Upgrading steering (basic setup help)

[xaaronx]

I made friends with a few curbs during this last snowfall. So now that I've given myself an excuse to upgrade, I'm looking for a few pointers. The rack bushings will be getting replaced with energy suspension bushings for sure. What else would you guys recommend? Only thing affecting steering at this point are my struts/springs (kyb agx/some cheap springs) that will soon be swapped for coilovers.

Not looking for a "buy this, buy that" answer. Just looking for a heads up on advantages to certain upgrades for a dd/weekend track car (tie rods? eccentric bushings? Idk)


Car is a 95 240

[Mikester]

Take some time & do some research as to what each suspension component does; then ask questions or research more from there. What you are asking is subjective; and what's good for one may not be so good for others. A lot of the components allow for greater adjustability... and have hardened, spherical mounting points- Giving a more direct feel between the driver & the road. This aspect is cool; but when you start adding hella-stiff coilovers and a bunch of other things; it can get uncomfortable real quick... With that said, my advice to you young man is 'Keep it simple' until you learn that although curbs keep you on the road... they are NOT your friends ;)

But seriously, there are tradeoffs between OEM comfort and zillion-dollar suspension gadgets... Learn what they are before spending a bunch of money... You may not like the result as much as you think.

Steering rack bushings are a good start... Like every other 240 that has been driven and bounced off a few curbs, I'm sure you would notice a difference. While you're at it, add an aluminum steering bushing into the column... With those two cheap mods alone, you should definitely notice a difference in feel... Unlike the majoprity of mods you will do, this has excellent bang for the buck. As you start progressing into more & more mods... you'll notice that stuff gets real expensive real quick... and sometimes there will be no gains at all aside from needing one 'thing' to be able to use another...

Happy holidays!

Mike

[Black R]

OP, how are your tie rods?

How about tension rods?

Mine were all shot, so I replaced them with upgraded or spherical units.

While I was at it, I got ES rack bushings and added a small spacer on the inner tie rods to get a little more angle.

I was very happy with that for a long time.

Now I'm going to install a hicas rack for fewer turns lock to lock and that's a worthwhile upgrade IMO.

And after this, I'm leaning heavily toward a gktech front knuckle setup. ;)

[sleepyS14se]

OP, you mentioned you have kissed some curbs...

care to elaborate on what is damaged? bent knuckle? bent tension arm? what was hurt when these curb kissing accidents happened

[xaaronx]

The only damage spotted so far was torn tension arm bushings (I think they were already torn a bit but now it's completely separated lol).

I am a certified Subaru technician and I do have a well built STI. Don't take everything I say for pure ignorance, I just don't know much about drift setups quite yet. I'm working on it. The inner tie rods and ends are new, nothing APPEARS to be bent. I had a coworker look with me and he also didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Should I just start with the ES rack bushings, some budget tension rods (isis maybe?), and hopefully front coilovers (if the deal I found goes through. I have brand new stances in the rear already with everything needed).

[Jites]

before spending money where are you going to use the car? is it a daily and driven lots or a weekend track toy?

the steering and rack bushes are a great start, then look at extra lock anti bump steer rods and ends. youll notice the difference once aligned right away and if you have one worn bush for the price you may as well do the lower arm bushes and ball joints. Get adjustable tension rods to if you can stretch to that but watch out, cheap ones are cheap for a reason and you dont want the rose joint to go in a few 100 miles. I prefer Cusco bushed type for road use and that goes for all adjustable arms, bushed ones will last longer and are fit and forget. the rose jointed arms will need the rose joints replacing often as they soon wear out if driven daily

[Mikester]

If you're going to get Energy steering rack bushings, why not do Energy tension rod bushings too?

Whether or not you go from OEM to urethane or full pillow-ball rods/arms, you will definitely notice a difference over the 15-20yr old OEM rubber ones that have prolly seen better days. In that regard, you will enjoy swapping out old to new.

Moog ball joints are awesome, cheap and come with zerk fittings so you can keep them lubed.

Even though I still think it would behoove you to do some research, pretty much anything you do will be an improvement over a worn out stock front steering setup.

[sleepyS14se]

^ hey mike. On this topic has me thinkin...

my s14 needs ball joints all the way around...is it true that the front lower ball joints on a s14 part # k9820 will fit the rear also?

[sleepyS14se]

mike, also.... would es tension rod bushings or some adjustable isis or cusco arms? what is a more logical choice for street use and weekend drifting at local track.

[Mikester]

^ hey mike. On this topic has me thinkin...

my s14 needs ball joints all the way around...is it true that the front lower ball joints on a s14 part # k9820 will fit the rear also?

mike, also.... would es tension rod bushings or some adjustable isis or cusco arms? what is a more logical choice for street use and weekend drifting at local track.

As for ball joints, I only know which Moog joints fit in the rear of S13- sorry.

LOL you said ISIS and Cusco in the same sentence... FUCK ISIS- Energy bushings w/OEM rods or Cusco, PBM, Tein etc if you go full-adjustable...

Personally, for weekend drifting/daily driving, I'd think you'd want beefed up tension rod bushings (ES) and better tie rods for more angle. But I wouldn't know... I don't drift.

[Jites]

^ hey mike. On this topic has me thinkin...

my s14 needs ball joints all the way around...is it true that the front lower ball joints on a s14 part # k9820 will fit the rear also?

Yeah man, they are the same all round

[sleepyS14se]

As for ball joints, I only know which Moog joints fit in the rear of S13- sorry.

LOL you said ISIS and Cusco in the same sentence... FUCK ISIS- Energy bushings w/OEM rods or Cusco, PBM, Tein etc if you go full-adjustable...

Personally, for weekend drifting/daily driving, I'd think you'd want beefed up tension rod bushings (ES) and better tie rods for more angle. But I wouldn't know... I don't drift.



what do you do? time attack?

[sleepyS14se]

As for ball joints, I only know which Moog joints fit in the rear of S13- sorry.

LOL you said ISIS and Cusco in the same sentence... FUCK ISIS- Energy bushings w/OEM rods or Cusco, PBM, Tein etc if you go full-adjustable...

Personally, for weekend drifting/daily driving, I'd think you'd want beefed up tension rod bushings (ES) and better tie rods for more angle. But I wouldn't know... I don't drift.

what do you mean by better tie rods. I have moog inner and outers....i think my outers are ok but i need more angle. S14 doesn't have enough angle in stock form it seems

i also think i should get cusco rods because i think if i could adjust the caster i would have better self turn.

[Mikester]

^^Dunno. I do things that require all 4 wheels to be connected to the road ;)

Have no idea what the benefits to drifting are with adjustable tension rods.

[xaaronx]

Caster adjustment and firmness.