Burned On The Turn..mothaf....!!

[JERZBOY]

hello everyone, before i ask my question , let me give a little backround info first, im on rt.9 in jersey, me and a subaru WRX are going at it, theres a turn going on to the parkway from rt. 9 thats a classic , being that his car has a lower stance than mine he was able to accelerate during the turn much harder than me , i rode him down on the straightaway, but i still had that turn burning a hole in my pride. now i like the ride height i have, im not against lowering, only ive heard stories of bad tire wear , needing alignments, having to buy other things to fix problems from lowering, my question is, if i put some swy bars on with out lowering, would it help when im hitting the turns and allow me to accelerate harder without the car doing the speed killing dip it does, or do i have to add some struts or something, i will lower, but only if there is no other alternative....HELP, theres a WRX out there that needs to learn some manners

[1fastsedan]

What package do you have? If its a V6, then you don't have a rear sway bar at all. To answer your question, yes sway bars and a strut tower bar will help you corner faster. Other things that can help are coil-overs or an SRT take-off suspension if you don't have an SRT.

[JERZBOY]

sorry, should been more clear, i have an r/t borla exhaust, jetstageII and a cai,

[Super T]

Um, nevermind the fact that he's lighter, has a tigher turning radius, and is all wheel drive?

[JERZBOY]

thats not what im asking bro, somebody help me

[JERZBOY]

i thought we were hear to make our cars better, not come off like smart a$$e$

[rwalshphoto]

Well I have an SXT so the strut bar is out of the question, but I plan to do Hotchkis Springs and Sways. Since you have an RT, you already have front and rear sways (unlike me) and its just a matter of replacing them with something better and stronger. Hotchkis, KW, Tein and Pedders are at the topend of performance suspension. Eibach is the more mainstream. I have heard that you can get away with doing the Hotchkiss springs or the Eibach Prokit without replacing shocks, although it is recommended. According to Pedders, the factory bushes are one of the weakest links.

[ekaz]

Who's being a smart ass? sway bars, strut bar, SRT suspension all will help. However, everything that Super T said is true.
Besides that, talk of street racing isn't generally wanted around here. Now before you get all defensive, you could've simply posted that you wanted to know what you could do to make your car handle better.
Anyway, besides the above menioned, coilovers are another option as well.
Good Luck!:modding::racing:

[madeulooq]

Hey jerz the sway bars,strut bar and SRT suspension will definitly improve and help with the handling, Im looking into the KW2 myself.

Ps..it's alot of good advices here that will make ur car better as for the wrx? let that go it has alot to its advantage especially when it comes the corners, bends etc.

[rwalshphoto]

Yeah, anyway you look at it, you cant make a 4400lb rear wheel drive V8 beast handle like a 3000lb all-wheel drive turboes Subaru. They each have their strengths.

[formerice]

Hotchkis sway bars, SRT suspention and if you have stock 18" wheels some fat tires with 38-40 psi air. I'm running 255/55/18 General Grabber UHP's and they stick like glue, I don't know about the WRX's, but I can eat up most cars on the turns. If you have the Superchip tuner, the paddle kick mode will let you be in a lower gear to get you up in the powerband. Try to find a track to get on, it will make you a better driver.

[Rob@WretchedMS]

Um, nevermind the fact that he's lighter, has a tigher turning radius, and is all wheel drive?

+1

A stock LX is not going to turn with a WRX, period.


Swap out the suspension with something a bit more suited to what your trying to do (insert shameless plug here), and a stickier set of tires may get you to compete with him.

Bottom line, the WRX is made to turn, then go fast, not the other way around.

[UPS92008]

i thought we were hear to make our cars better, not come off like smart a$$e$

It always kills me that somebody tries to stuff a 2 ton car into a corner thinking that they can hang with a STI.:doh:
Apples and oranges bro. STI's, EVO's, and, RS4's are all purpose built cars that stock R/T's can't compete with.
There are a lot of people here that have done some amazing mods to their
cars, we could learn a lot from them.:racing:

Have fun and LEARN. Post a pice of that R/T! :rock:

[Charg-um@BMC Performance]

To answer your question, Yes new sway bars will dramatically improve the handling of your ride. I have always preeched its the first mod one should do.

[4life]

On a side note (im not very familiar with the Subaru cars), doesnt the WRX STI have the same or more horsepower then a 300c?

I love my 300c but it is sloppy in the corners, that doesnt concern me too much because I knew it wasnt going to handle great when I bought it, I just wanted the HEMI, lol.

What I am doing to improve the hadling slightly without spending large cash is Charger SRT8 takeoff suspension and larger sway bars.

P.S. I still get in my 12 yr old BMW M3 and get much more enjoyment on taking fast corners then with the 300c. They are just different animals.

[HerDaytona]

That kinda interesting. my buddy got rid of his modded up Subby [not sti] and bought himself a charger ''strippy". After his last mod on the subby it was ascreamer. Now i think his was the 2.0 but bigger turb:blah::blah::blah:. Anyway he converted and just got FRIed with James" help and a bit from me. OHHHHHh boy. It screams now for sure and now he wants to turn a bit more with it. It would be nice to see what dyno numbers are.

[Super T]

thats not what im asking bro, somebody help me

i thought we were hear to make our cars better, not come off like smart a$$e$

Not trying to be a jerk man. That car is designed to be better around the turns than an LX... you want swaybars, adjustable coilovers, more horsepower, better tires, lighter wheels, and a lighter car... ready, set, go! Seriously, replace swaybars and shocks/springs and that will help. But this is like asking how to make your camaro as fast as a lambo.... start rebuilding it!

