I've recently installed Pro-drive springs. I'm not satisfied with the drop in the front, the car still seems uneven. If I could go back, I'd probably buy the RCE's and be done with it. Many have said that the RCE's are too harsh for daily driving though... so whats the solution??? Many on IWSTI are talking about RCE Lowering camber plates to complement their Prodrive or Pinks, stating its a perfect setup for daily driving. It seems like a very expensive solution to my issue, considering the camber plates are $409 dollars. Not to mention labor costs if I cant find someone to help with the install like I did originally... then I'm assuming you need another allignment.... Anyone have any thoughts/experience with this? Should I just live with the gap, buy new springs and take the harsh ride, or go with the RCE lowering camber plates and be done with it??? Are there any other companys that make something like this for less money???
Thats a decent amount of money to spend on a purely racing mod. Its a great addition if you are a weekend warrior, but a bit excessive if not. The ride height still may not be perfect when you are done also. The best way to get your ride height perfect is to use something with adjustable spring perch, coilovers or ground control springs.
Good points all ^^^ , also, expensive! Adjustable spring perch(like Ohlins right?) are $1900. You can get some cheapo coilovers for $1000-1300, not sure what ground control springs are. While functionaly, it might be a racing mod, I'd be using the lowering camber plates for asthetics. I allready have the springs, so providing I can get help with install and don't have to pay, I could have the setup I'm lookin for for another $400. Any of those other options, we're talking a lot more... Just not sure how lowering camber plates plus prodrives would ride, or if the drop they provide will give me the look I'm going for.... Any other thoughts guys? I was hoping to spark a "perfect daily driver + asthetics" setup discussion...
The RCE lowering camber plates should lower the front of the car 1/2". The only ride quality difference is that bumps in the front feel much more direct, but that also adds a lot of steering feel to the steering wheel. Some companies run stiff rubber bushings in the camber plate to create a happy medium, others just use metal on metal bushings; I'm not sure what the RCE ones are. . . A lot of wagon guys swear by the lowering plates also as they make a saggy-butt-drop into a slammed all around drop. I'd just get a different drop if you're not happy with the aesthetics. Tein S-Techs, although horrible have pretty good spring rates for 04+ models. Stiffer than JDM Pinks with a very low stance. I wanna say that they're around 247 lbs in the front and slightly over 200lbs in the rear. The Ground Control springs are a good option; basically you hack off your stock spring perches and make a hybrid coilover using your stock strut. It allows for height adjustment as well as whatever spring rate you want. Lots of guys have gotten stock struts, put Koni inserts in them and GC springs for a custom coilover setup. You lose a little bit of strut travel and it doesnt normally save much money over a true coilover setup but is an option for those piecing together their suspension one bit at a time.
Well, what I said to you earlier still holds in my humble opinion... If your car is equipped with lowering springs you should not be using a camber plate that lowers the car. If you are using a stock height spring then by all means go for it, but lowering from 2 separate pieces is excessive and may not yield the benefits you are seeking (unless its purely aesthetic).
Ground control coilover springs are brilliant. They basically convert your strut setup into coilovers. I'm going to be going with agx's and gc springs soon. They shock dyno's I've of that combo are just brilliant, especially in comparison to some coilover dynos I've seen.
Be wary of the GC springs, they are mainly for show. Meaning getting your ride height where you want it. The AGX's can only handle so much drop also, before it cannot dampen the spring. It is not a good idea to put a large pre-load on your spring. You will bounce down the road like a school bus and your suspension travel will be very low. Meaning, one large pothole and your strut is going through the top mounting frame.
since we`re talkin about camber plates... what is the cheapest plate that can adjust camber AND CASTER? also, would the ALK give you more caster vs camber plates (i guess it would be different for each companies that make camber plates)
PDE. I am not sure about the caster additions between the two. I am sure you could look up what caster the ALK gives and then total caster achievable by camber plates. The ALK's put you in like Dmod or some crazy thing for autox'ing also. If you are interested in that.
PDEs kick ass, but keep in mind they raise the front end up about 1/4-1/5". They're not something you'd do for looks.
raising the front would be "GOOD" for me because i will be lowered on prodrives soon, and i hear that because of it's raked front, the car doesnt handle as well as other springs do. also, if i get a lip, it would help. honestly, i dont really care about the look unless my car looks stupid. i am a firm believer that there must be a reason why subaru engineers made the front fender gap bigger (I think it's for more suspension travel at front, but i am a noob so what do i know)... damn i wish the cusco camber plates were caster adjustable... some ppl on nasioc said that you can get a little more caster out of them if you twist them, but that makes no sense to me (according to my reseach, caster is how much the suspension component moves forward right?) but if the cusco camber plates are caster adjustable, i`ll probably be getting those (b/c they can be had for around $200!!!!!)
^^^ Prodrives do not lower the car that much, certainly not enough to negatively affect handling (I think they handle great). If you bought camber plates that raise the front, you'd be putting the car back to stock height... I'm probably going to just keep my eye's peeled for some used RCE lowering camber plates or just go with RCE springs like I should have in the first place... the gap in the front is really pissing me off...
I have prodrives and PDE's and the front sits a little higher but nowhere near stock. what i lost in looks(i dont really care) i gained in performance.
Let me say that with the prodrives, the lowering plates should be alright. Earlier I was referring to if you had some extremely low ones (eg RiCE springs).
yea, i saw josh`s car on prodrives, and i think that`s about the lowest i`ll go.. i find it funny that you are mad with the gap at the front with the prodrives, because usually prodrives make our cars rake forward? maybe it's different on the blob eyes, but for bugeyes, i think it looks hoT..
^^^ Must be different on the 06' STI's... The drop is barely noticable(maybe 3/4 of and inch in front and back seems to be less than that). I have before measurements and need a tape measure to get the after, but its not that much. Maybe for the 02-03's with prodrives the drop was a lot more drastic... Alex saw my car last week, he can attest to the lack of drop...
anyone have any idea how much these would raise the front on my car? http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1287425 just bought them hehe..
o yea, i dont know if this question has been asked, but... is there a side-affect or a compromise from getting more caster? for exmaple, in general, you wear out the tires faster with neg. camber right? so there must be a compromise...
The only side-effect that you could even almost call a downside to more castor is heavier steering. But most people consider that an upside Siegel
tereance's prodrives provided little to no drop compared to stock. and my whitelines are ALOT lower than his prodrives. i love my whiteline springs and stock struts, but i think coilovers may be in the future for me.
Noltecs are probably the cheapest camber/castor adjustable plate on the market. The Whitelines are exactly the same as the Noltecs just gold in color. You can orient them one direction to get max negative camber and slightly more castor than stock, or spin them 120 degrees and get lots of castor improvement and a little bit more neg camber. Only downside is that adjusting them is very vague; I've got them set in the castor max position with the plate maxed out and am happy. If you want to make any sort of adjustments with your plates just get the PDEs and call it a day.