Only have taken my car out once or twice to tool around a bit since the PSS9 install several weeks ago. Finally took it on some twisties last Saturday and although the ride is stiffer and handling much better, the car still seems to lack some...how do I put it....."twitchiness"?

I expected a razor-sharp feel of the steering yet it still feels kinda mushy in relative terms. The car had a rebuilt steering rack put in at the same time so its nothing to do with the power assist, and I'm running some 18/225/40 & 18/265/35 Bridgestone RE750's if memory serves. Pressures are 36psi up front and 40psi rears. Settings are not at the max on the Bilsteins but are definately toward the stiff side. No idea if I have the stock bars or something else. The car definately had stock drop links before the PSS9s.

Anyhow, car just feels like I could flintch at a jackrabbit going across the road and not cause the car to get unsettled which is good. But.....not that I want to go off the road, its just that I expected the steering response to be significantly different than with the MO30 RoW springs and used-up Monroes thats all...

 

Bigger bars do make a difference, but I think you could try a strut brace first and see what that does for you. That really seemed to make a difference for me in terms of how "sharp" the steering felt, and that was after I put the turbo sway bars on. It's an absurdly easy mod - even I could do it!

 

Why thank you Doctor! Actually sounds like a cheaper way to go initially. That did wonders for my modded VW Rabbit GTI in college but that car was FWD.

 

Strut bars and sway bars will help. Their role is to contol the vehicle's wieght tranfer from side to side. Stiffer will be better. Shocks/springs carry the brunt of this weight control, but the sway bars allow for a fine tuning of this effort.

 

Other options that tighten steering responses are found by installing either RS tie-rods (harder rubber) or using GT-2 inner (no rubber) pieces with either stock or RS tie-rods.

GT-2 tie-rod assemblies are only for use with GT-2 uprights.

 

Do you know what your front toe was set at?

 

my neighbor Eric installed some RS tie rods that he bought brought from Steve Weiner....his car and mine are nearly the same (PSS9s and monoballs, bigger sway bars)...his seems to turn sharper....hmmmmmmmmmm

 

It "sounds" as though you are trying to make turn-in more crisp. If so, then I would definitely start at sway bars if what you have right now are the stock bars. Go with 22mm front and 21mm (RoW M030 TT bars) and this will do wonders for making turn-in more crisp. That, and check your alignment settings. As was mentioned, too, check your toe. Too conservative toe and/or camber will contribute to a slightly numb on-center feel whereas, say, 1/16" total toe in (or less) and -1 or more degrees of negative camber up front will liven up your turn-in response noticibly. Personally, I would go with these "mods" first as these are relatively cheap and offer lots of gain. Or go even more aggressive with alignment if you like as there is lots on the table there.

I don't really feel a strut-tower brace offers much felt improvement for a street driven car with street rubber. On this last point, I "think" I felt a difference with R-compounds on the track, but I felt NO difference on the street when I took mine off (unless you have a targa or cab, then maybe). You'll get differing opinions on this one, but I'm just not convinced a bar helps when your tires will "let go" long before they transfer enough load into the chassis to tweak the strut towers. Hope this helps you.

Edward

 

Rear tire pressure should be closer to 44 or 45 and it costs nothing. Since you just had a corner balance and alignment, it's presumed that you had a corner balance and alignment (including KT)- correct? If so, what are the numbers? If not, it definately needs to be done and all alignment numbers noted so you have a starting point reference. (Your shop should automatically give these numbers to you. If not, ask for them.) You should also find out what kind and size of sways that you have. Once you know the above, you can start making changes. Better/easier to make changes after the starting point is known otherwise you may find yourself chasing your tail and running up a big bill.

-Jim

 

I typically set rear, cold tire pressures at around 38 - 39 PSI --

 

Me too. Front at around 36 - 37 cold.

 

I found that the tighter stiffer sway bar setup did more for the turn-in feel and responsiveness than the struts and springs...hope this is technical enough but ( better suspension is for more up/ down and front/ back weight control, right? ) sways help steering feel for sure.
Also your shop should know the difference between "twisty road driving alignment" and "R compound race tires alignment"

 

Which sways are most people using? The ones from Gert?

 

I've never cared for the feel of stiff sways. On bumpy or undulating roads they make a car skittish. A mid-corner bump is more likely to really throw you off line.

That said, the stock 20/17 bars are really soft, especially in back. I got a 19mm turbo rear swaybar to try with the stock front.

 

The difference is not from the sway bars, and you said it....
Before, with the same sway bars, the "twitchiness" was there.
It is defenitely your geometry (alignment). This DOES NOT imply that your alignment is not good,
but the measures before suited you better.
With some luck, you may have the old aligment measures in your documentation.
These papers I always keep with the car documents. If you do still have the old measures,
compare with the new ones, especially the front camber