[joshjaks]

Got a 2014 VT and just rolled over 100k miles. Ready to replace the suspension, it's not too bad but it's getting a little clunky and the ride quality is starting to get a bit worse. Willing to bet my shocks and struts are starting to go.

While I'm at it, I decided to try to do a minor upgrade to see if I can improve it a little while keeping it daily driver worthy. I decided to go with an H&R spring kit with only a 1" on the front and .6" on the rear lower. Looks like the H&Rs might be a better quality than the stock springs.

I also decided on a KYB strut and shock kit for the fronts and rears. Saw good comments about them and didn't think it would be worth paying almost double for Konis. If I wanted to spend that much, I'd be more in the range of full coilovers.

Here's where I think I got the right parts, but want to make sure. I picked out a camber bolt kit and some strut mounts for the front. From what I gather, I only need a pair of each for the front suspension, it doesn't look like I need a replacement mount for the rears and saw another forum post saying DON'T mess with camber kits on the rear.

Finally, I was trying to pick out good quality replacement boots. Are these only for the struts or will they work for the shocks too? Also, I narrowed down to three different models, wondered what you would recommend as the best of these boots. Monroe 63632, Monroe SA1997, or KYB SB132.

Looking forward to the feedback. Love my VT and hope I still have a lot of miles left in it!

 

[joshjaks]

Camber bolts I put on the list are Specialty Products Company 81260. They had good reviews on Amazon, but hence posting on the forums. Glad to know to stay away from the KYB mounts.

If I wanted to replace the boots anyway just to be on the safe side, should I grab a set of four or do they only go on the fronts? Can't see the back ones without taking off some panels.

The rear springs will only change the height by .6" and based on the shop, sounds like there isn't a need to mess with rear camber kits. Only mentioned a set of camber bolts.

 

[joshjaks]

Where would you buy oem strut mounts? Napa has em at about $90 a piece which seems steep. Rock Auto looks like they have the Hyundai branded ones for $20 a piece, no pictures though. Definitely want to go safe after seeing what a bad mount can do.

 

[joshjaks]

Awesome! Thanks a ton for all the help. Feel a whole lot better now that I'm getting a good setup for my car.

 

[joshjaks]

Are these the ones you're talking about? Hyundai and Kia Performance Specialists | KDM Tuners | Hyundai - Kia Whiteline Adjustable Endlinks

 

[joshjaks]

I might hold off on the links, see how it handles. If it feels like it's not staying straight on cruise or body rolling funny, then I bet I'll need the links. The biggest thing I'm hoping to improve is the shuddering the stock suspension seems to have. I have a lot of rough roads and train tracks where I drive. I hate the feeling that the car is leaving the road when I hit that stuff, especially when it's at a diagonal to the wheels. The rear is definitely worse than the front and I've noticed it gradually getting worse the last 10-20k miles. H&R looks like they use a dual rate spring for the rear which I bet will make a difference.

Handling wise, the car is pretty good overall. I think the slight lower will make it feel a bit better in the curves, but the wheel upgrade helped a lot there too. I might consider an LSD someday for fun, but honestly this has more than enough acceleration for a DD and I've never gotten the chance to do any track driving. If it feels too soft in the curves then I could go with sway bars, but I doubt the H&Rs will do that.

 

[joshjaks]

UPDATE! Took me a bit to get everything done because of planning it financially and getting the car scheduled in the shop. However, just got it back and was able to get my first good test drives in and I think everything turned out perfectly. The H&R springs combined with the KYB struts and shocks are the perfect daily driver combo in my opinion.

The ride is definitely a tad firmer, I can feel more road imperfections slightly more than before. However, it's also a lot more compliant. Bumps and cracks in the road feel more controlled than they ever did, especially recently. Another note, going over a slow diagonal dip doesn't rock me back and forth like mad. The car stays firmly planted which is something that I don't think I've ever felt.

Also, the shudder issue is basically completely gone. A large enough bump is still a large bump on a small car, but the back end doesn't feel like it's skittering off the road anymore. Another big improvement is bad weather. I'm in Idaho and the roads have been good and icy this season. Instead of the back end having a tendency to fishtail, the whole care either wants to slide or not at all. That makes bad weather driving feel so much better and a tire upgrade will improve it even more.

Finally, I would recommend a 17" wheel like I got. My Platinum Gyros have a slightly wider offset and wider rim than the factory. As a result, the proper tire fit for the 7.5" rim width is the 225 45r17. This makes the overall diameter the same as the factory wheel and tire of the 18s, but handles so much better on a sporty level imo.

