[twiSTies]

tophats are these:



They're what mounts to the top of the strut or coilover.

So do camber plates, they tend to look like this:


see the strut/spring underneath the plate? that's the coilover. it can also be a spring and strut (which is all a coilover really is).

tophats are rubber and don't offer any adjustability for alignments. camber plates adjust camber and can be used to gain caster. they also can influence your toe.

camber, caster, toe are all alignment terms...if you aren't sure of what they mean, i can explain that further too.

camber bolts look like this:


they attach at the bottom of the strut to the spindle and adjust camber only, much like your stock bolts do from the factory, but the aftermarket bolts tend to be longer and allow more camber adjustment.

plates are the best route to go for durability.

[Bishop]

alright so its either camber plates or top hats... if you dont mind schoolin me in suspension i would greatly appreciate it, post here or through PM

[jordanretro1223]

Yeah camber bolts can break so thats why plates are probably the way to go.

[Bishop]

Very nice write-up dave. I only read through the first post, so lemme know if theres more in other posts of the thread.
Basically i gathered some questions, as well as some parts that might fit me.

It was kinda funny that it didn't change at all.... it looks like i'd like RCE springs, whiteline 24mm bars (pending RCE bars), and kartboy endlinks.

It did raise these questions for me.
Do people recommend camber plates over tophats?

Camber plates front and rear? or do you just need them up front.

Can you use camber plates w/ the OEM struts? or do you need coilovers.

I noticed that it is recommended that you use the non-lowering plates w/ struts, but use the lowering plates w/ coilovers. Is there a plate that does well with both? or would i be better off getting plates for the struts and then buying new ones for the coilovers?

Should i bother with camber plates until i get coilovers, since its a DD w/ a very minor possibility for auto-x use.


I also gathered---
Coilovers come down to KW V3, RCE t2, and TiC SST... but like i said, i dont know much about suspensions so i might still be way off....
i'll probably want to pick up a CL X-Brace eventually.
and i'll probably want the whiteline sport or comfort ALK...
Thanks for that link... lemme know what you think or if you can answer some questions

[stretch]

Originally Posted by Bishop

Thanks stretch, i noticed you didn't add springs in at all.

Yes, deliberately. For a daily driver, just get sway bars. When you want more, skip right to coilovers.

Although, I'm a little perplexed why you'd have a huge rotated turbo setup on anything short of a race car. Lots of people do this, and it boggles my mind! It's easy enough to get hooked on racing (in a good way), so I'd try an autocross or HPDE before spending your money so you can decide where you want it to go. On real tracks, horsepower counts for very little next to the suspension and especially the driver.

[ucsti]

Originally Posted by stretch

Yes, deliberately. For a daily driver, just get sway bars. When you want more, skip right to coilovers.

Is the reason for this because upgraded springs will offer little to no performance over stock springs. Or is this just the more economical way to go? Are springs a good middle ground option for those who dont want to spend the money for coilovers?

[mtskibum16]

Originally Posted by ucsti

Is the reason for this because upgraded springs will offer little to no performance over stock springs. Or is this just the more economical way to go? Are springs a good middle ground option for those who dont want to spend the money for coilovers?

The stock struts have major bump travel issues and will ride on the bump stops even with stock springs. If you go to a spring with much of a drop you will REALLY be into the bump stops. You can cut the bump stops to help a little, but you are still reducing the already small amount of bump travel. Stretch is probably more against stock replacement springs than anyone (and to an extent, for good reason).

However, I feel that certain springs can offer a fine compromise between stock struts/springs and $2000+ coilovers. The only ones I would consider would be springs with minimal drop (Prodrive, RCE Blacks, new Swifts, etc). With ANY spring you should cut the stock bump stops in the front (Prodrives come with new ones). If you want springs to "level" the car aesthetically and don't feel that you would be happy with a small drop, then you can look into lowering camber plates. These will lower the front of the car without decreasing the struts bump travel. They do this by raising the mounting point for the top of the strut. RCE has some that would lower the front of the car an additional 3/8" and I think that ground control also has some lowering camber plates. I just got Prodrive springs and plan to get RCE lowering camber plates to go with them eventually. Then, when I get the money down the road getting Ohlins. Also, I wouldn't be too quick to pass on Ohlins for coilovers if you are planning for a DD with good track abilities. Coilovers generally require more maintenance and tend to make more noise, etc....just something to consider.

[Bishop]

Thanks mtskibum. Ohlins and springs aren't outta the question, but i think i'd be happier w/ coilovers since i would like to run some larger rubber on a somewhat aggressive wheel eventually.

[Bishop]

bump for post 19

[stretch]

re: post 19

Don't worry about camber plates since you won't be tracking the car. Camber plates are hugely important, but only for cars that see a lot of track time. The TiC coilovers by themselves will get you -2 degrees camber, which is as much as I'd recommend for the street.

Although, one alternative is to keep the stock springs and get RCE lowering camber plates. On the stock struts, you should be able to dial in nearly two degrees of negative camber up front with that setup. That'd work well. As was said earlier, I wouldn't run lowering springs, but lowering camber plates are fine. If you go this route, do it because you don't plan to get TiC coilovers since you don't need the lowering nor the extra camber with TiC's suspension.

[Bishop]

Originally Posted by stretch

re: post 19

Don't worry about camber plates since you won't be tracking the car. Camber plates are hugely important, but only for cars that see a lot of track time. The TiC coilovers by themselves will get you -2 degrees camber, which is as much as I'd recommend for the street.

Although, one alternative is to keep the stock springs and get RCE lowering camber plates. On the stock struts, you should be able to dial in nearly two degrees of negative camber up front with that setup. That'd work well. As was said earlier, I wouldn't run lowering springs, but lowering camber plates are fine. If you go this route, do it because you don't plan to get TiC coilovers since you don't need the lowering nor the extra camber with TiC's suspension.

thanks stretch, about the camber plates, i was hoping to autox at least once, maybe and probably more this season, and im hoping to get some coilovers down the road, so could use some plates for those im assuming?

everyone says to skip on springs, but i really wanna get rid of the wheel gap until i can get coils lol

[Conekiller13]

Not to add more confusion but............

I do HPDE's and Autocross and camber plates were one of the best things I've done. Actually the only two suspension upgrades I've made so far was RCE lowering camber plates and STi pink springs. The stance is great and the ride improved over stock. The understeer diminished and tire wear was much more controllable. I haven't noticed and harshness or bottoming out on the bump stops in any fashion.

Anyway, that's My experience with what I have.

[Bishop]

ok, so with plans for future coilovers, but thats probably a ways down the road..... how does this sound? and please give consctructive criticism or suggestions on brands and such....

Lowering Springs
front and rear sway bars
front and rear endlinks
camber plates in the front
tophats in the rear?
possibly an x-brace if it doesnt bump me into another class....

like i said, this is a DD, and i wanna get rid of the wheel gap... im also planning on participating in at least 1 auto-x this season... HPDE isnt outta the question, but theres not alot of events around here

[VSGTS14]

whiteline sways
rce springs
adjustable top hats front and rear
kartboy endlinks
replace a bunch of bushings!