Chuhatsu Plus Lift springs review for the BRZ
 

This spring review is going to be a little different than your normal review. I am going to LIFT my BRZ for the winter to help with getting out and about (and occasional Hoon) here in Anchorage Alaska. FR.Sport sent these to me to test, evaluate and give my feedback so here we go…

Here are the springs, they come with the springs marked front and rear and a new pair of bumpstops.

https://i.imgur.com/tzTA0zc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0SIJuCI.jpg

I recently helped another brz owner install coil-overs on his car, and keeping his old suspension was part of the deal, so I took the shocks and springs to a local shop and had them swap the springs over…

https://i.imgur.com/YCWO3YT.jpg

Here are some shots of my car pre-lift

https://i.imgur.com/GBidQrT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/euNyL4J.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6hpDHk4.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EtV6r5w.jpg

Once the snow really started to fall I jacked up the BRZ in the garage and started to go at it. I followed the coil-over install guide here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12864 with a few exceptions and I’ll discuss those below. The most time consuming and tedious portion of the job besides getting the car on jack stands and wheels off are these end links! Most review just gloss over the fact that these 17mm bolts rotate and most folks just have the little cheap 6mm allen keys lying around. So. I bought a allen key socket and a 17mm wrench and it made life MUCH easier, it just takes a while to get that off…

https://i.imgur.com/lWF0RCQ.jpg

Most review just gloss over the fact that these 17mm bolts rotate and most folks just have the little cheap 6mm allen keys lying around. So. I bought a allen key socket and a 17mm wrench and it made life MUCH easier, it just takes a while to get that off…

https://i.imgur.com/B3Hi8QS.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZyVJgGh.jpg

And here is a comparison between the 2017 Sach’s Performance Pack strut and a 2014 strut with the lift spring…

https://i.imgur.com/9WwTX2r.jpg


And following the directions in reverse torqueing everything to spec and repeating the same thing on the passenger side. Phew… half way there…
https://i.imgur.com/S7P0SST.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZVan5Sy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/w7WaIox.jpg

On to the rear! Here again is where I deviated from the install guide. Since I was doing this by myself I wanted to take a longer but simpler/safer path. I removed the Shock, swaybar endlink and knuckle (?) bolts off to allow the shocks to come out with much less force.

https://i.imgur.com/6tIhF3r.jpg

The only downside to this method is you might have to use a spare jack to help lift the control arms while you are putting in the new lifted shock and getting all the bolt holes to line up. If you have a second person helping this part would have been quicker, but I was in no rush to do this, because I didn’t want to do it twice  . and here’s a comparison of the 2017 Sach’s rear damper vs a lifted 2014 damper.

https://i.imgur.com/SKAvq9K.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ek9qgAu.jpg

And like the front repeat everything on the passenger side, torque it down, put it on the ground and admire your handy work…

https://i.imgur.com/Fq1HWfY.jpg

Here are some before and after’s wheel gap close ups of the front and rear…

Front (~25mm+)
https://i.imgur.com/hpVrIXx.png

Rear (~20mm+)
https://i.imgur.com/OwLTIXV.png

Took it for a wash then went to go play in the snow!

https://i.imgur.com/yyWaHBl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KjIKS28.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gUFgEhJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bhGd0ao.jpg


One more before and after…

Before
https://i.imgur.com/GBidQrT.jpg
After
https://i.imgur.com/PCtVQhR.jpg

Now… What’s it like to live with.

It’s a pretty significant difference. From the small to large the changes have been all positive (unless you have to have a low car). First off, you can really tell a difference getting in and out of the vehicle, it’s much easier. The day I did this I picked up wife from work in it and before I could tell her the difference she noticed. This is a gift that will keep on giving all winter.

