Impreza suspensions?

[houndman]

how stiff are they? I washed and waxed my 2.5i today and tried to
bounce the car, and could hardly move it. How stiff are the WRX and
STI? Must not even budge.

VF

 

[houndman]

I use a slightly different method to test the springs on my Forester.

http://www.2wheels.org.uk/return/washboard.jpg

I won't be able to get to the OUTBACK for a few months, so was trying
the Old Reliable. Maybe air springs/schocks aren't that extreme change
as I had thought, if they have a wide enough range. I guess a few
hundred lbs in the back will help. Put it in the spare tire well to
have a low center of gravity.

I got spoiled being able to pick whatever ride or power that I wanted.

 

[David]

how stiff are they? I washed and waxed my 2.5i today and tried to
bounce the car, and could hardly move it. How stiff are the WRX and
STI? Must not even budge.

VF

I use a slightly different method to test the springs on my Forester.

http://www.2wheels.org.uk/return/washboard.jpg

 

[David]

I won't be able to get to the OUTBACK for a few months, so was trying
the Old Reliable. Maybe air springs/schocks aren't that extreme change
as I had thought, if they have a wide enough range. I guess a few
hundred lbs in the back will help. Put it in the spare tire well to
have a low center of gravity.

I got spoiled being able to pick whatever ride or power that I wanted.

Subaru makes the best cars for the money, period. There is nothing
lacking in the suspension. Drive the car on the edge. Use low gears.
Keep the faith.

 

[houndman]

Subaru makes the best cars for the money, period. There is nothing
lacking in the suspension. Drive the car on the edge. Use low gears.
Keep the faith.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Got ya, Tow it to the track and drive the hell out of it.))

 

[Tony Hwang]

how stiff are they? I washed and waxed my 2.5i today and tried to
bounce the car, and could hardly move it. How stiff are the WRX and
STI? Must not even budge.

VF

Hmmm.
That is not reliable test for springs/struts.
If you upgrade whole chebang of supspnsion components;
springs/adjustable struts, heavier strut tower braces, sway
bars/links(instead of that crap plastic thingy), better tires/rims, then
dirve it to feel the difference. When my son lost control exiting
from a freeway at high speed, I truly believe souped up suspension saved
him from rolling his Impreza RS. He just bent all 3 out of 4 aftermarket
rims beyond repair but car never left the ground. Lesson well learned.
I enrolled him to advanced defensive driving course and is good driver
now. It happened when he was 17, now is 23, working as civil
engineer/economist. Considering a new WRX.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Got ya, Tow it to the track and drive the hell out of it.))

Just got back from the track. The little car did GREAT! I also, learned
a lot. At my request, my instrucror drove the car about 3 laps on 2
different occasions. Much smoother and faster than I could drive it - he
even kept up with a Viper!

Carl

 

[houndman]

Just got back from the track. The little car did GREAT! I also, learned
a lot. At my request, my instrucror drove the car about 3 laps on 2
different occasions. Much smoother and faster than I could drive it - he
even kept up with a Viper!

Carl

so what did your instructor do different/differently than you? Find
out if his last name is Ascari.))

VF


VF

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

so what did your instructor do different/differently than you? Find
out if his last name is Ascari.))

VF


VF

Smoother inputs mostly, throttle (I tened to on-off switch the gas and
in 2-3 places I'm on it a little too early), steering maybe, better
braking, down-upshifting in more places (I ran the course in 3rd in Jan.
06, as suggested in classroom, this time I added an up shift in the
staright out of 'Big Bend' - he downshifeted into 2nd in 2 places and
used 4th in about 2-3 places)and he seemed to tolerate a lot more tire
squeal than me.

;^)


Carl

 

[houndman]

Hmmm.
That is not reliable test for springs/struts.
If you upgrade whole chebang of supspnsion components;
springs/adjustable struts, heavier strut tower braces, sway
bars/links(instead of that crap plastic thingy), better tires/rims, then
dirve it to feel the difference. When my son lost control exiting
from a freeway at high speed, I truly believe souped up suspension saved
him from rolling his Impreza RS. He just bent all 3 out of 4 aftermarket
rims beyond repair but car never left the ground. Lesson well learned.
I enrolled him to advanced defensive driving course and is good driver
now. It happened when he was 17, now is 23, working as civil
engineer/economist. Considering a new WRX.

My interest isn't in the handling, but the ride. The handling is
probably enough for my tastes right now, but would like a ride that is
comfortable between the curves.)

