Planning on dropping the STI
 

I'm planning on doing a small drop on the STI with some TEIN H-Techs. Could somebody steer me in the correct direction to go. I once did a drop on my old car (00 Mitsu. Eclipse GT) with an Eibach Pro-Kit and that was a big mess. My camber went to shit, so my tires wore really fast and really awkward, then i blew all my struts. I just want to do it correctly the first time.

You're already on the wrong path just like you were with your bad spring choice for your Eclipse. I'd highly suggest you do some research on NASIOC or IWSTI on H-Techs.

The reason your "camber went to shit" is becaused you probably didn't get an alignment after you installed those springs...

what's wrong with the h-techs?

I actually did get an alignment, and they told me i still had negative camber but they didn't tell me the ill effects. I was just a 16 year old kid when all that happend, so i didn't know what was going on.

anyways, thanks for all the help.:|

This is the best spring thread that I have ever found. Its all members posting pics of their sedan on springs. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...wering+springs. It has a ton of pictures through out. I think the most liked springs are the Tanabe GF210s. I think they look the best and I never saw one complaint on that entire 20 page thread. They are also cheap. http://gruppe-s.com/Subaru/subsus.htm

The H-Techs aren't bad. It's the S-Techs that drop it like it's hot and cause the bad suspension geometry and kill your stock struts.

It sounds like you're most concerned with looks so make sure you don't get springs with a super high spring rate to minimize the harshness of the ride.

You'll need a set of two camber bolts. They sell them online or you can pick a set of Ingles camber bolts up at Summit. C&C Performance is my favorite for alignments. For a daily driver that doesn't get tracked, I'd go 0 toe front and rear, -1.5 camber front and -1 rear (or -1 front, -1 rear if you want to keep more understeer).

Cody speaks the troof.

Keep in mind that *all* lowering springs will result in a compromised ride. If they're lower and/or stiffer, they will force the stock strut to work outside of it's originally designed geometry. This will result in the strut wearing out more quickly, and can result in worse handling than stock. To minimize the issues, liek Cody said, don't go with anything too low or too stiff. Granted if you're a bit lower, you need to be a bit stiffer to prevent bottoming out, but stay away from "dumping" the car and astronomical rates.

I think the H-Techs and GF210's are probably good choices... though I don't have any experience with them myself, I went with full coilovers to make sure to match my spring rate and strut properly.

Tanabe also has a set of springs that is almost identical to the stock spring rate. IIRC its 5% more stiff and it still gives you a little drop. Check their website.

Dayofpain was trying to sell some of the gf210s a while ago. He might still have them.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1386513

Correct, my mistake.

yeah, i just don't want it to look like a lifted truck anymore. i don't really care if i can take a corner at a zillion MPH, although it would be nice. don't get me wrong, nice handling is fun but i can't afford all that kinda stuff right now.

Where is C&C located?

thanks for all the great info.

yeah for sure, i just want to get it down an inch or so. nothing to crazy.

I was looking on ebay and found some h-techs for a wagon only. are those the same ones?

I thing the wagon springs are for the WRX wagon... which means they're probably 1) proportionally too stiff in the rear to carry the wagon's extra rear weight, and 2) not a good match for the stiffer STi shocks since they're WRX springs.

spelled "too," damn it.

anyways, thanks for all the good info guys.

Prodrive is a great choice if you're only looking for ~1in. I've never ridden on their STi springs, but I love the WRX springs that I've got. Everyone that rides with me seems to like 'em too.

im still selling my 05 struts assembled with tanabe gf210's /endshamelessplug

uhp, im dumb

05 Rear sti struts are prone to lots of noise and seem to wear out too quickly. NevadaSTI had his making noise around 18 miles or so and he doesn't off road his car like i do.
you may consider a coilover solution. like Sperry said you will have a strut matched to your spring rate for certain. and you'll be on new struts :) springs don't really wear out, but struts sure do
my 2 cents (may actually only be worth a hay penny though :P)

My friend has STi pinks and loves them.

oops i meant nevadaSTI's struts were making noise at 18K miles. I don't know (but suspect) that the noise means the struts aren't functioning properly. either way its annoying.