Now with changing the springs and dampers, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, would it be a stiffer ride, would it be a pogo over ruts and potholes? None of that! That’s been the most surprising aspect of this swap, the ride is SUPER compliant! Remember, this is proper winter driving review so I can’t compare how the car corners vs the PP dampers because I’m not trying to be the next #totalled… But everyday driving it’s a smooth ride, ( I hate to say it, it reminded me of my camry). There is a main road near our house that has so much winter traffic there are ruts in the road from studded tires. I cross over this road every day. And with the PP dampers and summer tire it felt like a bucking bronco! It wasn’t so bad once I switched over to my winter tires (245/40 vs 215/50) but it is noticeable. The first time I crossed that road with the Chuhatsu Plus springs I didn’t even notice it. My wife had to point it out to me that the car didn’t bounce/buck like it normally does.

I have been nothing less than impressed with this seasonal upgrade. It just brings a sense of ease/relief when I’m driving. Some of you non winter drivers might not understand the sense of ease of knowing you can change lane without the worry of bottoming out on ice/snow. Or pulling up to a parking space and not have to worry about wondering is that parking chock or is it snow, doesn't matter I’m above it.

I’m not sure what else to report on… I know there is a small group of folks who would like a lift whether for rally and winter, and I’d go with these before a spacer any day!

Thanks

Thanks for review. For completeness sake i'd wish though review them also in summer both DD & on track, as i'm more of type of driving same setup all year round (with exception of tires of course), so it would be interesting, what (/if) i'll have to give up to pay for extra clearance.

Poor ride quality of the Toybaru is partly attributed to the lack of wheel travel, and therefore, jacking up the vehicle by 10mm should definitely help.

I have been interested in getting a set of taller springs myself. Chuhatsu offers several different sets of taller springs, but no information is available on the actual spring rates.

Any chance we could get some info on the actual spring rates?

I've been working on this for a while now.
If I don't get an answer this month I definitely will when I go to Japan next month.

Seriously tempted to try these springs, just for a little.

- Andrew

PM sent

Don't be scared.

A bit of winter lift is the best. If I had cash to blow for fun I'd grab a set for my stock suspension/lift spacer I run in the winter.

You two should talk to each other...

I have very little use for them since I live downtown, don't have nearby gravel roads, and snow is plowed fairly quickly.

But on the other hand, I live in downtown Baltimore...so maybe a Dakar rally ready car isn't the worst idea. :lol:

- Andrew

PM sent

Hello Everyone! I am wondering if anyone has tried these springs in the summer time DD, track, and gravel. I live in the Califronia Desert. I just got my FRS for a steal and plan on using it as a primary DD, and occasionally doing rally cross / amatuer track days.

I live down a 2 mile dirt road, so the lift will be nice for the ruts and washboard. I drive 230 miles to work 4 times a month, so id like DD ride quality to stay the same or better.

I want to use this car for track days for my wife to learn to drive on a track and build her seat time. I have a road racecar that I use for track experience, so it is not much in my plan to use the FRS as a track car with track upgrades, just want it to be predictable, and handle close to stock, although a bit taller. Although I do think I want to try out some rally cross events, and the lift would be great for that with some softer A/T tires, as long as the springs arent too stiff and wont rattle the car apart.

So to put it simply, I want better Off road, same or better DD ability, and for the car not to turn into garbage on a track so a new driver can gain solid track experience before moving to a race car.

I hope that makes sense, would love to hear your opinions from those who have tried it!

I know this is an older thread but did you need an alignment after the install?

Any time you change the height of the car you should get an alignment. But the stock parts don't really provide the adjustments you need. To do it 100% properly, you'd want to get adjustable RLCAs and front camber bolts (if not camber plates)

Alright. I'll look into those and the prices on ftspeedfactory. Do you know how much it does change the camber? Do you have before and after numbers?

I ask because I have been rallycrossing this car (it's better than people think on dirt lol) and would like a little more ground clearance as well as softer suspension. I'm trying to weigh my options between getting Koni yellow's with Chihatsu springs, camber plates, RLCA's or going with a higher end coilover set up. If the alignment is no longer nominal but still within spec with just changing out struts/ springs, I wont waste my money getting the other parts. This car will have the suspension and tires changed out for the event and then put back for driving on the street with stock tires and suspension.

Thanks for the input!

