With our WRX’s suspension all setup and ready to go, we went out on a test drive. Boy, were we impressed! We were worried about all the hard Whiteline bushings increasing the cars NVH, but amazingly we could not detect any more noise, vibration or harshness. Perhaps it was because all of the old stuff was in such poor shape that it was all loose and rattly.
When letting out the clutch we were amazed at how smooth everything was and how the jerking and drivetrain snatch was nearly completely eliminated by the firmer bushings and pitch stop mount. The shifting went from awful to great since the free play in the shifter was gone. We could really feel the shift gates and detents.
Most impressive were the improvements in handling. The car’s body roll, pitch, and squat were all greatly reduced. Corner exit traction was amazingly improved with the better bushings, anti-lift kit and the rest of the suspension doing its job properly. The best thing is that understeer has been eliminated! Even the hard to get rid of low-speed understeer of AWD cars has been eliminated, the car now does 4 wheel drifts. Now our old and previously worn WRX can hold its own with some of the best handling cars in the MotoIQ fleet!
If you have an older WRX you owe it to yourself and your car to refresh those worn out suspension components with Whiteline’s urethane bushings. Combine them with the Whiteline anti-lift and roll-center correcting kits and your car will feel better than new and handle much better than it was originally designed to. We highly recommend these parts.
Stay tuned, next we tackle the old worn out and beat brakes on our Project WRX with a significant upgrade from StopTech!
Products Featured
Whiteline Essential Vehicle Kit – WEK074
Whiteline Essential Vehicle Kit – WEK076
Whiteline Roll Centre/Bump Steer – Correction Kit – KCA313
West End Alignment
8 comments
I have a lot of the same parts on my 2005 WRX and absolutely love them. One question, if you needed to replace the rack is there a reason you guys didn’t upgrade to the 2015+ rack? There’s a bit of fabrication needed to make it work on a GD but I’m really glad I did it.
Keep the GD WRX updates coming, I’m really enjoying them.
We didn’t do it because of the fabrication needed and the Whiteline solution works fine.
I would highly recommend swapping the WRX U-Joint for the GD STi one. The WRX has a large rubber bushing in it, while the STi is a solid linkage. They can be found used for about $70.
Part number: 34170FE050
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/35248589593_44ac3c8a2a_c.jpg
Good info!
Hello MotoIQ. I’ve just wrapped up doing front lower control arm front, front ALK, rear lateral links, and lateral arm bushings from whiteline in my 1999 Subaru RS. I have already had the Roll Center Adjuster kit a few years now.
I haven’t driven the car yet, but what is your take on these parts “binding”? There’s a lot of info about urethane binding on the net, but I figured Whiteline has taken this into account…or have they? Thanks in advance!
Don’t really feel that it is an issue.
Hi Mike,
How often do these bushings need to be re-greased? Would it be helpful to wrap the bushing sleeves with teflon tape (doesn’t look like it was done in this instance)?
Whitelines seem to not squeak as much as other brands. I would say how often depends on your climate.