A bit softer than I'd expected?

[subnub]

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who thinks there's something not quite right about the stock setup! A little disappointing, but it gives me an excuse to tinker... "bouncy suspension in dangerous darling, would you like me to leave the car alone, or make it safer?"

Thanks for the input guys, looks like I have some investigating to do!

[SMI77]

Oops, sorry Tony, I really meant Subnub.
The STi bar was free, as was not originally installed. So bang for your buck, no comparison.

Thanks Jim.

[Arith]

A little disappointing, but it gives me an excuse to tinker... "bouncy suspension is dangerous darling, would you like me to leave the car alone, or make it safer?"

Hey, safety is my main reason for getting the front mount. I mean, what if I was ever chased by crazed drug dealers? Shouldn't I have enough kw power to escape pursuit? And godforbid they should start shooting at my tires! Good thing I have peace of mind due to the safety of 19's because there's more metal and less exposure of tire for them to shoot out.

[overl0ad]

sorry, once again i didn't read the whole thing...

but i found the stock billies quite nice.

provided good feedback while being comfortable/firm enough for daily driving. as you mentioned, not great for being pushed, but a MASSIVE difference to the unless stuff in the 2.5i...

[Arith]

but i found the stock billies quite nice.

Is that paired with the stock springs in a Spec-B or with STi springs?

[subnub]

But, before you do anything, do you have a STi Lower Arm Bar fitted from new- refer separate post.
If not, you should complain to your dealer about that.
The difference is quite surprising.

Aah yes, just checked the other post, it looks like a lower strut brace, I can see why it'd have such a profound impact on the feel of the car I hadn't realised that people were missing parts off their cars from factory!! Hmm when I get a chance I'll check it out and rip it up Subaru if it's not there, thanks for the heads up!

[subnub]

A little disappointing, but it gives me an excuse to tinker... "bouncy suspension is dangerous darling, would you like me to leave the car alone, or make it safer?"

Hey, safety is my main reason for getting the front mount. I mean, what if I was ever chased by crazed drug dealers? Shouldn't I have enough kw power to escape pursuit? And godforbid they should start shooting at my tires! Good thing I have peace of mind due to the safety of 19's because there's more metal and less exposure of tire for them to shoot out.

Haha sounds like you and I are disturbingly similar!

[Johnb]

Another suspension solution suggestion.

I have started the process of enhancing my 07 Liberty STI to unlock its potential. The standard suspension set up suffers from a lot of cost cutting measures - just look at the lower control arm bushes.

I recently went through the exercise of looking at suspension set ups. I was all for TEIN Coilovers until the exchange rate fell through the floor. To land the TEINs in Australia and have them kitted with an Australian valve kit and fitted was going to cost about $4,800.

Suggested set up for a car transformed:

1. KONI Sports all round - these are a direct replacement for the rear and for KYB setups on the front. For Bilsteins the front inserts need to be professionally milled 2 thousandths of an inch to slide neatly into the Bilstein. The KONI have a 5 click adjustment 1 is fine for the road. 2.5 to 3 at the front for the track

2. Replace the inner Lower control arm bush with super pro offset camber bush

3. Fit anti lift kit (several brands now available including whiteline, super pro)

4. fit roll centre kit (several brands now available including whiteline, super pro)

5. Fit Whiteline swaybars front and back

6. Fit rear diff mounting bush kit (think this was super pro), reduces diff movement

7. Fit rear strut bar

8. Get a good wheel alignment by someone who has race or rally experience

9. Melt original STI parts

10. Find a windy road and be amazed at the transformation.

I still have the STI springs fitted and have found them OK with the KONIs but I'm now starting to think about TEIN S TECHs

Since I had the work done body roll has greatly reduced, suspension is quieter and more comfortable and the big bonus is reduced tire noise. In addition there is less understeer and the rear more likely to drift than snap.

Total cost under $3,000 professionally fitted.

[overl0ad]

but i found the stock billies quite nice.

Is that paired with the stock springs in a Spec-B or with STi springs?

the stock springs. for day to day.

but that's compairing them to the OEM ones in the 2.5i

for the GTB... picked up keys on wed night, by sat, had them swapped out. so my experience with them is limited..

[overl0ad]

first up, i'm gonna say that anything from here will increase NVH. i don't see how you can have it both ways. also, i'm not taking a stab at Johnb, simply trying to add some knowledge to the members out there as to what else needs to be considered.

2. Replace the inner Lower control arm bush with super pro offset camber bush

3. Fit anti lift kit (several brands now available including whiteline, super pro)

i'm guessing you mean the tennis ball and the actual pivot bush here?

i've got the perrin PSRS in mine, caster went to 7 degrees and with the 225/45/18's and lowering. they rub on the wheel guard. (i put them in myself)

need someone who knows exactly what they are doing to reduce the caster so the tyres don't rub. persoanlly i'm just too lazy to pull them back out and adjust them.

following your post, i think your weakest link is the actual lower control arms in the front. to my knowledge are steel. swapping these out the the alloy units (you can actually buy these locally, for about $2500 a pair as they as listed as an STi option, but are not published on their site) will reduce flex in the entire system and lower unsprung weight. the down side of this is that because they are alloy units, you run the risk of cracking them should you hit somethign hard sideways.

5. Fit Whiteline swaybars front and back

i think it's worthy to note that you will not get the full potential of the sways unless you have decent endlinks in there. and please look at getting the rear brace if you go stiff sways and endlinks

6. Fit rear diff mounting bush kit (think this was super pro), reduces diff movement

ideally, you should also be looing at the tranny mount, if you don't want to go the full deal, run the STi group N mount with the blanking mod. note: the STi (lib or WRX) does not come with the Group N mount.

in a perfect world, the engine mounts, tranny mount and pitch mounts should be replaced together.

9. Melt original STI parts

the STi lower arm bar is a 2 point bar, which has it's flaws as to how much bracing it will give you. a 4 point lower arm bar will give you better results for hard driving. i agree with the melting of the STi parts, i'm finding it hard to see any real value (cost vs performance) in the parts i've come across with the exception of the Genome strut bar as it's titanium (god i love that stuff)

[drndrn]

sorry, once again i didn't read the whole thing...

but i found the stock billies quite nice.

provided good feedback while being comfortable/firm enough for daily driving. as you mentioned, not great for being pushed, but a MASSIVE difference to the unless stuff in the 2.5i...

by 'unless' i think you mean useless.. and sheesh gerald no need to insult other peoples cars.