US STi suspension tuning...

All,

This is a question that we won't be able to answer for a few weeks or months, but I am already wondering what the differences between the US, UK, and JDM suspensions on the STi are. What baffles me is that early reviews of the JDM STi claimed that, for once, Subaru had dialed out the understeer from the car. I remember the drivers gushing about how great the turn-in was, even with the DCCD in the auto position. The car was easy to modulate from understeer to oversteer with the throttle. Yes! It was music to my ears.

Now, I've seen two articles by major magazines (one US, one UK) both noting that the car understeers, especially in slow corners. This is distressing to me to say the least. This will make the (stock) car less competitive at the autocross and frustrating at the track. Plowing is for tractors. Don't tell me I have to buy a Mitsubishi to get a well balanced car! Horrors.

Ah, but I don't want to get into a debate about what is/isn't acceptable understeer. I'd just like to know the exact differences between the US and JDM STi suspensions. Springs? Dampers? Roll bars? Geometry/alignment? Ride height? I'd love to hear that the US only has a front roll bar that's 1mm bigger--an easy fix. But if it's spring rate or something else....it's going to a harder (and less warranty-friendly) to set things straight.

And just to go down on the record, I don't think there will be weight distribution differences between the two models. The 2.5 block isn't much heavier, and if there is more crash reinforcement, then it has to be in the back as well. I bet the weight distribution is nearly identical.

If anyone has some concrete info on this front, I would be grateful to know.

-ch