Ianwales

Hi guys, I'm new to the message board would like some feedback on a couple of topics.

Back in April I traded in my '93 Celica GT4 and I bought a '99 RB5 Prodrive which I am very happy with. However, some things I have noticed in comparison to the GT4 on the downside there seems to be a lot more understeer (particularly in the wet) I am guessing this is probably due to the higher centre of gravity due to the different style of the car, any comments on this?

Secondly I have the standard 17" alloys that come on the RB5 with P zero's which seem to give pretty much excellent grip in the dry. But the grip in the wet is not the best, which despite being decidedly good fun as I powerslide round roundabouts etc leads me to believe that it is only a matter of time before I wrap it around some concrete, tree, hedge or another vehicle. In peoples experience is this down to the car or are their better tyres for the wet etc.

On the plus side its faster more powerful and lighter on manouvreability just in case you doubting my enthusiasm for scoobies.

Barnaby

I think the general opinion is that PZero's are great in the dry but only average in the wet. Goodyear F1's, Bridgestone SO3's and Toyo's seem to be the tyres of choice (although with much controversy!).

The standard car can understeer although a lot can be down to tyres, tyre pressures and also things like alignment and suspension setup. I'm not an expert on this but a lot of people swear by having the aligment done by a garage familiar with Impreza's.

Fat Blerk

Hi,

I've got an RB5 WR and used to suffer with the same problems.... I've just (in the last month) switched to Toyo Proxes (215 40 R17) and found the grip in the wet to be superb compared with the P Zeros..... understeer is better but still noticeable. I have also just switched the standard springs out for a set of Eibachs (over the standard dampers). This has made a very subtle but very welcome change to the handling. Body roll is almost eliminated, dive on braking and lift on acceleration is less, but more noticeably, the car is much more neutral in corners - you can then force understeer or oversteer depending on whether you're feeling naughty or not. The absence of body roll makes either situation so much more controllable (and enjoyable!!)its unbelievable (for such a relatively cheap mod!) Ride quality is, in my opinion, actually improved, except for deeper potholes where it is noticeably stiffer.......

Ianwales

Thanks for that guys , will definitely look at a change of tyre type once I have worn this set out, which judging by the amount of powerslides I seem to be doing now the roads are almost permanantly wet, shouldn't be too long!

Caronte

Try to increase front camber more that backwards and the car will tend to close the line along the bends. Don't exaggerate or braking will became an issue.

Andrea