Also, and this one surprised me, the body roll feels almost completely gone. I can't dump into curves super hard yet with the icy roads, but a couple of roudabouts gave me a good feel and it's much better than before. This was exactly the upgrade I was hoping to get. A nice sporty feel that still feels good as a daily driver as well.

Thanks everyone for the help and I hope this info is useful to anyone else who's looking for a similar upgrade!

(Current Set Up for 2014 VT: KYB Shocks and Struts, H&R Springs with 1" drop in front and 0.6" drop in the rear, Platinum Gyro 17" Wheels, Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus 225/45r17 Tires, no anti sway or roll bars, everything else still stock)

 

[joshjaks]

I also purchased the Spec D headlight assemblies, but will need it to be a bit warmer before installing those. Once that happens I'll update with some pictures. =D

 

[joshjaks]

Got a curiosity question I can't seem to find the answer to. Do you think the 1" drop at the front would have a tendency to bottom out easier? My thought would be the H&Rs are stiffer than stock, which would counteract the shorter travel distance. The road I mainly drive on gets progressively worse with each storm so I can't tell if it's just the road or the suspension change that is mainly to blame.

 

[joshjaks]

Thanks for the replies, those help a lot. Some reason I was almost feeling like I needed to be more careful than before because I might break something. Just getting used to it since this is the first time I've done a ride mod like this. 😁

 

[joshjaks]

Hahahaha, I got to go a on a good joy ride today with some nice roads. Came up to some 40-45mph curves going about 70 and thinking, "Too fast?" Not even close. Didn't even feel any body role. I came back through and tried to push it a little faster but clearly wasn't used to hitting curves that hard. Car didn't feel like I was close to pushing it's limits.

Hit a sharp curve in town, probably something you would slow to 10 or 15mph normally, was able to clock it at about 35 mph. I felt a bit of body role at that point, but still couldn't believe how planted the car felt. Independent link suspension in the rear I'm sure is better, but I can't believe how much these H&R springs seem to help the handling on this car.

Does bring me to one final question. What do you think would be the better speed rating between H and V on tires? It dawns on me that all three sets I've previously had on this car were Y rated. It also dawns on me that while the handling is great, I do want something a little softer for my daily driving since I notice a bit too much of the road problems out here.

My thought was to go with V. Should be more comfortable than the Y while still feeling confident in cornering. However would I enjoy the comfort more by going to H? Fastest I've ever touched is $1.20 so I don't think the speed part is as much of a concern. Definitely don't want to make the ride too spongy but a bit more comfort for all the bad spots while on cruise would be nice.

 

[joshjaks]

I think that mostly answers my question then. Definitely going Crossclimate 2 cause of how much snow driving I have to do, but it looks like the difference between H and V will be barely noticeable. I only ran across one or two comments that indicate a more noticeable difference on stiffness from V to W or Y so hard to say for sure.

We'll see, at this point I'm only looking for a minor tweak because I do like the handling and the tires is the only other thing left I'm gonna change anyways. I feel like if there were major differences on sidewall stiffness alone there would be more posts about it.

 

[joshjaks]

I think I broke a Subaru a couple days ago. I was driving home on the highway and ended up behind an Impreza. Didn't look particularly modified, wasn't able to see if it had the STI or WRX badges, but wanted to see if it looked as bouncy as my car on the road heaves. My minivan is definitely a lot smoother on those so I've been curious if it's just a Veloster thing or a general small car thing. Wasn't tailing him, just staying at comfortable normal distance.

Apparently didn't like that so he would floor it at the straightaways like he was trying to outrun me. I'd just downshift and keep up since it wasn't hard to do. This happened a couple few times and we hit one of the fairly bad spots, though it wasn't the really bad ones I was waiting for.

On the last bad spot while I was still behind him, I noticed my car starting to leave the road a bit since he was booking it, but my car kept good control so I wasn't too worried. Next thing I know, he turns on the flashers and starts slowing way down. Wasn't sure what the deal was but I went around him since he was way under the speed limit, figured that's what he wanted.

Turned out he wasn't just wanting me to pass, he was pulling off the side of the road. Not sure what happened but it looks like those bumps were not nice to his car. Mine was fine, loving the suspension setup. =D

 

[joshjaks]

i think the imprezas are much better sprung compared to our cars stock. they also weigh more.

I should clarify, I didn't think it was the suspension on the Subaru. At worst maybe a tire issue, or something like a faulty ignition coil causing limp mode. The main gyst was being happy that my VT seems to be handling on impreza levels now! 😁
Though I am considering the rear sway bar at some point.