GD Joey's mistress: MSI rear subframe & 04-06 STI lower control arms

[joey.lisano]

Nice!

I like that they lower the engine! I wish there were some that did so and weren't solid.

Very nice. I don't think I could handle that kind of NVH on everyday use. I don't race enough for that.

Thanks. I enjoy my NVH and mods 24/7. It's not like I put up with it all week just be slightly faster on the weekend. It does come down to personal preference level though.

Cool man, good write up. Did you try the TIC bushings? I'm curious why you went with Group N.

No, I didn't try the TiC bushings. I prefer rubber for suspension link bushings when there is relative movement. Read my post about bushings. You need to continually lube a polyurethane bushing so it doesn't wear itself out, and I don't want to have to relube that location, given how hard it is to break that nut.

You'll see it all over the older forums - people complaining about suspension squeaks. It's generally becuase they haven't lubed their polyurethane sway bar bushings. Think of how often your sway bar moves, and imagine the sway bar just grinding away at the bushing without any lubrication. Energy Suspension makes the best lube. (Credit goes to Got2Boostit2 for how well he has put that stuff to the test.) Using a nicer lube is like better oil - you can have longer maintenance intervals. TiC

 

[bugeye_fever]

I see, thanks for the link. I'm still interested to see how the TIC bushings fare with noise and wear. After all I thought they were graphite impregnated to help mitigate those problems. Thats what I had planned on upgrading to next season. Thanks again for your informative write up!

 

[joey.lisano]

I'm still interested to see how the TIC bushings fare with noise and wear. After all I thought they were graphite impregnated to help mitigate those problems.

Yes, they are, but you still have stiction and that wear surface. There's also the argument about off-axis movement.



More parts arrived. :roll: More suspension work.

 

[BAD STI]

What parts!


Have you started autocrossing yet buddy?

 

[joey.lisano]

I was going to wait until I installed them, but oh well...

04-06 STI lower control arms to correct my caster deficient 07 arms
BoostJunkie's MSI rear subframe with 1.5" roll center correction and motorsport quality bearings

No time to talk now, sorry.

 

[toomes]

i would kill someone for that rear MSI subframe.

 

[bugeye_fever]

holy balls!

 

[Got2Boostit2]

That car is going to be pretty wicked. I miss working on it already!

 

[joey.lisano]

How low is too low? Apparently 14" in the front.

Take the lip, not the fender liner.

With the house to myself this weekend, it's time to install some stuff and respond to all the journal comments.

 

[Murdered Out STi Nerd]

Ouch! I have had that happen to me, at speed. I almost deuced myself.

 

[joey.lisano]

It's 9:30, and she's ready to drive to work tomorrow.

1. Removed lip and pseudo-fixed the fender liner
2. Switched WL 27mm front sway bar from stiff to soft, test drive
3. Installed Whiteline KSB-700 LCA H-brace, test drive
4. Installed 04-06 LCA, toe alignment, test drive
5. Did not install MSI rear subframe, ran out of time. I had to run a tap and die through every fastener.

Overlay the 07 LCA on the 04-06 LCA, align the front and rear mounts

Mo' caster

 

[BAD STI]

How difficult was the KSB-700 install? What bolts did you end up using for it to fit?

 

[joey.lisano]

Have you started autocrossing yet buddy?

I have started. Or rather, I'm trying to as much as the woman allows. I'm not used to weaving in and out of cones so I'm slow in the turns, despite my suspension's limits.

That car is going to be pretty wicked. I miss working on it already!

I missed The Shop about 2 weeks after I moved. Can't beat the tools, capabilities, and advice.

How difficult was the KSB-700 install? What bolts did you end up using for it to fit?

It's not hard. My fasteners were rusty, but it wasn't anything unusual for big suspension bolts on my car. It connects via the bolts that go through the front LCA bushing and the bolts that hold the outside of the ALK mount. The bolts have plenty of threads so they still have full engagement. The two requirements are that the front U-subframe is removed, and you sawzall the mounting tabs on the front crossmember where the forward LCA bushings are. I need to find that pic of when I cut the tabs; you can see the rusty edge of the missing tabs in the last picture where the front of the brace mounts to the front corssmember and forward LCA bushing.

