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

[Readytoxplod]

I'm looking at Fortune Auto(500) coilovers before my 18" enkeis (8.5/9.5) come in, any recommendation for spring rates? Aslo should I go with the Swift upgrade?
(BTW I understand staggered is not the best, but I enjoy the looks and will not change the wheels)
I live in NC and drive the Blue Ridge parkway, and technical roads like the Tail of The Dragon frequently, and want best performance over comfort. They come with 6k front and 7k rear rates. Thanks!

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by mdecoste

Well I would like coilovers but was a little hesitant because of the price, some early issues people were having with the eibach kits, and the fine tuning it would take to find the right settings/alignment. Would you recommend any particular eibach coilover kit?

Sorry. Not really familiar with eibachs coilover set-ups. I will say this, I learned the hard way about buying mods based on what I could afford immediately versus saving up and waiting a while.

A good set of springs go a long way for a decent price. Plus they keep decent resale value when you upgrade to coilovers. I know a few guys running the eibach pro kit and like it at the track, but have also heard it can be slightly bouncy on the daily.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Readytoxplod

I'm looking at Fortune Auto(500) coilovers before my 18" enkeis (8.5/9.5) come in, any recommendation for spring rates? Aslo should I go with the Swift upgrade?
(BTW I understand staggered is not the best, but I enjoy the looks and will not change the wheels)
I live in NC and drive the Blue Ridge parkway, and technical roads like the Tail of The Dragon frequently, and want best performance over comfort. They come with 6k front and 7k rear rates. Thanks!

What kind of tires?

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by mdecoste

Ok thanks, start somewhere else as in coilovers and use sways to fine tune? Which of the 3 eibach coilover kits would you recommend? I was a little weary because a few people on the forums were having some early issues with them, but I'm sure eibach has resolved those issues since then.

I like Eibach (they make our RCE Yellow and Tarmac springs for us to our specs) but I would not recommend their coilover kits.

What kind and what size tires do you run for auto-x and track? Do you want to be "competitive" for auto-x?

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Weasel Soup

I want to be able to get between 2 and 3 degrees of camber at stock ride height. That said, do the RaceSeng parts alter ride height/ground clearance any? I really don't want it to sit any lower (I've made use of the factory skid plate a few times), and don't want to raise the nose too much and mess up the handling balance.

I'm not sure if the RaceSeng parts alter ride height.

HVT is another good quality camber plate that will work with stock suspension and they do not change ride-height.

- Andy

[mdecoste]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

I like Eibach (they make our RCE Yellow and Tarmac springs for us to our specs) but I would not recommend their coilover kits.

What kind and what size tires do you run for auto-x and track? Do you want to be "competitive" for auto-x?

- Andy

I've been using 225 bfg g-force rivals on 17-8 rpf1s for track/autocross and daily driving the stock wheels/tires. My only other mods are carbotech xp10 brake pads, brake fluid and a k&N filter. Being competitive in the socal stx class against cars like Max Hayter's isn't really realistic at the moment so I'm just out there having fun and trying to drive my car to its maximum potential. I'm looking for better track performance without it being too uncomfortable as a daily driver. Appreciate the advice Andy!

[mdecoste]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Sorry. Not really familiar with eibachs coilover set-ups. I will say this, I learned the hard way about buying mods based on what I could afford immediately versus saving up and waiting a while.

A good set of springs go a long way for a decent price. Plus they keep decent resale value when you upgrade to coilovers. I know a few guys running the eibach pro kit and like it at the track, but have also heard it can be slightly bouncy on the daily.

Yea, I'd definitely rather do it right rather then rush into what I can afford. The eibach pro-kit is a good option. Thanks.

[mdecoste]

Will I still benefit from front camber bolts when my car has slightly more of a tendency to oversteer to begin with. (stock suspension frs). Would a stiffer sway bar in the front than rear or staggered tires (235 rear 225 front) be a decent way to achieve a more neutral setup if I leave the rest of the suspension alone.

