No clearly correct evidence on that, I just don't want to have too much sidewall flex which looks like to be expected for combo of relatively wide tires with relatively narrow rims. However, it's only theoretical thoughts and I'll appreciate recommendations on that from from more experienced users (than I am). :)

I think that it would probably be wise to take some of that money and put it toward a set of used springs (I happen to be taking a set of robispec's off my car shortly). I think that you might be selling yourself short spending a lot of money on things other than springs. I can tell you that by adding the robispec springs to a completely stock suspension with no other mods made a TON of difference. Pretty incredible.

I think you're thinking about it too much. :) You want as much contact patch as possible. Period. A 245/40/17 tire has a shorter (and thus stiffer) sidewall than a 235/45/17. Even if the sidewall was more flexible, it would still be trumped by the increased grip. You could even consider a 255/40/17; lots of people like that size for stock rims.

Wide tires with wide rims would be ideal. Wide tires with stock rims is still better than stock. Stock sized tires with stock rims is, well, stock. {thumbup}

Good input. {thumbup} Thank you for that. :)

So now there is another question - stock rims with 255/40/17 and rubbring issues. I've looked through the dedicated thread with photos and there are two types of reviews - no rubbing or shaving/rolling needed. Hence I'll appreciate the real life experience sharing on this. :rolleyes:

I'm not crazy about 255 on stock rims...it works fine but sometimes as wide as possible isn't the way to go all things considered. 245 is fine.


- drew

ES master kit was the single best suspension mod I did.

So I am quite close to have my car back from the service and feel need to share the information on the setup I ended up with with the community. After taking into account all the reasonable inputs here and in other threads I've ordered following parts (not only suspension, but I 'll list all of them here):

First of all the suspension things:
1) Bilstein HD shocks (luckily I've been successful in getting them from Tirerack - thanks Neal)
2) GTWORX springs (uncountable thanks to Andrew for the insights and recommendations)
3) Perrin PSRS with offset (we'll see how long it will survive on the rather horrible roads here in Ukraine)
4) WL Front Control Arm Bushing Kit (W0593)
5) WL Roll Center Adjustment Kit (KCA395)
6) WL Bump Steer Correction Kit (KCA388)
7) WL Rear Arms Bushings (W0589, W0590, W0591 and W0594)
8) WL 26mm Front Swaybar
9) WL 24mm Adjustable Rear Swaybar
10) front wheel hubs (mine were close to the death so I decided not to wait until they are completely done)

Secondly brakes:
1) Girodisc 2-piece floating rotors both front and rear (many thanks to Johann for his kind support and insights)
2) Ferodo DS2500 brake pads (unfortunately RB ET700 were not available at the moment I ordered the stuff)
3) Techna-Fit SS brake lines

And small more or less important things:
1) Torque Solution Shifter Cable Bushings
2) ES Shifter Base Bushings
3) WL Steering Precision Kit
4) Beatrush Propeller Shaft Mount Bushings
5) Beatrush Rear Differential Mount Spacers augmented with rear support bushings from ES
6) Techna-Fit SS Clutch Line
7) small beautiful things from PIAA (low and high beam Extreme White bulbs, license plate and parking lights Extreme White leds and Silicone wipers)

Tires for this season were chosen to be Direzza Z1 Star spec 245/40/17 on stock rims (thanks again for all the input on this), alignment I've asked about is F1.8/R1.5, zero toe all round.

All the parts are already installed, now waiting to have all the fluids changed and for the alignment. Will get it in my hands on Saturday, hopefully. :)

The most painful things to install were the front swaybar together with WL Steering Precision Kit (as I've been told by the mechanics) and the fact they tried to tighten the bolts on the pre-assembled two-piece Girodisc rotors (was cleared by me according to the instruction and returned back to 7Nm).

The things that are left and possibly can be considered to buy as of now are:

1) AMS Street Front Motor Mount (already ordered, will be installed right after I receive it)
2) rims... thinking of getting 9x17 RPF1 of FN01R-C (my stock rims are almost dead and I want something wide enough but that would not cost me money and a leg)
3) camber/caster plates (in case there will be not enough camber)
4) brake cooling kit (in case I need that I'll most likely ask my mechanic to do the custom one)
5) Ti brake pads shims (depends on the performance of the brakes under abuse)

As well I'd like to express my gratitude to the vendors who supplied me with all those great (I hope so) things - most of all maperformance (great pricing and exceptional customer care), GTWORX (Andrew's insights cannot be measured - those are more than I can express), Girodisc (perfect insights and great customer care from Johann), CVRMotorsports (Bryan is very friendly and offers great things) and Tirerack (perfectly clear ordering procedure and great customer care from Neal). {thumbup}{thumbup}{thumbup}

So far I hope I'm done with the suspension and brakes. Out from this I've already ordered Tactrix Openport 2.0 cable and thinking of Maperformance O2 eliminator downpipe, Tanabe Medallion Touring (or Fujitsubo Legalis-R - want to keep it quiet) cat-back, ETS Intercooler Piping Kit and ETS Small Battery Kit.

