will suspension affect winter driving

[rallyInspired]

Thats a dope M3- yeah on my 01 impreza i had y rated tires and thought i was gonna die sooo many times.....at the time i was too broke to get new tires...so im gonna spare no expense when shopping for tires this winter..its like buying car insurance

[kmurph]

Thats a dope M3- yeah on my 01 impreza i had y rated tires and thought i was gonna die sooo many times.....at the time i was too broke to get new tires...so im gonna spare no expense when shopping for tires this winter..its like buying car insurance

 

been there, done that in my old Integra GS-R...never again. I'm surprised I made it through that winter alive. I will always run snows in the winter regardless of the car.

[sbyates]

I have Sti pink springs and running on 18" rims with P Zero Neros on my Leggie. It definately makes winter driving more interesting especially on tight corners. The is the third car that I have lowered the first was a Civic Si, then a WRX. I never had any issues with getting stuck it was always non-winter tires that got me spinning. Which isn't all bad if you like to have fun while your driving.

[mwiener2]

moved to suspension

[LittleBlueGT]

The LGT lowered about an inch is still higher off the ground then many cars come factory. In my experience a car with a tighter suspension is easier to drive in the winter, it gives better road feel and the suspension lets you know the limits a little sooner then stock.

 

As far as a rear bar goes, get an adjustable. That is what I am doing (still waiting for COBB), and I change the rear bar to a looser setting when I change my tires.

 

I live in Canada and drive in the snow all the time, I love it. I have ION springs and am getting the above mentioned rear bar and likely Tokico struts/shocks (can adjust for winter driving as well).

 

The most important thing though is winter tires, get them, you will never look back!

[CFar]

If you consistently find yourself almost crashing because of the snow, dont do it. Dropping/stiffening springs and shocks will change the balance of your car and will likely make it a bit more difficult to drive in the snow. Snow is very dynamic though and it almost depends on what kind it is.

 

Push come to shove, youre doing the right thing and learning the dynamics of your car before setting out to change them. Find out if you like it like it is (its decent in the snow from what I remember last winter) usually pushing to understeer unless you really provoke the chassis or gas.

[Boulderguy]

Whoa, back up - you're living in Denver? Maybe once a year you'll see snow accumulate on the roads over 8", more if you're driving city streets at 4 AM before the plows are out. But the fact is the streets are RARELY snowpacked in the Front Range & the plows do a great job. Now if you're spending a lot of time in the hills west of town it's a different story. Otherwise I'd say run all-season tires & mod the suspension all you want, tho I'd be careful with the sway bars being too stiff. There's no reason to have dedicated winter tires if you're living & travelling in town & on I-70 to ski, you just don't need them.

[Aczwild]

Like m father said to me when I told him I wanted to drop my car...

 

"Well then we could just hire you as our snow plow during the winter... Good luck getting up the driveway and over the Adorondacks"

 

Hmm that made me think twice for a bit. Depending on how much snow you usually drive through and how well its plowed you might want to skip out on lowering it. With that said, however one of my friends has a GT just like mine that has been lowered for 3 years and he drove it in the winters with no problems, so pretty much its up to you...

 

If its lowered though watch out for hidden ice chunks in the snow

[suckafree]

A few posts’ back it was mentioned that a STRUT TOWER BRACE could adversely affect cornering in icy conditions. Do you guys think this is also true for rainy conditions as well? I’ve been looking at upgrading my front and rear sway & strut bars.

[TSiWRX]

A few posts’ back it was mentioned that a STRUT TOWER BRACE could adversely affect cornering in icy conditions.

*emphasis added

 

I searched, on every page of this thread, for the following:

 

- "strut tower brace"

- "stb"

- "brace"

 

So far, the only post on which such terms matched a hit is the very same post where you mentioned this issue.

 

 

Please cite precise post(s) where this was mentioned.

[suckafree]

Below SW7RT mentions his experience with having a rear sway / strut, and having issues with a loose backend...

 

 

I've had the same concern about springs and sways on the GT during winter, when I had my WRX wagon I drove all winter with a larger rear sway and everything else stock except for strut tower bar and dedicated winter tires. The WRX is suppose to have more understeer than the GT (more neutral) with that being said I could definitely tell the difference. The wagon's rear was easier to kick out for sliding around corners on ice/snow, I never had a problem with spinning out, unless I was pushing the limits. The only down side was whenever I took tight long curves I'd get that nervous feeling that the rear would come around. GPmototech should have a rear sway coming out soon with an adjustment for winter driving. Hopefully I'll have Ion springs on in Sept and I'm looking to get either Nokians, Michelin X-Ice, or Blizzak LMs, I think the springs will be fine from the reviews I've read. It seems the springs help the RE92s grip a little better and should do the same for winter tires. I'm just icthing to mod the suspension a little bit.

[suckafree]

The majority of the posts concern icy conditions, I rarely get that in parts of CA. But in the central coast we do get a winter packed with rainy and thick wet fog days. I wanted to pick everyone's brain to see if having aftermarket front and rear sway / strut bars affect the Legacy's ability to corner on a very complex curving road in wet conditions.

[TSiWRX]

suckafree -

 

Ah! I see now, thanks for pointing that out. Looks like I should have just searched for "strut."

 

Truly, I do not think that a STB, especially in a vehicle as new as our LGTs and one in which the strut towers are already mounted so far back against the firewall, will make an appreciable difference in foul-weather handling.

 

Although there have been a number of reports from LGTers of the STB leading to butt-dyno observable differences in handling on both sedans and moreso wagons (after install of rear bar), at the present time, this is still eclipsed by reports of "little" to "nil" effect observed by most members who have chosen this upgrade, mainly for cosmetic and "what could it possibly hurt"/"maybe it'll make a small difference, even if I can't feel it" reasons.