CSG and RCE tag-team suspension Q&A thread! Ask us anything!

[wparsons]

^^ What exactly wasn't recommended? Raising higher than stock, or adjusting height for the winter?

[Mikepage]

Originally Posted by jvincent

Car is an all season DD and due to our nasty winters, there is no way it can be lowered. Too much snow.

I'm planning on tracking it this summer, and was wondering if there is any benefit to upgrading the suspension given the above, or would I just be spending money for the sake of spending money? If yes, any recommendations for upgrades that will keep the stock height and ideally improve both road and track drivability?

I'm already planning on upgrading brake pads and fluid and will upgrade the stock tires to something stickier once I burn them out.

Thanks.

Am lowered 0.8" front and 1"rear for winter and I live in Québec...it's perfect, it's Just enough to doesn't having any problems...

Brake and tires are enough on this car to go at the track.

[Ninjin]

Originally Posted by wparsons

^^ What exactly wasn't recommended? Raising higher than stock, or adjusting height for the winter?

Setting ride height higher than stock wasn't recommended.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Mikepage

Hi Andy,

I have only Mach V springs, Strut bar...with a good alignment, like I said before....

I think the best choice bases on your information, I will go with : 22mm solid. Do you suggest to go with an aftermarket link kit or only the front sway bar will do the job? I have the link for my 16mm rear...

Are you informed about clearance issue using oem link on an aftermarket front bar?

I saw a thread concerning this and they fix it with an aftermarket adjustable link...

Let me know!

Thank you again!

I think we were OKAY with the stock links, but we eventually got adjustable endlinks for a perfect fit.

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by utekineir

Quick question on what I should do:

Bit back I had found a good price on kwv3 and picked them up. Since it's salt season here and the car is just seeing daily use they are still in the box. The price paid was low enough they should have no issue being sold for about a wash.

I've been having second thoughts about wether to sell the v3 and pick up a set of rce t2. Or just throw on the v3.

I spent years with no weekends due to work and other obligations. Now that that has changed, there's a good local autox and 2 tracks within about an hour slated to open later this summer. I plan on going to things as frequently as possible. That puts my experience level at roughly 0.5 on a scale to 10.

That said the frs sees the majority of my work/commute/etc miles due to driving 700-1k miles a week and the mpg being a huge jump over the other vehicles owned. Mechanically I'm a shade tree idiot, but I have rebuilt an ej25. Not too worried about wear and tear on the vehicle with dd and toy use.

So, in a nutshell, lots of dd miles, planned autox/track whenever schedule allows during the season. Beginner experience level. V3 or t2? The v3 being already here. Or a 3rd option: sell and learn not to suck with stock suspension?

Thanks

Honestly option 3 would be an okay way to go. I would sell, do a few track days on stock stuff + alignment and better pads, and see where to go from there. If you're tracking your car a lot the T2 really is a step above the V3s, so might as well get them in the end. But in the meantime, build some experience and take care of little things to get yourself and your car track ready.

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by jvincent

Car is an all season DD and due to our nasty winters, there is no way it can be lowered. Too much snow.

I'm planning on tracking it this summer, and was wondering if there is any benefit to upgrading the suspension given the above, or would I just be spending money for the sake of spending money? If yes, any recommendations for upgrades that will keep the stock height and ideally improve both road and track drivability?

I'm already planning on upgrading brake pads and fluid and will upgrade the stock tires to something stickier once I burn them out.

Thanks.

Swaybars, bushings, and a good alignment will go a long way.

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by wparsons

^^ What exactly wasn't recommended? Raising higher than stock, or adjusting height for the winter?

It's not recommended to go higher than stock. The shocks are designed for a lower ride height and do not like being topped out.

You could do a 15mm drop or so.

- Andy

[Mikepage]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Swaybars, bushings, and a good alignment will go a long way.



- Andy

Which bushing?

[Malt]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

It's not recommended to go higher than stock. The shocks are designed for a lower ride height and do not like being topped out.

You could do a 15mm drop or so.

- Andy

Hmm, I'm running T2s with raceseng rear top hats. I'm only lowered 1" but the top hats raise the mounting point up 2". I know i asked this before I put then on but will this cause issues?

