E.J.

Just wondering if those of you who upgraded your sway bars can comment on what differences you've felt and how your car handles before and after.

Please indicate the brand, thickness of new sway bars, and other mods you may have in your car.

I know that many of you have not had a chance to actually compare the sway bars back to back so one of the ways to get an idea of which one is good and what set up is good is to get some subjective reviews.

thanks!!

EJ

Pinky

Honestly I think you will find most if not all will report no change in feeling/handeling. I did though put in a X brace. You take your pick as to which you get. They are all very good though some have some "oil change friendly" characteristics.

STB's are good for looks! Thats about it. I did a Neuspeed. Its all tubular and no pivot points like most all other STB's. This was a big point for me. Though yes it may be tight yes it may just be stronger but still that pivot point bothered me! Plus I got it super cheap!

jzr

Hi EJ,
I think Pinky misinterpreted your question, though I agree with him that strut tower braces are mostly for looks. I may get some flak for this...

Most everyone who's upgraded their front sway bar ("anti-roll bar" to others) to the thicker Mugen piece has been happy and noted improved handling. Unfortunately, even the larger (31.8mm) Mugen bar hasn't been enough for the hardcore autocrossers, so many are using custom setups of some sort. Comptech should soon be releasing a fancy adjustable bar, which is the one I'm waiting for.

demonderrick

but is there anyone has the Spoon or Tanabe sway bar?

KIDS2000

I've got the Cusco One...
Slight more understeer at the limit....
Also car feels "tigher" when driving over gravel/tiny stone track...

cdelena

Do a search. You will find that a heavier front sway bar makes a notable difference and is considered by most to be a must for autox.

Pinky

OOPS! My bad.

SoloVR6

What I know to date...

Completely stock with OEM tires the S2000 is very well balanced. It has a tendency to oversteer and of course a lot of that is controlled with the loud pedal.

Once you add race tires to the mix different needs arise. The oversteer becomes more of an issue and you can either go to a larger section width rear tire (a 265 for example) or swap in a larger front bar (legal for SCCA stock class) What also becomes a big issue is inside wheel spin which is very bad for our limited slip differential.

The Mugen and Comptech bars are comprable and a very good start for a autocross newbie. I have not seen nor tried the Cusco, Tannabe or Spoon bars. If the diameter of the bar is around 31.8mm then I imagine they would perform close to the Mugen.
Comptech had made about 5 prototype non-adjustable sway bars at some time that got into the hands of a few good racers. These were stiffer than the base Comptech bar and the Mugen bar.
As the 2001 season progressed most of the non-adjustble sway bars were tossed in favor of custom made NASCAR style adjustable bars provided by a few sources. These bars were HUGE, 1.25" solid and did such a good job of keeping the rear planted that some drivers had to resort to drastic toe out to get the car to rotate.
Comptech provided Ron Bauer and Annie Gill a prototype adjustable bar for the 2001 Solo Nationals. This is their long awaited adjustable bar and if you ask me an unorthodox design. I haven't had a chance to talk to Ron or Annie about it but I would do so before dropping $750 for it.

I have a faint idea of what I'm going to do next year I just need to find the resources to make it happen.

Hope this has helped,

E.J.

Thanks for replying everyone!

As demonderrick mentioned, has anyone tried the Spoon or Tanabe sway bars?

I'm also trying to get a feel for who has the most bang for the buck.

Also, does anyone know how thick the comptech bar (original) is? It is not listed on their website.

Thanks!

E.J.

Oh, and can anyone explain why a beefier front sway bar causes understeer?

Is it because during hard cornering the wheels are less likely to have negative camber because of the stiffer sways, thus having less toe in thus creating understeer?

My own explanation makes no sense to me.

Can anyone help on this?

Thanks.