Stock suspension: Why change it?
 

I see a lot of people talking about how the first thing they want to do is swap out the shocks/struts, lower the car, etc, etc... My question is "why?":iono: It's like people are saying "everything we've heard so far about this car is how it was designed from day one with handling as the focus, and every review we've read/watched says that the car is fun to drive and handles like a dream, but you know what? I CAN DO BETTER MYSELF." :bonk:

Granted, I'm sure there are the racers/drifters that actually do need custom setups for their specific needs, but for the rest of us, what's the point?

It's what people are used to doing with their cars because the chassis/suspension is normally less of a focus than the engine. It's reversed on this vehicle but people don't think, they just do what they're used to.

I find it hilarious because it's the same people who have such a problem with anyone who wants to add a couple more torques which is exactly where this car is lacking.

The car is built for handling, but every driver out there have different driving styles. Changing the suspension is to setup the car to the individual's driving style to maximize the car's potential.

The car isn't lacking in power, most people out there can't even drive a 200hp car to it's full potential. It's not all about putting the pedal to the metal when hitting a long straight way.

Most people cant do suspension tuning correct. This is true. But, the stock setup is a very general tune to work in as many places as possible. That means there is plenty of compromise for any one person's specific road conditions, regardless of street or track driving. Me, I will never see snow while im driving, and yet the suspension is tuned for it.

I heard a good saying from a book I read. Cant remember which but it goes "You can spend your whole life tweeking a suspension and still never get it perfect."

I'll be the first to say it. The only reason I want springs is to reduce the wheel gap. In order to do this, since the car is lower, you need to stiffen up the springs so id doesn't bottom out. After you do that, the shocks may not be ideally suited to those springs for proper handling. So in essence, I want either a spring/strut combo or coil over system that maintains most of the ride quality/performance of the stock suspension, but drops it 1.5-2 inches.

For those who do know what they're doing, they're removing the compromises that the engineers had to build into it. Other people do it for looks.

Personally, I do it for a little of both. I'm not going to slam the car or ruin the ride. But I am going to lower it a bit and adjust the handling more to my taste. I'm not going to be using it to compete for points, so if it's 0.1sec slower with my setup, it's not a big deal.

Though likely, a drop in CG, an alignment, and stickier tires will lower its times around an AutoX course.

This.

Put simply; aesthetics, handling improvement, or both. Not everyone cares how the car looks [racers], and not everyone cares how the car performs [stancers]. I would deduce most people are somewhere in the middle. I for one don't want to drive a sports car that looks like it's prepped for Donk.

I'll admit I'm a complete suspension n00b, and have never had a need to drop a car (although I have raised a truck or two) so pardon if this is a stupid question, but at least I'll learn something out of it.

The numbers I've seen so far for the FR-S range from 5.11" (Toyota numbers) to 4.9" (C&D review) ground clearance, so lets call it 5".

Dropping it 1.5 to 2 inches just to reduce wheel gap would seem to me to make it almost undriveable in the real world. I'm already concerned about some of the speed bumps I go over every day.

Am I missing something obvious?

No. A lot of people value looks over practicality.

Honestly, most people will lower the car for looks. Yes, this can compromise handling, but I doubt most people will track their cars to begin with so it won't make much of a difference.

That said, there are a handful of companies I would trust to actually improve on the BRZ's suspension for track or auto-x use, like Racecomp Engineering. Back when I had my STI hatch, they were one of the few companies that offered springs designed for function over form (i.e., minimal drop, much improved spring rates).

The good news is, there will be companies catering to both sets of owners. If you want to improve performance, you just need to stick to companies like RCE that emphasize performance over looks.

yeah, he probably doesn't care. :iono:

I have to agree with Dadhawk on this. Over the weekend I attended a EuroSunday meet of sports car enthusiasts and listened to a number of them boast about how much they spent on suspension mods to lower their cars. Then I watched them gingerly drive over speed bumps on the way out. They will spend 99.9% of their time daily driving and having to watch out for speed bumps and road dips and then do the occasional autocross. Another point about "mods"- I recently sold a Mini Cooper back to a dealer in preparation to getting the FRS and the first question they asked was "Have you done any mods"? It is apparently much more difficult to sell a modded car because of the implication that it has been raced. I plan on keeping my FRS stock because I figure that Toyota / Subaru engineers know what they're doing.

Going over the bumps, don't worry, stock don't have problem.