gimpydingo Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 07 LGT with 45k miles. I bought the car a few weeks back and it had linglong tires on it; hard, no grip, all around bad tires. Just got some Conti DWS. I can really feel every dip and groove in the road through the steering wheel, both with the lings and the contis and the suspension seems a bit soft while cornering mountain roads. I also have an 07 Impreza 2.5i with 76k miles on and that ride is still pretty stiff and hugs the road. Is the suspension on the LGT's normally this way? What are the thoughts on upgrading to the STI suspension and getting a sway bar? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 yes, its soft. STI suspension wont fit. upgrade your shocks to koni inserts /thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 Thanks! Will this help with the "road feel"? Possible the bushings are shot? Also any other suggestions on handling upgrades? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 C&D said 'gt by badge only' so yeah expect it to be soft. I don't feel a much of the road in the wheel. In the mountains the car gets very uncomfortable towards the limit, though it holds. Our car is stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeblow Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Upgrading the sway bars and endlinks will make a huge difference. Then, I would go for and upgraded spring/strut combo with a little stiffer spring rate. Find what makes you the most comfortable and gives you the road feel you're going for. If possible find some people in your area with suspension set ups that you might be interested in running. Stop by an autocross and see if someone will let you ride along, no online reviews will compare to actually riding in/driving a car with the mods you're looking to do. I've got 25mm front and rear bars and coilovers with adjustable damping. I just did my first autocross the other day and the handling was phenomenal, with very little body roll through some of the harder turns. Its a stiff ride, but it really grips and acts the way I want it to. It's cool; I'm with the band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Upgrading the sway bars and endlinks will make a huge difference. Then, I would go for and upgraded spring/strut combo with a little stiffer spring rate. that thinking is backwards. its always better to do struts and springs first before swaybars. swaybars make the suspension less independent and actually reduce grip at the limit. stiff springs and struts will not affect the car that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thanks for the suggestions - I think springs and struts is the way I will go and see from there. I'm not taking it to the track, but mountain roads always pose a challenge so any thing I can do to help with roll, bounce and sway I'll take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 You can reduce body roll with sway bars for less coin then springs/struts. I don't know how stiff you want to make the car. Ultimately you'll want all new suspension/sway bars to get a more performance feel out of the car. I will only say that the car wasn't built for performance driving, the steering ratio isn't very nice and the experience is rather numb. Not sure how much work you want to go to on this. I'd probably do sway bars + dunlop star spec z1's. All the grip you can handle on street tires, plus a moderate reduction in body roll. But then you're going to want to do a cobb flash as the motor doesn't like being really flogged stock. This project will get bigger than you think. Once you start you likely wont stop and road trips won't be as comfortable if you build this heavy sedan for the corners. If you love the mountains maybe an mid-90's miata would be better investment. Probably better then the 4-5K in suspension/tires/work required to make it handle well. Just a friendly suggestion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeblow Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 $4-5k in suspension work? The only reason mine comes close to that number is because I paid a lot for some Rays Gramlights. I spent $300 total for my Perrin 25mm sways bars (front and rear). $100 on the endlinks. $75 for the AVO reinforcement brackets. $800 for Megan Racing Street coilovers (I know they're mediocre, but they work for me). About $800 for my BFG KDW2 summer performance tires. Rays 57U 18x8.5 for about $1500 .That comes to just about $3.5k. Even if I would've gone with expensive coilovers, I'd just be hitting your $4k mark. It's cool; I'm with the band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 I'm not looking to get crazy (at this point). Still a daily driver and I like the way the Impreza 2.5i handles. I think some new shocks and a sway or strut will be what I need. The grip is there and I can still tear up and down the mountain, just being more cautious with the steering. Just a little upgrade and I'd be good. Also will a front sway bar reduce oversteer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Users LieutenantDan Posted August 26, 2011 Mega Users Share Posted August 26, 2011 Its hard to imagine you're getting oversteer on your stock setup...also you may want to refine your terminology a bit. A shock, a strut, and a sway are pretty different things there gimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 Let me rephrase. I will get some new shocks, but will also consider struts or a sway - depending on which would give me good handling and still be a daily driver. As for the oversteer, assuming the wheel in the neutral position is 0, when I turn the wheel 45-55 degree (approx) the car wants to steer a bit further in that direction than would be expected. Of course I am still getting the feel of the car and the only comparison is my Impreza 2.5i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I've found the legacy wants to understeer not oversteer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob-2 Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 $4-5k in suspension work? The only reason mine comes close to that number is because I paid a lot for some Rays Gramlights. I spent $300 total for my Perrin 25mm sways bars (front and rear). $100 on the endlinks. $75 for the AVO reinforcement brackets. $800 for Megan Racing Street coilovers (I know they're mediocre, but they work for me). About $800 for my BFG KDW2 summer performance tires. Rays 57U 18x8.5 for about $1500 .That comes to just about $3.5k. Even if I would've gone with expensive coilovers, I'd just be hitting your $4k mark. Yes for mediocre stuff you can do it for less, doing it right costs money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 ^ ha. For me I think anything over stock will be a nice little upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeblow Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I guess going with $800 Megan coilovers negates the perrin sways and avo brackets with rallitek endlinks. All of which are well known suspension brands. The point I was trying to get across to the OP is that you can turn an lgt into a nice handling car without breaking the bank. Stiffer springs and sway bars will totally change the way it handles and can be had for under $1000. It's cool; I'm with the band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted August 27, 2011 I Donated Share Posted August 27, 2011 upgrade your shocks to koni inserts /thread +1. I love mine, and I am reconsidering getting swaybars, because they've really cut down on the body roll and floatiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.