[oxygencube]

I am looking at improving my suspension.. I would like to know if a brand name sway bar or strut bar is needed or can I save some cash by going with a no-namer... I also need to know which I should get first, giving making the most difference... just got neuspeed sports if that makes a diff.. thanks again guys

 

[Mojo-Jojo]

No name is always bad.

Suspension Techniques makes good budget-y setups.

I think the ones for my 92 hatch would be about $230 for both sway bars.

As opposed to the Mugen's that are about $230 EACH.

The sway bars will make a WAY more noticeable difference than the strut bars. Get those first.

 

[iLLeFFeKt CiViC]

I am looking at improving my suspension...just got neuspeed sports if that makes a diff.. thanks again guys

i suggest you get some aftermarket shocks if you didnt do that already. get the shocks so you can take full advantage of the springs then get the sway bars.

 

[element h22]

im getting a rear strut bar and a rear sway bar... probly neusped for the strut and suspension techniques for the sway bar... should i get both front/rear on the sway bar? i want oversteer!!!

 

[shorthand]

Trust me when I say that you don't want snap oversteer on a FWD car. You can get yourself in waay too much trouble pretty easily on the street that way.

What you really want is neutral handling, a little oversteer at neutral or light throttle and light understeer when accelerating or braking.

To address how to achieve that through the use of swaybars, I recommend looking at this thread in the autocross forum.

 

[element h22]

so... should i get a sway bar set (front / rear) and then just a rear strut, cause i've heard that the front struts don't do anything really...?!?

 

[Bampf]

I wouldn't get both the front and rear anti-roll bars at the same time. Just get the rear bar, install it, and see what that does to your handling. If you like it after just the rear bar you'll save yourself some money since you won't buy the front bar. I believe that ST's front and rear bars are the same diameter, so you'd be getting closer to oversteer than most people do, and if you don't know how to deal with it oversteer can be very dangerous (it's not fun spinning into oncoming traffic at any speed).

For the strut bars, I would get the rear upper bar first. The front bar does do something, it just isn't as noticeable as the rear bar 'cause the rear is usually not as stiff as the front, especially on two-door cars with a hatchback.

 

[KrAnKyKrEmE]

I agree with Bampf partially--for a track set-up, i think that it's a safe economical bet to invest in a rear sway bar at first, and then see if it's neccisary to beef up the front, but for a high performance street set-up with track capabilities, i don't find it wise to push extremes on one side of anything without beefing up the opposite. I'm running a 24mm front sway bar with a 22mm rear on my Integra...as i believe Bampf is, as well as Junglistgsr.

Rear slip angle tends to exceed that of the front even with this seemingly mild set-up. I recently took a downhill corner a little too hot with slightly wet tires and ended up doing a cute 540 before i got the car back under control.

If you do heed Bampf's advice, my suggestion is to test the handling in a CLOSED, SAFE environment. Both are illusionary, but try to find the safest environment possible--top speed on your favorite overpass doesn't count as safe or closed. Oversteering FWD cars are ALWAYS dangerous...whether you know how to deal with it or not. I'm well aware that in a tight autocross course, breaking the back end loose at apex to whip around the bend faster is more than welcome...but for a street car, it's important to maintain a degree of understeer--neutral handling is perhaps too extreme for insurance purposes, hehe.

-b

 

[Bampf]

I have the same setup as you do, and I haven't experienced oversteer without trail braking...well, not on the street. I did break the back end loose at 60mph on a wet road racing course when my tires weren't up to temp yet.

I agree that you shouldn't make huge adjustments to one end of the car without some compensation, but I don't think you can readily get anything bigger than 22mm (without it ripping out anyway), so if you keep stock front on a GSR and 22mm rear, you'll still have some understeer.

 

[mantic6t9]

I think a 19mm rear bar is great for street use. Hell even a 14mm gsr bar is nice compared to nothing.

 

[PseudoRealityX]

I think that anyone wanting oversteer should first play with tire pressures. This little thing will change how your car drives more than any other thing you can think of....seriously.

 

[Bampf]

There are other characteristics that change with anti-roll bars (I know that you know this, I'm just being thorough), so that's why I'm suggesting that he make this adjustment...body roll is a killer, because you end up using some of your concentration to stay in the driver's seat (thanks to the seat belts that come on cars) and that can really mess a driver up.

 

[KrAnKyKrEmE]

The fact remains that in order for handling to be dialed in completely to the driver's liking, every detail must follow suit--this includes sway bar settings as well as tire pressures.

Bampf is spot on in differentiating between the roll characteristics and steering characteristics.

-b