05 STI suspension advice plz!

[RyanR]

So I know there are a ton of articles out there on NASIOC and IWSTI about hundreds of different suspension setups. Frankly, I'd like to get the advice of fellow mainers and I'm sick of crawling the interwebz trying to absorb all of the reviews. As of now, the car is 100% stock.

About my driving style:

-The car is mostly a daily driver to get from home to work and back, so whatever setup I get can't be so stiff or bouncy that it kicks my arse

-I do take corners fast sometimes for fun

-I have been known to go out and get my hoon on when the snow flies

-I have been known to hit dirt roads from time to time

-I have been known to hit bear notch road and the kanc from time to time

Goals:

-Decrease throttle lift oversteer from stock levels

-Decrease acceleration understeer from stock levels

-Create more neutral handling characteristics

-Less body roll

-Stiffen up the ride overall

-Gain better compliance in the corners

-ELIMINATE EFFING BOBBLEHEAD!!!

-Eliminiate rear strut clunk

-Not have to replace rear struts every 10-15k (the 10 mile road I live on is super shitty)

That being said, I need your help, as I am definitely not an STI suspension setup expert. My rear struts are blown, which means that I have a few options:

-Replace rear struts w/ stockers

-A massive drawback of this is that I'm stuck with bobblehead, and they'll start clunking 5 seconds after I install them

-Revalve/Rebuild my existing struts through FEAL and get RCE Yellow springs

-I've heard lots of positive things about this setup but have never ridden along with someone rocking this

-This appears to sound most similar to an mk4 VW GTI setup w/ bilstein yellow struts/shocks and H&R Race springs (I find this the perfect combo for that car)

-Coils (used set of ohlins sportlines or kw v3s)

-Expense is a huge drawback, also the fact that they would be used and who knows what they may need (rebuilds aren't cheap)

-I refuse to buy cheap (<$1500, or <$1800 in BC's case) coils new, because they're all junk w/in a year or two of maine back road driving

-Swaybars

-I will probably need to at least get a rear sway going on for this, your recommendations are appreciated.

-Bushing kits

-If you know of any kits that solve any issues in my list of goals, please advise!

Thanks! Go team

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

I like where your head is. Now I'm going to blab on about suspension for a bit.

I follow AQ Motorsports pretty heavily, and the guy who works for them posts on a private board I'm on.

Here's what they have to say:


If the facebook link doesn't work, I'll paraphrase.

Have an STi with clunking rear struts? Feal re-valves + RCE yellow springs are the most effective way to upgrade the suspension and eliminate the clunking at the same time. The total package goes for just over $1000 with tax and installation.

Q: is this set up competent enough for some light track use?

A: definitely' date=' and even more so if you upgrade the tops to whiteline com-c and group n. I would rather have this combo than nearly every coilover under $2000 (oh, wait, I do).

[/quote']

Same guy has this to say in general about suspension, which you probably know, but I know others on here don't:

Don't buy Tein S-techs, and don't buy cheap coilovers. Good struts and some springs and swaybars will get you farther than e-bay garbage. If you want a complete coilver set, you'd better be sure it comes with actual good dampers. Most products under around 2k (and plenty above it), do not come with good dampers. I'm partial to kw, ast, and jrz, but there are plenty of other good shocks out there. You just have to pay for them.

Feal is the way to go unless your getting GOOD coil overs. When a guy who works on time attack cars for a living is saying the Feal + RCE setup performs to the level of sub 2k coil overs, I'm going to believe him over people on here or on nasioc... Feal will also add zerk fittings so you re-grease them to stop clunky clunk. They will also custom valve said sti struts for what ever you're doing. Call Odi up and tell him what you want out of your suspension setup, matching strut valving for what springs you are using.

As for sways. There are two different schools of thought.

1. Sways first because they're cheap and easy.

2. Sways last because due to them being cheap and easy, they should be the final tuning solution.

I agree with #2. I've played with some different sways, and they either put me in a ditch, or didn't perform how I wanted. This was also before I had a good grasp of suspension and weight transfer. After dirt hoonin' and a lot of talk with people way smarter than me, there are better ways to make the cars turn than sways. Getting your castor/camber #'s dialed in will go further than just slappin' on sways.

Once I get my budgeting set up, I'll be going to a Feal 04 setup with RCE springs, Whiteline ALK to fix the stock castor problem, Whiteline tops, group N rear tops, then I'll play with sway bars. Hell, doing my lateral link bushings increased my rear lateral stiffness quite a bit.

I want my setup to be well rounded for autox/rallyx/woods-hooning. I know I'll have to make a compromise somewhere, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

The best setups are the ones proved by a clock...

 

[Pedro]

do the FEAL revalve like Dan said. have them add the grease fittings and hit those every oil change. RCE Blacks are great, but you may find yourself satisfied with the factory springs after the revalve.

other than that, not sure. some of your asks are contradictory.

 

[RyanR]

The added zerk fittings are a must! I would definitely be getting those and was glad they offered them. I was actually thinking of doing that to my own before I knew Feal existed until I realized my inserts were dead.

The consensus most places is to go with Feal & RCE Yellows and see how it feels to you, then add sway and other bushing kits to taste. I think that's the route I'll take. Even just upgrading the valving and getting better springs in there should be a HUGE improvement. As far as the alignment goes I'll be squeaking as much caster out as possible, and probably around -2.1deg camber in the front, stock specs in the rear, 0deg toe on both axles.

Thanks!

 

[2point5RS_Dan]

The added zerk fittings are a must! I would definitely be getting those and was glad they offered them. I was actually thinking of doing that to my own before I knew Feal existed until I realized my inserts were dead.

The consensus most places is to go with Feal & RCE Yellows and see how it feels to you, then add sway and other bushing kits to taste. I think that's the route I'll take. Even just upgrading the valving and getting better springs in there should be a HUGE improvement. As far as the alignment goes I'll be squeaking as much caster out as possible, and probably around -2.1deg camber in the front, stock specs in the rear, 0deg toe on both axles.

Thanks!

Ryan, compare the RCE yellows to the RCE blacks. The blacks try to offer the same performance with less of a height drop. The site explains better than I could. I suggest talking to Odi about what springs you plan to run, because matching the strut valving to what springs you run is important, they're a system and work together. Toe is solid, I usually recommend -1.5 to -1.8 camber (I'm conservative), but -2.1 would be fine since I know you. Getting as much castor as you can, but definitely consider an ALK kit to really correct and dial in the castor. Bushings are also wonderful

Sounds like you're on the right track.

 

[RyanR]

Ryan, compare the RCE yellows to the RCE blacks. The blacks try to offer the same performance with less of a height drop. The site explains better than I could. I suggest talking to Odi about what springs you plan to run, because matching the strut valving to what springs you run is important, they're a system and work together. Toe is solid, I usually recommend -1.5 to -1.8 camber (I'm conservative), but -2.1 would be fine since I know you. Getting as much castor as you can, but definitely consider an ALK kit to really correct and dial in the castor. Bushings are also wonderful

Sounds like you're on the right track.

Yeah, I noticed the yellows and blacks both level out the car which would be nice. I'll give Odi a call.