check my basic mods list please?
 

So I want to do a few basic and cheap mods to my suspension.

I already have alignment bolts and a good alignment. Car only has 3000 km on it so its in good shape.

I am thinking of a Perrin Steering rack lock,kind of expensive for what I see, but if it works well, and is something real, I can deal with it.

rear diff anti tramp bushing inserts. Supposed to keep things from moving around.

stiffer front sway bar bushings(I know mine are fine, but they are really cheap and pretty easy to install, I am guessing)

Perrin Transmisssion support mount. This makes sense, and I'd like to get rid of on/off throttle slop

shifter mount bushing. seems like a good idea

transmission mount bushing insert. again, seems like it will keep stuff from flopping around.

Firstly, are any of these really just a waste of money?

Secondly, are any of them hard to install?

and 3rd, are there any other cheap and easy to install parts like these that I should go for?

I am also going to get the "traction mod" rear lower control arm relocators if and when they get back to me. that seems like a no brainer, but its kind of expensive.

thanks!

Oh I am going to get some good tires this year too, so don't worry about the suspension being better than the tires.

And yes, I know I should get some springs, and I will probably do the RSR-Downs with BRZ rates at some time too, but I don't like scraping.

Advice given to me: don't buy anything unless it is going so solve a problem that you have identified.

Unless you have identified problems that these items will solve, I would save my money. I speak from experience.

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I’ve had about half those things, feel zero need to get the other half and the only bushing upgrade I’d recommend is the rear subframe whiteline inserts.

I have most of the bushings/inserts that you listed. I have installed them incrementally, and I have felt improvement which each one. The drivetrain bushings/inserts (transmission mount, rear transmission bushing, shifter carrier bushings, rear subframe and diff) really help with drivetrain lash and stop the shifter lever moving around.

I wouldn't say any of these are hard to install (except maybe the front shifter carrier bushings, which are in a pretty tight spot and you have to work on them blind if you don't fancy dropping the transmission).

Read up on installation methods and tips around here, there are some great pointers (remember to have the transmission in neutral and the parking brake off when doing most of these) and shortcuts (like jacking up the transmission slightly to slide in the Whiteline transmission mount insert vs. removing the entire transmission mount).

Front sway bar bushings aren't hard, but they require removal of the aero panels which is a pain, plus you need to remove the bar from the car with its mount as you can't access the bolts from underneath. The rear sway bar is super easy - note that the 2017+ BRZ uses a 15mm rear bar vs. the 14mm of the pre-facelift and nobody makes 15mm rear bushings. I ended up getting Whiteline 14mm and they fit fine.

The rear offset control arm is meant for lowered cars to correct the changes in suspension angles. It might not benefit or might even harm a stock height car.

I also balked at the price of the Perrin steering rack lockdowns and opted to get poly bushings instead (which are quite the pain to remove/install). There was a thread with comments by Perrin that their lockdowns will have minimal benefit if you have poly bushings and no change if you have solid bushings so I feel the price difference wasn't worth it to me.

thanks everyone. I'll forgo the front bar bushings until I need them then.

as for the rear subframe and diff bushings, which ones are the most gain with the least NVH and simplest to install?

I'm not going for the offset control arms, but for the "traction mod" it moves the mounting point, and in fact it does more for stock height cars than for lowered. its supposed to make the car hook up better out of corners. I like that

I recently installed diff bushing inserts and they're simple to install and I'm pleased with the results (eliminates wheel hop/improves traction when accelerating from a stop). Just need to disconnect the rear sway bar brackets (4 bolts) so the sway bar can be lowered to access the diff bushing bolts (3 bolts). Minimal noise increase, just some very slight gear whine in 1st. Didn't notice any additional vibration or harshness.

The subframe bushing inserts are trickier to install from what I've read. It takes some finesse to line up the subframe to re-install the subframe bolts and making sure they don't cross-thread.

Yes. IMO all of em...

I don't think this is gonna do much if anything for ya either.

Now yer talkin...

Looks like those only lower by 1/2", rates look OK for stock damping, you should be fine...

Waste of money is subjective. If you want it and can afford it go for it. At least everything on your list will not make your car handle worse. Except possibly the springs. Cheep coil overs/springs will give you the look you want and that is about it.

fully agree on cheap springs/coils. you don't know me, so its fine that you'd think I want it for looks. I couldn't give a shit about "moar low" etc. Thats why I am looking at tested and quality springs.

Springs are not a big deal. Go with a reputable source and you're gonna be fine. It's literally just a thick wire wound around a mandrel. Main concern if going with stock struts/shocks is to keep it reasonable for bump travel and damping. The RS-R Down springs seem to be a good bet in this regard.

Cheap dampers, that's another story...

Gave my own answers in bold.

I second most, if not all, of norcal's suggestions, with a couple of qualifiers. I've done most of what you're considering - steering rack bushings, sway bar mounts (F&R), diff mount inserts - and have several others sitting in my parts bin.

First, the steering rack. I used Whiteline poly bushings. The rack lockdown seemed like more than I wanted or needed. They made a noticeable difference in steering feel and precision. They are pretty easy to install. I used a long carriage bolt, a 30mm deep socket, with a large washer to pull the OEM bushings and it worked like a charm.

Sway bar bushings. Again, I used whitelines. Installation is dirt simple on the rears. The fronts require the removal of the mounting plates along with the sway bar. It's not hard, just a little tedious. Took me a day, but while I had things apart I decided to sand and paint a couple of areas that were showing some corrosion. My feeling is the bushings make the car's roll resistance more linear. They convinced me I don't want stiffer bars (at least not on the car).

Diff inserts. I did mine without dropping the rear sway bar. It's a little tight, but doable. Again,I used Whitelines and the process was pretty painless. So far, NVH increases have been negligible. They seem to help with drivetrain's tendency to "wind up under load. Limiting that makes shift more predictable.

By far the most noticeable improvements have come from camber bolts and alignment (-1.5) at the front and tires (225 Conti ECS). I notice the others but the are not transcendental or anything.

It depends on what you want to do with the car. I built mine as a GT/Cross Country roadtripper. I wanted to tighten up the handling a bit, but not at the expense of comfort. I think I'm there. The main thing I want to add to this mix are shocks. The plan is to pick up a set of Bilstein B6s and, maybe, a pair of FRS rear springs and be done with it.

I have STI engine mounts, sub-frame bushings, a transmission mount insert, and a shifter bushing in the parts bin. The subframe bushing are, I have decided, overkill for me. I will probably still do the shifter bushing, STI engine mounts and trans mount insert at some point, but I'm not in a huge hurry for those.

Are you modifying with a goal, or modifying to modify? Almost all those parts are "feel" parts and really not necessary. I'd spend more time driving the car and figure out what you want to change before just throwing parts at it.

the goal is to make the car handle like it should from the factory. Sort of a "super stock" kind of thing. If they werent worried too much about making the car for everyone. No I don't want it overly harsh, and I don't want it low.

Basically I just want to get that last little bit of slop out of it. I don't want a tail happy drifter, thats not my thing.

I'm 53 and have been modifying cars for a long time, so I know what I want to do, its just harder to explain because I'm not after looks or drifting, but I won't build this one as an all out time attack car either.

Don't get me wrong the car is excellent. I just know that with a few key mods I think it could be really close to perfect for an actual street car