2011 Ride Issues

solowrx7

New member
Not sure thus is the place to post but I purchased the '11 wrx last year and have not been impressed with the ride AT ALL!! I had an '02 wrx before and that thing was a tank!! This car feels flimsy and the ride is super soft!! Lateral movement over bumps is impossibley annoying!! Anyone have any ideas as to what suspension fixes can be dive to cure this issue?! Totally disappointed with this car and Subaru...thinking of upgrading to an sti... The car just feels dead as far as steering and ride go...thoughts?!

 

Nigel Prodrive

Dirt surfer
Not much info here to base comments on.

What are the miles. Has car been modded. What are tire pressures set at. Have OEM tires been replaced with diff size, etc.

The 08+ WRX is definitely a softer car overall. It has control arm rear suspension instead of struts, and more compliant bushings all round. 08 and 09s were more cushy-gushy than newer ones, but no doubt softer than 02-07s. On the flip side, the newer ones have much less tire noise, wind roar, and lack that "skateboard ride"'of the GD series wrxes.

Many owners swap in harder subframe bushings, stiffer rear springs, upsized sways, etc. lots of specific advice out there, be careful with suspension upgrades--modded cars are often little better than stock, just harder-riding and louder not necessarily more responsive on the road.

 

solowrx7

New member
Cars a 2011 wrx...no mods...Dunlop junk rubber... 7500 miles...have had 2 alignments dive under warranty sure to an epic fail the first go round..just overall not impressed with the ride...it feels dead...thinking about a Mitsubishi evo due to it...that as well add Subaru denying to replace the windshield due to being so scratched by the windshield wipers as well as sandblasting...the car still smells new and they won't fix it...no sti's available either...very disappointed overall...any thoughts?

 

Nigel Prodrive

Dirt surfer
then either swap cars or swap dealers. if you have decided that your WRX sucks and the dealer sucks and the Dunlops suck and the windshield sucks and the alignment sucks and Subaru warranty sucks (glass coverage specifically excluded by any warranty BTW), there's not much anybody can do about that attitude.

if your '11 WRX feels "dead" then go back to earlier car, which was definitely a harder-riding rig. You can either mod the '11, accept it as is (hardly a horrible POS), or dump it.

so go get an Evo, see how well that dealer does for you.

 

WashmyScooby

Active member
I added a set of big sway bars to my car. It made the handling much better.

I'm also a fan of the Dunlops. I think they are great tires and really make a big difference on the handling of the car. Of course, They are going to wear out fast.

I have 27k miles. I've never had an allignment. My windshield isn't sandblasted any more than a car in Maine would be.

The car is a little "cushy" compared to the feel of my old 2005 WRX. On the other hand, I have little doubt my 2011 would leave my old 05 for dead in just about every performance category.

Come to the meet next Wednesday. I'll take you for a ride and you can tell me if the sway bar upgrade made a difference..

 

wrbwrx

New member
2011 wrx DEAD? jeez, if your running stock its not that fast compared to a stock evo or sti....you want more power get one of those or do a simple stage 1 or stage 2 tune on the wrx it will make the biggest difference in power...now dunlops tires i love mine 16 k and no problems at all ive gone up and down the kangamangus highway severly times do 80 plus mph and they hold up... as far as handling goes, ya stock is alright, get a nice set of springs or coilovers they dont need to be low that will help along with some nice sway bars....it will make the car completely different and if you dont want to do any of that then i guess get something else

 

Gate4jg

New member
If you want a car that rides harder and more responsive. Try mine for a few minutes and after going over a few small bumps and you will go back to loving yours. lol BC coilovers are painful on Maine roads even on the softest setting!!!!!

 
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Pedro

٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶
If you want a car that rides harder and more responsive. Try mine for a few minutes and after going over a few small bumps and you will go back to loving yours. lol BC coilovers are painful on Maine roads even on the softest setting!!!!!
Anything from RCE, or STi will be firmer than stock but far more compliant than standard coilovers (unless you are in a bilstein PSS9 setup). BC's aren't exactly what you would gravitate towards for comfort or racing.

 
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2point5RS_Dan

HATER DAN
Anything from RCE, or STi will be firmer than stock but far more compliant than standard coilovers (unless you are in a bilstein PSS9 setup). BC's aren't exactly what you would gravitate towards for comfort or racing.
Pedro is 100% right.

You can build a better strut/spring package than BCs.

RCE or sti is the recommended.

 

Gate4jg

New member
Pedro is 100% right.

You can build a better strut/spring package than BCs.

RCE or sti is the recommended.
Of course you can build better but when you go on NASIOC and someone sells a BC coilover system for $375 with only a 500 miles on them how can you say no! I don't know why I am defending BC coilovers, but the main thing to get out of this rant is if you go cheep, expect the worst to happen and live with it. OOHHHH also never go with adjustable endlinks. PNTA!!!!!

 

Pedro

٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶
Of course you can build better but when you go on NASIOC and someone sells a BC coilover system for $375 with only a 500 miles on them how can you say no! I don't know why I am defending BC coilovers, but the main thing to get out of this rant is if you go cheep, expect the worst to happen and live with it. OOHHHH also never go with adjustable endlinks. PNTA!!!!!
The sell price is a pretty big giveaway as to why you should shy away from them.

And Adjustable endlinks have their place. But I can assume you aren't corner balancing your car, so they don't really have a place on your car.

 

solowrx7

New member
sorry i didn't check back on this...i ended up just dealing with it as a characteristic of the car... i did end up getting my alignment dice curtly and Subaru replaced the windshield (had to pay and they reimbursed me)...ebbed up trading up to 2013 sti...love the car so far...got an issue with pulling in cornering but working on it with Subaru so we'll see... gonna do sways and maybe stiffer springs, bushings including steering... also i have had a few different tires on different cars and i just can't get myself yup like then...besides the grip... thanks fir the feedback though...gonna try to make a drive one of these days...

 

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