DEDICATED set of springs for the 01/02 to us here and I can well imagine that they will contain the best elements of both!

Cheers

Paul
TSL

LoFi

I was wondering when the dedicated spring set would turn up. Looking forward to hearing what they are like once Trouser has given them a go.

Piers LoFi

Jza

Typical...

I get the eibachs done and 4 months later theres a "proper" set available...

Bloody typical

Jza

Trouser

Don't worry peeps... i don't think theres an awful lot in it!.. I will obviously report on any changes in feel etc..

The part number that Uwrx quotes is an Eibach USA part no. This is a US market only spring kit for the new 01. Eibach UK tell me that although the spring is obvioulsy up to their impeccable standards build wise it is rather "American" in it's winding. (I think that's diplomat-speak for slightly soft )

The new kit be lessons learned from the previous kits apparently!

I cant imagine that the front winding will be much different. Prodrive APPEAR to have used the same on the blues. (same number of coils at the same helix angle wound at exactly the same poundage) I guess they may just fettle the rears.

Cheers

trouser

WocketWagon

"The part number that Uwrx quotes is an Eibach USA part no. This is a US market only spring kit for the new 01. Eibach UK tell me that although the spring is obvioulsy up to their impeccable standards build wise it is rather "American" in it's winding. (I think that's diplomat-speak for slightly soft )"

Interesting information, though I'm not sure I agree with that "slightly soft" part at the end. Yes, the cars we get here in the US are almost always sprung a little softer than the rest of the world, but that's OEM stuff meant for the general population's taste. The aftermarket is something totally different. Low and stiff seems to be the agenda of many younger American's, and it's those younger American's that make up most of the aftermarket business in the US. Considering how often I hear you Brits whine about your bad roads, I would say that it's more likely that aftermarket springs for the UK are wound softer than those for the US. Matter of fact, one of the main reasons I visit this forum is that the UK aftermarket seems to place a little more importance on ride quality than the US aftermarket.



[Edited by WocketWagon - 3/13/2002 5:57:28 PM]

WocketWagon

My problem is not deciding between Prodrive and Eibach springs, but between buying the Prodrive springs and 205/55ZR16 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tyres to go with my 16" wheels(stock size in the US) or upgrading to just 17" wheels with 215/45ZR17 Toyo Proxes T1-S tyres.

Like many of you, I'm looking for improved handling without too much of an impact on ride quality. The UK car comes equipped with 17" rubber yet most of you are still looking for more, so it would seem that my first option, Prodrive springs, may be the way to go for now versus 17" wheels.

[Edited by WocketWagon - 3/10/2002 9:30:31 PM]

uwrx

Paul,

Is it the Pro 7710.140 kit you are expecting from Eibach?

Cheers.

[Edited by uwrx - 3/12/2002 4:11:31 PM]