VF

 

[houndman]

Smoother inputs mostly, throttle (I tened to on-off switch the gas and
in 2-3 places I'm on it a little too early), steering maybe, better
braking, down-upshifting in more places (I ran the course in 3rd in Jan.
06, as suggested in classroom, this time I added an up shift in the
staright out of 'Big Bend' - he downshifeted into 2nd in 2 places and
used 4th in about 2-3 places)and he seemed to tolerate a lot more tire
squeal than me.

;^)

Carl

how many times have you run the course?

VF

 

[Tony Hwang]

My interest isn't in the handling, but the ride. The handling is
probably enough for my tastes right now, but would like a ride that is
comfortable between the curves.)

VF

Hi,
Then you should have adjustable shocks, definitely upgrade sway bars and
links, strut tower braces(F & B) as well as bushings to Teflon type and
tires become an issue.
I am an old fart, I don't do much of anything any more, just trying to
pass on things I learned in my younger day to my son so he will know
what he is doing with his own vehicles. My definition of good ride is
feeling the road and car I am driving.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

how many times have you run the course?

VF

took a class in Jan 06, and then yesterday. Unless you mean how much
track time - we got 6 20 minute sessions IIRC. plus some slalom and
braking exercisies in the AM. Car behaved better and seemed more neutral
this time with the new springs. My instrucotr is a memeber of MSR so he
gets a lot of track time and owns a porsche and I can't recall his other
vehicle.

Saw some cool cars, not just in my class but when we were in classroom,
instructors and adcanced class were on-track. Very challenging in places
trying to find a 'line' that works for you and your car. The track
record for a closed wheel car is held by a 108hp Miata. It isn't head to
head racing and it isn't all about hp - you have to DRIVE!

I dropped a coupla wheels one time, had one 'offroad excursion' (went
farming) - last time i went farming twice. I apologized to my instrictor
and he said he was glad I was pushing it a little harder and he'd done
that many times. No red flags, coupla brief yellows. A Cadillac broke
its accessory belt - no other breakdowns I heard of. No fluids on the
track, but tires/track got a lot different feeling in the afternoon when
temps were in the mid-90s rather than low 80s as int eh morning.

lots fun for $200

Carl

 

[houndman]

Hi,
Then you should have adjustable shocks, definitely upgrade sway bars and
links, strut tower braces(F & B) as well as bushings to Teflon type and
tires become an issue.
I am an old fart, I don't do much of anything any more, just trying to
pass on things I learned in my younger day to my son so he will know
what he is doing with his own vehicles. My definition of good ride is
feeling the road and car I am driving.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

but will adjustable shocks soften a ride enough, softer than stock,
or do they start pretty stiff, and go from there. I wanted the softer
ride and fatter tires of the 2.5i Impreza wagon because I couldn't
take the stiffness of the WRX. I wanted the power, but felt the " i "
might satisfy till I was able to handle more, since I have a
disability, and reaction
times aren't always good, and figured I would be changing a lot in the
suspension to make the WRX tolerable. The " i " is turning out to be
barely tolerable.

I always added all the "Police Options" when buying american cars,
and once got a car with manual brakes because the power ones were too
sensitive, and didn't have any Feel, and figured the oversized drums
would make them just right, and they did. My last 2 cars have been
given to me and Both had HD suspensions and drive trains, and
oversized tires. Brakes, tires, and suspension are important. The Fast
steering in the Sube is enjoyable but taking a little time to get used
to, realizing how tight I can make a U turn. It seems tighter than the
#'s say, but think the " I " wagon is 2' shorter than all the others.

VF

 

[houndman]

took a class in Jan 06, and then yesterday. Unless you mean how much
track time - we got 6 20 minute sessions IIRC. plus some slalom and
braking exercisies in the AM. Car behaved better and seemed more neutral
this time with the new springs. My instrucotr is a memeber of MSR so he
gets a lot of track time and owns a porsche and I can't recall his other
vehicle.

Saw some cool cars, not just in my class but when we were in classroom,
instructors and adcanced class were on-track. Very challenging in places
trying to find a 'line' that works for you and your car. The track
record for a closed wheel car is held by a 108hp Miata. It isn't head to
head racing and it isn't all about hp - you have to DRIVE!

