[ex-rex]

Originally Posted by SWortham

They are each progessive but from the look of them I'd say the RCE's are more progressive. The Prodrive's have 215/195 rates. And the RCE's are quoted to be 25% stiffer than JDM Pinks, which should equate to about 320/270 or something around there.

And just for reference, here's the drop of Prodrive's...


And here's the drop of RCE's...

the crucial springs offer a very smooth progressive rate in the front and rear. the spring rates on the those are 257/lb/in in the front and 217 /lb/in in the rear.

[SWortham]

Originally Posted by RaceComp Engineering

The Prodrive's are MUCH stiffer then 215/195, thats the rate for the older GC8 springs I believe.

Prodrive never released their rates for the STi.

So if the stock spring rates are really 224/195 and Prodrive's are 25% stiffer as stated on your site that would mean the rates are about 280/244 (somewhere between JDM Pinks and RCE's). Does that sound like a good guess?

[cekeel]

Originally Posted by RaceComp Engineering

I wouldn't spend money yet on those STi dampers.

Mike,

Why do you recommend staying away from these? I have RCE spings waiting to go in, and along with the RCE DD plan of attack, I had intended to eventually add these to the mix. My (admittedly inexperienced/uneducated) reasoning was that it's better to control chassis flex than force an elimination. Hopefully this won't be viewed as a thread highjack... perhaps ex-rex was wondering the same thing, but got caught up in the strut/coilover/spring issue. If so, please PM me so I can avoid the flaming! Thank you!

[ex-rex]

Originally Posted by cekeel

Mike,

Why do you recommend staying away from these? I have RCE spings waiting to go in, and along with the RCE DD plan of attack, I had intended to eventually add these to the mix. My (admittedly inexperienced/uneducated) reasoning was that it's better to control chassis flex than force an elimination. Hopefully this won't be viewed as a thread highjack... perhaps ex-rex was wondering the same thing, but got caught up in the strut/coilover/spring issue. If so, please PM me so I can avoid the flaming! Thank you!

i was a little curious, too, but i figured it could wait to ask. i was going to get the $370 cl x-brace, so instead i decided on the dampers. only a little more money and an even higher benefit than the x-brace. i can see how the dampers would be less noticeable with fewer mods, but i planned on doing all of these mods at the same time anyway. i am currently in trouble from going fast, so i don't need speed. i want the best handling i can get while staying comfortable.

[LOLSTi]

Ohlins + Pinks.

[stretch]

While opinions are going to vary here, I'm very confident in my recommendation:

- Stock springs
- Energy suspension bump stops, shortest you can find for front and rear (everyone should do this, even on an otherwise stock STI)
- Ohlins front and rear
- RCE lowering camber plates
- Whiteline 24mm adjustable front and rear bars, set as desired

You may also want some bracing, starting with the X-brace in rear.

Anyone who recommends you put lowering springs on a street car... well, I don't want to insult nearly everyone (seeing as that's the popular recommendation), but removing what little suspension travel there is on a street car doesn't make a lick of sense.

[twiSTies]

Originally Posted by stretch

While opinions are going to vary here, I'm very confident in my recommendation:

- Stock springs
- Energy suspension shortened bump stops front and rear
- Ohlins front and rear
- RCE lowering camber plates
- Whiteline 24mm adjustable front and rear bars, set as desired

You may also want some bracing, starting with the X-brace in rear.

Anyone who recommends you put lowering springs on a street car... well, I don't want to insult nearly everyone (seeing as that's the popular recommendation), but removing what little suspension travel there is on a street car doesn't make a lick of sense.

neither does replacing bump stops when you're swapping out the stock struts to ohlins.

[stretch]

Originally Posted by twiSTies

neither does replacing bump stops when you're swapping out the stock struts to ohlins.

I wasn't sure what the Ohlins have for bump stops. So long as they're short, they're ok. Hell, that's probably where 50% of the improvement over stock comes from.

