Hey all. I had begun tracking my '04 STi a couple years ago, then was out starting a biz. Now I'm back to doing track days. I've got alot of seat time in my car, I'm a good driver, and I know the car well. Right now, my main dislikes are the amount of understeer and body lean the STi has. I'm looking for sway brand/setup, and spring/shock brand/setup info. I'm looking for suspension tips from people who either race STis or have alot of experience tracking them. No offense meant, but I'd like to keep it to people who actually track their cars. Right now my car is stock except for Falken tires, SSR wheels. In the future, plans are to go turn the '04 into a track car. In the near future, I'd like to start running R-Comp tires and get the suspension more prepped for track events. Thanks to anyone who has advice. 2th.
cage. cage. cage. if you are tracking your car you NEED the correct safety equipment. now, other than that...I will defer all tracking suspension related questions to slowwrx/SS/topspeed and the other track gurus around here
I have about 20K track miles on my STI so I guess I qualify to answer this question. Theres a lot going on at the shop today but Ill try and do a basic writeup about what I run on y car later this afternoon. Matt
Number one... have you gotten an alignment? Stock STis cannot get more than 1 degree of negative camber... having little or no negative camber makes the STi not want to turn. Some basic camberplates (don't use bolts) and a decent alignment will help you alot. Matt can give you a better idea on spring rates and which size bars you should use for a track set up. Personally if you skimp on your shocks/coilovers you definately get for what you paid for. I posted a week ago somebody selling their Dual Adjustable custom konis on SCCAforums for an 02-05wrx/04STi. I'd hop on those and get some setup ideas from Doug and Matt. Keep in mind you have an 04 which means you will toast wheel bearings... I'd also suggest upgrading to the 05 hub. Sixgun racing makes a conversion kit (Alex has it on his STi). And I'd get atleast a decent seat and harness..... if you plan on doing more power a cage would be best.
The setup I ran on my car last year was as follows Racecomp Engineering Tarmac 2 Coilovers with the 500\400lb spring setup Whiteline big swaybars on both ends. Whiteline ALK Cusco Camber plates in the back PDE Camber plates in the front And an alignment from Gran Turismo East Now things I am changing. 1. The Cusco Plates suck in the back, I had then slip three times on track. Ill be upgrading to the RCE rear pillow ball mounts. 2. Because of the above upgrade Ill also be doing control arms in the rear. 3 6 Gun racing Ball joint extender to correct the front suspension geometry. That is more than enough until you decide that you want to be competitive. Oh get a cage
how much camber is recommended on car that's both a daily driver and occasional track visits? This is on ohlins fixed perch with swift r-spec springs (280/252lb/inch) with RCE camber plates. I was thinking -2.0F and -1.6R to clear wheels and tires for the street, would that be too much?
IIRC, what Alex did with his camber plates, was put them in about the middle, then max out the stock camber bolts, giving him plenty of adjustability using the plates.
I'm thinking then to start with camber plates/alignment, sways, and some moderate springs. To do everything at once would be a pretty radical change it seems. Then I can get into stiffer springs/ adjustable shocks later. Does that sound logical? Same camber recommendations as above? This is my daily driver also for at least another year+. Thanks for the replies BTW.
I wouldn't recommend tracking your DD.... if you wreck at a track your insurance is most likely not going to cover it. If you need to keep your STi as a DD i'd get a cheap track car or vice versa... get a cheap DD and make your STi a track car.
This car will become a track car in a year or so. For now, it will be kind of transitional. I'm pricing out: JDM Pink springs Whiteline 27mm front adjustable Whiteline 24mm rear adjustable Alignment with someone who knows what they're doing, front camber plates if needed. I'll go conservative with the camber and learn the car with this setup. After I get a feel for that, I can go more agressive with setup. Any recommendations for aligment in Alpharetta/Marietta?
I Ninja'd you already Siegel....I already have them....Muah HAHAHAHAHAHAHA MUAH WAHAHAHAHAHA MUUUUU COUGH COUGH..
Parts going on this Friday. I ended up going with what I'm used to on tires, just wider w/ Falken 255/40 RT-615s. Hopefully I'll be aligned Friday night or Saturday morning. Mountain run this weekend to feel it all out. Thanks to Batlground and everyone else who posted.
At 38 years old, I've already got all the stupid out of my system. Thanks for the concern though, I understand and have unfortunately seen more than enough people grab for more than they could handle out there. Public roads are not where you explore the limits.
Finished with 27mm whiteline front/rear. Rear on soft, front on stiff. Racecomp yellows. Ride on the street is surprisingly not bad at all. 255/40 Falken RT615s. Thanks to Batlground. Got 1.0 neg camber out of the front (no plates), I think that stock my camber was positive so this is likely what made alot of difference. Thanks to Jeff at Tires Plus (Old Milton). I'm extremely happy with the way it handles now, so far exactly what I was looking for, flat and more neutral. I haven't been close to the limits enough to see what the car will do there yet, but even driving careful I'm way past where the stock setup began to get sloppy. The only bad is the 255s rub the rear wheel wells. Rolled them a bit but I'm going to have to do more. They squirm under really hard braking too but in corners they feel great.