Susupension Thread

[quik1987]

From the Car & Driver article:

The Impreza derived suspension consist of coil over struts in the front and a 3-link rear suspension, also in steel with cast iron knuckles.

From thetruthaboutcars article:

“Suspension?” “McPherson, double wishbone.” And a smile.

From Autocars article:

The FT-86’s weight distribution is 53/47 per cent front/rear.

From Car Magazine Article:

Mitsubishi supplies the springs, while test cars ran both Sachs and Showa shock absorbers – we tested the Sachs set-up.

VLN Gazoo race car.


BRZ Prologue ii

[itsbrokeagain]

Im pretty sure most of the aftermarket companies will jump on this. Tanabe and Tein would be dumb not to take advantage of this.

[old greg]

Mitsubishi supplies the springs, while test cars ran both Sachs and Showa shock absorbers – we tested the Sachs set-up.

This seems to imply that the standard car has Showa dampers, and the recently leaked TRD dampers are provided by Sachs.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by old greg

This seems to imply that the standard car has Showa dampers, and the recently leaked TRD dampers are provided by Sachs.

The TRD dampers would NOT be on a preproduction car for a magazine review, the base ones included with the car would be.

Most likely they were testing both and no one knows what it will actually come with yet.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Hello,

We are already thinking about shocks, coilovers, springs, swaybars, bushings, brake ducts, etc. for this car. We've got lots of experience with the Subaru Impreza platform, though this is a different ballgame. Also plenty of experience with Mitsubishi EVO, Porsche, and BMW.

We've got good relationships with Ohlins, Bilstein, AST, KW, Whiteline, JRZ, and also design a few of our own parts. Can't wait to bring high quality parts to this car.

If the standard shocks are made by Showa, that's a pretty good thing. The 2008+ STI switched to Showa from KYB and there was a nice improvement in valving quality to go with it. From the sound of it they've paid more attention to valving than usual. Not as good as Bilsteins but a big step up from the usual OEM japanese stuff. Plenty left on the table for a good well designed spring to upgrade to (if done correctly). We'll have them dyno tested as soon as it's possible. This spring is going to be great! At least 2 of us in the office really want this car.

EDIT: Sachs isn't bad either....they make a wide range of stuff though. Some very very high end stuff and some simple OEM type replacements. I feel pretty confident the standard shocks will be impressive for an OEM (though maybe not Koni Yellow or Bilstein Sport good).

- Andrew

[Dave-ROR]

Do you guys do any custom valving or anything like that? Examples of what you've done?

I've love to see a dyno of the stock dampers and have someone determine the spring rates. I'd gladly send a set in to you for testing but I likely won't be one of the first to buy the car (I have zero intention of paying MSRP, let alone above that..).

[Racecomp Engineering]

We do not do custom valving in-house, but we work closely with Bilstein for a custom valved "Sport" shock with matched springs for the current Impreza WRX and STI. Also have a custom KW coilover set for the same cars. So that kind of stuff is done by working with those companies (designed here with their help, made in Germany to our specs, revalved and serviced by them stateside). Shock dyno is coming and at that point we would be able to do anything. We used to share shop space with another shop and have been procrastinating getting our own dyno for the new place.

We're pretty function oriented....one of our "lowering" spring sets for the Impreza STI lowers the car just 5mm....and comes with shortened bumpstops. So you end up with more bump travel than stock. More travel + a nice healthy increase in spring rate works very nicely, and our core customers are really into it. The hellaflush scene...not as much. But that's okay, different strokes.

- Andrew

[Dave-ROR]

Function > Form for me man Get that shock dyno!

I love Bilsteins but for custom apps normally run custom Konis just because it's so easy to find. I'd rock a set of custom valved bilsteins with threaded sleeves and custom rate springs for sure Unless I wanted to dump too much money into the suspension.. I'm trying to avoid that route :P

KW Var 3's are one of the better off the shelf setups I've messed with. What did you guys do custom with those? Increased rate? Road race car? or Rally? or?

Sorry for the questions, just curious.

[RRnold]

Welcome Andrew. Do you have any feedback regarding Ohlins? I know they are increasing their suspension in the automotive market but any rough comparison between Bilsteins and the Ohlins that you are familar with?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

Function > Form for me man Get that shock dyno!

I love Bilsteins but for custom apps normally run custom Konis just because it's so easy to find. I'd rock a set of custom valved bilsteins with threaded sleeves and custom rate springs for sure Unless I wanted to dump too much money into the suspension.. I'm trying to avoid that route :P

KW Var 3's are one of the better off the shelf setups I've messed with. What did you guys do custom with those? Increased rate? Road race car? or Rally? or?

Sorry for the questions, just curious.

Indeed. I'm a Bilstein fan but run Konis on my Mini just because I happened across a deal. Sort of like Belgian beers vs. an american IPA. I might prefer one just a bit but it's hard to turn the other down. And blondes vs. brunettes.....

We'll do a lot of testing and measuring and all that good stuff once we get the girl-i mean car.

- Andrew

[Dave-ROR]

Ohlins, Motons, Penske, etc are all great products. Everything I've used/been in from any of them has been custom designed though.

Some of the JDM tuners (not the parts dumpers, the guys who actually race) use custom Showa dampers too, which are outstanding as well.

In the ITR world Penske and Showa's are generally regarded above the rest. I'm likely not a good enough driver to take advantage of anything quite that well setup though :P

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by RRnold

Welcome Andrew. Do you have any feedback regarding Ohlins? I know they are increasing their suspension in the automotive market but any rough comparison between Bilsteins and the Ohlins that you are familar with?

Love Ohlins. One of the better all around "win on sunday take the kids to school on monday" coilovers out there. Great valving even off the shelf, but can be customized to dominate on the track (even the single adjustables). The real track stuff is a different playing field and I generally only recommend those types of shocks for race only use.

Bilstein is close in terms of capability, but off the shelf can leave something to be desired on the performance end (which is why we prefer custom valved when possible). Ohlins just nails the valving all around and the adjustability is more consistent, but they are a bit more expensive.

Both great shocks.

- Andrew

[Dave-ROR]

It'll be interested to see if we have any shock travel issues with this car.. I won't be affected but the guys that want to do 2"+ drops might hate it..

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

It'll be interested to see if we have any shock travel issues with this car.. I won't be affected but the guys that want to do 2"+ drops might hate it..

The impreza platform is a bit limited in terms of travel (hence our 5mm performance springs, though we also have a 15mm version). But one good thing is that this car is already so low to the ground both in reality and visually that it won't need to be dropped much to look good IMO. The pics don't show a monster truck wheel gap we're used to from Subaru.

- Andrew