alright guys i want your input.. i got some money for x-mas to spend on my car($400) I was planning on getting some GC coilover sleeves(because i can get what ever spring rates i want) but i recently got an alignment and saw that my camber bolts had slipped (-2.5 in august to -1.3 in jan), so ive started looking at camber plates. here are my choices 1. get a nice set of camber plates(PDE) and save the rest of the money for springs in the future 2. get an less expensive used set of camber plates and save a little more(~$100) money and buy new springs 3. screw camber plates.. just get some nice springs(GC's, RCE's,etc.) as for my use and planed use for the car, i love to auto-x, and would like to do a few HPDE's a year, forgot to add my car is mainly a daily driver Current list of suspension mods- Tokico D-Spec's Prodrive Springs Ingalls Camber Bolts H-Brace perrin 22 adj. fsb Thanks
Those camber bolts work fine but you have to tighten the hell out of them! With 400 your about half way to some coil overs that include camber plates but you still will want at least the stock front eccentrics in anyway for a good autocross alignment. My camber bolts are Eibachs and they slipped ONCE, I guarantee those suckers won't slip anymore! I put dual camber bolts per customer request in the "Lord of V-TEC's" '06 Civic SI w/JIC's and he has had no problems and he's a serious autocrosser. I tighten them w/ a 300' lb. 3/8 impact.
Go with the JDM STI Arai 'tarmac' springs. 325lb/in F, 275lb/in R, they're the stiffest spring you can get. Racecomps will be a little softer than those and sit lower. Espelir GTs are 280/230. JDM Pinks are something like 270/217. 05 Prodrive STi springs are supposed to be pretty stiff too. I think the Tanabe GF210s are pretty stiff too but I've heard of quality issues with them. Espelir GTs can be had for cheap, if you feel like roadtripping down here we can take an afternoon to put mine on your car (with the washer mod) and see how you like them, if you like'em you can find some for yourself. All of these are 04+ springs and will require you to use the washer mod or the Turn-In Concepts strut spacer to make the D-Specs fit 04 tophats. You've got some good struts that should handle a pretty stiff spring. Finding a stiff spring to fit the D-specs is going to be hard since all of the springs available for 02/03 struts are spring rates paired to the stock dampers; 04+ springs have a much wider range of options since there are springs meant to be paired with stock STI struts. TiC Strut Spacer
I'd say buy a new set of camber bolts and go "gorilla on 'em" getting them tightened down. That way you get your springs and can keep the camber you're wanting.
thanks for all the info guys, i will look at a better quality set of camber bolts and as you guys said tighten the sh** out of them I will also have to do a bunch of reasearch on what springs will suit my driving style/requirments. i was skeptical on the idea of running 04+ springs because of the sketchy "washer mod", but as Bobby said a couple people on nasioc now make a nice one peice spacer for cheap. rexrocker: I like the prodrive's but i want somthing stiffer Thanks again
Clayton, if you had Willie doing your alignment at the Seneca Checker Lube, he is notorious for not tightening the camber bolts down. If its just camber slipping, you can also buy an alignment tool and just do the alignments yourself. There are some DIY's on it in both NASIOC and scoobymods. Invest in a 1/2" drive torque wrench. Also, I don't think you are running enough swaybar. Get a big whiteline rear. I was really pleased with mine as it helped rotate my car a lot and stopped body roll. I wouldn't concern yourself yet with the higher spring rates as it will increase your NVH drastically. There is also the option of Cobb used for 400. I have seen them on NASIOC for that much.
I was speaking of Cobb AP. As that is a ESP legal mod. The swaybars will help your springs out a little more by distributing the weight a little more evenly on both sides, rather than one side of your suspension working harder. If you still want the springs and camber plates, sell your current setup, and use the extra 400 to put towards coilovers. That way you get the camber plates, higher spring rates, adj. struts, and ride height. Your setup plus the extra 400 should allow you to buy the Tein Flexs, JIC FLT1 and 2, Megan's (calmnothing) and the Helix's. Just be prepared to deal with the harshness of coilovers. I still say get the larger swaybars and call it a day. The above is basically almost what I did to get Alex's JIC's.
I think ive decided on PDE plates an a rear swaybar and endlinks(ive come up with a little more money) i dont think i really want coilovers because of the harsh ride. and as i get more money i will buy springs thanks for all the help guys
Another question... when looking at whiteline rear sway bars.. ive read several differant things if it is a 24 adjustable, does that mean its 22-24-26, or 24-26-28? thanks
The KW coilovers ride better than stock, Ill be happy to give you a ride if you want. I think Scott has a "Scott and Matt are going to win one lap" special going on.
Its 22/24/26 for the 24mm Whiteline. Just set it on max stiff and let it ride. I have been running that bar with stock endlinks for a while with no issues. Some will say they had issues with the stocks and that bar. Personally, I prefer a little dullness from that bar as I haven't seen any snap oversteer with it.
Slowwrx: i dont think i will be able to afford those any time soon, im a poor college student for now:wtc: .. thanks for the offer though Alex: Im definetly going to order the PDE plates, and the RCE springs are a top contender on my list for sure Tom: thats exactly the info i was lookinf for.. im gonna try and find a used bar of that size. and i think i will try running it on stock endlinks for a while and see how i like it Thanks again guys:wiggle:
Just make sure you use a good torque wrench and the correct specs when tigtening down the endlinks. The stocks will definitely break if you over torque them. Bigsky on clubwrx has a post it with all the torque specs for the suspension. I made it into a word file if you just want me to email it to you.
I don't think the rear endlinks are the same for the sti and wrx. I thought the sti had the dog bone looking ones and wrx's had the "c" shaped ones.