Background: I have a 2011 WRX hatchback, previously owned 2 Evo 8's with springs/sways vs JIC coilovers.
I went stage 2 with the WRX and have been enjoying the car quite a bit but am bothered by (1) the wheel gap and (2) the floaty-ness of the car when turning or hitting bumps. It just doesn't feel right...under-dampened?
I find the stock suspension to not feel right no matter what. It's too soft for any spirited driving, on the highway it just floats but still jars on bad bumps, and generally feels "off" during street driving. So it never feels right.
I'm looking at primarily H&R Coilovers for $1200 since springs alone (Swift or Epic) are $300 and only seem to strain the stock struts if you drop the car more than 3/4". I could probably stomach springs + sways just fine but the H&R's contain Bilstein struts which are quality and I have read nothing but great things about the H&R setup for both the WRX and STI.
Was just wondering what the ClubWRX community has to say about this. I just want a stock-ish-but-more-solid setup and was wondering what would be a better option:
1 - H&R Coilovers
2 - front and rear swaybars
3 - Epic/Swift springs
4 - swaybars + springs
5 - springs + struts (which gets confusing for me)
Any input or advice would be appreciated. I'm leaning towards #1 to just address dampening and get a progressive spring rate. I think that may solve most of what I'm after but could use advice. Getting to drop the car 1" is a bonus.
