What Would You Do With This Car And This Budget

[ScoobySounds]

Hi fellas,

I'm a bit of a mechaniphobe, I will get stuck in when I have to but will invariably break something.. anyway so I usually entrust my scoob to Duncan at hypertech for advice and whatnot.

I'm fairly pleased with the engine at the moment (decat and AndyForrest) but turning and stopping is, simply put, dangerous at any sort of speed. I've had to brake hard a couple of times at speed and the brakes seemed to be near useless. So i'm not doing that anymore.

I want to get the car to an excellent road standard and a capable track standard.. I not going nuts or anything.. but I want my cash to be spent effectively.

..for which I need your guys help.

so BRAKES

is this correct-

new discs and pads + caliper overhaul OR upgrade to 6pot AP's

obviously I know what would be best, but I don't know how the two options compare.

SUSPENSION

I've heard of people ONLY doing the drop links and anti lift kit, but duncan has suggested a superstreet upgrade (with or without a thing called an 'upper mount'- ) and said you can do the drop links anti lift on top of this for perfection but its not essential.

so can you guys pitch your experience to me about these? do I need all that stuff?

the car is a jap '99 WRX and the budget is in the region of £2000

[mrbadger]

Duncan will look after you very well. Go with his advice, as he really knows his stuff.

Duncan sorted the suspension out on my car, including 4 wheel alignment and it made a big difference.

I haven't done my brakes yet, so will watch this thread carefully to see what people recommend.

[AlanG]

6 pot brakes are good (obviously) , but it's a big part of your budget if you buy new.

If it's mainly road use with some trackdays, i'd be inclined to fit a set of pads in the morning of the trackday as they will withstand the higher temperatures seen on track than you do on the road.

As for discs in std size, keep to std discs. It's the pads that provide the friction to stop, so look into recommended pads.

This also depends on what sort of power you're running on the car. At the level you have, i would do as above, but if you're planning further power upgrades, then maybe the 6 pots would be the better "future proof" bet.

Don't know the "superstreet spec" or what that entails. If std suspension, set camber to max equal at the rear and around 1-1.25 deg neg equal at the front. Set tracking to 1mm toe-in each side front and rear. Will handle well with that assuming your suspension is std and in good nick.

Edited September 8, 2007 by AlanG

[drb5]

http://www.scoobytuner.com/products/?sfID1...p;productID=432

For the brakes.

For the suspension, i'd prolly try and get some secondhand STi5/6 suspension and as mentioned before, get a good place to sort out the geometery.

[the blue dragon]

I have the Tein superstreets on mine and they make a huge difference in terms of handling and cornering. Also as far as brakes are concerned i have been advised by a few people to go with standard oem discs with uprated pads ie ferodo ds or mintex extreme, or similar.

Also had a quick look on Tein website and as far as i can tell the 'upper mount' is just their replacement for the existing scoob one, but the originals can be used without problems.

Iain

Edited September 9, 2007 by the blue dragon

[ScoobySounds]

Thanks so far guys,

so brakes wise we think that the AP upgrade is a bit overkill?

duncan- THE DISCS ARE EBC GROOVED AND THE PADS ARE EBC RED STUFF

so we think these will do the job nicely? compared to

http://www.scoobytuner.com/products/?sfID1...p;productID=432

because thats american dollars so looks like a well cheap price for a 6pot upgrade. only need braided cables, fluid and labour over that price?

alan - you'd still recommend putting track pads on with this EBC setup?

Yeah i'm not planning any further power upgrades, its sitting just now at 310bhp and its fine for me. for now.

blue dragon;

re. the 'upper mounts'

duncan says UPPER PILLOWBALL MOUNTS ALLOW COMPLETE ADJUSTABILITY OF THE CAMBER ANGLE AND CREATES A FIRM FEEDBACK TO THE DRIVER.

does this mean that if I don't get the mounts then i'll be stuck with a rubbish camber angle and no driver feedback? thats the 'half-empty' part of my brain talking

also blue-dragon, do you have the drop link anti lift kit done on yours? if not do u think you need it?

EVERYONE:-- go on chime in and say what your running on your scoobs.

[the blue dragon]

Thanks so far guys,

so brakes wise we think that the AP upgrade is a bit overkill?

so we think these will do the job nicely? compared to

because thats american dollars so looks like a well cheap price for a 6pot upgrade. only need braided cables, fluid and labour over that price?

alan - you'd still recommend putting track pads on with this EBC setup?

Yeah i'm not planning any further power upgrades, its sitting just now at 310bhp and its fine for me. for now.

blue dragon;

re. the 'upper mounts'

does this mean that if I don't get the mounts then i'll be stuck with a rubbish camber angle and no driver feedback? thats the 'half-empty' part of my brain talking

also blue-dragon, do you have the drop link anti lift kit done on yours? if not do u think you need it?

EVERYONE:-- go on chime in and say what your running on your scoobs.