[JERZBOY]

some good advice , thank you , btw i know our rides wont STAY with an STI in the turns, i just wanna figure out how to make our cars BETTER in the turns, the rest is up to the driver, thanks guys

[JERZBOY]

p.s. i will post pics of my ride up, as soon as i get my camera back, i put a pic i had saved on my computer on my signature, but for some reason its not showing it, the best i could do for now was the small pic in my avatar, but you need a friggin magnifiying glass to see it

[AWD_Gabe]

Yeah, anyway you look at it, you cant make a 4400lb rear wheel drive V8 beast handle like a 3000lb all-wheel drive turboes Subaru. They each have their strengths.


x2

[AJ_Gil]

Be careful, I was autocrossing a Vette a couple of years ago and in the offseason made some mods I thought would be killer (lowered car, springs, bigger sway bars, polyurathane bushings, lower profile Comp TAs) and the thing was SLOWER!
I know a lot more about racing suspensions now and understand where I went wrong. Don't just throw things at it that are supposed to work. Have a plan and use things that complement each other.

I have some track time under by belt road racing and here's another (cheaper lol ) approach. Rather than play to his strengths play to yours. Speed entering a corner and through the middle really don't mean a lot. It's all about carrying speed coming out of the corner. Even if he's a couple of lengths ahead if you're carrying more speed at the exit he's toast. Study the corner and see where you can gain an advantage. Obviously you want to set up a late apex to take advantage of the Hemi. I can't draw here but go in a bit slower and make a sharp turn so the car is travelling in a straighter line through the last 1/3 meaning you can hit the gas a LOT harder a LOT earlier than you could if you were still turning hard.
Make sense? Kinda hard to discribe the technique in a paragraph but the guy will crap when you blow by 50-100' out of the corner.

[JERZBOY]

Aj_gil You Are The Mothaf**in Man Bro!!! Thanks

[chasb]

the KW's are a bit lower than stock SRT height (I have a 5.7) and the car handles as well as my freinds vette (C6). We went sise by side at some hairy 90mph turns on the parkway and I was right with him.

(Of course he lost me in the straights but that's not the point here)

Bottom line Sways and somekind of coilover/strut setup will make you proud again.

[JERZBOY]

WITH THE KW'S, HOW IS THE RIDE QUALITY? PLUS IM IN CENTRAL JERSEY, ANYBODY FROM THIS AREAA WILL TELL YOU THE ROADS ARE DISGUSTING AROUND HERE, AND I DONT WANNA GO TO LOW, damn, back to work, catch u guys later

[MVP25]

Jerz-
Anything is better than the stock setup. 1st change tires 2nd go with the sways bars. Then go drive it :racing: and see how you like it without lowering it. If you feel it needs more :modding: than go with coilovers. The ride is not as bad as you think with the stock rims on.
Good Luck!:pepper:

[JERZBOY]

thanks, that sounds like a good idea, are all sways created equal? or do some stop body roll more than others?

[AJ_Gil]

Check out the "Bad @ss Strut Bar" thread right below this one.
That's probably my next mod.

I grew up along the Delaware in Yardley, PA so I'm well aware of the road conditions you speak of. No way I'd run a stiff suspension up there. I had a pretty hot '69 Vette (making around 500hp), it was lowered and resprung. Besides having my fillings replaced several times from pothole shock I probably had to do extensive fiberglass repair on the spoiler bi-weekly LOL!!!!

I've been pretty successful drag racing this thing and am looking at trying some road racing when Moroso has track days. I started with replacing the *(&^ Contis with better compound GoodYears and was suprised at the improvement in tracking. Big wheels and thin wall tires will NOT help (lesson learned from the Vette) but that Strut Bar will be the next thing.
You want to keep some body roll in a street suspension so that right there might give a reasonable compromise between cornering and ride comfort.

Before going any farther blowing big $$$ on a hardcore suspension kit, for around the same $$$ enroll in the Skip Barber Racing School (they run it at Pocono, I went to it up there... 5 days in heaven IMHO). Besides having the time of your life you'll leave there with a understanding of high performance driving that will make you FAST in any car, anytime.

[JERZBOY]

69 vette, 500hp OOOWEEE! THAT IS SWEET!! i see what you mean, i dont wanna be too stiff considering how disgusting the roads are around here, plus i run 22's in the summer, that would be uncomfortable, and probably embarassing when my fiance is in the car, lol. Im looking into that racing school, 5 days in the mountains, and some schooling... can u say mini-vacay

[X E Ryder]

What the others said about weight is true - you just can't make a 4000 pound car handle like a peanut car. It also does not help that he's AWD and could care less if he hangs his arse out around the corner - the front will just pull him on around regardless (assuming he can drive).

Selecting a complete suspension system that will work together for your car will do wonders, along with some aggressive tires.

I don't condone racing someone on public roads, assuming you are Not, have a strategy, practice it, use it. Knowing how to take advantage of your car's HP and understanding its limitations is everything. That theory being stated try....

Pass em with your horsepower Before the turn, brake hard leaving him stuck back there during your car's least capable moment, and then stand on it leaving him far behind as you exit the turn. Bye bye WRX

If the other guy has done HIS homework, well then, you will have your work cut out for you. :)

http://www.xeryder.com/xe1170-4.jpg

(About to say bye bye to a Bimmer)

[JERZBOY]

some of you guys are reading and still NOT comprehending!!!!! i do not want to or expect my car to handle like a STI for the last time, i am trying to figure out how to make my car handle better, the best that a CHARGER not a STI, can get on turns geezuz, c'mon fellas ! suck it up man.

[JERZBOY]

nice strategy X E RYDER!