When going over loose grip surfaces, optimal camber is way less vs what's optimal on dry tarmac tracks, due tire loosing grip way before it's sidewalls deforms a lot to need compensating with lots of static camber to restore best contact patch. For camber for gravel/snow rally in 0 to -1 range imho no need for camberplates and such, single camberbolt set should be more then sufficient. Also .. didn't koni yellows have oversized top strut hole in lower mount, also allowing some camber adjustment?

Bilstein B6 may be better suited to that type of driving. Inverted monotube is the type of shock you want as they're a little more robust. They've unfortunately been out of stock forever, but should finally be back soon.

Camber plates are also generally not used off road. Many of the usual plate designs can't take the impacts. Use OEM mounts.

Coilovers that are designed for street/track/auto-x will not be ideal for rally-x. The coilovers that are specifically designed for rally are pretty darn expensive, although there are a few options that aren't quite as bad.

My recommended inexpensive-ish rally-x setup and one that I may be using myself next spring would be: Bilstein B6, RCE Safari springs (in the works), OEM topmounts, crashbolts (not cam bolts), and Cusco rear lower control arms. A couple of bushings as well for the rear.

Yes, we are working on a set of springs specifically designed for light rally-x that will pair with OEM or Bilstein B6. Not a stage rally type of setup, but something you can have a lot of fun driving on gravel/dirt without spending the big bucks for Reiger or custom JRZ or etc.

The Chuhatsu springs will be good if you can't wait, but we're trying to do something a little different.

- Andrew

Racecomp Engineering: not group-N topmounts? Also i'd add to that set some stronger alu plate for engine protection (possibly also with some "lip" extending slightly before front bumper front edge, so that more chance for front bumper to slide above/over, not dig in). CF engine pan due one-off non-shared mold expenses will run insanely expensive, from what i inquired :(, unlike CF pans for imprezas, that seems way more common product due more common car usage for rallying. Even if no big rally jumps are planned, extra protection imho won't hurt, as simple slow speed slide off track into snow pile unfortunately may result in too expensive repairs needed for such cheap car :(, that unlike many popular beaters of past for rally use, have relatively lower ground clearance and bulldozer shaped front bumper that "will love to dig in" instead of being shaped to be angled to slide over with more geometrical clearance.

Group N would be ideal. :)

I have to find some time to look at the TMG catalog at home for a few things...

- Andrew

Any more info on safari springs?
Thanks.

Approx 15mm lift. Spring rates designed for compliance and improved handling on lower grip surfaces while still being capable on the road. Appropriate for rally-x, smooth gravel, back roads, and the city roads that look like they've recently been shelled. These are designed to be an option for someone that wants something more capable on gravel/snow/dirt than stock without jumping into a full stage rally type of set up. They will be a lot of fun.

Will work with stock shocks.

- Andrew

Just curious Andrew, what type of wheel/tire combo would you run on these springs? Of course @Liftedbrz and @Liftedfrs went with 215/65/16 combo'd with 2'' lifts but just curious what you're thinking? Perhaps something like a 50 or 55 ratio on 16'' wheels?

Came in expecting this


http://www.rally.com.au/wp-content/u...Z1-890x606.png

Andrew, do you have a time frame for when these springs will become available? Next rallycross season starts in March :thumbsup:

Attached a picture of current set up. The 15 mm increased height will be perfect I think. Not too tall but tall enough to make sure you don't bottom out.

I'm not sure of gravel 16 inch tire options. I have 205/55/16 Blizzaks on my car right now that fit well.

My goal is to find a 15x7 rally wheel that fits, the tricky part being something that clears the tie rod. I'll be swapping my brakes to the smaller Subaru 4 pot so I'm good there. The 15 inch wheels will open up a lot of tire options.

I've got a couple ideas for the wheels.

- Andrew

I'd love to have these ready by March. Unclear at the moment, but I'm hopeful. Nice pic. :)

Might be good to move RCE spring discussion to that thread! I'll bump it.

