Performance and handling mods for MY02 B4

[B4 Dave]

Hi Guys,
I am pretty new to performance mods so am after some advise on what to do and what not to bother with.
I am not looking for a track racer just a car that goes hard, handles well and stops well. Which it already does, just want a bit more.
Current mods are 3"TBE, no cannon! 18x7.5" Rims care of previous owner. Exceedy heavy duty clutch.
My next Mod will be a flash by Pulse, but i am leaving that until i get my licence back!

My younger brother is obsessed with coil overs and brembos but the B4 came stock with the Bilstein coil overs and they still perform well so can see no real benefit in changing them. I am not really interested in lowering the car and was just thinking of rebuilding them when required, what are your thoughts?

Regarding brakes I currently have stock discs up front with a diameter of about 290mm which stop the car a lot better than my old rubber could but am thinking of upgrading when I upgrade the power output. I read somewhere here about someone using brakes from an outback as a viable upgrade for non track use but it wasn't a B4 they were talking about. Should I try to get an STI front cut, 01-03 and just swap the brakes over? Do they even fit?

Any suggestion on handeling mods, strut braces etc????????????

Thanks

[hamish_023]

Hi Guys,
I am pretty new to performance mods so am after some advise on what to do and what not to bother with.
I am not looking for a track racer just a car that goes hard, handles well and stops well. Which it already does, just want a bit more.
Current mods are 3"TBE, no cannon! 18x7.5" Rims care of previous owner. Exceedy heavy duty clutch.
My next Mod will be a flash by Pulse, but i am leaving that until i get my licence back!

My younger brother is obsessed with coil overs and brembos but the B4 came stock with the Bilstein coil overs and they still perform well so can see no real benefit in changing them. I am not really interested in lowering the car and was just thinking of rebuilding them when required, what are your thoughts?

Regarding brakes I currently have stock discs up front with a diameter of about 290mm which stop the car a lot better than my old rubber could but am thinking of upgrading when I upgrade the power output. I read somewhere here about someone using brakes from an outback as a viable upgrade for non track use but it wasn't a B4 they were talking about. Should I try to get an STI front cut, 01-03 and just swap the brakes over? Do they even fit?

Any suggestion on handeling mods, strut braces etc????????????

Thanks

Stock Bilstein came with bilstein struts not coilovers. So would be beneficial going to coilovers.

You can pick up a set of brembo's but not sure if they will fit under your rims.

[Robbks]

for a strret car, brembo's are a waste of cash
stick on some 3.0 Outback/ liberty brakes, 316mm 2pots, they stop hard
add good pads and good new fluid, braided lines and master cylinder stopper for extra pedal feel

you can have your billies re-built and stick some STi Pink Springs on them. (from Japan parts), and it will be slightly lower, stiffer and still ride very nicely
Suspension bushes and swaybars help a lot with the feel and balance of the car.
strut-braces, not so much benefit in a sedan

does your exhaust include the dump pipes?
if not, there are good gains to be had here.

[teK--]

I second the 3.0/GT brakes as being a great upgrade; it's all about getting good pads and fluid.

The only thing good about Brembos is the caliper is lower weight, and being a fixed design gives a slightly better brake feel due to less flex and more even pad application. They aren't otherwise much bigger (~0%?) nor clamp much harder than the 3.0/GT brakes.

The cylinder stopper also makes a huge difference (get someone to stand on the brakes hard whilst you look under the engine bay and see how much the firewall flexes without one).

[B4 Dave]

Thanks Rob,
really appreciate the honesty, So the outback/liberty (3.0l) brakes will bolt straight up? that gives me about an additional 25mm in diameter over my existing set up.
the pink sti springs sound like the go over the standard bilsteins for my application. "struts", thanks hamish for setting me straight. Honestly that sounds like exactly what I am looking for!
As for bushes and sway bars, is cusco the way to go? I saw a few posts about "white something" being of lesser quality than they used to be. Is the Phat the man to speak to first about getting this sort of gear?
For the performance trubo noob, which bit is the dump pipe? My exhaust starts at the back of both turbos, 3" out of the primary and 2.5" out of the secondary turbo, from the merge back it is all 3". Everything in front of the turbos is stock.