[ex-rex]

Originally Posted by stretch

Anyone who recommends you put lowering springs on a street car... well, I don't want to insult nearly everyone (seeing as that's the popular recommendation), but removing what little suspension travel there is on a street car doesn't make a lick of sense.

it may not make a lick of sense to you, but the improvement in the corners is why i did it to my wrx. my stock tires more or less stopped squeeling after the spring install and i was driving 5 mph faster (at least) on every turn. bang for the buck, it was a good mod. i never had any problems with my stock struts after more than 17,000 miles, and 3 cornfields of turf'ing.

from what people have said in here, coilovers offer a fairly bumpy ride in comparison to the spring/strut setup. people like me, would like to have an alternative to that, but still make a signifigant improvement, if possible.

i understand the sti is different than the wrx, but to say you don't understand why people do it

[jph]

i'm in the same boat...
trying to figure out what will be the better solution in the long term.
whatever i go with, i will upgrade my front group-n mount tops with camber plates.

ohlins struts
+ nothing but great reviews
+ most streetable solution
+ can re-use my jdm sti springs
+ 25 combined damping/rebound clicks.
- still need camber plates
- no height adjustability
= total price : $1,999 + $399 (RCE camber plates) = $2,398


ohlins sportline coilovers
+ comes with all the strut tops and camber plates.
+ praising review by boostjunkie
+ height adjustable
+ 15 adjustment clicks
? 7k/5k springrates, most likely stiffer (on the softest setting) than the ohlins struts
= price : $2,580


spt/sti coilovers
+ comes with group-n mounts
- still need camber plates
+ 4 adjustment clicks
+ height adjustable
- not alot of reviews available
+ 6k/5k springrates
+ build to last, no need for rebuilds
= price : $2,449 + $399 (RCE camber plates) = $2,848


right now, the sportline coilovers seem to make the most sense to me.


can someone who has them comment on how they ride on the softest setting ? (you know, for those 6 hour drives on the freeway with the wife and baby in the car)


J.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by jph

ohlins sportline coilovers
+ comes with all the strut tops and camber plates.

Be aware that the quality of the Ohlins camber plates is not as high as the RCE plates. I wanted a camber plate that would wear at a similar rate as the rest of the car. That's one of the reasons I went the fixed perch route instead of with the sportline. Obviously there are other factors to consider as well.

[twiSTies]

Originally Posted by jph

J.

i'm in the same boat as you, but instead of the sti offering, i'm thinking about:

-RCE Tarmac IIs with super comfort rates :350/300: - $1890 shipped
-RCE NL front camber plates - $399
total = $2289

I have RCE springs waiting to be installed with a future purchase of ohlins fixed struts, but the money involved in all of this with this many options out there isn't easy to make a decision on.

[jph]

Originally Posted by twiSTies

i'm in the same boat as you, but instead of the sti offering, i'm thinking about:

-RCE Tarmac IIs with super comfort rates :350/300: - $1890 shipped

the tarmac II's have too many adjustability features (for me).
i'm afraid to mess that up if i touch it


J.

[twiSTies]

Originally Posted by jph

the tarmac II's have too many adjustability features (for me).
i'm afraid to mess that up if i touch it


J.

hehe, i don't blame you. coilovers scare me a little bit with all the setting they'd need.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by ex-rex

about "why get coilovers?" thing. I love a lowered car in the spring, summer, and fall, but for winter, i would want to raise the car back up an inch for possible snow clearance. i know that may sound a little silly

Its not. I wish I had a button on the dash like the one in my buddies Lexus. But be aware that camber and toe will change as you raise and lower the car. The camber changes are not a huge deal, but I would re-do the toe after making a hieght change.

Originally Posted by ex-rex

a little off topic, but why do people run 27mm front sways? i would think that that would increase understeer? i have had a rear sway in the past, but never got a front one, so i don't know how it feels.

The STI front suspension geometry (MacPherson strut) results in a tad bit of positive camber under compression. As this occurs on the outside wheel, its super bad for the understeer story. The 27mm bar keeps the outside wheel from compressing (as much) and which results in less positive camber added at the worst possible time. Stiffer springs also help as they alow less suspension movement. Also adding more static camber helps. I have the 27mm (on the soft setting, 29mm is the hard setting). Yes, it does work but the added stress is hard on the endlinks and causes a bit more window creaking. The front end links won't break like the backs but will need frequent re-torquing (at least for some users). Also on low traction surfaces like a wet road, the larger bar will reduce the amount of mechanical grip. Its good for the dry roads, or the track.