I am currently saving up fpr some ohlins coilovers but got some tanabe springs real cheap and decided to give the a try

All I have to say is WOW

I have read alot of good things about these springs and after installing them on my car and getting an allignment I am utterly DISSAPOINTED.

Yes the drop is nice and the ride is comfy but these are strictly show springs. I feel like I am not driving an evo anymore but rather a sti. The turn in (especially intial turn in) is no longer crisp. And the car no longer feels responsive but numbed due to the fact the the progressive springs are acting like a sponge and cushioning the reponsiveness.

The car is lowered now hence a lowered center of gravity but to my surprise roll is not that much improved either.

I quess I cannot expect to much since they are just springs. I just installed them today and will run them for a week to see how they do but I am pretty sure I will be selling them soon. If anybody wants barely used springs cheap pm me and I can hook u up.

 

Are these the GF210 springs? If so, your experience if very different from mine. Maybe the problem is in the alignment. you get some toe-in after lowering with these springs. That would definitely put a damper on turn in characteristics if it wasn't corrected in a realignment.

 

tsi90awddo you know what the settings should be at?
I got it alligned but the mechanic said that he could not adjust a particular setting (i forget what it was)
I will post my before and after settings soon.

That would be real cool if that is the problem.

I assumed that I lost responsiveness because the stock springs are linear and the tanabe gf210 are progressive.

Thanks
Terry

 

Well, for performance driving, maximum front negative camber (about -1.7 degrees), -0.6 degrees rear camber, and zero toe front and back seems to work well for a lot of people. If you want to have more even tire wear on the highway but lose a bit of cornering performance, using the lower camber setting of about -0.6 is better. On these cars (stock), you change front camber by rotating a cam bolt at the strut/knuckle. This is described in a number of posts here.

Have a look at the alignment sheet and post them here, or pm me. The big thing is to check what the toe settings are.

I was planning on measure the spring rates on the Tanabe springs directly, but never got around to it. Just looking at the springs, it seems that the front is linear rate and the rears are dual rate (softer initial compression followed by a higher rate after some of the coils bind). You may have different springs, though. Mine are GF210s.

 

Yup I have the GF210's

Here are my allignment specs BEFORE the springs

LEFT FRONT
CAMBER -.77
CASTER 3.64
TOE -.10

RIGHT FRONT
CAMBER -1.27
CASTER 3.3
TOE -.10

LEFT REAR
CAMBER -1.58
TOE .08

RIGHT REAR
CAMBER -1.73
TOE .07

and AFTER springs

LEFT FRONT
CAMBER -.71
CASTER 3.64
TOE -.03

RIGHT FRONT
CAMBER -1.34
CASTER 3.30
TOE -.03

LEFT REAR
CAMBER -1.00
TOE .05

RIGHT REAR
CAMBER -.67
TOE .07

Do you see anything wrong with this?
Like in my other thread, I stated turn in was really sloppy with these. I was a bit dissapointed to find out these units were not linear after speeking to a few people that said they were

 

your front camber looks kinda funny......>> -0.7 in Left but -1.3 in Right. I don't know is that normal but since there's adjustment on it....I think you should set them as equal as possible.

the rear camber looks like the ffront too.....> -1.0 (left) vs -0.67 (right)

as for TOE, my suggestion is set at Zero for both front and rear.

IMO, the tech didn't do a very good job on your alignment.


fyi.....I have -1.6 left, -1.8 right on front camber
-0.7 both in rear camber; 0 toe in both end. The car handle beautiful.