Stock front Sway bar V's Heavy Duty/X Heavy Duty Aftermarket ???

[FastFwd]

Hey all,

I'm running out of things to do on my civic so i thought i would refine my suspension. I have G4 36 point adjustable shocks, Skunk 2 front and rear adjustable camber kits, front and rear cusco strut braces. And ive currently got a Non-adjustable rear sway bar (dont know the brand).

I have ordered a Xtra heavy Duty Adjustable Whiteline Rear sway bar to replace the non-adjustable i have now. And i also have the stock front sway bar that the EG comes with. From experience does anyone know if an aftermarket Heavy Duty or Xtra Heavy Duty Front sway bar makes much of a difference compared to the stock one? and if so do you think its worth it?

And im not much of a suspension guru so if anyone can suggest anything else i could do on suspension while im at it that would be great.

Reece

[JohnL]

Does your car have too much oversteer? If so then a stiffer front ARB will reduce it. If not then a stiffer front ARB will increase understeer, but may also increase steering resonse.

[FastFwd]

Nah i get a little understeer atm only slightly tho when im pushing it really hard. I have 235's on the front so i dont tend to loose much traction when cornering.

[JohnL]

Then a stiffer front ARB than you have presently will tend to increase your understeer.

[acey]

itr front swaybar + itr rear swaybar + asr subframe brace.. should have very similar handling characteristics of an itr if thats what your after.

whiteline swaybar kits designed for your car will make it grip monster, with a hint of understeer.

if your after oversteer than just dc2r rear swaybar + subframe reinforcement kits (whiteline, beaks, asr.. etc) and upgrade to the eg Si front swaybar..

my 2c

[FastFwd]

Well ive done the Xtra Heavy duty Whiteline Rear sway now, i might aswell put in a whiteline front sway and replace the original one. I'm in the process of buying a energy polyurethane bushing kit aswell and maybe a rear lower strut bar. I think that should be enough for some nice cornering.

[nd55]

> i might aswell put in a whiteline front sway and replace the original one

Don't be in too much of a hurry to replace the front with a thicker sway bar.

The DC2r uses a 22mm front IIRC.

> Then a stiffer front ARB than you have presently will tend to increase your understeer.

something to think about.

> I have 235's on the front so i dont tend to loose much traction when cornering.

Woa, 235's fit?

> buying a energy polyurethane bushing kit

E.S. kits are good value, however if you're piecing together individual bushes local SuperPro make some good bushes which have a nice interior 'knurled' finish which might hold the grease better.

> and maybe a rear lower strut bar

any rear sway bars larger than 14mm will require a sub-frame brace IMHO.
ASR's and Whiteline among others.
Be wary of 'strut' bars in this application.
This is a known weak area of the chassis and its probably good advice to stay with a proven combination.

> I'm running out of things to do on my civic

Put cash into sticky rubber and go for a drive.



What are you alignment spec's?

Nick.

[STiR]

What's wrong with strut bars? I think he means strut braces, to improve chassis rigidity

[nd55]

> What's wrong with strut bars?

It's the sway bar mounts which fail on these chassis.

A known good item for this application is the ASR brace.

A 'strut' brace/bar will probably attach at the suspension mounting points and thus offer no reinforcement to the sway bar mounts.

Nick.

[55EXX]

asr for the win. 22mm rear sway from whiteline with stock 21mm sway front is a good combo IMO.

running out of things to do. what do you want to achieve. no use throwing endless money towards no good reason. tell me what you want to achieve and we'll help tell you how to get there.