So I've been researching more suspension bits that I can't really afford. . .
This will be a bit of a read, but please bear with me.
Preface: I want to improve handling for daily driving and the occasional autocross (I'll be running RNP so rulebook legality is not really a concern at this point). I had coilovers for a while, and replaced them with Prodrive springs that I intend to keep on the car. Given that there are so few options available for strut upgrades, I will most likely continue to run on stock struts until one or more go bad and I am forced to replace them. I have "upgraded" the RSB with a stock 17mm WRX bar, and may or may not decide to move up to 20mm depending on various factors, one of them being the results of this thread. I'm also running the following alignment: -1.3f, -0.8r (and no toe iirc).
My reluctance to screw with sway bars stems partly from my own experience with them and partly from observing a thread regarding Scott's sway bar troubles and the idea that they are simply a suspension "band-aid," i.e. a cheap, moderately effective but double-edged suspension option when considered versus all the other aspects available for improvement.
So here's what I want to do: I am comfortable with the ride quality, body roll, and overall balance of the car in terms of spirited driving and hard cornering. I want to increase steering response and turn-in without really adding any more stiffness and without reducing roll at the cost of impairing suspension travel (hence my reluctance to go with stiffer sway bars). I don't want to get the back end out - I want to get the front in more without really sacrificing rear-end grip.
I've seen and researched a couple of bits available that really interest me.
The first is Whiteline's anti-lift kit (also called a caster kit or positive steering response kit by some manufacturers). Given that I am on softer suspension, I like the idea behind this: adding positive caster to improve dynamic camber, and reducing front end lift by altering the control arm geometry. Whiteline also offers these with a "comfort" bushing that would serve to minimize NVH increases. Color me "Tickled Pink."
The second is the relatively new front roll-center adjustment kit. There was a thread about this a while back, but it died off before Whiteline released their kit. Fortunately,
there's a huge amount of feedback on a thread on NASIOC, and the response seems to be incredibly positive. Most folk who have installed this on their car say that the change to the suspension geometry (lowering the attachment points of the control arms and tierods to a more optimal position on a lowered car) has resulted in a near-complete loss of the usual turn-in understeer, improved mid-corner control, and far less scrubbing overall. Apparently their tester "complained" about having to adjust his driving style - he was used to having to compensate for the usual turn-in push and kept hitting the inside rumble strip early with the kit on due to the improved grip.
A combination of these two kits sounds like a great idea to me: no great increase in NVH, no "swaybar-esque" loss of suspension travel, no loss of rear-end grip, and much improved turn-in.
The price is also fair: $400 for the combo (~$225 for the ALK and ~$175 for the roll-center adjustment kit) versus ~$500-$600 for a full swaybar upgrade (front, rear, mounts, and endlinks).
Thoughts?