Hi.
Sometime in the next couple of months I will be given a GD3 Jazz with CVT. It's completely stock and will be resprayed. The windows are already tinted.
There are some issues I'd like ironed out with the car, though. It dives too much under heavy braking, the steering is too light for my tastes, and the suspension is incredibly floppy side-to-side. I don't expect to extract any extra power out of the breathless 1.5 iDSI engine so I'm not even going to bother with an aftermarket exhaust or intake system.
I've heard that adding 16" wheels with lower profile tires and a wider track helps with the light steering. To what extent does this help?
I definitely want to change the springs in order to eliminate the lateral swaying and make things a bit more firm, but I don't want to lower the ride height much, if at all. Any pointers on what brand/model that would work like this?
I can have practically any brace/bar fabricated for the car and want to reduce understeer a bit. I've read Cojaro's topic on Suspension Theory and have deduced that a firmer rear sway bar is the bet way to tackle the issue. If I add a front strut tower brace, do I run the risk of counteracting the rear sway bar and reverting to neutral handling tendencies?
The car already has beefier Endless pads. They're fine, but will braided brake hoses give any noticable results?
What about engine bushings? I know that polyurethane mount bushings increase front-end rigidity, but what effect will that have on the balance between understeer/oversteer? Will it be worth the cash and effort of lifting the engine and replacing every single rubber joint between the subframe and engine? A full kit here costs around US$300.

The reason that I want to fix these problems is because of my aggressive driving habits. I spent my childhood around autocross tracks, and raced karts from a young age, progressing from 50cc karts to Italian-chassis Rotax Nationals.
In the state that the car is in, and with my horrible habits, I'm likely to get myself killed trying to accelerate/brake/corner past the limits of the car at this point but would probably do the same in anything with more power than the GD3.

Thanks for any help,
Mutt.

 

just get a different car.
it sounds ridiculous to go out and fabricate parts for an econobox that you plan on running into the ground.
besides if you have poor driving habits then take them out on a track.

 

yea. the fit's a quick lil car that can handle like...well iono, but it handles deec out of the box. n yea a rsb is gonna make a noticeable improvements./ for stiffer ride just get adj. height coilovers which most all of them are deec but the skunk pro c's and more so t1r's from what i know will give more of a track car feeling. Or go all out n spoon or j's race it up
upgrading bushings on any car is gonna make it feel more rigid so that's always something to do if you have the time n equipment to do so.

 

Just simple braces that would be cheaper than commercially-available products. I don't plan on running this into the ground, but want to revive a six-year-old car that flops like a waterbed when passengers get in. I just feel unsafe driving a car that feels so floppy.
I'll look into that, they could come in handy if I change wheel size or tyre profile and the car ends up sitting too high.
How easy is it to screw up a bushing replacement? I could just imagine having that one joint being too loose, slowly tearing to the point that something important would come loose on a freeway.