Project WRX

[CaptainHenreh]

Travis vs. Shep?

Gollum vs. Sauron?

Godzilla vs Mothra?

[Mike]

alien v predator

[Evan]

youre giving Travis waaaaay too much credit

[Feersty]

Nice intro dude.

[Jeff]

Nice intro dude.

:?:

[flintster55]

Okay so I ended up opting for a tactrix cable and a stage 2 map from XPT tuning and the car runs great. It pulls very hard and is really smooth so overall I'm very happy with it.

The next item on my list is some sway bars and/or some end links. That being said, I'm pretty much a total n00b in this area so I'm really looking for some guidance from you guys if you have any to offer!

[ScottyB]

The next item on my list is some sway bars and/or some end links. That being said, I'm pretty much a total n00b in this area so I'm really looking for some guidance from you guys if you have any to offer!

are you looking more for street or autocross/track performance? that will help us help you even more.

Shea can tell you and i agree, if you want some awsome turn-in and front grip a monster front sway bar will actually help. it is counterintuitive because typically a large front bar causes understeer. however on our cars the camber curve blows so keep the car flat actually maintains enough camber to boost grip rather than reduce it. a fat rear bar will help to round it out and give you nice rotation under braking. i would not do a big front bar with a stock rear bar.

personally before i even put bars on i would get an alignment and max out your camber on every corner and get your toe down to 0. this will help you maximize your bars' potential, IMO. with the aligment you may even find that bars are not necessay for your goals with the newfound grip you'll have.

[Evan]

I can tell you from personal experience a big front bar alone will make these cars truffle hunt worse than a hyundai rental car.

biggest horse-dick swaybar you can find in the back, and a slightly stiffer bar in the front is what i would do.

although the only real way to get a wrx to handle better than a school bus is to lower and stiffen it.

[flintster55]

Sorry I didn't clarify Scott but I'm mainly looking for street performance with occasional Autox a few times a season. I'm mainly looking to reduce understeer and improve turn-in. I've thought about getting an alignment also and I'll probably take car of that soon once I'm home for the summer.

Any brands that you've heard of that are better than others?

although the only real way to get a wrx to handle better than a school bus is to lower and stiffen it.

And Evan, the car is already lowered and stiffer than stock as it had SPT springs on it when I bought it. I have been thinking about switching these out with another brand though as I have heard there are much better choices out there for the WRX

[WRXtranceformed]

I seem to remember Prodrive springs being money for the WRX with stock struts.

[ScottyB]

Sorry I didn't clarify Scott but I'm mainly looking for street performance with occasional Autox a few times a season. I'm mainly looking to reduce understeer and improve turn-in. I've thought about getting an alignment also and I'll probably take car of that soon once I'm home for the summer.

that's cool, i'm in the same situation.

the front bar will help turn-in on it's own and will reduce understeer coupled with a rear bar. all of this will be magnified by an aggressive street alignment.

FYI i'm running -1.5 degrees camber and 0 toe on all 4 corners and my tires are wearing no worse than any other alignment i've ever had, if that helps.

[Evan]

Sorry I didn't clarify Scott but I'm mainly looking for street performance with occasional Autox a few times a season.

And Evan, the car is already lowered and stiffer than stock as it had SPT springs on it when I bought it. I have been thinking about switching these out with another brand though as I have heard there are much better choices out there for the WRX

Well, it all comes down to the compromise of street vs. all out performance. When I had mine, mine was on the all out performance end of the spectrum and it was a major pain in the ass, but it handled beautifully on track. If you are going to stick with a simple strut/spring combo then you can read up and analyze it to death, but IMO most of the aftermarket springs are going to be about the same. Unless you want to go to the full coilover with stiff springs (pain in the ass on the street) I say keep what you have, and upgrade the struts and swaybars. And like scotty said, an alignment makes a big difference.
I ran -2 deg in front and -2.5 in back and my tire wear wasnt bad. If you're slightly lowered, you should be able to get around 1.7 or so using the stock camber bolts as long as the alignment tech knows wtf he is doing.
I have a funny story about a tech who didnt know wtf he was doing, fucked up the alignment, then tried to charge me an extra 2 hours of work when i brought the car back and showed him how to align the car properly.

[ScottyB]

I have a funny story about a tech who didnt know wtf he was doing, fucked up the alignment, then tried to charge me an extra 2 hours of work when i brought the car back and showed him how to align the car properly.

i would have loved to have been a fly on the wall....

[Evan]

I have a funny story about a tech who didnt know wtf he was doing, fucked up the alignment, then tried to charge me an extra 2 hours of work when i brought the car back and showed him how to align the car properly.

i would have loved to have been a fly on the wall....

yeah....especially when he said: "ok sir, that will be $127.32"
that was a fun argument that ended with me not paying a dime and being asked not to come back to the shop I wasnt planning on anyway

[flintster55]

Alright, so it looks like an alignment is in the near future. But most places don't have any objection to you bring in your own specs you want the car aligned too?

[WRXtranceformed]

Most places shouldn't.

[Maengelito]

I've found the opposite. Just call around and make sure they are willing to align it to your specs. I've only found a few places in cville that'll let me bring in my own numbers.

[ScottyB]

I've found the opposite. Just call around and make sure they are willing to align it to your specs. I've only found a few places in cville that'll let me bring in my own numbers.

agreed. some places consider it a liability i suppose.

best bet is to just ask around and find out who takes their race cars where to get aligned.

[.RJ]

biggest horse-dick swaybar you can find in the back, and a slightly stiffer bar in the front is what i would do.

IIRC Chris Perrera ran no rear swaybar on his WRX - he's probably a good person to talk to about getting the car set up.

Can you use camber plates on stock style springs or do you have to go to coilovers? That would be a great place to start for getting more camber, better turn in, etc.

[Jeff]

Alright, so it looks like an alignment is in the near future. But most places don't have any objection to you bring in your own specs you want the car aligned too?

If no one wants to do it I can get it done for you in Woodstock.