 

[BAD STI]

I have started. Or rather, I'm trying to as much as the woman allows. I'm not used to weaving in and out of cones so I'm slow in the turns, despite my suspension's limits.

:lol:

 

[joey.lisano]

I?m behind on updates as usual...

The pit crew is on a two week hiatus. I?m in the UK this week, and I?ll be in China the next. The cars here are awesome. The average compact has quite the suspension, and my boss likes to use all of it since he's used to driving these kinds of roads.

Even though I can't work on the car form here, I wasn?t getting much done at home. The wifey has me on a tight leash, very tight. I get to stay at the Doghouse Inn for going to autox. Zero car work, too. Oh well, the house needs my attention anyway.

I finally determined a direction for the car. Now I can align my mods with the car?s goals. That also means I bought some crazy parts. I should have a few somewhat unique mods when I get home?

 

[BAD STI]

I?m behind on updates as usual...

The pit crew is on a two week hiatus. I?m in the UK this week, and I?ll be in China the next. The cars here are awesome. The average compact has quite the suspension, and my boss likes to use all of it since he's used to driving these kinds of roads.

Even though I can't work on the car form here, I wasn?t getting much done at home. The wifey has me on a tight leash, very tight. I get to stay at the Doghouse Inn for going to autox. Zero car work, too. Oh well, the house needs my attention anyway.

I finally determined a direction for the car. Now I can align my mods with the car?s goals. That also means I bought some crazy parts. I should have a few somewhat unique mods when I get home?

That sounds awesome Joey! Take a bunch of pictures of your trip. I'd love to travel the world like that.

Um... You've always had a direction for your car buddy...

HARD CORE ALL THE WAY, STIFF AS CAN BE, NVH FTW!

 

[joey.lisano]

Nothing like traveling alone to a foreign place. I moved my flight up a day. Instead of arriving into Shanghai during Typhoon Muifa, I'll get there beforehand so I can expierence the carnage... Someone needs to go to my house and comfort the wifey.

Um... You've always had a direction for your car buddy...

HARD CORE ALL THE WAY, STIFF AS CAN BE, NVH FTW!

I guess it's a good time to say spherical bearings and more solid mounts.

 

[joey.lisano]

My front passenger damper is some-what broken. It adjusts from full soft to ~10% stiff and randomly locks up. (Hmm, that explains the previous owner?s odd dampening settings...) I?m not sure if it needs a rebuild or an entirely new damper, but the damping is too soft for autox. Between that and the street alignment, it makes for some well-executed understeer. It's almost impossible to tell on the street since I'd have to be going suicidal fast. I have to go into third gear about 2-3 times a run. No, I can't leave it in second; I tried, and I shot fireballs out the EWG like a machine gun. I made my way to 6000 rpm in third, which probably means Karlton would be topping out fourth. I guess it?s my turn to say I need an engine that can rev like a Wankel.

The front passenger camber plate decided to slip. No me gusta para nada. The Noltec plates use the three mounting nuts to sandwich the bearing and maintain the alignment. It?s difficult to put a lot of torque on them since the OEM nuts are so soft. It should be in the back, inward corner.

 

[joey.lisano]

I've always wanted to try a louder exhaust, but I didn't want to buy the same part twice. What's loud, cheap, and also lightweight? AMS turndown.

It's hilariously loud, and the corner workers are now deaf. I probably lost a few brain cells myself. I couldn't bring myself to drive to work like that, so I put the catback back on. To be continued when I get an old DD.

In other news, the camber plate moved again. That's annoying. I ordered a camber gauge so I could move to more aggressive alignment settings, but it's still in the mail. Since I am stuck at soft compression dampening up front and don't have enough camber, I am getting frustrated with the understeer. At least I'm getting seat time. Oh, and the nut behind the wheel is left hand threaded and finger tight.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Nice run. I love autocross.