Hey,
Welcome. I’ll be starting off with what my intentions are with this car, a bit of background and why I ultimately went with this strut/spring combo. This is probably the 2nd major performance upgrade aside from a stage 1 tune. When I say major, I don’t really mean major. It’s like major minor. I always say this, but the shift stopper is probably the best bang for your buck performance mod. It helped me elevate my driving so newer levels. I’d consider that a major upgrade.
Honestly when I think back on it now, stock stock was fucking balls. Not really, but anyways, there’s so much shit that you absolutely gotta do to get this car to run like a normal car. I have never, in my near decade’s worth of driving manual, felt more incompetent as a human being than I did during the first few months of owning this car. I kept telling myself, “you’ll get used to it. no need to worry. this car ain’t shit” Truth be told, I could not live driving like that forever.
5 or so months later, I’m here now. Having driven a total of 14.8k miles as of writing this, I’ve installed the stage 1 tune, perrin shifter stop, radium dual catch cans and an inno wedge 14 cargo box (not a performance mod, but relevant). I also have wide angle driver/passenger side mirrors (did you fuckin know that they make a version with blind spot assist, which is an option I also have? I ended up taping the module to the back of the aftermarket mirror, that i prematurely bought, so that I would retain the RCT alert. Very helpful option ) Also, yellow SS3 fog lights. Turns darkness into day.
Due to the cargo box, I have also installed a 3/4 inch spacer in the rear to level it up, and actually give it a bit of forward rake. This causes a bit of oversteer, and honestly, in freeway loops, I feel as though the car pulls through the curve much smoother. This could also be due to negative camber introduced by raising the rears higher than the front.
Stock suspension, while soft and comfortable, isn’t made for aggressive driving, hell, the stock wrx is supposed to ride like family car. it fucking does. it’s nice. But I suppose the way I drive, it just isn’t enough. I take my car on the back roads in Northern California from time to time. and yes, I do it with my cargo box too. the added weight of the cargo box, plus it’s additional wind drag on the car will surely stress my stock suspension components and tires. I’m in this car for the long run. I wanna have fun with it, and own it for a long time.
Along with the B8/Swift spring setup, I’ll be using the Whiteline Com C top hats. This is for the increase in positive caster, which can help with forward stability. I’ve added 3/8” spacers in the front, and 1/2” spacers in the rear. 3 days after installation and alignment, all four corners measured 26 1/4” from the ground to the wheel well. The height of the car seems visually similar to stock height. This is fine for me because my driveway is not low-car friendly. After having driven a lowered e46 for a number of years, I’ve concluded that I’d much rather have clearance than aesthetics. With this combination, I’m able to achieve better handling overall while maintaining stock clearance. Camber was set to -0.9 degrees in the front and -0.5 degrees in the rear. Toe was zeroed out. Caster measured up to 7.0 degrees. Overall, the ride feels planted. I feel as though I’m driving a sports car now.
I drove the car around some of the worst streets in NorCal: SF. That place got some major roadwork and potholes. Even with spirited driving, the springs and dampers were able to absorb much of the “bounce”. Yes, the ride can be harsh at times, but I like the amount of response from the road I am getting. Feels much more connected and I’m able to use my body more than my eyes to understand the conditions of the road I’m driving on. While harshness definitely increased (not necessarily bad to me), Noise and Vibration increase are fairly negligible. My steering now feels solid, I don’t feel as though I’m constantly correcting my steering angle, especially on turns. Sometimes, I feel as though I’m having to rock my steering wheel back and forth quite a bit just to stay in a straight line, on stock suspension. Now, I’m able to keep a more fixed steering position. I’m personally happy with the setup. Eventually I plan to get tires with a higher aspect ratio, 235/50/17’s, and increase the overall tire diameter. to 26.3”. I expect to be transporting loads in the back, so I hope the extra tire cushion the rear some more.