I dropped a coupla wheels one time, had one 'offroad excursion' (went
farming) - last time i went farming twice. I apologized to my instrictor
and he said he was glad I was pushing it a little harder and he'd done
that many times. No red flags, coupla brief yellows. A Cadillac broke
its accessory belt - no other breakdowns I heard of. No fluids on the
track, but tires/track got a lot different feeling in the afternoon when
temps were in the mid-90s rather than low 80s as int eh morning.

lots fun for $200

Carl

What do you mean you dropped a coupla wheels? "Going Farming" )) can
be dangerous on roads.((

I had seen a neat video on You Tube, of driving the Neuburgring in
Germany, with a camera in the car, and the driver telling you what he
was doing and why, and thought it might be something to help a female
Sube salesperson I was dealing with at the start of my Sube Adventure,
to learn how to drive a stick, giving her an idea of when and why you
shift, but She Crashed and Burned.(( I wanted to teach her, but NOT
on My Sube.))

VF

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

What do you mean you dropped a coupla wheels? "Going Farming" )) can
be dangerous on roads.((

I had seen a neat video on You Tube, of driving the Neuburgring in
Germany, with a camera in the car, and the driver telling you what he
was doing and why, and thought it might be something to help a female
Sube salesperson I was dealing with at the start of my Sube Adventure,
to learn how to drive a stick, giving her an idea of when and why you
shift, but She Crashed and Burned.(( I wanted to teach her, but NOT
on My Sube.))

VF

Drifted a little too wide and the tires left the pavment and were on the
dirt. They encourage you to NOT whip back onto the road as some folks
will spin out, but my first reaction was to get back on as my speed had
dropped a little and we were good to go after that.
The farming trip was an instance when I knew i had too much speed and
would have to make a more risky maneuver to get back on so I just went
straight, then started looking for traffic (no one behind me this time -
which probably indicates I was going pretty fast in that section anyway)
pulled back on and went to the 'hot pit' area to check for damage. rocks
in rims, dripping fluid/whatever. Same place I went farming twice a year
and half ago too! I'm just exiting with too much speed.

It was a fun day - used up just over 3/4 tank of gas, probably 3-4mm of
brake pad material, and a lot of tire rubber. Checked lugnut torque once
- they never moved (the first time I went my SSR rims were fairly new on
the car so I took a wrench and checked often - they never moved that
time either, so I didn't expect a problem.) Check my oil after lunch, fine.

Carl

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

but will adjustable shocks soften a ride enough, softer than stock,
or do they start pretty stiff, and go from there. I wanted the softer
ride and fatter tires of the 2.5i Impreza wagon because I couldn't
take the stiffness of the WRX. I wanted the power, but felt the " i "
might satisfy till I was able to handle more, since I have a
disability, and reaction
times aren't always good, and figured I would be changing a lot in the
suspension to make the WRX tolerable. The " i " is turning out to be
barely tolerable.

I always added all the "Police Options" when buying american cars,
and once got a car with manual brakes because the power ones were too
sensitive, and didn't have any Feel, and figured the oversized drums
would make them just right, and they did. My last 2 cars have been
given to me and Both had HD suspensions and drive trains, and
oversized tires. Brakes, tires, and suspension are important. The Fast
steering in the Sube is enjoyable but taking a little time to get used
to, realizing how tight I can make a U turn. It seems tighter than the
#'s say, but think the " I " wagon is 2' shorter than all the others.

VF

Although mileage/performance would suffer, you might try distributing
5-6 bags of blasting sand in the floor boards and rear of your car.
Adding a load to the wife's outback makes the ride much more 'cushier'.
I guess the spring/shocks are just in a different position and the xtra
mass damps out some movement. Pickup trucks sometimes show the same
behavior.

Carl

 

[houndman]

Although mileage/performance would suffer, you might try distributing
5-6 bags of blasting sand in the floor boards and rear of your car.
Adding a load to the wife's outback makes the ride much more 'cushier'.
I guess the spring/shocks are just in a different position and the xtra
mass damps out some movement. Pickup trucks sometimes show the same
behavior.

Carl

probably have to play around with distributed weight. In the wagon
there isn't much room to hide things except under the window shade
cover. Maybe once I find out the amount of weight, I can do what a
friend suggested to prevent the bumper covers from getting torn up
from bad drivers parking, and use railroad track iron.)) Not as a
bumper, but under the cover that I still have to try shooting some
urethane foam under to stiffen. Maybe hanging the iron in the back it
will take less.

I like feeling the tires moving up and down a bit as opposed to the
body. I don't want the ride Too soft, or Too firm.

VF

VF