http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1232386 I'm kinda lusting after this kit...though $1999 is a lot of cash at once, I think to acheive something similar you would probably end up spending near that amount anyway...but then I'm a newbie I was wondering if a suspension/alignment guru could tell me how much more the tire would wear with these settings vs stock: (I fully realize that it all depends how you drive it as well) Road setting (Rear anti-roll bar in 2nd hole, nearest the end of the bar) Values are read: minimum / preferred / maximum Front Camber -1°20’ / -1°15’ / -1°10’ Front Toe-in (Total) 0°02’ / 0°06’ / 0°10’ Front Caster / 3°00’ (Referential value) / Rear Camber -2°15’ / -1°30’ / -0°54’(Std Subaru tolerance) Rear Toe-in (Total) 0°02’ / 0°60’ / 0°10’ Thrust angle -0°01’ / 0°00’ / 0°01’ Wonder if we could get a better deal with a GB?
Well, it seems like a nice kit... and those alignment specs wont hurt tires too much, with the exclusion of the toe in... if you go to the min spec on that though you shouldn't have any noticeable scrubbing issues... But honestly... this is WAAAYYY too much money for this kind of setup. you can purchase a set of Koni inserts, and prodrive springs, some whiteline swaybars (2), and endlinks all around, and have a MUCH more flexible, effective setup for about $500 less, and it will be adjustable so you can better tailor the car to the driving conditions and your personal preferences. Prodrive Springs: http://www.hopupracing.com/pr02wrxlospf.html - $309 Koni Inserts: http://www.alexperformance.com/products.asp?id=10&pg=2 - $637 Whiteline 22mm Front Swaybar: http://www.subaruwrxparts.com/products/product_info.php?products_id=569 - $125 Whiteline 22mm Rear Swaybar: http://www.turbowholesale.com/product.php?productid=9042 - $126.16 Whiteline WRX Rear HD Endlinks: http://www.subaruwrxparts.com/products/product_info.php?products_id=340 - $95 Whiteline WRX Front HD Endlinks: http://www.subaruwrxparts.com/products/product_info.php?products_id=339 - $95 Grand Total: $1387.16 This setup, with the right alignment and settings, will beat the prodrive equipped vehicle any day of the week.
I'd personally spend the extra money on a package that was thoroughly tested before piecing together parts from all different vendors. Sure you are getting a cost savings but that doesn't mean it's a better product. Every review I've read on the RB320 package has proclaimed it the best street setup out there. Adjustably and flexibility are worthless on a street setup, which is what the RB320 was made for.
$2000 on a street setup is worthless. Buy some s-techs and move on if all you're doing is driving around on the street looking mad tyte. The setup shane posted is pretty competitive when it comes to the track/autocross. If someone isn't looking for a track or autocross setup, they shouldn't be spending any more than $500 trying to make their car look nice via suspension work. My 2c.
You make is seem as if the only place for a full aftermarket suspension is at the track. The stock STI suspension is far from perfect and the dampers are junk. The RB320 wasn't developed for looks. Yes, there is a drop but you aren't riding on the bump stops like you would be with almost all aftermarket springs. You also end up with a set of dampers that are valved correctly for the car and the springs given. That's huge. Spending 2k on a well built street package is no more useless then driving an STI on the street to begin with. Overkill? Maybe.
I'm not looking at suspension for looks...I'm looking into it because I like to take 20mph curves at 50... 2k is a lot, and I agree with the post that I would rather have a "complete" package that comes with settings...I would rather set it and forget it...
