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My06 Sti Suspension

mystery machine

By mystery machine
in Scottish Scoobies

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mystery machine

mystery machine

Posted
Posted (edited)

Capable and entertaining though it is, I'm considering sharpening-up my STI's handling (currently standard). Body roll and 'speed of response' are the characteristics I'd like to improve. Car is a daily driver and never taken on track, so I can't compromise too far on ride quality :D

Disappointingly, the options seem a little limited for MY05-onward Imprezas, I've come up with only these three so far... (the big titles are hyperlinks, BTW - if you'd like more info).

Prodrive spring kit

Pros

  • Cheap(ish) at £240 for parts.
  • Won't invalidate the warranty (10 months left - that's important when you're running OEM newage shocks!).
  • Doesn't lower the car much so ride quality shouldn't suffer too badly (GB270 owners?).

Cons

  • Stuck with the OEM shocks - what do I do when the warranty is kaput? Does anyone do affordable direct replacements for the Subaru struts?

Bilstein suspension kit

Pros

  • Solves the 'knocking OEM shocks' problem - I'D HOPE - surely coilovers won't suffer the same 'dried up grease' problem that causes the OEM struts to fail???
  • Better handling than a spring-only kit (surely?).
  • Adjustable.

Cons

  • Conventional wisdom seems to dictate that coilovers are a no-no for daily drivers... so I'm guessing that the 'soft' settings aren't anywhere near as soft as the OEM suspension?
  • Expensive at £1250.

Tein Super Street suspension kit

Pros

  • As the Bilsteins, but slightly cheaper (£1023).

Cons

  • As the Bilsteins.

Any comments on the above?

Any options to add to the list? Does no-one do a springs+shocks kit for these motors?

Many cheers for any help! :)

Edited by Mystery Machine
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mystery machine

mystery machine

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http://www.bc-racing.co.uk/br-series-coilovers.asp

I have these on my Hawkeye STI, really rate them. 30 clicks for hardness too so you can have them softer than standard or knock yer teeth out hard! Hundreds of pounds cheaper than Teins too.

Cheers Col!

'Softer than standard' all the way to 'brick hard'? They sound too good to be true! :)

Are they completely quiet too? And pardon my ignorance, but how do you adjust the hardness - is there a screw on top of each strut? Where do you access that on the rear struts - from inside the boot? (I'm a suspension noob!).

Cheers mate.

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col666

col666

Posted
Posted (edited)

You can see the little wheel on top of the strut in the pics on the site, the rears are adjusted through the parcel shelf.

Not sure what you mean by quiet? I have mine set about 20 which is pretty damn hard but it makes the steering really responsive when you click it down a bit it goes a bit wooley(like standard!)

Edited by Col 666
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mystery machine

mystery machine

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You can see the little wheel on top of the strut in the pics on the site, the rears are adjusted through the parcel shelf.

Not sure what you mean by quiet? I have mine set about 20 which is pretty damn hard but it makes the steering really responsive when you click it down a bit it goes a bit wooley(like standard!)

Cheers again for the comments, Colin - been reading the link you sent and I'm WELL tempted!

I was asking if they are quiet because I'd read that some aftermarket springs can clatter as the closer-together coils touch when the spring compresses (lack of coating/wrapping on the coils, apparently). Perhaps it doesn't apply to coilovers, not entirely sure...

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iain01

iain01

Posted
Posted

For the use you have specified I would advise going for the prodrive springs, uprated rear ARB, alloy droplinks and ALK along with fast road geometery settings.

These changes made a big difference to the handling of my GB270(springs were fitted as standard).

The ride is pretty firm without being too harsh.

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bobbyc

bobbyc

Posted
Posted

don't think the group buy matters, If you give Bren a ring at apex performance he will do you a deal

£649 + £17 carraige normally, £250ish fitted with grometry set up for fast road by Hypertech, get the extra long extensions for rear adjustment & this can be done from the boot rather than drill the parcel shelf.

(Bren@apexperformance.co.uk)

Apex Performance Parts Ltd

Tel: 01274 683633

Unit 4D

Wharfedale Road

Euroway Industrial Estate

Bradford

BD4 6SG

UK

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scooby222

scooby222

Posted
Posted

hi mate,where about in central are you? im just outside perth and like col have the bc's and really really rate them so if your near and want to go for a spin give us a shout

also if you wanted to keep the warranty ive the prodrive springs 05 on that were on my car taking up space in the garage which i could do you a deal on :)

as of tomorrow im away for 2 weeks with no net access so drop me a line tonight tomorrow or when im back if you want

dave

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mystery machine

mystery machine

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Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions - genuinely helpful bunch as always :)

I'm reasonably convinced that the BC coilovers are the way to go. However, because this entails binning the OEM shocks/springs, and because I've just had two new rear shocks fitted under warranty, I've decided to wait until either my shocks fail or the warranty has expired before making the change. Might as well get me warranty's-worth out of the existing kit! (plan on keeping the car a while, so hopefully plenty of time to enjoy the BCs too).

Dave - thanks for offering to demo the BCs - I might just get in touch with you about that closer to the time :D

Derek - thanks muchly for offering me a shot of your Prodrive/Bilstein setup - although that could be bad if I happened to really like it..... Prodrive charge the best part of 2K for that fancy kit of yours!

Bobby - are you running the BCs on one of your Scoobs?

Kenny - let us know how you get on once yours are fitted, mate!

Cheers :D

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Richie Cross

Richie Cross

Posted
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Do iiiitttttt...ddddddddooooooooooooo iiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttt!!!

Next time we're on the washboard we won't have to worry about clunking! I think you'll be that bit more confident with the car when it has a tailor made setup.

If I could rewind to when I got the Eibach springs. That money could've gone towards this...especially at the

group buy price!

Before reading the BC webpage, I had the impression that ALL coilovers were too harsh for everyday use!

Mmm, just when I was looking at brakes as well!!!

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bobbyc

bobbyc

Posted
Posted
Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions - genuinely helpful bunch as always :thumbup:

I'm reasonably convinced that the BC coilovers are the way to go. However, because this entails binning the OEM shocks/springs, and because I've just had two new rear shocks fitted under warranty, I've decided to wait until either my shocks fail or the warranty has expired before making the change. Might as well get me warranty's-worth out of the existing kit! (plan on keeping the car a while, so hopefully plenty of time to enjoy the BCs too).

Dave - thanks for offering to demo the BCs - I might just get in touch with you about that closer to the time :thumbup:

Derek - thanks muchly for offering me a shot of your Prodrive/Bilstein setup - although that could be bad if I happened to really like it..... Prodrive charge the best part of 2K for that fancy kit of yours!

Bobby - are you running the BCs on one of your Scoobs?

Kenny - let us know how you get on once yours are fitted, mate!

Cheers B)

Iv'e got the BC's on the GB, set at 8 & 10 for every day running around, set them at 12 & 14 for club runs car handles really well

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