[teK--]

Also the stock setup is technically called coilovers since the spring fits around the stanchion of the strut, as opposed to some setups whereby the strut is separate to the spring.

Commonly "coilvers" is used to describe struts with are adjustable height by way of spring perch or the lower clevis being non-fixed.

[Robbks]

For the performance trubo noob, which bit is the dump pipe? My exhaust starts at the back of both turbos, 3" out of the primary and 2.5" out of the secondary turbo, from the merge back it is all 3". Everything in front of the turbos is stock.

ok, you have aftermarket dump pipes, forget that then.

as for in front of teh turbo's, just rip out the intake resonator in the drivers side inner guard, and without getting all custom intake pipes, that's about the best you can do with the intake
except for replacing the hoses from the turbo outlets to teh intercooler with bigger diameter silicone ones

[B4 Dave]

Hi guys,

I found a set of pink STI springs out of an MY07 Tb STI in the for sale forum, does any one out there know if they will fit my MY02????

I broke out the kingchromes this afternoon and took some measurements etc off my front struts. Strut dia =50mm, spring outside dia 183mm with the dia of the spring coil 13.2mm. There were some part numbers stamped on the strut 203 10AF 220.

I did some research on the Bilstein site, for both gen 3 and gen 4 liberty's they list both the B6 sport and the B8 sprint. The model numbers are slightly different, for the B6 sports listed for the gen3 its Bil005507 but noted as being discontinued. the B6 sport noted for the gen 4 is Bil 006559. Funnily enough the B6 sport listed for the gen4 also had a subi part number for identification 203 10AG 180. Pretty close!

Anyone know for sure??

[sooobi]

I think you are looking in the wrong direction here really..

First question? What tyres do you have??

Next question? Do you have an aftermarket fuel pump?

[B4 Dave]

Hi Sooobi,
Before i start thanks for the heads up on the brant alarm contact details.

1) Tyres, I have recently put on a set of Dunlop sp sport max 225/40/R18. Major improovement over the diamond backs that were on it when I bought it.
2) Fuel pump currently stock but is to be upgraded to a high flow Bosh unit by Pulse when they flash it in the not so distant future.
Why do you ask?

[sooobi]

That's cool.. those things are basics that's why.. too many times people get crappy coilovers for the e-cred and have $100 tyres..

The brakes are fine.. you won't really notice the 315 upgrade, save your $$

A good idea for B4 is a bigger top mount or even front mount intercooler.. I think 'just jap' had a compatible TMIC... can't remember the model it was.. otherwise hyperflow does one, not cheap though.. if you can go front mount you get a safe performance boost.. phatgt might be able to score a 'BE5' front mount kit out of japan..

[B4 Dave]

Thanks for your thoughts sooobi.

BTW i love your avatar, if thats what its called, the only thing I love more than my car is breasts!

[Robbks]

The brakes are fine.. you won't really notice the 315 upgrade, save your $$

A good idea for B4 is a bigger top mount or even front mount intercooler.. I think 'just jap' had a compatible TMIC... can't remember the model it was.. otherwise hyperflow does one, not cheap though.. if you can go front mount you get a safe performance boost.. phatgt might be able to score a 'BE5' front mount kit out of japan..

I notice a big difference in braking performance from my Gen2 Gt Legacy (which had the same 294mm 2pots as the B4) to the bigger 3RB Brakes, it stops much harder.!
but good pads, slotted rotors and good fresh fluid will help out the stock system

the stock top mount isn;t too bad, the pipes are the big difference,
in saying that i had a Colling Pro core on my TT Leggy,
FMIC kits are hard to find without paying an absolute fortune, and the piping is usually very messy and long on the Gen3 with off the shelf kits.