That's more in response to calling a koni/prodrive/whiteline combo basically a hodge-podge of suspension components. That just seems highly uninformed. A well designed thouroghly tested street suspension is a bit of misnomer anyway. Suspensions are a game of trade offs, so when a company claims how well designed or tested their equipment is, I have to have to ask what specifications were they designed to and what conditions the were tested in? Because, universally, a suspension is either going to be great at the track and poo on the street or vice varsa, or its going to shoot the middle and be generally poo at both but be better than the inverse counterpart (ie street at track/track on street). Which brings me to this: Set it and forget it to what? You have no idea what the test conditions were when they set the valving. That's the whole point of expensive coil-over systems that are a bagillion way adjustable in both dampening and rebound. This suspension was probably setup at Laguna Seca and then revalved to be a little softer for the street. How does that help you on MN roads? The point I'm making is that $2000 is top dollar for a suspension. This setup doesn't bring much to the table except for Prodrive made it so it must be good. You could buy a set of agx/prodrive spring and a trip to europe for the same price. And besides, if you wan't to take 20mph turns at 50mph, you'd be better served by learning how to drive and eeking out every little bit the stock suspension has than spending that kind of money on a suspension. Hell, go to skip barber at that price. A $2k suspension isn't going to magically pull you through a turn when you enter too hot and pull an eddie griffin. Just something to think about.
It is a hodge podge setup. That doesn't mean it doesn't work out and plenty of people like it. Where any of those parts developed with the others in mind? Are the Koni's valved for the car? For the spring? Was travel taken in to account on an STI when Koni developed that damper? What about total spring rate? Prodrive developed that kit for street use... daily driver. They tested, and matched, each component to each other to ensure there was no guessing. Buy the kit and don't worry about effective spring rates, bump travel, compression or rebound. Prodrive did all that for you with street use in mind. No mention of track use was ever brought up here or by Prodrive with this kit. That said it's already been stated by people that have seat time on stock, Ohlins FP and various big name coilovers that the RB320 is much better then the stock setup at the track as well. Does it perform as well as a more track orientated setup? Of course not. The Prodrive kit was never marketed to be so.
I'm not really going to dissagree with you there. I'm just makin the point that $2000 is too much to spend on a street setup. Period. Watch: FHI tested, and matched, each component to each other to ensure there was no guessing. Buy the car and don't worry about effective spring rates, bump travel, compression or rebound. FHI did all that for you with street use in mind.
Assuming the OP has an '02 WRX... http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19960 The discussion is pretty much irrelevant since the RB320 is only available for 5x114 at this point (ie, 05+ STi) Suspension options for a WRX are entirely different than those for the STi. Would I buy that kit for a WRX? Probably not, because there are other (cheaper, better?) setups available. For an 05+ STi, yes, since these and the $2k Ohlins are the only fixed-perch options.
How do you draw the line? Is 35,000 too much to spend on a daily driver car? What about 25,000? Wouldn't an 10,000 Aveo get you to work? Perception of money well spent is all up to the buyer. Most everything about these cars can be argued as overkill and not needed but that's hardly the point.
Very observant! Irrelevant to my car? Yes, worth discussing the kit, anyway...I think so. The Points Webcrawlr brought up (being designed for a specific car, for daily driven use) are precisely why I like the system. "Worth it" is always subjective...as was already stated...my POS 94 ford aspire that was $7k brand new got me around just fine for 180K miles... fun to drive? Ughhh...no. Probably just going to go with some good struts, springs (either prodrive or pinks) and swaybars...
The line is drawn by what substitutes you could buy with the same amount of money. When you can buy a full coilover setup with electronic control from the driver seat for the same money, or when you can buy ground controls with springs, konis, F&R swaybars with endlinks, rear lateral links, and front camber plates for the same money, the line is drawn. If kyb ga-2's and springs costed $1500 bucks, then the line would be more blurry. But they don't, that combo would probably cost between $600-800 depending on springs. My bet is that a $2000 system isn't going to out handle $800 system by $1200 bucks. Especially not on the street, and especially not in the hands of a novice driver. That's my only point. Not that it's a bad suspension system or that prodrive doesn't know how to design suspension.
I'd imagine these would hold up to the weather like oem equipment also... unlike coilovers. A well mixed and matched system like bumppy is suggesting will definitely fulfill your criteria... and save you a few hundy.
The Prodrive system is pretty much the best thing going for the DD-centric 05+ STI. You get more body roll than a Ohlins/RCE FPS setup, but that's to be expected. Custom valved Bilstein PSS9 internals and matched springs. Having driven on a Prodrive setup, it definitely lacks a little for track/autox, but if you're buying these, that's probably not your goal.
