Oh boy, a handling thread... just my lucky day!
We have a solid iron block which sits IN FRONT of the front axle in order to accomodate the AWD system. That means that understeer and slow turn-in are simply facts of life. But, there are steps that you can take to help tone it back.
1) For the love of god disable the AWS system. There are those who keep it because it offers nice lane-changing characteristics on the freeway and it's one of the few things that separates us from DSMs... but if you want your car to handle predictably then drop it like it's hot!
2) Front camber is your friend. Get more off it. With factory diameter front springs you won't get more than a degree out of camber plates so you'll need camber bolts. One set will get you ~1.2* neg front camber. Two sets will double that. I'd start with one and go from there. Also, in my experience the only difference between "camber bolts" and regular bolts is that camber bolts are harder to install. I ran for over a year with a set of one size smaller grade 10.9 bolts in the bottom slot and never once had them slip. Now I have plates which I prefer but for serious handling you'll want both.
3) Tires. The front always works first and hardest. With shitty tires it will always understeer. Better tires will let the front grip long enough for the back to start playing and you might have a prayer of finding a neutral feeling.
4) Shocks & springs... decent handling can be had on stock-ish springs though you'll get a fair bit of corner lean which is bad for quick transitions. If you start to get serious you'll want 300lb/in front, 225lb/in back at a minimum. On tarmac more is better up to about 600lb/in where opinions start to diverge. But say goodby to your smooth ride. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for shocks. AGXs are rough and unforgiving so unless you're driving on glass they're gonna hold the car back. Konis are good. Bilstein are better but they don't make HD for the dsm so you'll need to some retrofitted bimmer parts like mine. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
5) Anti-roll bars. I disagree with the "big in the back - stock up front" solution. Lots of people do it but it's a bandaid for people not maximizing front grip. Get some camber to keep the front tires stuck and then go "big in back - big in front" to help minimize body roll. I have RM rear (~23mm) and WL front (22mm). If I were really serious I'd have the bigger WL (24mm front 26mm back) but as it is I think my driving is a bigger issue than my bars.
Now, what you choose to implement depends entirely on your goals and what you're willing to sacrifice. For now, I'd say grab some front camber and an RM rear swaybar. That'll help ALOT. Also get some nice summer tires. Dunlop star-spec are supposed to be the best bang-for-your-buck these days. Then think about ditching those KYBs for a pair of Konis.
