best suspension upgrade

hey guys, i'm looking to start messing around a little bit... was wondering what i should get first as an upgrade? here's the list and reasons (though i may be wrong)

- front sway bar (roll reduction)
- rear sway bar " "
- bushings (i hear they're supposed to reduce HP loss and improve braking?)
- springs.

what should i get? i'm most likely only getting one or two of these items, as they're all in the 200ish range. bear in mind that this car is intended to be my daily driver first and a track car only on occasion.

I will ask three questions.
(also, I will admit that I am a green newbie, so I will leave tuning response to an experienced driver.)

-what model of car are you driving?
-what kind of driving do you plan to be doing? (ex: Autocross, SoloSprint/Time Attack, etc)
-what kind of tire? (make/model/size)


Last, a suggestion. (hopefully) you know this already..)
Ensuring your car is in good working order.. 200$ will get you 200 minutes of seat time with an ASELC driving instructor.
(100min including first time membership fee)

My driving experience began with the conditions of: "run what you brung"..beat the piss out of the stock Civic. If you modify anything aside from tire/brake compound.. I'll break your fingers." :eek1:

Over the season (my first: autoX+Lapping) tuning has been very light;
step by step as seat time accumulated..all suspension/brake oriented. (I don't have antiroll bars, because I (currently) don't need them.)

Seeing..experiencing the progression as corners taken/hours driven stack up, (modifying in small increments as 'needed' )
..has been very rewarding.

There isn't enough time to learn/experience all I wish..
Im stir-crazy, sitting around waiting for the next opportunity to practice.. :run:

What's your current setup ?
Coilover, shock, spring or stock suspension ?

Unless bushing are in bad condition, I would go with swaybars.
They will have the biggest effect.

The best first mod to me is a GOOD shock/spring or coilover.

Stock shock with lowering spring is never a good idea.
OEM shock will blow quick and give a poor ride.

C'est un des pires début de discussion

elise/europa said:

C'est un des pires début de discussion

Click to expand...

x 1 000 000

the best suspension upgrade.... Tires and track time...

elise/europa said:

C'est un des pires début de discussion

Click to expand...

Voyons, sont où les exposants.... X 2000000000000 x 10E9.

Conduits ce que tu as et après avoir vu/senti ce que tu n'aimes pas, tu agis en conséquence.

Mais sérieusement, c'est toujours le fun de faire des upgrades à sa voiture...peu importe la cause, ça fait du bien au émotionellement In the list I would start with springs, something sport, not too harsh, it will give the car a nicer look (the ricer in me) and help control roll.

Answers to the questions:

i'm driving a stock ralliart. i'm not very happy with the body roll at the moment, but i'm willing to replace whichever part will actually make me turn better. i don't really care for lowering my car, unless it's the best thing for me in terms of performance. I think my stock springs are okay? the ride's fairly rough as it is, but yeah, the reason i ask is because i'm a newbie at this.

as for tires, yeah i plan on getting a better set of summer tires soon. recommendations are appreciated, if you guys want to leave one.

like i said i'm not into doing this crazy competitively, just want to have some fun. thanks guys.

I suggest spring and sways bar (26 mm front 24 rear mm are avalaible for Ralliart). Tires: Dunlop Direzza star spec or Hankook RS3.

Myself and Alex have pretty good experience with this car and their mods.
Aside from getting very valuable seat time- most recommended- coilovers and sway bars will cure the feeling that you are experiencing.
That said, you will need tires and choosing the right ones, coupled with the right wheels, will go quite a way to making the car more fun to drive.

The Dunlop and Hankook are not in the same category at all. The Star spec chunks when pushed on heavy cars, the RS3 is the best of the bunch- by far.

drop by the shop for the best advice.

VroomX2 said:

Answers to the questions:

i'm driving a stock ralliart. i'm not very happy with the body roll at the moment, but i'm willing to replace whichever part will actually make me turn better. i don't really care for lowering my car, unless it's the best thing for me in terms of performance. I think my stock springs are okay? the ride's fairly rough as it is, but yeah, the reason i ask is because i'm a newbie at this.

as for tires, yeah i plan on getting a better set of summer tires soon. recommendations are appreciated, if you guys want to leave one.

like i said i'm not into doing this crazy competitively, just want to have some fun. thanks guys.

Click to expand...

thanks guys, this gives me something to look into.

When I used to run my Evo VIII back in 2003, I kept the suspension stock except for larger rear swaybar (Cusco), better tires, and a much more aggressive alignment. It totally transformed the car and made it much easier to rotate at corner entry. Shocks, springs, and front swaybar were all from the factory.

I really don't think you need rock-hard springs and Bilsteins to have some weekend fun in a Lancer.