'02 WRX Wagon Suspension Queries

[Another Country]

G'day Boys,

I've read through the Whiteline papers on swaybars, posts on swaybars here in the General Forums (5 pages worth) and the articles on handling. I think I understand what is going on, but ...

What I have:
USDM '02 WRX Wagon
Stock springs/struts to keep the wheels following the surface better
Cusco adjustable 22mm RSB, set @ middle (22 or medium)
OEM 20mm FSB
Whiteline HD rear endlinks w/Whiteline HD mounts
Whiteline HD front endlinks
Whiteline Steering Rack Bushings
TiC Side Cowl Braces
17x7.5" wheels w/Michelin Exalto tyres
Alignment settings are zero toe f/r, but I'm not sure about the castor/camber

What it does:
Greatly improved over stock
Crisper turn-in
Less understeer, rear comes around better/front doesn't plow so much
Nose still rolls a lot so I guess I would call this "more push" than I want
As a way of comparing the handling, my car will run as fast as a stock USDM '04 STi through the same stretch of right & left handers, if this really means anything (I drove both cars)

What I am looking for:
Better cornering w/out sacrificing current ride quality
Increased speed into/out of the corners (yeah I know, it's nice to want:p )
This is a daily driver and is 100% street driven in the Northeast USA

When I read through various forms (ie; NASIOC, etc.), there is the usual discussions that larger FSB is always better, which is contrary to everything I have read here, @ least for street.

If I understand it all correctly, the best swaybar set-up for street would be using the 22mm adjustable bars front & rear, starting @ 22. From there, tune the settings to the desired handling characteristics. I can't see going below 22 front, so this would leave the following settings:
22/22
22/24
24/22
24/24

Could you please provide your opinion on the above 4 setting choices.

This will, I'm sure, spark a few more questions.

Cheers,
Mark

[Wojtek]

Hi Mark,
I would suggest you start with our Handling Pack with our touring wheel alignment settings. This consists of front and rear swaybars and complementary alignmnent products to enable for the correct settings to be dialed in. You will find full details on parts and settings in the fact sheet for your car, listed on our website. As far as which swaybar settings to use, the main question is which swaybar sizes to use, which are 22mm front and rear as per the Handling Pack. The adjustment settings provided are for fine tunning to suit individual vehicles and personnal driving styles and handling preference.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Wojtek.

[Another Country]

Hi Wojtek

Your input is always helpful. So, if I read this right, these are the following parts I should look into:

This came from Handling Kit KSUB07H
BSF12Z - a 22mm adjustable FSB
KCA362 - the ALK Comfort
KCA414 - the rear camber bolt kit

A couple of additional questions:
1. the BSF12Z -
what are the adjustable settings? Is this a 22mm bar with 22/24/26 settings? Looking to know what my tuning options will be.

2. the KCA362 -
if I understand this correctly (from Whiteline's White Paper), this will result in more fore/aft pitch of the car but will allow the front tires to follow the road more closely, resulting in better grip, crisper turn-in, faster into/out of corners, and no increase in NVH.

Is this a dramatic or slight change in fore/aft pitch? Are there any negative side effects?

3. Alignment Settings -
Looks as if the Touring settings will have no negative effect on tire wear. Is this true? I think I may be running this setting now as my alignment person set the car up w/a performance alignment w/out any negative tire wear effects. Something I will be checking into.

What would be the negative effects on tire wear if I moved up to the Sport settings?

Thanks,
Mark

[Wojtek]

Hi Mark,

1. BSF12Z is built with 2 holes per side, giving 2 adjustment settings: soft and hard. Labels such as "22/24/26..." are inaccurate and misleading. The only way to give accurate and meaningful descriptors would be to calculate or measure the swaybar stiffness expressed in force per displacement, just like for springs.
2. No, there is no dramatic effect on fore/aft pitching.
3. Yes, Touring wheel alignment settings are tuned for mild street use. Wheel alignment settings must be chosen based on tyres, driving conditions, environmental conditions and personnal driving style preference. What works for one person may not work for another, even if all else is equal.

Regards,
Wojtek.

[Another Country]

Hi Mark,

1. BSF12Z is built with 2 holes per side, giving 2 adjustment settings: soft and hard. Labels such as "22/24/26..." are inaccurate and misleading. The only way to give accurate and meaningful descriptors would be to calculate or measure the swaybar stiffness expressed in force per displacement, just like for springs.
Regards,
Wojtek.
Hi Wojtek

re: #1 above
I knew that. :p I was just looking for some frame of reference, ie; 22/24. Everyone talks in bar size, ie; "I just put in a 25/27mm bar, and I put it on the 27mm setting, and it's so much better than the 25 setting". I know there is no real direct correlation, @ least when you get into adjustable bars.

I was looking @ it from the point of view of that IF BSF12Z is a 22/24 bar, then if this wasn't large enough for what I ultimately wanted, where do I go next?

And we won't go into different manufacturers of the same "size" bar because we both know where that will go/get into.

Thanks again. Helpful as always

Mark