Are sway bars worth it??

[airFS]

I'm looking to do some suspension mods now, but I'm not looking to spend an outrageous amount of money. Figuring how I dont really want to lower my car just yet because I still need to get around in the winter, I thought some sway bars and other bracing would be just as good. Is this true? I also heard only RM's will clear a 3'' exhaust.

 

[turbosax2]

My brother put RM sway bars on his 2g and they made a world of a difference. I say go for it! And I've also heard that they're the only ones that will clear a 3" exhaust but I can't verify that.

 

[TSiAWD666]

Absolutely worth it.

 

[inneedof]

It depends on your plans for the car, drag racing it doesn't matter, but for good street performance upgrading the rear is nice... the front however is a different story.

 

[airFS]

Only agressive street driving...and what do you mean about the front?

 

[underradar92]

The rear sway bars work well with the stock front bar, it gets your turning closer to neutral. Any further increase in front roll stiffness, without the corresponding increase out back, will make the car understeer more, again.

 

[airFS]

So if I get the RM set (front + rear) it should stay pretty neutral

 

[DGajre777]

So if I get the RM set (front + rear) it should stay pretty neutral

DSMs have understeer, they aren't neutral. If you don't want to lower the car, just get some Tokico Illuminas and set them all up to 5 (stiff) on stock springs.

From MachV...
"The RM Racing front bar is 20.6mm in diameter (40% stiffer than the stock 19mm). The rear bar is 80% stiffer than stock. For AWD cars, that means a 20.6mm bar instead of the stock 18mm; for FWD cars that came with a rear bar, the RM rear bar is 17.5mm instead of the stock 13mm."

 

[Talesin]

Just get a rear sway bar. It makes a WORLD of difference, especially with urethane bushings. Night and day, as far as turning responsiveness is concerned.

 

[airFS]

What would be just a good rear sway bar to get because I havent been able to find just a rear RM sway bar.

 

[talonTSIDriver]

I am running both front and rear RM sway bars, but I also have lots of other suspension parts that I can adjust to make my car more neutral around the twisties.

 

[DGajre777]

What would be just a good rear sway bar to get because I havent been able to find just a rear RM sway bar.

Call RRE and ask them if they still sell their rear sway bar.

 

[Ludachris]

I would suggest only getting the rear bar so that you'd have that much less understeer, especially if you aren't planning on doing a whole lot of other suspension mods. Talk to the guys at RRE (they were the first, and pretty much only DSM parts supplier to road race these cars professionally). Let us know what they tell you.

 

[asian312]

Front and rear RMs here. Biggest deciding factor at the time was clearance for an exhaust system some time down the road.

Had these installed for my first track day, complete with 130K old suspension. Granted I was a green rookie, I couldn't imagine doing it on the stock sways. This was a good move in the right direction to make the car a little more neutral, but it wouldn't be till later with suspension and some alignment adjustments that would I call the car neutral. Hope this helps.

 

[jim97gst]

One option is to put both the front and rear RM bars in, but make the rear bar stiffer by drilling holes closer to the center of the bar. There's plenty of room to do it, and you can always go back to the original holes if the car is too loose for you. It's pretty hard stuff, so you need a good bit and probably a drill press. I did it with mine and it seems to work well for me.

 

[krummel21]

Would guys then just recommend going with this and not worry about a front sway bar? Suspension Techniques is a good rear sway bar correct?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...m=200035954936&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010

Thanks,
Krummel21

 

[matthewdesigns]

Did you end up getting the Suspension Techniques rear bar? I've had my eye on it lately.

 

[airFS]

For an update I've not gotten a sway bar or sway bars because I blew my turbo and focused more on that issue, but I have been starting to think about the sway bar issue again. I just emailed machv and asked them if they sell rear RM sway bars and am waiting on a response. I have considered the st sway bar, but I heard they dont clear a 3" exhaust and arent as thick.

 

[ACM]

You need _both_ RMDSM AR bars - most of the reason the stockish 2G understeers is because it rolls onto the front bumpstops under hard cornering, inducing understeer - the front RM bar counters this problem, thus reducing this source of understeer. The rear RM bar then counters Mitsu's intended understeer, so producing a surprisingly well balanced car.

They are intended to be fitted as a pair - do so.

Charles

 

[romeen]

You need _both_ RMDSM AR bars - most of the reason the stockish 2G understeers is because it rolls onto the front bumpstops under hard cornering, inducing understeer - the front RM bar counters this problem, thus reducing this source of understeer. The rear RM bar then counters Mitsu's intended understeer, so producing a surprisingly well balanced car.

They are intended to be fitted as a pair - do so.

Charles

Agreed. The RMDSM sway bars were the first suspension upgrade I did. I was amazed at the difference. It felt like a different car. I highly recommend the RM bars as they have been proven to work quite well. Get the set, you won't be disappointed.

BTW, the rear bar is pretty easy to install. The front on the other hand is a bi***!!