How stiff is too stiff?

[JDM K's]

Guys this has to be one of the dumbest question you have ever hear/read anyhow, how stiff is too stiff when it comes to your car suspension? I want an all around car meaning drift, mountain run, drag race, and maybe even SCCA. So far I have added Nismo power brace, White line front and rear sway bars, Greddy front and rear strut tower bars, Tein Tension Rods, KYB shocks and Ebich Sportline. According to my brother now my car would under steer and would slide on hard corner. So if I was to make the rear of my car as stiff as the front would it balance out? Also, after looking at drift bible video, Keiichi makes implication that a softer car is better for drifting so it is easier to toss the car around. Could these be achieved by a suspension that has dampers adjustable?

[s14xman]

I guess you could just change the settings on your shocks and struts to make it more soft, but your set up sounds sweet, go experiment(sp) with it and see what feels comfertable for you, I'm shure you might have to change the settings on the struts and shocks depending on the event. But like i said what ever you feel comfertable with.

[old_s13]

You need to get a good feel for your vehicle before you start buying parts and adjusting suspension components. Plus, you cannot have a car that is good for everything, as each type of terrain requires a different type of suspension/tire setup.

Learn your car and get an feel for what you REALLY want to do. What you are asking is for a swiss army knife car.

- Mike

[DuffMan]

Chassis stiffness bars doesnt make the front "stiffer" in terms of causing understeer.

[aznpoopy]

don't worry about what's easier for drifting. it should be about skill. as mike said, if u could start with a blank slate, i'd suggest (as was suggested to me) that you start stock and just go drifting/racing/etc... as you get better/break things replace with aftermarket. anyway get in your car and go do it!

i would think softer car = less stiff... just dial down your agx (im assuming they are not gr2), take out some of your chassis stiffening stuff, front and rear strutbar for instance.... try it out and see how you like it. my reccomendation is take everything out that u can... go drive. add pieces back in or change settings as you go and see how it feels. until u get a good feel for what does what, i would restart the process for different events. yah and don't forget to have fun.

[DORIMON]

Hmm, I can't really say what is stiff and what isn't. I know that in the past few days my car has gotten stiffer and has made it much easier to control drifts as I just installed a few new parts. I currently have VLSD, KYB AGX/TEIN S.Techs, Tanabe Sustec Front & Rear Underbraces, SPL Tension Rods, and CUSCO AS Front & Rear Strut Bars. Lately I've been messing around leaving the front AGX's dialed to 1 and the rears to 8 for latenight drift practice. I've noticed that the front strut bar, tension rods and front underbrace made my steering very very responsive and seems to always go back to center immediately when I let go of the wheel. The rear strut bar and rear underbrace helps out a lot to keep the rear planted during drifts. My current setup seems to me to be just about perfect for me, I can make long drifts at 40mph and have very minimal body roll and less harsh snap oversteer. I can't wait until I install my subframe spacers later this week, my car should be much more controllable. So, I'm not really sure what is too stiff. With everything I have, I still have a very confortable daily drive with my AGX's all around dialed to 1. I do know that the more stiffer I set the rears, the more oversteer.