Lowering Sport Tech RS BRZ with Sachs Dampers

[Ezk1el]

Hey,

Found a couple threads but I'm still unclear on a few things.

I want to drop my 2018 BRZ Sport-Tech RS. It has the ''Performance Package'' basically, I think that's what it's called in the US. I'm in Canada.

I want a slight drop, why? Because I live in Canada and I daily this car in the Montréal winters.

So I took a look around for info on lowering the stock Sachs Dampers without having to change the whole suspension setup and from what I can see, SCE Yellows Spring + Camber Bolts in the front should be enough with an alignment.

Thoughts? I'm not racing the car, just a daily driver.

I'm running 17x8 with 245's Michelin PS4S.

[RToyo86]

Hard to go wrong with RCE yellows.
The ride will be firmer due to the increase in spring rate but it isn't jarring.

I'm using the same spring on standard 2017 shocks, and I am satisfied with how it rides. I may have adjusted to it over time but it feels more comfortable now than it did intially. PS4S grip levels seem well matched to the spring rates.

[DarkPira7e]

Sounds good.

[Ezk1el]

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

Sounds good.

Any other recommended mods for street use?

I'm trying to find if sway bars on newer model is really necessary.

Also any street specs for a more aggresive alighment that doesn't completely destroy tires.

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by Ezk1el

Any other recommended mods for street use?

I'm trying to find if sway bars on newer model is really necessary.

Also any street specs for a more aggresive alighment that doesn't completely destroy tires.

It's all depending on your intentions. I run -1.5 degrees up front and -2 in the back, with a pinch of toe out in the front for aggressive turn in. That may work for me, but the toe out makes the car more nervous feeling and you have to focus more on your steering input.

My wear front and rear has been very even- no feathering present. I think if I drove interstate all the time, it wouldn't be so nice. My car also squats quite a bit more than most- I had completely stock suspension. (Haven't driven car since upgrading)

You'll get a lot of variance in opinion on suspension mods, because modifications are completely subjective and goal oriented.
I ran my e36 with no rear swaybar, and a 30mm front swaybar. I had a swaybar in the back, but didn't like the grip it took away during accel mid corner.
Spring rates, dampers, swaybar, bushings, camber, toe, caster- they are all tuning options. If you are not driving competitively and aren't sure what you like, you'll need to experiment. Get a fat swaybar in the rear and you'll find that you lose grip over small bumps mid-corner easily. Get a fat front swaybar and you'll be prone to understeer. Have both and you'll be skidding off track if you have no aero.

There's so much that's subjective, it's scary. You need to search each sort of adjustment to learn what it does at an extreme, and make your compromise with purchasing or adjusting and see how you like it.

Suspension tuning us fun, expensive, frustrating, and humbling- eventually you may end up where I am and say "screw this, the OEM hardware is good enough, I'll just make a little adjustment and enjoy"

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Ezk1el

Any other recommended mods for street use?

I'm trying to find if sway bars on newer model is really necessary.

Also any street specs for a more aggresive alighment that doesn't completely destroy tires.

Modest lowering and camber bolts with the stock dampers is a great approach as long as you don't want wider wheels. Which for your usage would be just for style points anyway! I would not bother with sway bars.

For "aggressive" alignment, go max negative camber at the front with camber bolts, lowering with RCE springs will get you some negative camber at the rear, I wouldn't worry about adjustability there unless it's pretty bad asymmetrical. Go with zero front toe-in and moderate if any rear toe-in, say zero degrees to 0.15 degrees *total* rear toe-in. That will be FUN and minimal toe will conserve tires.

Enjoy!

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Ezk1el

I'm running 17x8 with 245's Michelin PS4S.

What is wheel offset? You're probably fine, but if offset is high you might be limited as to how much camber you can get with camber bolts. For your usage I wouldn't recommend camber plates as they can reduce bump travel or raise front ride height. But if your offsets prevent you from taking advantage of camber bolts, you could run Pedders offset strut top mounts/isolators to get some front camber.

[Ezk1el]

I'm on 17x8 45mm offset

245/40/R17 PS4S

The camber bolts are really only useful for the alignment at the garage. They might not be necessary, I don't know.

That's why I'm trying to find a guide to alignment recommendations for people who only street drive their car and want a small bump in performance without destroying your tires.

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by Ezk1el

street drive their car and want a small bump in performance without destroying your tires.

0 out the toe, between 1.5 and 2.5 degrees of negative camber. That's all you need if you've already gotten tires. You're going to notice that get more more body roll, since the grip of the tires will place more load on the suspension; with this and the negative camber, you'll have an optimum contact patch for street with no obscene tire wear

[BlueWhelan]

Originally Posted by ZDan

What is wheel offset? You're probably fine, but if offset is high you might be limited as to how much camber you can get with camber bolts. For your usage I wouldn't recommend camber plates as they can reduce bump travel or raise front ride height. But if your offsets prevent you from taking advantage of camber bolts, you could run Pedders offset strut top mounts/isolators to get some front camber.

You get a little more caster too.

I'd go with this route (I did actually, so maybe a little biased). I have 17x8, 45 wheels with 235/40/17 tires ATM, and with SPC cam bolts maxed out there was only 4-5mm of clearance from the tire wall to the spring perch. You really should have a minimum of 3mm in that area. With your 245 section setup, that may be pushing it. I got the Pedders units and got another -.8 of camber and .5 of caster, so was able to get the numbers I wanted without rubbing.

My specs for my daily driven BRZ are below. It handles beautifully with no aggravated wear. YMMV of course.

Front
Camber: -2.2
Caster: 6.0
Toe: 0.0

Rear
Camber: -1.6
Toe: 0.08 total (.04 per side)

On another note, another option for you here are the STI Pink spings. The JDM units provide a 15mm drop with a modest bump in spring rate. Those would probably work well for you too.

[Ezk1el]

Already ordered the RCE Yellows so I'll start with them and see how it goes.

Thank you for your setup info, much appreciated!

[Racecomp Engineering]

RCE Yellows are back and in stock btw.

- Andrew