What Handling mod to go for ???

[STi_Bandit]

Iam looking to upgrade the handling on the STi, and iam in a bit of a delima of what actually mod to go for, or what each option would offer me in terms of Handling, comfort and praticallity over speed bumps urgh.

Martin

Option One

Prodrive Springs

Tein Springs

Ebiach Springs

Or save up and get Teins Basic Coilovers for £555

All setups will be getting Front and Rear Strut Braces

 

Option Two

Whiteline Heavy Duty Front Anti Roll Bar Links

Whiteline Heavy Duty Rear Drop Roll Bar Links

Whiteline Anti Lift Kit

Whiteline front & rear Antiroll bars

and Prodrive Geomatry Settings

[oobster]

Martin

St3ph3n recently damaged his scott lowe splitter on a speed bump, and he's got the Tein's on. BUT he doesn't have the STI front bumper winglets, so if you got the teins on yours i suspect it wouldnt be long before your splitter got scraped too.

I've got the prodrive springs & geometry on mine, with the sti winglets + scott lowe splitter, and even then it still scrapes sometimes. The splitter is away being re-painted at the moment actually.

The prodrive springs do drop the car a fair amount, not as much as the teins but enough to make the wheels fill the arches better, and the handling is definitely improved.

Can't comment on the Whiteline gear, as i haven't done any of that on mine (yet!).

Would also recommend the strut braces though.

[STi_Bandit]

The only reason i was thinking of tein basic coilovers was becaise i know eventually the rear structs are going to start knocking so it weather or not bit the bullet now and just upgrade the entire stucts and try n sell the Sti8 stuts here hehehe any takers lol.

but i hear what your saying about the spliteer that may have to gome off whatever mod i do to lower the car

Martin

[st3ph3n]

Droplinks + Geometery.

First and very foremost. The change felt with those alone was frankly ridiculous on my WRX. The car went from decent, but a bit vague at the limit and nervous at high speed on the motorway to being so ridiculously planted it was like a whole new car. I have the 05 WRX too, which has different suspension to the previous years. It's more like the STI. Inverted struts springs to mind.

I've got the Teins on mine as oobster said, and I did rattle the splitter off a speedbump in bathgate and it's taken a chunk out of it. The ride is a bit harsh, but the handling is definetely better than it was on the old springs. The 17" wheels no longer look like they're too small.

Oh and I'm also running a Cusco front strut brace which had a bit of an effect. That was installed post drop links but pre Teins. I've got a cusco rear brace but not installed it yet as I need to take the seats out to get it in.

[Gumball]

THIS WILL BE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT imho/experience

To begin with !!!

 

Tein Springs

 Front and Rear Strut Braces

Drop links at the rear

Geometry settings (prodrive)

 

[Bing]

Agree with Chris,

I have Prodrive springs and geometry, front strut brace, rear drop links and anti lift kit.  All i need now is to be able to drive[sn]

 

[STi_Bandit]

So is there no advantage in getting the front drop links done, iam noticing that two people that have suggested, just doing the rear drop links

martin

[Gumball]

you can put as much or as little on the car as you want. theres some people that are whitelined out their nuts and swear by it.

I know it all works well but.....

I have - both strut braces (do they do much???? dunno), droplinks at the rear, tein springs, a rear sway bar, prodrive settings.

That costs about 140+60+180+100+55=£533

The car flies round corners like a sclactrix car and i just wonder whether you need to spend loads and loads to get anymore?

[des_curran]

I noticed a difference with the front links fitted but not nearly as much difference as i did with the rear links.

I am running Whiteline front and rear adjustable a/r/b's with heavy duty mounts, front and rear alloy links, front and rear strut braces, anti lift kit, rear axle mounts, HKS front lower brace, Tien springs, Prodrive settings, each mod has made a difference to the handling.

If i was to do it again i would get the springs and anti lift kit done first as they require the alignment done, then it would be front and rear links, then uprate the bars.

[STi_Bandit]

oh dont get me wrong i dont want to spend loads, just want to stiffen the car up a little, and improve the handling. if atol possible if its possible anyone want to give me a wee lift in there car so i can see first hand just how the cars hanndling is changed with such mods

Also you can spend ££££ but if you dont have the right rubber on the wheels all the £££ are usless

Martin

[Gumball]

Exactly.

The tyres are everything and again this is down to trial and error by each individual. Toyo T1S are good, then you get onto T1R's and you wish youd found them sooner but again everyones got different driving styles and like diffierent things.

As Des mentioned above, he has more handling mods than customs and excise, where as personally i only have a few.

When my cars back i will take you out in it and you can see how is handles on a few hundred quid, then maybe Des could show you the full bhuna (said the actress to the bishop)

[des_curran]

I quite agree all the mods in the world wont make much difference if the rubber cant grip the road.