[karlsson]

I recently switched from the stock michelins to yokohama ad08-r in 215/45 17 and it seems to me, as if the OEM suspension is now struggling to keep up with the upgraded tires.
Do you think a b14 or kw v1 (those are, where I'd like to draw the line budget-wise) would be a good choice or should I go with B6 and stiffer springs?
What spring rates would you recommend?
The car sees up to five trackdays/auto-x events a year and is mostly used for spirited canyondriving.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by karlsson

I recently switched from the stock michelins to yokohama ad08-r in 215/45 17 and it seems to me, as if the OEM suspension is now struggling to keep up with the upgraded tires.
Do you think a b14 or kw v1 (those are, where I'd like to draw the line budget-wise) would be a good choice or should I go with B6 and stiffer springs?
What spring rates would you recommend?
The car sees up to five trackdays/auto-x events a year and is mostly used for spirited canyondriving.

I would recommend you get the camber you need via camber plates and rear LCAs.

You'll be shocked at what a proper alignment can do, because right now, under cornering, you're only using the outer edge of the tire (due to body roll). Changing dampers doesn't change your body roll, although you'll reduce it a bit with stiffer springs that will likely be paired up with those dampers. On the other hand, the alignment will get you a more complete contact patch, allowing you to use all of your tire.

[karlsson]

Since I am based in Germany road-legality is a big issue. There are no road-legal LCAs and camber plates are also a big issue. I'll be getting the OEM crash bolts before the alignment and hope I'll be getting enough camber out of them.


Can you recommend other parts that could aid alignment-wise?
any Powerflex or white line bolts or bushings (powerflex is a little easier to come by over here)?

Thanks

[Slick]

Originally Posted by mdecoste

Will I still benefit from front camber bolts when my car has slightly more of a tendency to oversteer to begin with. (stock suspension frs). Would a stiffer sway bar in the front than rear or staggered tires (235 rear 225 front) be a decent way to achieve a more neutral setup if I leave the rest of the suspension alone.

If you go with the Eibach ProKit springs, it will remove the oversteer and stabilize the rear end more on exit, springs have a nice F/R bias that I like.

225/235 is not much of a stagger anyway, plus I'm not a fan of it. It eliminates the ability to rotate tires and there are other ways to play with the bias.

Prokit combined with just front crash bolts will get you around -2.0 all around, you can get more up front if you slot the struts a bit.
Get used to this combo before making other changes.

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by karlsson

Since I am based in Germany road-legality is a big issue. There are no road-legal LCAs and camber plates are also a big issue. I'll be getting the OEM crash bolts before the alignment and hope I'll be getting enough camber out of them.


Can you recommend other parts that could aid alignment-wise?
any Powerflex or white line bolts or bushings (powerflex is a little easier to come by over here)?

Thanks

if you use a 14mm camber bolt from Whiteline or SPC in the lower strut hole along with the OEM crash bolt in the upper hole you can get over -2 degrees. If you lower your car and need more rear adjustment the Whiteline rear upper control arm camber adjustment bushing gets .75 degrees of adjustment, they are just a pain to install and adjust.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by karlsson

Since I am based in Germany road-legality is a big issue. There are no road-legal LCAs and camber plates are also a big issue. I'll be getting the OEM crash bolts before the alignment and hope I'll be getting enough camber out of them.


Can you recommend other parts that could aid alignment-wise?
any Powerflex or white line bolts or bushings (powerflex is a little easier to come by over here)?

Thanks

Ouch.

Get 4 oem WRX "crash bolt". It's a grade 10 M14 bolt, which will get you more camber in the front. Use them in BOTH strut mounting holes, and max out your camber.

It's not the best fix, and not something I normally recommend, but when legality is an issue, this is a "fix".

If you have a truly talented shop, you can drop your rear subframe, and play with the factory tolerances to gain about 0.5 degrees of negative camber per side on average, but this is a LOT of money for labor for minimal gains.