Suspension mods for a touge style build

[DJandTheLegacy]

What's up fellow Legacy owners! I have a LGT sedan that i want to build for mountain/canyon/touge runs, any suggestions on upgrades to the suspension that will increase my handling dramatically. I'm already on Tein Flex Z's but i want to really tune my suspension for aggressive cornering and hard turns. Any suggestions?

[seanyb505]

Maybe I'm dumb, does this "style" differ  any from a general track build?

What tires are you running? Something like a Michelin PS4 or similar uhp summer tire will toss you out of your seat even on stock suspension. 

As most people build their cars out, the order is usually:

- Replace worn bushings with poly or oem rubber depending on what nvh compromise you're comfortable with 

- Rear sway bar

- Entry level struts/springs or coilovers

- Roll center kit (ballpoints and tie rod ends to keep geometry correct at lowered ride height

- STi steering rack

- Quality strut/spring or coilovers

- corner balance 

 

I think the temptation is to skip tires and a flushed brake system. Then probably to get as many bolt on suspension parts but not get it corner balanced and tuned for your driving style. 

There's also a general consensus that a lot of the chassis bracing for our cars is bling. 

Overall these cars are mostly composed and not prone to erratic behavior handling wise. Get something sticky on the wheels and see what you like or want different. You probably won't be keeping up with the miata club as it's a 3600lb nose heavy understeering sedan. No real way to get around that part. 

[JohnDeere714]

1 hour ago, seanyb505 said:

Maybe I'm dumb, does this "style" differ  any from a general track build?

What tires are you running? Something like a Michelin PS4 or similar uhp summer tire will toss you out of your seat even on stock suspension. 

As most people build their cars out, the order is usually:

- Replace worn bushings with poly or oem rubber depending on what nvh compromise you're comfortable with 

- Rear sway bar

- Entry level struts/springs or coilovers

- Roll center kit (ballpoints and tie rod ends to keep geometry correct at lowered ride height

- STi steering rack

- Quality strut/spring or coilovers

- corner balance 

 

I think the temptation is to skip tires and a flushed brake system. Then probably to get as many bolt on suspension parts but not get it corner balanced and tuned for your driving style. 

There's also a general consensus that a lot of the chassis bracing for our cars is bling. 

Overall these cars are mostly composed and not prone to erratic behavior handling wise. Get something sticky on the wheels and see what you like or want different. You probably won't be keeping up with the miata club as it's a 3600lb nose heavy understeering sedan. No real way to get around that part. 

Dont forget the braces

[Code]

6mt w/ front LSD and an r180

[DJandTheLegacy]

19 hours ago, seanyb505 said:

Maybe I'm dumb, does this "style" differ  any from a general track build?

What tires are you running? Something like a Michelin PS4 or similar uhp summer tire will toss you out of your seat even on stock suspension. 

As most people build their cars out, the order is usually:

- Replace worn bushings with poly or oem rubber depending on what nvh compromise you're comfortable with 

- Rear sway bar

- Entry level struts/springs or coilovers

- Roll center kit (ballpoints and tie rod ends to keep geometry correct at lowered ride height

- STi steering rack

- Quality strut/spring or coilovers

- corner balance 

 

I think the temptation is to skip tires and a flushed brake system. Then probably to get as many bolt on suspension parts but not get it corner balanced and tuned for your driving style. 

There's also a general consensus that a lot of the chassis bracing for our cars is bling. 

Overall these cars are mostly composed and not prone to erratic behavior handling wise. Get something sticky on the wheels and see what you like or want different. You probably won't be keeping up with the miata club as it's a 3600lb nose heavy understeering sedan. No real way to get around that part. 

not dumb at all! i say touge style builds because the different road conditions, elevation changes and tighter turns. I live near shit tons of mountains that have windy roads that i used to run all the time but i want a suspension upgrade that will give me a competitive edge to racing on a mountain side. it also differs from a track build due to the car also being one of my daily's next to my impreza that i'm going to sell soon. I'm just looking for mods that won't throw my car straight into a track monster. 

[DJandTheLegacy]

19 hours ago, seanyb505 said:

Maybe I'm dumb, does this "style" differ  any from a general track build?

What tires are you running? Something like a Michelin PS4 or similar uhp summer tire will toss you out of your seat even on stock suspension. 

As most people build their cars out, the order is usually:

- Replace worn bushings with poly or oem rubber depending on what nvh compromise you're comfortable with 

- Rear sway bar

- Entry level struts/springs or coilovers

- Roll center kit (ballpoints and tie rod ends to keep geometry correct at lowered ride height

- STi steering rack

- Quality strut/spring or coilovers

- corner balance 

 

I think the temptation is to skip tires and a flushed brake system. Then probably to get as many bolt on suspension parts but not get it corner balanced and tuned for your driving style. 

There's also a general consensus that a lot of the chassis bracing for our cars is bling. 

Overall these cars are mostly composed and not prone to erratic behavior handling wise. Get something sticky on the wheels and see what you like or want different. You probably won't be keeping up with the miata club as it's a 3600lb nose heavy understeering sedan. No real way to get around that part. 

and no performance tires just yet! Just all season Michelins. What year would work for the STI power steering rack or they all compatible? My steering rack is leaking so instead of a replacement maybe a upgrade is due. What tires would you recommend? 

[Febreze Mee]

I've sought out to build my car for exactly what you're asking, and have more or less accomplished it. Since there is no standardization for the build you're asking, it's largely up to your driving, and what handling characteristic you're looking for from the car. It's already an uphill battle because of the platform you've chosen. As mentioned, the car is 3600lbs and prone to understeer -these are arguably your two biggest hurtles. You won't be keeping up with anything significantly lighter than you in the twisties no matter how many suspension modifications you have.

You can reference my build list through my signature for what I have done to the car. Other recommended parts that I do not have:

- STi solid steering joint

- FSB bushings

- RSB mounting brackets

- poly diff bushings

- new OEM rear subframe bushings

 

2015+ STi racks bold right in.

Michelin PS4s are the best street summer tire on the market right now.

Edited November 26, 2022 by Febreze Mee

[kzr750r1]

Biggest bank for your buck is anti sway bars and rear sway support.

Refresh as many of the bushings you can afford.

Tires are your contact point so this is very important not to skimp.

Over all you want to keep the body roll to a minimum upgrade those anti sway bars.

 

[KZJonny]

I’d add upgraded pitch stop, and potentially trans mount.

Both are fairly inexpensive, and if carving corners and elevation changes are in the cards (my kind of driving as well) they’ll help keep things tighter through the frequent shifts And accel/decel steps…

Easy to spend others money tho…

[Ajerezcl]

I use the Whiteline sway bar kit for LGT with solid links from kartboy. Another important item is the Cusco front suspension top hat with camber adjustment. These elements are the biggest improvement in my experience on the track.

Additionally, I just rode the Michelin PS5 1 month ago, they were even cheaper than the PS4 and it is one of the best tires I have tried on the track.

After that you have a lot of parts you can change, but they're going to give you minor incremental changes, nothing impressive like sway bars and more front camber. In example: Brembo 2 and 4 pot kit, cusco chassis bars, whiteline tie rod, LGT STI rear multilink bars, front & rear LSD diffs, ST MT 6 with DCCD controller, whatever you can pay...