Hi all,


I have a 2005 6MT GT model (the one that already has a stock front strut bar... I've seen the Mazdaspeed version wrapped in carbon fiber (looks very nice)

Would "upgrading" to this mazdaspeed part offer any handling gains over the stock strut bar that's already under my hood?


Thanks!
Jeff

 

Hey Jeff, i believe all rx8's come with oem front strut and sway bars (i may be wrong though). Anyways, i would say that the front strut bar would improve handling slighly but its not gonna be a dramatic improvment like lowering springs and shocks.

 

I'd say that the only thing the MS strut bar improves is Mazda's profit margin. Seriously... Since the car already has one, replacing it is not going to give you any benefits aside from bragging rights (at least not benefits you'll notice).

As for lowering springs and shocks, has anyone actually done a back-to-back comparison of skidpad/slalom numbers before and after the install? I just see so often that these cars with $3000 worth of swaybars, shocks, springs, and wider wheel/tire packages end up with no improvement, and sometimes actually DEGRADE the capabilities of the stock vehicle. It may FEEL "better", as in less body roll and a more "sporty" ride, and it may LOOK better, but it may not actually improve the capabilities of the car. Sometimes this happens with "big brake kits", too.

The stock vehicle is capable of some very impressive numbers, I just wonder how much room for improvement there is in objective terms. The Tein setup in the PTP turbo car in C&D had $5500 worth of suspension and tire, yet netted only .03G on the skidpad (.91 to .94). I think that is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on the car for such a small improvement... Sure, the body roll goes away, but in factory trim this car doesn't exactly roll over on its door handles when you're attacking the corners.

 

i agree with the strut bar remark, unless the driver is highly in tuned with the car, you wont feel anything or you'll feel very little.

Lowering the center of gravity of a car i believe is always a plus as long as its tuned correctly. As of having the right parts that combine and work well together. I'm going to have mazdaspeed springs and shocks on my car soon and the majority of people have good things to say with handling. not sure about the numbers but i believe the majority of people that actually has first hand experience. But its true, some people spend a shitload of cash for suspension and end up messing it up. Some people go with looks and they get 19's and a massive drop. Thats only for looks and not racing or practicality.

I'll probably get the mazdaspeed strut bar just because my dealer can hook it up with a good price. Also, ill do a comparison having the mazdaspeed strut bars with the springs and shocks and see if there is any difference.

 

I look forward to your report, sir.

 

no need to wait, i have the front + rear tower struts. it makes a difference.

 

makes a difference as opposed to the stock strut thats already in the front? I really dont wanna go with a rear (even though it would help) because I need as much trunk space as I can get.

 

if thats your concern, then the sway bars would make your day.

 

either that or you be a suspension beast and get the struts and sways with springs and shocks. hahaha. i'll eventually have that. give me a half a year to a year. haha

 

i am ordering my sway bars next month jon.

 

you're an ***..... literally..

 

Agreed, but skidpad numbers is an awful way to measure handling capabilities. Change a stock rx8 with wider 245 or stickier set of tires it's guarantee to yeild way better skidpad numbers.

 

Well I wouldn't say it's an AWFUL way to measure a car's handling, but it's certainly not the ONLY way to measure a car's handling. I used the skidpad number only because that's the number I know. I would happily quote numbers for other performance parameters of the car C&D tested if only I knew what those numbers ARE...

 

It looks to me that there is some confusing and a mixing of terms here. I believe the original poster was talking about a strut tower bar and others are talking about the McPherson Struts(Shocks).
It seems that C&D doesn't test this, but others test for slalom and lane change speed results. This would be a better way to show a cars handling capabilities.

 

I agree any front or rear strut bar is useless unless your an aggressive driver on the track.

 

I went with the MS bar for the master cylinder support and better access to my Koni adjusters. As far as "Feeling" it, it seems to stiffen the ride a bit over no bar or the stock bar. As far a translating into performance gains on the skid pad, I doubt it's measureable but in the twisties it does add a little to responsiveness. IMO

 

C&D absolutely DOES test for slalom speed. It just didn't test the PTP car in this way, which they often don't for abbreviated tests of specialty cars. They do slalom runs for every "feature" road test of new cars and in comparison tests.

 

I agree with this remark.

 

I have the MS front and rear strut bars and the Whiteline sways bars front and back, big improvement when I autocross, my front end doesn't push through corners, now it actually turns and the back end comes around but at the perfect amount. My times came down alot, now that my car is performing as expected I need to work on my driving skills.

 

Yah the MC brace is nice. I love the way it improved my braking.

 

i thought i heard some where that the mazdaspeed front sway improved braking/braking feel, since it has a notch that stops the master cylinder from moving under heavy braking. anyone else ever heard of this?

*edit
sorry, i didnt see TheDosDog's post

 

And it's the front STRUT tower bar, not sway bar.

 

I totally agree with that...A car that performs well on the track is like a puzzle with many pieces put together in the right way (driver included of course )

 

The PTP car is hardly a benchmark for handling comparisons, they even have made mention several times that their setup in that article was more for looks than actual performance.
I've installed the Greddy and have the Tein S-techs,and there is a difference. I don't know about numbers wise and I don't care anyway as my car is no dyno queen numbers magnet anyhow. I will say in real world driving like doing club runs on twisty roads etc. that my car takes corners faster than when I started doing those drives stock. Part of that can probably be attributed to me being more comfortable on the routes, but part of it is also the changes I have made. Just so everyone out there who already doesn't know, the stock strut bar is crap compared to what's out there, it is very light and thin feeling, the Greddy I installed was heavier and sturdier and I could tell a difference, not earth shattering "take 3 seconds off my 1/4 mile" difference or whatever, but a definite difference. Sure in stock form our car is no slouch, but stock is boring and there's always room for improvement no matter what you drive

 

Lowering a car's center of gravity helps cornering performance since less weight is transferred to the outside wheels.