magnido45

Sweet!!! Thanks, mang!!!

msp

After install I used the third hole in the rear bar and the second hole position on the front. After a couple of sessions on the track I noticed some over steer (not too bad) and moved the rear to the 2nd hole. Over steer is gone but not as tight. I'm going back to the track next week and will try the 3rd setting for both bars.

magnido45

Perhaps this question can be answered by Boaisy or msp as they have the experience...how would keeping the 3rd hole on both front and rear affect street drivability? Seems like it is a favorite setting only for the track/autocross based on your posts.

Boaisy

Well my theory is, the purpose of sway bars is to help keep all 4 tires "in check" during turns. What it tries to do is counteract against the axle rotation due to the body roll. When you make a hard turn, the car tends to lean towards the outside, which can cause the inside wheel to change height. A sway bar typically tries to even out this indifference by pulling the inside wheel closer to the body which results in better rotation at higher speeds. Setting the stiffness too high can cause the inside wheel to come off the ground during hard cornering (FWD usually prefer this, not so much in RWD).

Setting it to 3 for street driving would improve the handling, but it isn't necessary unless you are driving 60+ mph in the corners (which is still possible at normal settings). The problem with setting the sway bars too stiff in a street setting is you can cause other things to break since there is less "give" in the suspension/chassis (as far as what the sway bar affects). The irregularities and various bumps on a street surface are unpredictable vs. a track setting. The stiffness will also make small bumps cause more of an unintended reaction to the other wheels (waddling) since the sway bars are trying harder than normal at doing their job. I do notice that even at the normal setting, it has a stiffer reaction to even slight dips in the road vs. the stock bars. Even though it doesn't throw you off course, I'd imagine a setting 3 or 4 would have some nasty(-ier) effects.

The reason why the stiffer setting works well on the track is because mainly those surfaces are created for high speed/load runs, and it is also the areas where a stiffer sway bar may be called for. You also don't have to be too concerned for pot holes, or irregular bumps in the surface (usually bumps in tracks are somewhat "controlled").

NOTE: I've only changed the control arms and the sway bars as far as my suspension goes. Most people also have their rides lowered, the track bar swapped, or even sub-frame connections on their cars (they are planned upgrades in the future though). So my thoughts are just on changing those components mainly.

magnido45

Thanks again, Boaisy!!! I now have a better understanding of how these components work on street vs track