[mokinbird87]

So, I went for a drive in my buddy`s BRZ with the Bilstein PSS. I really really like the dampening quality of the Bilstein, but I am not a fan of the progressive springs. After driving a few different set ups, I think I`m leaning towards a linear 400/400 rate on a mono-tube damper.

main purpose of the car: the car will see 2-3 track events a year, but 90% for spirited daily driving. most importantly, the car will be on extreme performance summer tires such as the Hankook RS3's or Dunlop Direzza's ( i think this is important as tire compound and suspension set up should be in sync).

main question: can the bilstein be equipped with Swift coilover springs, or does it only accept OEM style springs? if it does accept coilover springs will the dampening curve cover up to 400lbs? will I mess up all the work that the German engineers put into the kit by switching out the springs?

or will I be happy with just camber plate/sway bars/swift spec R springs on the oem shocks for what I want to do with the car?

I would say the Bilsteins are almost perfect for my taste, but still just a bit bouncy... I rather be a bit stiffer and have less bobblehead and hit bumps a bit harder.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by SubieNate

Question for you guys. I did extensive research when I setup my old impreza. That being a much more front heavy car, the specifics were different but I have been wondering about one aspect.

I went with a pretty beefy front bar on the Impreza. The reasoning was that on a front heavy, MacPherson strut car the benefits of keeping the geometry in check outweighed the potential for increased under steer and for a street car, sways give more lateral adjustability without murdering rode quality.

I upgraded the rear to match and always enjoyed the setup. Is there any need for similar tuning on this car or does it do a better job of controlling chassis movement/geometry naturally?

Don't compare the two. They're only similar on paper on the surface.

We use stiffer springs to keep the geometry in check, but stiffer bars will work too.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by utekineir

Quick question on what I should do:

Bit back I had found a good price on kwv3 and picked them up. Since it's salt season here and the car is just seeing daily use they are still in the box. The price paid was low enough they should have no issue being sold for about a wash.

I've been having second thoughts about wether to sell the v3 and pick up a set of rce t2. Or just throw on the v3.

I spent years with no weekends due to work and other obligations. Now that that has changed, there's a good local autox and 2 tracks within about an hour slated to open later this summer. I plan on going to things as frequently as possible. That puts my experience level at roughly 0.5 on a scale to 10.

That said the frs sees the majority of my work/commute/etc miles due to driving 700-1k miles a week and the mpg being a huge jump over the other vehicles owned. Mechanically I'm a shade tree idiot, but I have rebuilt an ej25. Not too worried about wear and tear on the vehicle with dd and toy use.

So, in a nutshell, lots of dd miles, planned autox/track whenever schedule allows during the season. Beginner experience level. V3 or t2? The v3 being already here. Or a 3rd option: sell and learn not to suck with stock suspension?

Thanks

Since you already have them, keep them, and use them to learn the car

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by mokinbird87

So, I went for a drive in my buddy`s BRZ with the Bilstein PSS. I really really like the dampening quality of the Bilstein, but I am not a fan of the progressive springs. After driving a few different set ups, I think I`m leaning towards a linear 400/400 rate on a mono-tube damper.

main purpose of the car: the car will see 2-3 track events a year, but 90% for spirited daily driving. most importantly, the car will be on extreme performance summer tires such as the Hankook RS3's or Dunlop Direzza's ( i think this is important as tire compound and suspension set up should be in sync).

main question: can the bilstein be equipped with Swift coilover springs, or does it only accept OEM style springs? if it does accept coilover springs will the dampening curve cover up to 400lbs? will I mess up all the work that the German engineers put into the kit by switching out the springs?

or will I be happy with just camber plate/sway bars/swift spec R springs on the oem shocks for what I want to do with the car?

I would say the Bilsteins are almost perfect for my taste, but still just a bit bouncy... I rather be a bit stiffer and have less bobblehead and hit bumps a bit harder.

Absolutely. The progressive springs are there to be a bit more "street friendly", but you'll probably enjoy linear springs, based on what you said.

[mokinbird87]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Absolutely. The progressive springs are there to be a bit more "street friendly", but you'll probably enjoy linear springs, based on what you said.

we probably already talked about this set up on top of the DJ parking lot haha. remember my friend Sung with the black BRZ? he just put on the PSSs and I finally got to go for a drive in em so I can finally make some decisions