New suspension input.

[ohno06gt]

My wagon has over 140k, the stock suspension is tired so planning on doing a little refresh/upgrade this spring. Have a shock leaking and some of the bushings are looking rough. It's a dd with frequent spirited driving. I'd like the car to feel more planted and reduce some understeer and body roll. Would like to retain somewhat of a decent ride quality, the roads in Ct are pretty bad.

 

I'm thinking of going with konis and lowering springs. Rode in a few cars with coilovers (bc, fortune 500, gecko) and the ride quality was brutal. Here is the parts list I've came up with so far.

 

koni Yellows

H&R Springs

KYB tophats

cusco rear sway bar

avo rear sway reinforcement bracket

endlinks

kta124 rca kit

kco313 bump steer kit

group n motor mounts

rallitek 5eat mount bushing

whiteline W63397 + W63396 for upper rear arm

whiteline KDT927 rear diff bushings.

 

Would prefer milder drop than the H&R's but not seeing much on the market. Is the kco313 necessary with the drop obtained from H&R's? Not sure which endlinks I'm going to use, had moogs installed up front 8k miles ago and they seem to be holding great.

 

Going to poke around under the car in the next few days and see what else I can come up with. If you see anything I missed or any "while you're in there" type things please chime in. Any input will be appreciated.

[Febreze Mee]

Unsure of what you have already done to the car:

 

I mean if you're already doing the the bump steer kit, which is just out tie rods and ball joints, you might as well throw in inners too. It adds maybe 20mins more to the job, and is a def "while you're in there" task. MOOG makes great units.

 

I would also suggest steering rack bushings and a Perrin steering damper, or a solid STi joint.

 

Lastly, FSB bushings. My front bar is the factory OB bar, and I have not touched it or the bushings. So I can't say what changes will be felt. I don't intend on getting rid of my factory bar, but I would like to swap out the bushing soon, as those are the only suspension component up front (I don't have Al control arms either) that has not been replaced for something better.

 

Looks like you locked the rear down pretty good with your list. I think you'd be extremely happy with what you've got as far as bushings/mounts/arms go. I can't speak for strut/spring combos. If you're looking for more after this, I'd say start considering chassis bracing. A bar here or there might not give as much feedback as it does style points, for it's all complimentary. It would be best to get bracing in sets, so they can work in harmony.

[ohno06gt]

Thanks man. I was thinking about steering rack bushings, so far the feel is still nice, not sloppy and no play but definitely something I've been considering.

 

I did fsb bushings along with new aluminum control arms last year. Will add the inner tie rods to the list.

 

It's tough to get fully acquainted with the suspension without climbing under the car, it's too cold lately. Just want to try and get everything done in one shot to avoid multiple alignments.

[Pleides]

I didn't feel a ton of difference with the rack bushings but mine were tossed when I bought the car, so I put the Whiteline ones in and called it good.

 

Your choices of stuff look pretty good. I'd use stock rear diff bushings though. Only regret on my car is putting hard bushings back there and making the diff kinda loud. Save your money and go with stock stuff back there. I think they only benefit the actual driving experience in a manual car anyways.

 

Just upgrading the rear bar won't reduce much in the way of understeer. It'll help, but more than anything it'll make the car wanna oversteer. I'd recommend a matched front bar.

 

I replaced my upper rear arm bushings with Whiteline ones and noticed no difference in handling over the OEM ones apart from a little harshness over bumps. It may help at the car's limit, but not at the limits that I've approached as a driver.

 

I have almost all of your mods. The H&R springs have a nice drop to them without ruining the ride. If you want less drop then go for STI pink springs.