As many of you know I had AST suspension fitted to my 2011 340R

well had them taken off and original Struts and Pro-R Spring kit fitted

I'll get some pic's up soon

Tony

 

What's the difference like Tony?

 

What's it like buddy, been toying with the idea of getting rid of my AST's.

 

Good move

 

On comfort and handling not that much between them the AST's advantage that they are adjustable height and dampening but past twiddling with pots LOL the disadvantage is the initial cost compared to springs kit

I did notice on tracking braking from 130 to 90mph seemed more stable, although I could have firmed up the AST's

I'm not a great lover of dealer Geo setups, so I'll probably go to Litchfields and get the suspension his "4wheel Geometry" Set up.

IMHO

Tony

 

My Hawk type20 I had them overhauled, rejetted and new Tapered rear springs fitted. which did improve the setup to be fair but at £1K after 4 years


The 2011 saloon is different as the jap spec C setup was a bit harsh and may have had to have my fillings replaced but ProR springs not available 12months ago so fitted AST's.


I have always been a big Fan of Prodrive spring kits as I lift in pot hole Hell, coil overs are normally to harsh and SLOW.

on my classic I always used Eibachs springs

Tony

 

Isn't that like a step back AST should be much better even with a softer damping setup?

 

Didn't you get involved in what settings they were dialling in?

 

Maybe but these, as with my other AST's, from central position 2 clicks either way gives optimum dampening results. Anymore or less tends to be OTT so better to choose a different spring rate or 3way struts. IMHO

When it was new, this was my shopping Car and not my Trackcar, So comfort was more a deciding factor

Also to a degree the Dealer setup is "Tracking" rather than full 4W Geo setup IIRC. I will go to a specialist likes of Litchfield to do some tweaks to suspension etc

Tony

 

As immy has said I would of thought that was a step backwards tony, I would be interested to know your view of them and comparison between the two options say in a months time after you have lived with them. I was thinking of fitting a similar set up to my 330s and was chatting to crossroads about swapping the struts to the later spec c ones along with the pro r springs and a little bushing upgrade.

Would be nice to see a picture of how they sit to as the 330s sits a little to high and a slight drop would see it just resting on top of the 19's :-)

 

On a smooth road the car handled great but on anything other than that the car was bouncy and didn't feel planted.

This was on a Forester Sti.

Back on OEM suspension and Sti pink springs the handling was totally transformed.

Coilovers are not necessarilly the best way forward for a mainly road car.

Subaru's inverted shock absorbers with a set of lowering springs (Prodrive/Eibach/Sti - to get rid of the bouncyness) are great.

As Tony said, the shock only works on a certain range to be compatible with the spring so most of the adjustability of a coilover is redundant IMHO.

Horses for courses.

 

The Pro-r springs drop the car roughly 10mm...........

 

With my AST's I find that on a smooth or fairly smooth piece of road the car is unbeatable, the handling is utterly awesome. I'm able to go into corners at speeds that would make most people do a little poo on my passenger seat.
However, on 99% of the roads around here the car is hard work even on a soft setting. Now it doesn't bother me that much as most of the time I drive like an old gimmer but it would be nice to be able to give it the beans on a rough road if I wanted to.
Maybe mine need a re-fresh (just had new springs) or something but I think I'd buy a different setup before throwing a grand at these.

 

I've got the pro r springs fitted to mine and it's def the way forward. I have 19's fitted too if you pm me your mobile number I will forward you a picture of my car with them fitted

 

Cheers kev, pm on its way! How you finding the new car compared to your old hatch.

 

Cheers don, think this may be the way forward for me. Would it be much different to the springs fitted to the 330s I assume they are different to the standard set on the sti. I gather the pro r kit would sit even lower

 

[stevie1982;10687769]Cheers kev, pm on its way! How you finding the new car compared to your old hatch.[/QUOTE]

Hi Steve, I've just realised I have backed my phone up and moved all the pictures I will send on Monday when I'm in the office.
Comparing std cars like for like the new saloon is far far better than the std 08 sti I had. Like for like now.... It could do with a little more power 360 would be nice, everything else I have no complaints at all. The seats are ace, the suspension with the pro r springs is great (even in standard form its far better than the 08 std sus) and in my eyes every new car sold should have these fitted as it transforms the car, all in all I'm happy with my saloon even if the paint is about as thick as a gnats co#k and chips super easy
How's the 330 going?