- Andrew

I found these mentions of confirmed fitment of R15 wheels. IIRC trick was offset.
- this shop lists twins compatibility for these Enkei RC-G5 wheels. You can contact them if it's really test-fitted-confirmed. 15x6.5" +35 and 15x7" +35
- Team Dynamic Rally1 wheels 15x6 +25 #1 #2
- Team Dynamic Rally1 wheels 15x6 +52(?!) but 15x7 +53 needed spacer
- Rota Slipstreams, 15x7 35mm fit...barely.
- VW AVUS Wheels 15x6.0 +38 (need ball seat lug nuts) #2
- 15x6.5 ET40 Dodge Neon wheels
- unknown spec and maker R15 on TRD showcar

As eg. 15x6.5 +45 Braid Acropolis doesn't clear , trick seems to be 1) rally-ish wheel barrel design for brake clearance, 2) AND lesser offset then "normal subaru of around +45" for suspension clearance. Please do report here on forum found confirmed clearance/fitment in wheel directory too, when you will find your wheels. Very scarce nfo on clearing R15 otherwise :(

Also imho no need to go for MOST rugged rally wheels, as what are you going for - for reasonable/mild rallying, no? Without those 5+ meter high jumps :). So imho "tarmac rally" wheels should also be considerable option, no need to go for even stronger (and even heavier) gravel or ice rally wheels. Though ice/snow rally wheels may offer interesting option of wheels that can be run with abnormally narrow winter tires .. something opposite to your wished x7 wheel width though.

P.S. while many small spokes may protect better from snow getting in, imho they might be PITA to clean from accumulated snow/ice with brush later on no unlike from lesser count wider spaced spokes, no? May protect better against gravel/rocks getting into brakes though. Still, as hint from one local rally car prep shop, they were making custom for specific car/brakes/wheels plastic "scrapers" to attach to brake calipers or control arm, that scraped off excess snow from inside of wheel, not letting it accumulate there in first place :). - imho you can custom make something like that for yours too :). I'm thinking of getting something similar for my R16 wheels sometime too. Otherwise it's almost given that after i visit winter ice tracks, driving home with "rebalanced" wheels with uneven ice/snow/frozen dirt extra weight inside wheel with all that vibration/wobbling is not fun until i pressure-wash it off.

The first set of wheels you listed are awesome but man they are expensive. But then again, there aren't many options for 15" wheels with these cars. I guess it would be worth it because you can't find gravel or rally tires in 16" wheels so you are left with snows if you want to stay on the cheaper side.

We know rallispec well, and the Enkei wheels are in the list. The TMG OZ rally wheels are as well but I need to check pricing.

- Andrew

I went with the 15" Method mr501-vt spec.
15x7 and +48. Same as stock offset.
Clears no problem.
Now I'm just on the hunt for some nice off-road tires.

You mean they clear the stock brakes just fine?

Yes.
Dirtfish used them aand bigger than stock brakes.
https://www.dirtfish.com/blog/brand-...o-a-rally-car/

What are your ideas for tires? The more I read about rally style suspension set up interactions with tires vs street suspension and street tires I am starting to get confused about what I actually want to accomplish and how to do it.

For instance: http://www.dirally.com/forums/showth...lly-suspension

As imho none in this thread consider real hardcore rallying, imho generic street tires will do ok for enthusiastic driving on ice/snow/gravel. If one hunts for results, then it's worth to do more serious modding and rise budget by a LOT.
After all, real rally tires are just like track slicks. They grip better but not for a long. They will last race or two, and that's about it - time to change, to keep grip competitive. Just for "fun" or enthuasistic "rallyish" auto-x normal tires should do. Be it normal street tires for tarmac stages or mud ones for gravel or normal winter tires for ice/snow. And of course it's not just tires. Your own linked thread on rally suspension discussion. "Real" rally coilovers do wonders, they allow all those insane jumps in air, they allow going 200kmh+ on deep holes ridden tarmac or bad gravel road or cut corners over ditch .. but they cost $7-20K set and need to be overhauled every 1K km.
Once one gets into sport seriously, one should have money to back it. My preference is to keep it modest, just for fun, and mods only in way to keep car street legal and daily driveable.
Don't overthink it & keep it simple and of reasonable costs, if it's just for fun. :) Yes, with "real stuff" speeds/laptimes will be better, but if it is must if your goal is fun and you have to pay for that from own wallet?