Sway bars worth the money? - Honda Forum / Acura Forum

The_Producer · 12-09-2005, 02:07 PM

Okay, I have a 2000 LS integra and I feel a lot of body roll in curves and turns and everything as it is stock. I still have the 15" rims and all that, the only aftermarket part on the car is an intake. I recently decided that MAYBE i would spend a little bit of money on the car to get it feeling good while driving.

I know the integras come with stock sway bars front and rear, but is upgrading them worth the hundreds of dollars it costs?

What are the kits I should be on the look out for??? And average price ranges??? Thanks!!!

White98LS · 12-09-2005, 02:48 PM

I love my Suspension Techniques bars, front and rear are about $250 together and include polyurethane mounts. They are 25.4mm F / 19mm R, solid construction.

What spring rates/ride height and other setup factors will you have? No single part is going to make your car handle "great", and everything affects everything else. Bigger swaybars are a great addition to Integras but I wouldn't just slap on a big rear bar with stock springs and shocks....

The_Producer · 12-09-2005, 03:03 PM

I wasn't planning on messing with the springs/shocks or anything. Just leaving those stock but wanted better curve handling.

Chinese Acrobat · 12-09-2005, 03:12 PM

Before sway bars I'd recomend the ASR reinforcement kit to prevent from subframe tearing if you go thick enough ie CTR or ITR rear it could lead to some under normal street use even.

There are fairily cheap alternetives to improve handling but unless your serious about your sus. preformance it's gonna be hard for you.

If you can't spend then find another hobby.

The_Producer · 12-09-2005, 03:40 PM

has nothing to do with spending money, that isn't the issue and wasn't at all related to the question I asked about them (sway bars being worth it).

Although aren't the ITR/LS built on the same subframe/chasis? Someone had once posted that they were practically the same except for obviously suspension and mechanical components.

Stoph · 12-09-2005, 03:54 PM

the part where the rear swaybar mounts on the ITR is much beefier then the other models. hence why you need the reinforcement kits to stop the subframe from tearing out.

White98LS · 12-09-2005, 04:01 PM

The ITR has a reinforced rear subframe that, among other things, supports the much larger 22mm swaybar. With that 22mm bar on a normal Integra rear subframe, it is prone to tearing out... ESPECIALLY with stock soft spring rates and high ride height since the swaybar will be doing a lot more work. You might be okay with the S/T 19mm rear bar but even that might be pushing it on stock springs.

I just realized you have the '00 model LS, which has the slightly larger 24/14mm bars rather than the '94-99 22.1/12.9mm bars. The cheapest way to really have a competent suspension package that will be safe and make you happy would be:
H&R OE Sport springs (1" lowering, 276/220 rates): $150, or $100 used
Koni Reds: $320/set
ITR 22mm swaybar w/reinforcement kit: not sure, $120 or so?

For $550-600 you'll have a suspension setup very similar to ITR (a little more aggressive actually). All of those parts should last the life of the car, and the ride should stay pretty comfortable as well. Remember though that you will have a lot more lift-off oversteer in corners... don't just slap this stuff on and go railing around right away.

Stoph · 12-09-2005, 04:03 PM

I picked up my rear ITR bar and the Beaks reinforcement kit for $160 brand new

... bar came in a nice Honda box and everything heh.

The_Producer · 12-09-2005, 05:32 PM

so basically what you're saying is there is no sway bar setup i can put on my car without having to reinforce and/or upgrade springs/struts/shocks??

Chinese Acrobat · 12-09-2005, 06:27 PM

Yes witels and stoph are correct

martinez32 · 12-09-2005, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stoph

I picked up my rear ITR bar and the Beaks reinforcement kit for $160 brand new

... bar came in a nice Honda box and everything heh.

I paid >90 for a new ITR bar with new bushings from http://www.acuautoparts.com/ and 25 for the BSQ kit for a grand total of 115. The Beaks kit maybe worth the extra dough if ur gonna run lower springs rates, but I say anything over 300lb/in in the rear a BSQ will be a cheaper alternative with absolutely no problems

White98LS · 12-09-2005, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djcaseanova

so basically what you're saying is there is no sway bar setup i can put on my car without having to reinforce and/or upgrade springs/struts/shocks??

Pretty much. You're going to be better off with the whole spring/shock/swaybar upgrade than just throwing swaybars from one setup onto a different setup. After all, Honda didn't throw those fat bars onto the Type R and call it good...

acuradriva · 12-10-2005, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djcaseanova

so basically what you're saying is there is no sway bar setup i can put on my car without having to reinforce and/or upgrade springs/struts/shocks??

you definatly need some reinforcement and I would upgrade the springs/shocks before the sway bar.

The_Producer · 12-10-2005, 08:23 AM

here's the problem with springs/shocks.

I live in an area that FLOODS constantly and I can't lower the car and risk it. This is probably a stupid question, but do they make beefer kits that KEEP the stock height??? And yes 1" is A HUGE difference in my area, water gets above the bumper as it is, even while parked in my driveway!!

So, stronger spring/shock at OEM height?? if so I will start there.

White98LS · 12-10-2005, 11:35 AM

Ground Control sleeves can be raised to within 0.5" of stock height and are $300-340. If you went with Koni Yellows, they also have different spring perch settings so you can raise it a touch further, although by how much I'm not sure. By then you will have spent close to a grand on springs/shocks... but it will handle very very nicely... ask me how I know.

You could also go with the OEM ITR springs/shocks. They are cheap and only lower 0.4", the springs aren't a lot stiffer than stock but they are more rear-biased and progressive-rate in the rear as well so you'll have less understeer, and the shocks are quite a bit firmer. However, in order to run the ITR shocks you would need ITR rear LCAs, which are $120 by themselves... so maybe your best option would be ITR springs and Koni Reds, along with the S/T or ITR rear swaybar. All that put together should be about $550 and you'll have a spring/shock/bar setup nearly identical to ITR.