 

How many times do our fettled scooby's get to enjoy smooth tarmac? As enjoyable as that is I much prefer more usual lumpy/bumpy B-road terrain, dispatched well. For me, that is best done with a fixed perch and good roll resistance. STi red dampers, mild lowering springs and uprated arb's.

It's not until you drive other cars regularly you realise how good mildly fettled STi suspension is

 

As you say time will tell but for the moment I reckon not a lot betwen then. Although cost is much highr for AST's, my rear was at least 35mm lower on the AST's (too low really) but like all new springs will settle to a level in time


TRack car or road Car, coilovers for handling and struts for comfort. you can soften AST's and compromise or road use or stifen Strut springs and compromise comfort for handling "ish"

For 99% a road car I'd never advise AST's. I reckon that setup would be ACE I just need bushing I also had fitted Braided lines and 5dot fluid while they were off

I totally agree
I did have the T20 bouncing and couldnt go faster, i had plenty of power but wheels had no grip my old bug STi PPP PHP didn't bonc there and had a faster speed on that bumpy old track

Tony

 

Hi Steve, I've just realised I have backed my phone up and moved all the pictures I will send on Monday when I'm in the office.
Comparing std cars like for like the new saloon is far far better than the std 08 sti I had. Like for like now.... It could do with a little more power 360 would be nice, everything else I have no complaints at all. The seats are ace, the suspension with the pro r springs is great (even in standard form its far better than the 08 std sus) and in my eyes every new car sold should have these fitted as it transforms the car, all in all I'm happy with my saloon even if the paint is about as thick as a gnats co#k and chips super easy
How's the 330 going?[/QUOTE]

No worries kev, appreciate it but no rush.

Yeah I was gutted I missed out on yours but the 330 is a great bit if kit. I've had four or five classics from a UK ppp to a p1 to a 480 bhp sti 5 and a 05 plate type 25 to name just some lol but I have to give it to the hatch sti's I fully appreciate that the styling is not everyone's cup of tea but I can't fault it. Being the 330 it obviously has the added power, all the toys with keyless entry, push start, touch screen sat nav, tints and updated springs so its a bit firmer and less wollowy then the std hatch, think the 19's help that to oh and the seats they are the best I've sat in yet. Overal on a day to day basiss it ticks all bases, pop the dog in the boot, drop the seats and the bike fits in, then when its a quiet open road it comes into its own I just can't fault it. They are a great all round car.

Have a few styling tweaks on the cards plus want to get the suspension / handling tweaked then I'm just going to enjoy it. When the warranty is up it will be decsion time of to forge it or not but who knows time will tell

 

Cheers for the help tony, I think when the car goes in for its service I may have that suspension sorted at the same time. Been toying with ast's but at the price I don't think I will see the benefit as its a road car 99% of the time so the 2011 spec c struts, pro r springs and some bushes upgraded for me I think will be the best choice.

Thanks again

 

Although I may have lost a sale on my old ast and springs £750 but stick with what I said the spec c struts pro r spring etc is good spec. But The bushes will certainly help on the hatch.

You might be better to go to Lichfields the do a wicked setup including steering pump mod. And proper 4w geometry setting up

Tony

 

My local 'dealership' (Showells, Lye) are so **** they wont budge from the straight and narrow - 'we've only got the information Subaru UK supply, so wouldn't even be able to set-up your import' FFS!

 

there is a difference between cannot and don't want.

 

It's not just your dealer, most tyre places that do alignment will only set your car up to what the machine details tells them, as it won't be "warranted" .

Went to my dealers after fitting the Pro-R springs to get the "revised" alignment settings done without any hassle

 

Nice one TBF, my experience seems unusual, I've had better from a couple of dealers on here, at the mere mention of a want ad will get you what you want without insisting on a chassis number etc

 

My car is a 2011 340uk Sti so not an import

The Geometry settings are not Or need to be covered by UK warrenyso I can set them as I please.

Tony

 

Tony,

Bit of a thread revival but could you comment on how you have found the change from the AST's to the PRO-R set up, could you also confirm what other suspension mods you have.

will also drop you a pm as i am after a little advice, cheers

 

No other suspension mods so just std setup with pror springs.

With Pro-R

Not as low as ASTs
Firmer than ast's at the rear
Fronts similar
Hi speed better on bad roads
Low speed pot holes worse