I got mine done at AWD mate, and they set up the corre3ect camber angle for them, an ive had no probs, also , no , dont have the anti-lift kit on it, and tbh not sure if its something i should fit or not, but is something i would consider if was advised to get it done.

Cheers

Iain

[drb5]

Good brakes should never really be called overkill, unless your fitting a true race setup that wont heat up properly unless you have 700hp.

The Wilwoods are WAY better than uprated discs and pads for the Subaru 4 pots. The Wilwood kit should also come with brake lines, although the brake line bolt has a slightly different thread, to the ones used in the Subaru caliper, so you'd need to get a couple of them if you went the Wilwood way.

[dougster]

I wonder what brakes oor Dave has on the P1!

[drb5]

I've had the pleasure of being able to compare them first hand to both the AP 6 pots and AP 4 pots though.

[johnnyr6]

Your current brake set up should be ok on the road but as you've said it was useless i would get your car checked out as it should handle and stop nicely as is so something maybe wrong (worn suspension bushes or something).

Then, if ok, start looking at upgrading the suspension and brakes.

Forgot to add what tyres do you have?? If your running toyo t1r's this won't help.

Johnny.

Edited September 9, 2007 by JohnnyR6

[AlanG]

ScoobySounds

I'm looking at the brakes scenario as being based on the mods you have done and what you intend to do with the car. I had AP 6 pots on mine. Great brakes, can't fault them, but they're expensive, even secondhand.

I've never used EBC pads before so can't comment on suitability. I liked the DS 2500 Ferodo pads, but that was in the 6 pots. I had 1155 Mintex pads on AP 4 pots and they faded very quickly for me, so can't recommend.

If you've got the money to spend and a burning hole in your pocket, go ahead and get bigger brakes. I just feel at that level and use it's unnecessary. If the EBC reds are suitable for road and some trackday use, try them out and see how you get on. It may be all you need.

As for suspension, again, i'd save my money and not buy the pillowball mounts. You already have adjustable camber bolts on the bottom of the struts and they give enough adjustability for what you need. The idea of camber is so that you get the most footprint on the road/track when cornering. Too much camber can be just as bad as too little. For std suspension, i'd set it in the order outlined earlier at about 1-1.25 deg neg.

If you're going for a lot harder suspension, then reduce the neg. camber as the car won't roll as much in the corners, so need less camber to maximise the tyre footprint on the road/track surface.

[ScoobySounds]

Your current brake set up should be ok on the road but as you've said it was useless i would get your car checked out as it should handle and stop nicely as is so something maybe wrong (worn suspension bushes or something).

Then, if ok, start looking at upgrading the suspension and brakes.

Forgot to add what tyres do you have?? If your running toyo t1r's this won't help.

Johnny.

thanks johnny i'll get the brakes checked out first.. i'll have to go down and look what tyres they are. are the toyo t1r's rubbish?

drb - i made a mistake when looking at your link before.. thats for front only! and also couldn't find for a 99/00 wrx.. .

I might just go for the initial suggestion of

Tein Superstreet (without upper pillowball mounts) -

EBC discs and EBC red stuff pads with caliper overhaul

My thinking being that I can always add the drop link anti lift kit, and mounts etc if need be..

Hopefully the brakes will be enough.. surely.

I totally apprecieate what everyones saying about the AP's though, but for the money, and the use i'd get out of them.. i'm not completely conviced.

ps. now whiteline suspension comes into the equation..AAHHhhhhhhrrrrggghh

please everyone still check in here, tell us what kind of suspension/brakes you all have!!! and how happy you are with them?

[AlanG]

Over the years i tried:

Prodrive professional (both versions)

AVO coilovers

Leda coilovers

Cusco coilovers

P1 suspension

Overall enjoyability factor for me was the last option and that was with over 600bhp

Personal choice is a funny thing...

Brakes:

Std 4 pots

AP 4 pots 304mm discs

AP 6 pots 330mm discs.

No need to ask which i preferred...

Tyres?

Strange one

I had Avon ZZ1's once which were renowned to be crap and they were.... with the std suspension, yet were blinding with my Cusco coilover set-up. Go figure.

I still liked the Toyo T1-S's i had for a long time, very predictable and a good all round tyre. Are the T1-R's not more of a wet weather type tyre though?

Edited September 10, 2007 by AlanG

[drb5]

The Wilwoods fit straight onto your car, with no problems at all.

[B14RY W]

I would steer clear of the EBC Brake discs, I had a set on my car with only standard callipers and Green Stuff pads, they were warped within 3 weeks. I am fairly harsh on my Brakes but no where near as hard as you would be on yours with occasional track use.

I can however recommend the Red Stuff pads, as this is what I have at the moment with Black Diamond Discs, and have only positive things to say about both of them them so far.

As far as 6 pots are concerned, as previously mentioned you can never have overkill when talking about brakes. Better brakes is one of the best ways to make your car go quicker. I would always choose the biggest and best option if the budget allowed.

Only my opinion though, sure many will think otherwise.

Cheers

Barry