I'll keep this updated once I have the Evo back for some time to feel all the changes from the parts installed so far. :)

That is gonna be one awesome EVO!

Glad we could help. :)

- Andrew Sekellick (shame about Ukraine's world cup run this year...:()

looks pretty awesome, good to see you're upgrading all the stock bushings - one other thing you may want to consider, gruppe-s acd reflash or ralliart acd ecu - totally changes the handling of the car (for the better) - check out this thread -

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...t9as-read.html

Actually my Evo is EDM and it is equipped with AYC, hence it is unlikely that I can gain something significantly with the reflash as it seems that it will disable the AYC. :( Also I am located far from the US and it would be really complicated and take quite some time to ship the ACD ECU to the Gruppe-S and back. But the topic you've started is great - makes things easier to understand and put all that options in one place in easy to understand manner. :thumbup:

Andrew - your comments and articles throughout the EvoM are brilliant pieces of great knowledge and clear explanations. These things made it much much easier for me to select the parts and proceed with the understanding what do I want to get and how that should be made. {thumbup}

So far today I've made small test drive on the car with all those things installed. It was a short ride around the station, but the impressions are very good - it handles much more robust and precisely (as far as I can see from the short ride in the city) and I really like that manners. Exterior also changed - slightly lower, with slightly wider tires, and that look is much better than it was before. {thumbup}

Will keep this updated after coming back from the amateur rally event which will take place on 1-2 May on the mountain roads near the sea. :)

Have smth for the update. Placed 2nd in the class and 3rd overall (first overall was GrN STi) in the event that took place last weekend. :)

Action shot:

http://autosport.crimea.ua/uploads/p...x_45ac9755.jpg

Unable to express how happy I am with the way the car handles - unbelievable improvement from the stock suspension. It is now perfectly stable, sharp, controllable, and at the same time even more comfortable, than before. {thumbup}

Friend of mine who also owns EDM EvoIX was impressed with the improvements as well and feel like to have similar setup. But there is thing that he want to have different - I'll ask that here, hope that people with knowledge will share those. :)

Though the GTWORX springs lower the car by only 20mm in front he want to keep the drop even less. So far I've found the only way to manage this by installing Cusco camber plates, according to TouringBubble review they regain 5mm of the height. Are there any other possibilities to make the drop smaller? Are all camber plates affecting the drop equally?

Also, can GTWORX camber/caster plates be fitted with HDs and GTWORX springs and, if yes, what the effect on total drop will be in case of such setup? :rolleyes:

Awesome! Glad to hear everything worked out. :)

Got your PM, will respond soon.

Do you have a high resolution/quality picture of your car in action that we can use for our catalog?

- Andrew

Good info, thanks guys. I'm trying to decide if a rear sway is worth it for my setup and driving style. I have Swifts and do a handful of autocrosses.

I've installed both front and rear Whiteline swaybars (26mm front and 24mm adjustable rear) and so far I'm so happy with them. Rear is set to the softest position, but I think once I get used to the setup I'll other settings as well. Also I've heard good things about Swift swaybars. :) From what I've noticed (significantly redued body roll) swaybars seem to be really good addon to the suspension of the Evo. {thumbup}


Andrew, see the links for the full size photos of my Evo in action (on the current setup, with GTWORX springs):

http://rapidshare.com/files/386152430/IMG_5987.JPG.html
http://rapidshare.com/files/386153493/IMG_5989.JPG.html

Would be happy if you'll find it suitable to include any in the catalog. {thumbup}

[QUOTE=vd;8295570]I've installed both front and rear Whiteline swaybars (26mm front and 24mm adjustable rear) and so far I'm so happy with them. Rear is set to the softest position, but I think once I get used to the setup I'll other settings as well. Also I've heard good things about Swift swaybars. :) From what I've noticed (significantly redued body roll) swaybars seem to be really good addon to the suspension of the Evo. {thumbup}QUOTE]

Thanks, I'm trying to avoid doing the front since it's a pain to do. Is doing just the rear worth it?