Handling Upgrades
 

Hi all, sorry for the real n00b questions here :)

I'm looking at upgrading the handling on the rex by lowering (only by a max of 25mm, mainly to reduce the gap in the wheel arch), sway bars and adjusting the camber of the fronts to help reduce the understeer.

I have been told to go for the STi pink springs and the STi sway bars, but reading other threads many people seem to be going for the Whitelines. Is it better to go with the STi ones, or are other brands just as good? Also, since the 05 has inverted struts up the front, is there any particular type of spring to be looking out for?

With the sway bars and camber kits, I've got nfi, so any opinions would be appreciated.

If there are any other mods that you think are better/needed/etc please let me know.

Also, before anyone says it, I can't afford the coilovers yet, I want some money left over to play with the engine :D

Cheers,

John

king springs are good.i like em. and paying $755.72 for the genuine lowering kit is pretty hefty.
with genuine sti parts, your always gona be paying more for the sti logo. but then again if you plan on selling the car in the future with the mods left on. genuine sti mods sounds better to the buyer. (if that makes sence)
when i bought my car it already had a whitline rear sway bar. and personally think there a good product.
if i had the money to throw at my car i'de go genuine parts, just coz it sounds better.
oh and not to mention you get a big warrenty on the genuine parts.

I would (and have) buy a Japanese or european spring over the local products. I've tried both and am infinately happier with my Apexi's then my Kings. I would also upgrade shock absorbers while you're at it. I have the Koni adjustables and the only time I've needed anymore is when I'm pushing hard with R-comp's on. I also use a cusco rear bar (22mm adjustable) and I have tried the Whiteline version and even though they are both the same diameters, the cusco seems to be more effective (stiffer material perhaps?). I also have a 22mm front sway bar, was a GREAT mod and I now wonder why I took so long to do it. I am currently running as much front camber as the standard car allows but I have a set of Cusco adjustable tops going in soon so I can't really comment on that.

For future improvements, I suggest stiffening the chasis via lower control arm bars, cusco diff supports, fender braces etc.. I've done this and can tell you first hand that it IS worth the money. Also I have some STi rose jointed trailing arms, lateral links and rear sway bar links, it's made the car a lot more predictable under load and takes away a lot of "sponginess" inherent in the rear suspension.

Anyway, that's my 2c.. some may disagree, but I've done this first hand and know what huge differences these mods can make.

Darren

front and rear bars (CUSCO) $250-300 each, camber strut tops (CUSCO) $400-500 a kit, castor kits (Perrin PSRS) $200 a kit, rear subframe lockup bolts (WHITELINE) $45 a kit, rear differential brace (CUSCO) $280, front steering rack support bushes (SUPERPRO) $35, proper rear LSD (CUSCO, STI, KAAZ) $400-2000, front support brace (STI, CUSCO) $250-300, lower front support brace (CUSCO) $200-500, spherical rose joints lateral arms (STI, CUSCO) $600-800, spherical rose joints trailing arms (STI, CUSCO) $200-$500, spherical joint swaybar links (STI) $150, uprated swaybar mounts (WHITELINE) $100-150, quick ratio steering rack 13:1 (STI RA/C SPEC) $300, decent coilovers or uprated shock and spring rates (STI, DMS, CUSCO, TEIN) $500-3000, rear subframe support bushings (SUPERPRO) $50, rear differential support bushings (SUPERPRO) $50, aluminium front arms (STI) $200-500, spec-c trailing arm mounts (STI CSPEC) $100, smaller diameter steering wheel (SPARCO) $300-1000, centre differential 8/10/12/20/dccd/aftermarket (STI, STI RA, CUSCO) $200-1000

dose a smaller diameter steering wheel help handling?

sorry to hijack

Wow... thanks for the replies... Gives me all the info I need...

And tuna, you know too much... :p

[QUOTE=Hi_VoLtAgE]dose a smaller diameter steering wheel help handling?

sorry to hijack[/QUOTE]

you can turn it faster...

its not as gooder handling mod as the 500gm shift knob though ;)

[QUOTE=Hi_VoLtAgE]dose a smaller diameter steering wheel help handling?

sorry to hijack[/QUOTE]

do neons make your car faster ?

f/r sway bars, with decent mounts & bushings, and some extra camber (be it with bolts, strut tops or full blown coilies) by themselves will make the car feel completely different. If you get whiteline gear and install it yourself, you could probably get away with $600 for 2 sway bars & some camber pins, or you could get the GNP of a small african country and go the tuna-route... or anywhere inbetween. at the end of the day, it depends on what you intend to use the car for.

neon add 5kw, shopping list, add 10kw, custom no. plate add 15kw, vynals add 10kw.
and so on and so forth. :p

Hey Tuna what about whiteline gear? No good?