I would take you out for a spin in mine no problems m8, i'm off the road for a few days as my tax is up and i'm still waiting on the dvla giving me back my reg doc so i can tax it, but if you want a spin just give me a shout[]

 

[STi_Bandit]

That sounds cool, as long as you dont mean the word spin literally :-). If we are going out in cars maybe one of you like to be in my passenger seat give me a few pointers on my driving style as iam still sure 70% of the cars not gripping the way i like is down to me still not driving it right.

or maybe a wee coast of a run following me dont know, just reakon i need to be told how to drive a awd lol, spot the boy used to FWD

[john_robertson]

As has been said by Gumball, make sure the tyres are decent and and in good nick, at the end of the day the tyres are your contact with the surface and if they're poor quality or in bad shape it wont really matter too much how much cash you throw at the rest of the set-up.

Personnal choice -

Prodrive Springs, they didn't spend a year developing them for nowt you know, even though they are made by Eibach they are not the same. The TEIN gear is top notch stuff but how are you using the car? trackdays etc well go with the TEIN if not why harshen the day to day ride quality?

Droplinks, most people just go with the rear units, either whiteline or for some more cash try the powerflex items, IIRC the STi has solid front droplinks anyway so there wont be too much advantage to upgrading.

Strut Braces, how hard do you plan on driving the car? once again if your doing trackdays etc you might feel the advantage of one of these if not why throw the cash out on one, the newage shells are very stiff from the factory IIRC somewhere in the region of 200% stiffer than a classic. Also it used to be that some Ins Co's hated strutbraces with a vengance due to the fact it can turn a small amount of damage into a major amount as they tend to transfer the force in an accident very well.

Geometry Settings, very worthwhile, make sure the person doing it knows what they are doing and how to read the machine otherwise it is very possible your car will be worse.

John.

 

[john_robertson]

  Quote

That sounds cool, as long as you dont mean the word spin literally :-). If we are going out in cars maybe one of you like to be in my passenger seat give me a few pointers on my driving style as iam still sure 70% of the cars not gripping the way i like is down to me still not driving it right.

or maybe a wee coast of a run following me dont know, just reakon i need to be told how to drive a awd lol, spot the boy used to FWD

 

Not being cheeky here mate, but if you feel you aren't getting the best out of the car it might be worthwhile doing a day ot two advanced driver training, I know of people who done this at Crail with some guy and they said it was money well spent, you do it in your car with the guy sitting alongside you.

John.

 

[fai17]

I've only done prodrive spring and Greersport geometry.

Looking to get some whiteline stuff but the car handles great already as a daily driver.

KH soon...

[st3ph3n]

Bandit, I'll take you for a spin in the bat mobile at the next trackday if I'm there.

I'll no end up like this again. HONEST!

[Gumball]

Martin,

As John mentioned and you brought up yourself, the driving is a lot to do with it and the drving style.

That was a very good post that John put up about the harshness of the teins in relation to the prodrive

 springs. You have to say to yourself "how do i drive and how do i want to drive?"

Everyone wants to be a better driver and thats in relation to what theyre doing. Better at going for

milk, better at crail off the line, better on B roads, better at KH, better at reading the motorway?

If its going to be a track car or a fast road machine then you need to get as much as you can along

with the practise of driving it.

If its going to be a fairly upright, not TOO fast, not flexing the windscreen out on bends then you

need to get what you would like to have.

[STi_Bandit]

my plans are for a fast road car, dont really intend to track the car, thought think i will be on the track on the 22nd of april just to try and understand how to drive it.

 

Generally i drive the car like miss daisy, but enjoy the ocasonal blast up a b-road.

[p1ggm]

whiteline antilift kit and droplinks get my vote

[gus the bus]

I've got:

Tein Springs

 Front and Rear Strut Braces

Geometry settings (prodrive)

..............and would highly recommend these as a first port of call! Next on my suspension agenda would be the Whiteline products.

Gus

 

 

[alistair_learmonth]

Anti lift, prodrive geometry, rear roll bar set to medium and rear

droplinks if it is a wrx, with low profiles of 40x225 (Sti) and using

Toyos T1R or F1 Eagles with my first choice being the eagle.

[STi_Bandit]

Ok looks like ill be going for prodrive springs

and Front and rear strut braces (any advantage of a lower front struct brace as flat four sell a pack for £150) or (£90 with just the front and rear struct braces)

and replacing the roll bar links with whiteline ones once mines start to wear out

Martin

[scoobykev]

All you need is great big wheels[][]

[st3ph3n]

Get decent strut braces. Cheap is not always chearful.