Suspension Tech needed!! =D
 

Hi there, let me start off by saying I'm currently interested in lowering my car. However i most defiantly do not want to decrease the handling of my frs in anyway. I do expect a harsher ride, but my goal is to enhance the aesthetics of the car, but more importantly the handling.

My initial plans are to lower the car 1.5" at most with ST coilovers or Stance super sport coilovers, have enkei RPF1 in Sbc 18x9.5 +40 with tires 240/40/18. I dont want to "slam" my car, just enough of a drop to even out the wheel gap. And keeping the ride as close to stock as possible, my frs is my dd and "racecar".

However, ive done research and have become quite intimidated. Its quite a controversy whether if Stock is the best. I've read that if you drop your vehicle on either coilovers or springs will ruin the geometry. And in order to bring the car back to 100% perfect geometry you will need to swap out control arms, and have camber adjusted to bring everything back to alignment. (just sounds like a big headache, and MONEY to me)

I also hear that i could just get a set of coilovers and have chassis bracing. And also have what my intended goals are.

Anyone here with some experience wanna enlighten me? :wub:

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I don't think you will feel the "decrease handling" because of the geometry.
If you feel the handling is decreased after the coilover installed its because you are having a lower end coilover ( because stock FRS suspension is really good).
so rightnow, you should be worrying about which coilover is suite you the most and the alignment.
for the alignment, the front can be adjusted using camber plate or camber bolt, but the rear is more problem due to the non adjustable arm. however, you can change the rear lower control to have more camber, but i heard the min is still around -2 which i think its more than enough (if you want -2 camber in the rear, you don't need to change the lower control arm because the ride height (1 finger wheel gap) can make the rear camber to be -2).

1.5" is about the max you should lower your car without adding any geometry correction (roll center adjusters, bumpsteer kit etc etc). You WILL however need the proper mods to correct your alignment as alignment is VERY important in a good handling car. (don't forget, summer tires are pretty damn helpful too) Some coilovers already have camber adjustment for the front and some don't. That's for you to research. Rear LCAs however are definitely something you should consider. As far as coilovers go, ST suspension should be decent since they're made by KW. Just stay away form lower end coils like megan, BC racing, stance, ksport, etc.

KW V3's. Your dampening will get butchered by going 1.5" roughly. How do I know? I'm doing that now on the Tarmac 0's with 18X9.5's +38 and was suggested to "go higher". Instead, I just bought an even better, more comfortable coilover. They truly are a "you get what you pay for" type of upgrade and this is a highly important one to choose wisely or your ride becomes bouncy. The V3's or the Tarmac 2's (Also made by KW) allow you to adjust that dampening while lowered so your ride is comfortable while you still maintain the symmetry of being lowered. Most people say don't go lower than 1-1.5" otherwise the handling suffers.

Go with SPC LCA's if you're only a daily driver or track lightly. Save your money as they do exactly what you need them to do while obtaining OEM properties. I was able to get my camber back to -1. to -1.5 degrees easily.

Is there anyway to adjust your alignment without this stuff ? Even if it's like a degree or so ?

^^ You can use camber bolts up front and offset bushings in the rear (whiteline makes them), but the range of adjustment is limited. The rear bushings will only give you about +/- 0.75 degrees of adjustment, so if you need more you're still stuck.

this right here is full of contradictions and a misunderstanding of what it is that you actually want... which at the moment is having da cake and eating it too.

"handling" could mean a number of different things depending on who you talk to. So the first step you should take is to figure out what "handling" means to you. You should be able to do this in a minimum of 4 sentences.

also you must understand where you'll be driving your vehicle. Certain compromizes can be made depending on your driving habits, roads, weather conditions and so forth.

Sorry bout in the unclarity. By handling i mean i enjoy rippinng through corners on canyon mountain roads. Not drifitng.

My car is my DD, so it will be going over speed bumps, driveways etc etc.
Just a roadster as a DD.

For agressive/fun driving on public road, I would only put good tire, possibly lowering spring(in the range 1/2-3/4 inch) and thats it, the car is already, in my opinion, extremely well balance/tuned for public road.

If you play to much with the suspension, you will have to go all the way or end up having less enjoyable ride than stock, never to forget a suspension system is a series of compromise for a wanted result. The more yo go on one side the more you lose on the other.

That's still very vague.

Keep the suspension stock, and get better tires. You get what you pay for, and you don't seem ready to pay for the good stuff, yet.

Get it to the right alignment specialist and hope they have experience setting up track car suspensions and have them dial it in to your specific needs. Like I picked a more weekend canyon setup to help preserve my handling but at the expense of tire life