Say you had 700, and you could either:

1. get struts and used springs, install them yourself, and get an aligment down with negative camber, or
2. Get a set of S03's and get them mounted,


which would you choose? Yes, I'm aware that tires will probably wear out faster than the struts. But this is something I've been thinking about since those Kumho 711's are a lot cheaper and I'm not sure if it's worth it to pay about 70 percent more for a better tire, depending on HOW MUCH better they are.

 

get the struts, then get avs 100's when you need it

 

Struts and Springs. They'll last longer than the tires.

 

S03's by far. Save for a set of coilovers. Struts and springs do nothing compared to them

 

Dude, who the hell told you that? STi Ver.8 struts and Pink springs + camber plates will handle every bit as good as say a Tein SS coilover setup. Only cool thing about coilovers is the adjustability.

 

completely true, aside from adjustablity you can get a set of struts and springs to perform every bit as good as coil-overs

 

s-03s on stock suspension will handle a ton better (and be more safe for you) than springs and struts with kuhmo 711s

kuhmo 712s are complete garbage and the 711s are even worse

 

Get Kumho MX's. It gives up very little traction to the S03's, and they're about 200 cheaper for a set of four than the S03's.

I've been running a set of MX's I got from tirerack for about 8k miles now and am very satisfied with em. You can check out the reviews and compare the two on tirerack also.... I'll agree with the people saying tires first. My struts and springs are going in tommorow (koni/prodrive).


just my .02

 

Someone didn't tell me that. I have driven MANY WRX's and STi's with all setups imaginable (part of my job). Those overpriced Springs does nothing compared to Cusco Coilovers down a twisty path. Its more then adjustability, its proven. no serious racer on the track would count on just struts and springs to improve their suspension.

S03's are a totally different league in terms of performance in tires. They grip with unbelievable traction and the cost for them is more then justified.

In any case, buy whatever floats your boat. Take my posts as only my honest opinion, not as a member/vendor trying to sell you parts.

 

Actually I ditched my coil-overs for lowering springs exactly because the "twisty paths"around here we all love in nor cal are torture on coil-overs, I can hardly get anyone of these guys with coil-overs to come out on a back roads thrash anymore

Coil-overs are great, but there are indeed compromises involved and they are definitly not going to be the best choice for the driving most of us that do not go to the track will ever need

 

You have to be using the right coilover for the driving you do. For backroads, you'll need a set of coilovers made for that (easily found in Japan, but VERY expensive). The same coilovers used by everyone are not meant for that driving, hence the difficulty they must face when they do!

Its also not common knowledge that coilovers also need to be rebuilt after X numbre of miles. The type of coilovers you have determine how long X is before needing replacement.

For price and practicality, with offroad driving, I would recommend springs and shocks just because the price to buy real coilovers for rally type racing isn't worth the money for the typical driver/sprint. Abusive driving like that favors the wallet with springs and struts rather then $4000+ Group N style coilovers. However, this doesn't make struts + springs any better then applicable coilovers for the driving situation, which was my point.

Good to know though you actually tried both. Knowledge is power, but experience is priceless.

 

I think it depends on your idea of what to do with your ride. If you're going to track it, then coilovers seems right, but if you're just cruisin and want a better feel on the road, then springs and struts for the price won't hurt. Although spending 700 is a big chunk of change, double that and you have a fixed set of tein coilovers.

 

Wow. You sir, give good advice.

I'm curious, though, what are the differences between the properties of road racing and rally-esque coilovers? Difference dampening or something?

Thanks, and cheers.

 

Like all things in life, which many people sadly do not believe, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle...

 

Verc: what kind of tires do you have on there now, what's your current suspension, how many miles do you have on it, and what kind of driving do you plan on doing?

Also, what would you say are your prime issues with your current setup? Does the body roll bother you? Is it not getting sufficient grip while turning? Does it understeer too much for your tastes?

My suggestions to you would change depending on what you're starting with and what particular handling issues you want to address.

In general, if you're starting with a stock suspension on OEM tires, I'd recommend getting better tires first, and maybe throwing on a slightly stiffer rear swaybar. In general, the stock Subaru suspension is a pretty good all-purpose suspension (and it's TOUGH), but the soft-spring/stiff-strut combination produces a lot of body roll, which bugs some people.


Rally suspensions generally are designed with relatively soft springs and stiff struts, but with a long throw. The car is generally left at stock height or raised somewhat. Often no swaybars are used, or just enough swaybar to correct any understeer/oversteer. Also, generally the shock tubes are beefier, so they can take more abuse. Road racing suspensions have much stiffer springs and less of a throw, and the car may be lowered somewhat, depending on how rough the course is. I don't do much autocrossing, but people there seem to like really stiff springs, really stiff swaybars, and really low cars - as low as they can go without messing up the suspension geometry.

As for the coilover vs strut/springs - it depends on what you buy, and it depends on how you define "coilover". One of the nice things about buying a coilover package from a company with a good reputation is that they will have matched the shock and springs to your car and your style of driving. However, you don't necessarily need that. For instance, the hot rally setup for VW's is pretty simple: Eibach or Shine springs on adjustable height perches (generally Ground Control), sitting on revalved Bilstein shocks. The Spec Miata suspension is similar: Eibach springs on an adjustable perch (not Ground Control - dunno who makes it) on a particular Bilstein shock. Technically, these are both coilover suspensions, but they're not an all-in-one unit. They do their job well, though. And they're *cheap* - about $200/corner.

BTW, if you want cheap, excellent-handling tires, I suggest you look into Falken Azeni Sports. They're a near R-compound, with excellent rain-clearing capability too. The only two drawbacks are that they get really noisy very quickly, and their huge treadblocks mean that they suck in dirt or snow.