Impreza suspensions?

I won't be able to get to the OUTBACK for a few months, so was trying the Old Reliable. Maybe air springs/schocks aren't that extreme change as I had thought, if they have a wide enough range. I guess a few hundred lbs in the back will help. Put it in the spare tire well to have a low center of gravity.

I got spoiled being able to pick whatever ride or power that I wanted.

I use a slightly different method to test the springs on my Forester.

Subaru makes the best cars for the money, period. There is nothing lacking in the suspension. Drive the car on the edge. Use low gears. Keep the faith.

Got ya, Tow it to the track and drive the hell out of it.))

Hmmm. That is not reliable test for springs/struts. If you upgrade whole chebang of supspnsion components; springs/adjustable struts, heavier strut tower braces, sway bars/links(instead of that crap plastic thingy), better tires/rims, then dirve it to feel the difference. When my son lost control exiting from a freeway at high speed, I truly believe souped up suspension saved him from rolling his Impreza RS. He just bent all 3 out of 4 aftermarket rims beyond repair but car never left the ground. Lesson well learned. I enrolled him to advanced defensive driving course and is good driver now. It happened when he was 17, now is 23, working as civil engineer/economist. Considering a new WRX.

Just got back from the track. The little car did GREAT! I also, learned a lot. At my request, my instrucror drove the car about 3 laps on 2 different occasions. Much smoother and faster than I could drive it - he even kept up with a Viper!

Carl

so what did your instructor do different/differently than you? Find out if his last name is Ascari.))

VF

VF

Smoother inputs mostly, throttle (I tened to on-off switch the gas and in 2-3 places I'm on it a little too early), steering maybe, better braking, down-upshifting in more places (I ran the course in 3rd in Jan.

06, as suggested in classroom, this time I added an up shift in the staright out of 'Big Bend' - he downshifeted into 2nd in 2 places and used 4th in about 2-3 places)and he seemed to tolerate a lot more tire squeal than me.

;^)

Carl

My interest isn't in the handling, but the ride. The handling is probably enough for my tastes right now, but would like a ride that is comfortable between the curves.)

VF

how many times have you run the course?

VF

Hi, Then you should have adjustable shocks, definitely upgrade sway bars and links, strut tower braces(F & B) as well as bushings to Teflon type and tires become an issue. I am an old fart, I don't do much of anything any more, just trying to pass on things I learned in my younger day to my son so he will know what he is doing with his own vehicles. My definition of good ride is feeling the road and car I am driving.

took a class in Jan 06, and then yesterday. Unless you mean how much track time - we got 6 20 minute sessions IIRC. plus some slalom and braking exercisies in the AM. Car behaved better and seemed more neutral this time with the new springs. My instrucotr is a memeber of MSR so he gets a lot of track time and owns a porsche and I can't recall his other vehicle.

Saw some cool cars, not just in my class but when we were in classroom, instructors and adcanced class were on-track. Very challenging in places trying to find a 'line' that works for you and your car. The track record for a closed wheel car is held by a 108hp Miata. It isn't head to head racing and it isn't all about hp - you have to DRIVE!

I dropped a coupla wheels one time, had one 'offroad excursion' (went farming) - last time i went farming twice. I apologized to my instrictor and he said he was glad I was pushing it a little harder and he'd done that many times. No red flags, coupla brief yellows. A Cadillac broke its accessory belt - no other breakdowns I heard of. No fluids on the track, but tires/track got a lot different feeling in the afternoon when temps were in the mid-90s rather than low 80s as int eh morning.

lots fun for $200

Carl

but will adjustable shocks soften a ride enough, softer than stock, or do they start pretty stiff, and go from there. I wanted the softer ride and fatter tires of the 2.5i Impreza wagon because I couldn't take the stiffness of the WRX. I wanted the power, but felt the " i " might satisfy till I was able to handle more, since I have a disability, and reaction times aren't always good, and figured I would be changing a lot in the suspension to make the WRX tolerable. The " i " is turning out to be barely tolerable.

I always added all the "Police Options" when buying american cars, and once got a car with manual brakes because the power ones were too sensitive, and didn't have any Feel, and figured the oversized drums would make them just right, and they did. My last 2 cars have been given to me and Both had HD suspensions and drive trains, and oversized tires. Brakes, tires, and suspension are important. The Fast steering in the Sube is enjoyable but taking a little time to get used to, realizing how tight I can make a U turn. It seems tighter than the #'s say, but think the " I " wagon is 2' shorter than all the others.

VF

What do you mean you dropped a coupla wheels? "Going Farming" )) can be dangerous on roads.((

I had seen a neat video on You Tube, of driving the Neuburgring in Germany, with a camera in the car, and the driver telling you what he was doing and why, and thought it might be something to help a female Sube salesperson I was dealing with at the start of my Sube Adventure, to learn how to drive a stick, giving her an idea of when and why you shift, but She Crashed and Burned.(( I wanted to teach her, but NOT on My Sube.))

VF

Drifted a little too wide and the tires left the pavment and were on the dirt. They encourage you to NOT whip back onto the road as some folks will spin out, but my first reaction was to get back on as my speed had dropped a little and we were good to go after that. The farming trip was an instance when I knew i had too much speed and would have to make a more risky maneuver to get back on so I just went straight, then started looking for traffic (no one behind me this time - which probably indicates I was going pretty fast in that section anyway) pulled back on and went to the 'hot pit' area to check for damage. rocks in rims, dripping fluid/whatever. Same place I went farming twice a year and half ago too! I'm just exiting with too much speed.

It was a fun day - used up just over 3/4 tank of gas, probably 3-4mm of brake pad material, and a lot of tire rubber. Checked lugnut torque once

- they never moved (the first time I went my SSR rims were fairly new on the car so I took a wrench and checked often - they never moved that time either, so I didn't expect a problem.) Check my oil after lunch, fine.

Carl

Although mileage/performance would suffer, you might try distributing

5-6 bags of blasting sand in the floor boards and rear of your car. Adding a load to the wife's outback makes the ride much more 'cushier'. I guess the spring/shocks are just in a different position and the xtra mass damps out some movement. Pickup trucks sometimes show the same behavior.

Carl

probably have to play around with distributed weight. In the wagon there isn't much room to hide things except under the window shade cover. Maybe once I find out the amount of weight, I can do what a friend suggested to prevent the bumper covers from getting torn up from bad drivers parking, and use railroad track iron.)) Not as a bumper, but under the cover that I still have to try shooting some urethane foam under to stiffen. Maybe hanging the iron in the back it will take less.

I like feeling the tires moving up and down a bit as opposed to the body. I don't want the ride Too soft, or Too firm.

VF

VF