Strut/Sway Bar

[Qwooootz]

Sorry to be a Noob, i did a search, cudnt find anything relevant so anyways, im still pretty noob to this handling upgrade stuff for cars, just wondering is their a difference to a strut and a sway bar? i know they make some difference to a car handling body rolls etc, as i got a stock one on my em1, and i took it off to see if it makes a diff..

but im looking into something thicker and one for my rear.. is it worth it? and where is the rear strut/sway bar placed in an em1? in the boot or by the rear passengers cabin area? ive seen one in a DC2 and it was located in the boot but in some other cars it is situated in the foot of the rear passangers cabin.

Does anyone have pictures of rear strut/sway bars in their EKs, or preferably in a EM1? and what do you think of them?

btw im driving on King springs, and also looking into some decent coilovers.. shud i get coilovers first? or the bars?

Cheers for the help peeps!
:)

[Zdster]

Ok (thinks were to start) firstly I would search the suspension/handling part of this forum as the topic of strut vs sway (and what each does) has been covered many times before.


In my personal opinion a sway bar greatly improves the cars handling while the strut really tightens up the body roll. I would look at getting both regardless of what you do with your suspension.

That being said, you need to be careful when upgrading your rear sway that you dont rip your subframe (search here and honda-tech for more info.).

Generally speaking, only the eg's share the same parts as the integras and I am pretty sure that sway's/struts are the same.

[saxman]

a strut bar is a chasis reinforcement... basically is there to try to make things a little firmer


a sway bar is a part of the suspension. Also known as an anti-roll bar, it well, resists roll.

Personally, I found adding a larger(22mm compared to none stock on my car) made as much of a difference in handling as going from stock shocks/springs to aftermarket performance units.

I would spend the money on a decent rear sway(22mm imo) before wasting time on strut bars that make a minimal difference(in my case, adding a rear strut bar actually hurt the performance of my car, as measured in lap times at the track).

I love the progressauto bars, but I know whiteline makes a halfway decent unit, and is a bit more local than progress

[newbie]

RJ, talk to me about it at pitstop'

and ill show you all the parts on my car and wat they do etc etc.

if you go thru the suspension forum part.. there is heaps of info on this topic.

-antz

[Qwooootz]

sorry i cant beleive im such a blonde, hahaha.. i also started this thread coz i wanted to see some in peoples cars..

but anyways thanks antz.. forgot u also had a mean suspension setup.. ;)

[blusir2]

Ok (thinks were to start) firstly I would search the suspension/handling part of this forum as the topic of strut vs sway (and what each does) has been covered many times before.


In my personal opinion a sway bar greatly improves the cars handling while the strut really tightens up the body roll. I would look at getting both regardless of what you do with your suspension.

That being said, you need to be careful when upgrading your rear sway that you dont rip your subframe (search here and honda-tech for more info.).

Generally speaking, only the eg's share the same parts as the integras and I am pretty sure that sway's/struts are the same.

thats soo true about the wrong sway bar.. I have seen ppl using "Mugen" rear sway bars at the track and they just ripped the welded bolt right out of the rear low arm and left a hole in it...

if u corner hard and the sway bar is too strong it puts a lot of tension onto the connecting parts and sumthin has to give.. a bit of play is good sumtimes so ur car is corners more smoothly..

i would advise not to go to thick in sway bars especially if u are a track junkee.. but wat the guys have said is true.. a right sway bar helps the rigidity of the chassis too.. I had a EG6 before and the chassis was tired coz i tracked that car a lot.. but with upgraded sway bars and tower bars there were a lot less creaks in the chassis..

hope my 2c worth helps u in ur understanding..

Jason
TODA Racing Australia

[saxman]

the key to not ripping out the subframe is to use a bar with subframe reinforcements designed into it... pretty easy solution