I was thinking about installing the RB sways in two stages, one for cost reasons and two to see how the car with each mod. I know that chaning out the rear bar (which seems to be the easiest) would stiffen up the rear end and prolly induce some more oversteer, but would only having the rear and not the front cause any problems? Do people in certain cases only install one? How much body roll would you lose with just the rear bar?

 

Adding only the rear bar will give the car the tendency to oversteer, like you said.

The only problem I can think of off the top of my head (other than poorer handling characteristics, and possibly more wear on the rear tires over some time, depending on driving habits of course), is that the car will have more of a tendency for "snap oversteer".

Let's say you are accelerating around a freeway cloverleaf. At that point, the weight of the car is shifted to the rear, and more weight is on the rear tires than the front. If you have to brake all of a sudden for something like traffic ahead, the weight of the car shifts forward. More downforce in front increases grip to the front tires, and less downforce in the rear decreases the grip of the rear tires. Depending on how much on the edge you were before you braked, and how hard you braked (or even if you just merely lifted off of the throttle abruptly), this immediate change in grip levels in both the front and rear could cause the rear end to break loose, the car to pivot on it's front tires, and the backend to "snap" around.

The reason why I bring that up is that adding a stiffer rear bar by itself will make the car break loose like that a little more readily. How much depends on how stiffer the bar is, which really shouldn't be so much that it will be undrivable or unsafe. It's just that if you are in the habit of say, taking a cloverleaf at the limits of adhesion, the point at which snap-oversteer will occur will change.

I don't think that it should be a problem driving on just one upgraded bar for awhile. But if you are only buying one bar at a time, why not just wait until you have both bars? If you are installing the bars yourself, it will be easier to put the car up and do both at once, and if you are having it done at a shop, it will normally be easier and cheaper to have both installed at once.

---jps

 

I did my upgrades the same way brillo is asking about due to time constraints. I can tell you from experience that just replacing the rear sway bar was such an improvement in road feel that oversteer wasn't noticed. What was noticed was the lack of wheel hop when launching the car. When I finished the suspension project with the RB front sway and springset the whole car felt like a go-cart and it still does.

Charles

 

For cost reasons I would also like to do a "staged" install of sway bars.

I don't want to "save up" because I want to improve handling as I go - if practicable.

Which would be the preferable install: front or rear sway bar?

Thanks,
-Dennis

 

installing just one will not likely improve handling, if what you mean is track times or autocross. it might, but the car is pretty balanced so you might also be fighting and under or oversteering car the whole time. oversteering car can feel faster but is usually slower than a slightly understeering one.

a single bar might improve the driving *feel*, and for that just the rear bar would be entertaining. the car will be harder to handle and likely more dangerous though.

the stock car could use stiffer springs though- id do that first personally (in fact, i did do that!)

james

 

But I want incrementally better performance for each upgrade...

It sounds like maybe my best route is to just bite the bullet and save up for the RB suspension package & the requisite alignment all in one chunk.

 

I strongly advise you get only just the rear bar if you really fancy your skills as a driver.
Can you say : "DO-RIFT-O!"

Don't ever do things in halves!
You wouldn't just replace the front springs without doing the back would you?
Same goes here, you'll upset the balance,

 

I have just the rear RB swaybars installed. I drove the dragon with it. I'm not dead. So it must not have been too bad :D.

My car maintained good traction, and I never felt out of control. On a few of the tighter switchbacks my car just sort of slid into them, then launched forward.

As Charles Hill stated, there's no wheel hop anymore, that't pretty nice.

 

Kinda nice to feel the rear just dig in now, doesn't it Guy?

Charles

 

Sure does! Now, if I can just lay down the kind of power you have! :D

 

Are you advising against the single bar install or for the single bar install. Couldn't quite tell from your response.

 

Depends whether you consider possible snap oversteer "fun" or "dangerous".