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New tires and no sway bar review

4K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Ruso 
#1 ·
My car goals= ~350WHP~ 350WTQ
DIRT CAPABLE...I REPEAT...DIRT/BUMPS/TRAILS/NASTY URBAN ROADS and smooth ride. But fast as F×uck ;)
Not a tarmac time attack

First off, I replaced the stock tires on my 2015 wrx. 235/45-17 Dunlop sportmaxx summer tires. Harsh ride, but grip fine in dry and decent in the wet.
NEW TIRES
sumitomo HTR P02 all season, with a M+S stamp on the side. Take it for what it is...245/45-17 so a tad bit thicker sidewall. Let's take a look.


Meaty Urban Assault Tires



If you don't know about sumitomo....YOU SHOULD. They are one of the LARGEST rubber/tire manufactures in japan, they own other companies and make some of Dunlops tires. About $350 delivered to my door.

How's it ride???......great, not as harsh. Handles deep water much better, and high speeds in the rain. It's W rated.
Sidewalls feel good. Inside of tire looked and felt quality.
NO COMPLAINTS
...and dirt traction is stellar.
I recommend trying out sumitomo
Later I plan to run a 17x9 rim and 265 or wider tires.

Secondly...i disconnected both of my sway bars the other day


People say how scary it is to run no Front or horrible experience with no rear sway bar...its NOT TRUE.
I am loving it, and plan to leave them disconnected for a while.
This new 2015 chassis is 30%stiffer than previous gens...and at the end of the day it's just a small "sports" car..not a Ford explorer. No sway bars is no big deal. I did every single road test I could for about 4 hours and settled on.."yup! I like it"
It feels like a rally car ;)
Now the suspension can move truly INDEPENDENTLY. And i plan to brace up the frame even more. Weld up a tube Front end and group N trans mounts etc, and lots more power. The super wide 265+ size tires will add in grip.

ROADS I TESTED ON




And many more plus slolam and everything else. But these cobble stone roads were a nightmare of a bit** before I removed the sway bars..

Long story short. Have fun, give it a shot for a weekend. Just unbolt the endlinks, and go for a trail drive or beach or explore wherever you live. It's pretty fun.



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#2 ·
cool beans dude! glad yer liking it.

but to get really dirt capable your gonna have to give yourself a bit of lift. an inch or two should be sufficient. combine that with a good set of long travel suspension and you'll be on your way to the dakkar!


driving experience varies from person to person. its like people told me i would hate all the NVH from all the solid mounts and bushings that i did all over the car. its totally not bad at all. my car's interitor is even stripped and its still not that bad (to me at least). so people telling you how bad it is to drive with no sway's are probably just bad or timid drivers. glad you went with it anyways and did your own thing. its nice to see subies being prepped for dirt. the majority of people now-a-days end up doing the stance dance and ruining their cars...
 
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#4 ·
Thanks man. Yeah, I had an RSX-S a few years back I built for time attack. I love that stuff too. But I went to Dirtfish rally school and I'm hooked. I do want some 1"lift springs once a good shock comes out. Or a set of gravel coilivers with custom spring rates

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#3 ·
If your going for dirt I long travel suspension upgrade would fit perfectly into your build. FEAL make some great coilovers that were designed for dirt and rally driving. I used their long travel setup on my 13 and I loved it. I would assume the quality and performance would be just as good on a 15.
 
#7 ·
Still haven't reconnected the sway bars...and my all season M+S tires are broken in..34psi all around....

Dry and wet grip is predictable and strong. Cornering is safe and breaks traction fairly equally front to rear in on wet cornering about 48mph in tight circular off ramp/on ramp.

Wet launching is AWD amazing..end of story.

At this point I don't know if I care to ever reattach the sway bars.

I'm working on building a front strut tower bar. We will see how that goes. My idea I want to try out now, is no sways, and just continue to stiffen chassis just a little bit. Then possibly lift 1" with springs, and run 285 wide tires on 17's, and whatever sidewall ratio fits..probably 40 at that width..maybe 35. Idk yet





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#8 ·
How's it holding up? I did a 1.5" lift with spacers on my WRX and was pondering removing sway bars for winter to see how it does on/off road... but I regularly travel across a mountain pass with speeds that go into low 80's from time to time and I'm not sure how that would effect me negatively.

I found All Terrain (truck) tires that will fit my year (however I"m not sure if my rear lift will allow them to clear since the tire pulled in a little bit toward the front of the wheel wells).

The size is 215/65R16 and there are four tire types that work. The diameter is 27" which for my year is 1.8 (I think) inches larger which is just enough to clear strut towers and fender liners.

Check it:
 
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