[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by fullerton

the rear mount of the control arm.

if that doesn't make any sense to you, it may be prudent to have someone experienced help you with the mod, for safety's sake.

Whatever fullerton. This modification is simple and all I need is a photo. I'm very good at working on my car but I like to have photos to verify and assure myself that I'm doing the job correctly. I'm not looking for your snippy remarks, just a photo.

[04STiguy79]

Originally Posted by sti2relaxxin

Whatever fullerton. This modification is simple and all I need is a photo. I'm very good at working on my car but I like to have photos to verify and assure myself that I'm doing the job correctly. I'm not looking for your snippy remarks, just a photo.

I agree, a picture would just justify the install and make it easy on people who would like to try this mod out. That is what we are all here for right??

[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by 04STiguy79

I agree, a picture would just justify the install and make it easy on people who would like to try this mod out. That is what we are all here for right??

Thank you and yes! Bump for a photo for some eager people!

[hard ride]

I did the ALK, the free castor mod as well as the MSR (Michael South Racing) mod. This was adding a 6 to 8mm spacer plate between the control arm and the lug. If you do the spacers you also need to get longer bolts. Here is the pic

This thr

Each of the mods added .3 to .5 +ve caster. Really sharpened the turn in and allowed for power earlier in corners. The only drawback I found with the extra caster is that your turning circle gets bigger on what isn't very good in the first place. Worth it IMO.

[RaceComp Engineering]

Nice mod.

[sti2relaxxin]

Hard Ride with the follow through! Thanks a lot for supplying the picture. With the instructions TurnInConcepts provided in post #2 this will be a breeze!!

[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by hard ride

.

TurnInConcepts' quote:
"Take a look at where the bushing is on the upper point of the aluminum control arm. That's the rear mount for the CA. Notice how the stud that goes into the bushing is offset. You unbolt that stud, spin it 180* and bolt it back on.

What it does is move the rear of the control arm out a little bit. This makes the ball joint point (where it attaches to the knuckle) rotate forward thus giving you a little more caster."

[hard ride]

In addition to the above, You put the spacers between the stud and the control arm and this adds to the castor. I used an aluminium plate 75mm by 35mm and drilled the holes for the bolts in the right spot. The bolts I used from memory were 12mm 1.25, 50mm long. If you use a 6mm spacer you will also need a washer with 50mm bolt.

Just a note I have unbolted these twice now and those bolts are really hard to move. There is now way I had enough leverage lying under the car on ramps. I had to put it on a hoist so I could give it some real muscle.
Will try to get a pic of the area after the spacer mod.

[kursplat]

Originally Posted by hard ride

Just a note I have unbolted these twice now and those bolts are really hard to move. There is now way I had enough leverage lying under the car on ramps. I had to put it on a hoist so I could give it some real muscle.
Will try to get a pic of the area after the spacer mod.

you have a hoist but not a compressor?
thanks for the feed back

[hard ride]

Having had so much work done at my local suspension shop we are now on a first name basis. The manager, an ex STI owner and about to become one again has taken a keen interest in my projects.
So the short answer is I was allowed to use their hoist and they have / are supporting me with my experiements.
In fact when we were fitting the spacers I found that I had bought the wrong bolts, so they lent me one of there cars so I could go out an search for replacements. It's nice to come across places like that and work with enthusiasts, like many of the sponsors here I suspect. eg. Myles (RCE) who endured responding to a hundred emails over the purchase of my Ohlins.

[04STiguy79]

TurnInConcepts' quote:
"Take a look at where the bushing is on the upper point of the aluminum control arm. That's the rear mount for the CA. Notice how the stud that goes into the bushing is offset. You unbolt that stud, spin it 180* and bolt it back on.

What it does is move the rear of the control arm out a little bit. This makes the ball joint point (where it attaches to the knuckle) rotate forward thus giving you a little more caster."
looks like you unbolt the two bolts there, turn the black part with the two holes for the bolts 180 degrees, and bolt it all back up.

114lbs. Torque spec on the 2 bolts that hold down the black bracket on the control arm.

[Pitcherman]

This might sound dumb but are you guys doing this with the suspension loaded on ramps or unloaded on jackstands?

[hard ride]

I did it with wheels unloaded. Once you take the bolts out I suspect the weight of the car would have an impact on that area. I was told that the best way to refit them is to replace the bolts wheels unloaded, tighten lightly, drop the weight back on the wheels then tighthen fully. This should avoid the bushing being distorted.
I didn't do this due to the rush I was in, just bolted up tight while the weight was off the wheels. All seems good so far.

[sti2relaxxin]

Originally Posted by 04STiguy79

TurnInConcepts' quote:
looks like you unbolt the two bolts there, turn the black part with the two holes for the bolts 180 degrees, and bolt it all back up.

114lbs. Torque spec on the 2 bolts that hold down the black bracket on the control arm.

Is this the correct procedure?

[hard ride]

That's it, very straighforward.