Would these look good on mine?

[Kiwi_Fozze]

everyone starts somewhere...

[Shale]

I always wonder if people are desperately trying to lower their car for looks... you get to a certain point, and it'll stop handling nicely and start bodging corners and digging the sidewalls out of the tyres.

If it's handling you're after, there are many things you can do to the car before you have to start taking the comfort out of your ride. Bushes and bracing

[Guest]

nah.. lowering is fine. just avoid superlows with high profile tyres.

i had super low kings in Bc5 GT on 205/55/16 and the fronts chewed the tyres.

205/50/16 was slightly better..

however 17"s with low kings would be nicer and not so low IMO.

[Shale]

Lowering alters the suspension geometry after a certain point, particularly if you're simply lowering past what the struts etc are designed for. That does NOTHING for handling. Worse still though is lowering the bejesus out of a Forester without seeing to the subframe spacers.

[Lampard]

 Shale said:

Lowering alters the suspension geometry after a certain point, particularly if you're simply lowering past what the struts etc are designed for. That does NOTHING for handling. Worse still though is lowering the bejesus out of a Forester without seeing to the subframe spacers.

Mmm.. So as before, what can be done to improve handling?

[Daaliso]

as everyone's said, get a good set of shock absorbers, slightly firmer but preferably, adjustable..

and most obvious, consider buying high-performance tyres...

[Flat4]

Best value for money upgrade you can do is to fit a bigger rear swaybar I reckon

Find a bigger one from a turbo B4 or GTB and put it in. If you get lucky like I did you might be able to pick one up for $20

[Lampard]

 Flat4 said:

Best value for money upgrade you can do is to fit a bigger rear swaybar I reckon

Find a bigger one from a turbo B4 or GTB and put it in. If you get lucky like I did you might be able to pick one up for $20

WOW! Only $20??? Nice, so they will fit non turbo aswell I'm guessing?

[Flat4]

Yeah a rear swaybar from an RSK or GTB should go straight on. Turbo front swaybars are a bit different to the NA ones though I think

[Lampard]

 Flat4 said:

Yeah a rear swaybar from an RSK or GTB should go straight on. Turbo front swaybars are a bit different to the NA ones though I think

Oh I see, I just looked up what Sway bars are haha, I feel pretty stupid. So briefly it connects the left and right wheels and minimises body roll?

Sounds like a great mod, I will look for them. Thank you very much!

[Flat4]

Yeah they basically stiffen up the rear end and reduce body roll. It links the suspension not the wheels but I'm sure that's what you meant lol

When I put mine in the legacy there was a noticeable improvement in turn in at higher speeds. I could tell straight away just changing lanes on the motorway. When I took it on the track I noticed that it feels more balanced through corners and it helped to get rid of some of the understeer.

This was just with a 19mm GTB swaybar (compared to the 14mm factory one which is tiny in comparison). Would be keen to try out one of the bigger Whiteline ones but they're a bit pricey

[Kiwi_Fozze]

 Shale said:

Lowering alters the suspension geometry after a certain point, particularly if you're simply lowering past what the struts etc are designed for. That does NOTHING for handling. Worse still though is lowering the bejesus out of a Forester without seeing to the subframe spacers.

ain't that the truth, mine handles like arse atm, got a new swaybar in the back which has given it a little bit more push, sort of balanced it out. alignment needs doing... i think in a few more weeks i can see to the subframe spacers, then we will be on the money

i've got a 20mm rsb out of a v5 sti sedan in the back of the foz. even at 50km/h the difference was noticable, tightened up the whole arse end of the car, kept it flat and felt just generally nicer. its awesome... handling mods FTMFW!!!!