MCA Suspension "Traction Mod"

[DocWalt]

Yeah those tires must have died. Michelins suck at that.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

The best winter tires I've ever had were ironically these Chinese Maxxis Crosstrek Ice tires that were like $450 CAD shipped for the set. The handling was gummy, they made noise like truck tires, but were absolutely immortal in snow. I hated them in the dry though

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

Camber -3.1 front, -2.0 rear
Toe 0 front, 0.01 rear

I mean I bought the michelins knowing I was gonna sacrifice some snow traction for dry weather handling resembling something sporty. Just wondering if any of that would be due to the car being on aftermarket suspension, and whether the traction mod would help

A lot of camber probably doesn't help on squishy tires.

What size wheel do.you run? It's normal with Nordic style tires to get more tread squirm and the car feels more squishy.
I switched from 16s to 17s this year and noticed a lot less of that squishy movement with less sidewall. A performance winter as mentioned would be much more stable, we get poor selection for performance winters up here.
When I looked on stock size fitment it was either Pirelli sottozero series 2 or continental 830p which are both 10 year old outdated models.
Those might work in T.O where your winters don't seem to be as harsh.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

A lot of camber probably doesn't help on squishy tires.

What size wheel do.you run? It's normal with Nordic style tires to get more tread squirm and the car feels more squishy.
I switched from 16s to 17s this year and noticed a lot less of that squishy movement with less sidewall. A performance winter as mentioned would be much more stable, we get poor selection for performance winters up here.
When I looked on stock size fitment it was either Pirelli sottozero series 2 or continental 830p which are both 10 year old outdated models.
Those might work in T.O where your winters don't seem to be as harsh.

I'm on 18x8.5. There is a bit of stretch in the sidewall. Yeah and having driven on super gummy tires, I gotta be honest it just doesn't even feel like an 86 anymore lol. Reason I'm suspecting the car and not the tires is that apart from the coilovers, I also have both of the whiteline diff inserts (outrigger and the other one) and subframe inserts as well. So there is no slack, which makes me theorize that maybe by moving the suspension pick up point, I will introduce slack that might help with grip

[Breezio]

What size tires on those 18x8.5 wheels? I get the feeling you have a pretty hefty size mismatch, plus the additional camber... Those poor tires.
Put some 215's on the stock 17x7 wheels and everything will be much happier. Still won't compare to running nice summer tires though. If you are used to a grippy summer setup. Any winter tires will feel like you have no traction on dry/wet.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Originally Posted by Breezio

What size tires on those 18x8.5 wheels? I get the feeling you have a pretty hefty size mismatch, plus the additional camber... Those poor tires.
Put some 215's on the stock 17x7 wheels and everything will be much happier. Still won't compare to running nice summer tires though. If you are used to a grippy summer setup. Any winter tires will feel like you have no traction on dry/wet.

235/40/18

[Breezio]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

235/40/18

Well that's not too bad. Rather tall, but that shouldn't hurt the performance.

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

I'm on 18x8.5. There is a bit of stretch in the sidewall. Yeah and having driven on super gummy tires, I gotta be honest it just doesn't even feel like an 86 anymore lol. Reason I'm suspecting the car and not the tires is that apart from the coilovers, I also have both of the whiteline diff inserts (outrigger and the other one) and subframe inserts as well. So there is no slack, which makes me theorize that maybe by moving the suspension pick up point, I will introduce slack that might help with grip

Stretch would be a good thing imo, I'd guess tread blocks with lots of Sipes with alignment probably contributing.

With stiffer suspension in theory that can overload the tires easier with much lower grip threshold.
MCA mod was worth it imo, it improved ride quality, having more compliant rear suspension is a win/win. I wouldn't mind adding poly bushings to rear sway bar but I can only find one company that makes poly for 17-20 oem 15mm rear bar and it's almost $100cad. Not spending $100 for two small bushings.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

I wouldn't mind adding poly bushings to rear sway bar but I can only find one company that makes poly for 17-20 oem 15mm rear bar and it's almost $100cad. Not spending $100 for two small bushings.

I ran the Whiteline bushings (W23448) on my '18 BRZ - they fit fine but start binding after a few hundred miles (noticeable when going over a sharp speed bump at an angle). I then put back the OEM ones and enlarged the hole in the Whitelines with some sandpaper glued to a dowel. It removed the knurling from the inside. I put these back on about a 100 mile ago. So far it's good. Can't say that I feel a different, though (for these or the fronts (W23447), that I had for 30k miles).
The rear bushings are super easy to replace, so it's easy to experiment with.

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

Camber -3.1 front, -2.0 rear
Toe 0 front, 0.01 rear

There's your problem.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

There's your problem.

What should I be aiming for?

[DocWalt]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

There's your problem.

What?

I've used snow tires plenty on much more aggressive alignments, that's not the issue.

[Tokay444]

Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanadaEh

What should I be aiming for?

Something that puts a lot more contact patch on the ground.

[Racecomp Engineering]

RCE SS1 with 6 kg/mm front and rear rates, probably -2.2 degrees front camber in this pic.
195/65/15 General Altimax Arctic tires on 15x6.5 wheels.
Plenty of suspension and driveline bushings.

Definitely overkill for my needs but mega-fun and easy to drive in snow/slush.

Gives up a lot the rest of the time...but it's still fine to drive like a normal person.

No traction mod in this pic. It's nice but not the issue here.

- Andrew