aznprydefloz

S2000GT

I agree with you - getting the car setup up with the proper alignment (for you specific driving style) is a definate art, and something you arent going to get right the first time. Alignment settings are also something that could potentially make driving worse - however, when you do get it right, your car will be more responsive than any bracing, and will handle like its on rails.

fyi, i am not in the uk - i live in chicago

S2Koupe

heres some stuff i wrote about, related to my CRX, but the information carries over. honestly, a swaybar and strut bar doesnt even belong in the same sentence.


a swaybar is often called anti-roll(sway) bar, because that is more of what it does, preventing roll rather than promoting. its just easier to say swaybar. this item is a functional, active part of the suspension. a swaybar connects the suspension of the two sides together and resists the independent motion of each. so if on one side, the wheel is being pushed down, the other wheel is being pushed down as well. same thing if one is going up, the other is pushed up. This will in effect add or subtract to the total spring rate on the wheel when you need it most, during turning. it theoretically would not change anything when going straight over a speedbump when both wheels are moving the same amount. however youll feel the effect of the swaybar when one wheel goes over a pothole or speed bump diagonally moreso because youve taken away from the independent suspension. you can have a front swaybar connecting the two front wheels, or in the rear, or both.

a strut bar is a structural addition to the chassis. it is not a part of the suspension. however, it does resist unintended displacement of suspension points when the chassis is under handling forces. this actually is more important in cars with macphersion suspension where the suspension pushes a lateral force at the top of the strut mounted to the chassis. this is why its called a strut bar, even tho not all cars have struts. movement of the top strut anchor would mean an extra change in suspension geometry, basically camber, usually in a negative way. but it actually isnt so much of an effect with honda double wishbone suspension. the strut bar still does function as a structural member and helps maintain chassis rigidity.

the part that will most affect how your car handles is going to be the swaybar, because its the only part that is an active member of the suspension. let me reiterate, a strut bar and tie bar are NOT part of the suspension, a sway bar IS. very general principles of handling are dictated by differences between front and rear traction. oversteer is a CONDITION (*1) where the front tires have RELATIVELY more grip than the rear, so during a turn the rear tires are going to slide out and have a bigger arc, think of a spinning car still moving in one direction basically as ultra extreme exampble. understeer is the opposite - the car does not want to rotate because the rears have more grip. general rule of suspension - stiffen the rear for oversteer, stiffen the front for understeer.

therefore, adding a swaybar to the front will PROMOTE A CONDITION of understeer. and conversely adding a rear swaybar will promote a condition of oversteer. adding both, well you get an all around stiffer car. i recommend the spring/shock setup you currently have, and then adding a rear swaybar. but i also would recommend that adding that front sway bar will give you that "riding on rails" feeling in handling. a lot of ppl seem to like that too. its up to you. you can get a kit and play with it to what you like. you can ask which one is better or "BEST" than the others, they all seem to work, some have adjustable positions.

Footnotes:
(*1)i say condition because ANY car can be either be driven to a state of understeer or oversteer, without any change to the suspension. changing the suspension to alter the cars handling PROMOTES one condition or the other, but ppl who dont understand this think of cars with certain setups as "oversteer" or "understeer" when either is simply a state during the turn and is always changing in degree. its typical a car can exhibit corner ENTRY oversteer, and corner EXIT understeer. but that alone is dependent on HOW the driver actually drives the car into and out of the turn.

slimjim8201

Tyson is generally correct.

Increasing the roll stiffness in the front will promote understeer. The opposite is true for the rear.

RED MX5

Unless you are running tires that are a lot stickier than the OEM's, additional chassis rigidity won't buy you much. In theory a chassis can never be too stiff, but you are not going to see huge improvements in handling from additional stiffness unless you've increased the cornering forces substantially higher.

Anti-roll-bars allow you to adjust the roll stiffness at the ends of the car with minimal effect on the overall suspension stiffness. Adjustable bars allow you to tune the over/under steer characteristics for specific conditions (like more oversteer for autocrossing, less for track days). We already have a stout front bar and a massive rear bar, but for the money, sway bars are the easiest way to alter the handling characteristics beyond what can be done with alignment.

As others have pointed out, the biggest bang for the buck is altering the alignment to tune the handling to taste.

Braces, bars, and alignment will not produce *more* grip, but the latter two can be used to tune the handling, and they are the easiest and least expensive way to go.

I can't recommend bars for the S2000 because I have yet to find any that really do what I want; I'm now thinking in terms of having a custom front bar made for the car.

S2Koupe

oh yeah, another note on alignment.

i think a lot of ppl dont realize that the alignment, or toe angle, changes when you change ride height. a lot of ppl know that camber does when you drop a car, but so does toe. and speaking from FWD honda experience, toe is the major contributor to uneven tire wear, not camber, despite popular belief. so getting the toe straightened out after putting lowering springs on is what needs to be done, and camber can be left alone quite frankly. i say this because ppl put a lot of emphasis on buying camber kits after lowering, instead they should worry about how soon they get an alignment.

i dunno how the RWD s2000 platform works out in relation to tire wear and camber, seeing im the newbie. but for certain, toe changes with ride height and needs to be corrected if ride height has been changed.