The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support Morrison Fabrications
Please Support Rix Racing

no front sway bar! [Merged 9-9]

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

95talontsi

20+ Year Contributor
275
0
Jun 29, 2002
Princeton, NJ_Montgomery
Well not exactly, I was doing some tranny work to my car and my friend pointed out that I had no endlink on the left side of the front sway bar?? WTF I bought this car off an autocrosser it has adjustable shocks buts that about it is this an autocrossing secrect??
 
Try it. I know that on our college race car, as the front rubber was wearing out, the car would start to push, and we'd adjust our front anti-roll bar to be less stiff. After we got to the last adjustment point and it started pushing again, we called it a day :)

But that was on non-parallel, unequal-length, dual wishbone suspension on all four corners. Like I said, try it. Just be careful you don't spin out on your first lap and hit the wall backward...pushing is more stable than being loose. It might be that you just need a weaker front bar, not none at all. Or as was mentioned, stiffen the rear bar. Track times will tell which way to go.
 
By push do you mean oversteer? You could always use a stiffer right side springs (AFCO or Eibach will sell you some). I don't think I understand your question fully.
 
By push do you mean oversteer? You could always use a stiffer right side springs (AFCO or Eibach will sell you some). I don't think I understand your question fully.

push=understeer=front end loses grip more than rear
loose=oversteer=rear end loses grip more than front

As Carrol Smith once told me, "Understeer and oversteer just tell you which end of the car will hit the wall first!" :D
 
Depends on what kind of race car you are talking about. If its a FWD, its going to push. I race dirt IMCA Modifieds here in PA and NY. Where in PA are you located? I am assuming you have either a FWD car or one of the other lower classes. If it is, yes it will reduce the pushing to an extent. It will allow the chassis to roll over on the right front tire instead of sliding it up the track. We do need more details though like what class, how much banking, etc. I would just put a stiffer spring in the right front and right rear.
 
ABSOLUTLEY...get rid of the front sway bay...no questions asked. I run a 91 laser on dirt tracks, last year I had a front sway bar and understeer/pushed really bad, got rid of the front sway bar and man what a difference, the car only pushed a little. I went a step farther and fabricated a rear sway bar and the first turn I almost went around, had to learn how to drive the car and also added some front right spring rubber to tame it down, I can now get my car to over or understeer if I choose to. PM me and I'll let you know what else I did to the car....
 
One thing we do in AutoX is just disconnect the swaybar end link while at the track to test it out. If the results are bad, re-attach it. If they are good, leave it disconnected while at the track or remove the whole swaybar.
 
push=understeer=front end loses grip more than rear
loose=oversteer=rear end loses grip more than front

As Carrol Smith once told me, "Understeer and oversteer just tell you which end of the car will hit the wall first!" :D

good quote... and as Top Gear teaches...

" with oversteer you won't see the tree that kills you"
 
In any type of handling competition there arent many blanket answers that apply to every car, so all you can do is apply theory and test the results. Most importantly just because a particular adjustment or modification helped one driver and his setup doesnt mean it will have the same results for you. That doesnt mean you shouldnt talk to other drivers who are finding success with their settings and apply them, it simply means keep good record of your changes and quantifiable data to determine success. I have found success in removing/diconnecting my front sway bars to reduce understeer, sometimes. It reduces roll stiffness which sometimes plant the tires more, and sometimes allows the weight transfer to overwhelm the sidewalls exacerbating understeer. My suggestion is to disconnect the endlinks, its easy to do, and record your lap times.
 
i dont see taking off the sway bar to improve anything but more body roll, which in turn means speed loss in corners.

When you say body roll I assume you're referring to the derogatory term for weight transfer, which doesnt always translate into a loss of speed in corners. The swaybar is a spring that resists lateral movement, and therefore if your spring rate is too stiff for the given quantity of weight applied, it will actually reduce grip. The tires require a delicute balance of enough downward force to press the rubber into the road surface and increase friction, without applying to much force to overwhelm its coefficient of friction. Disconnect the front swaybar and see how your car responds.

How about skinnier tires in the rear? More power to spin the front back where it should be?(traction given)

That is another proven method of reducing understeer.
 
IMO "don't unstick the front, stick the back" (taken from one of the handling FAQs.

Head into the handling section and there are a number of FAQ answers regarding weight shift and handling that will really help you figure out exactly what you need to do. They are for the most part aimed at autoXers but the general principles are the same even if the application is somewhat different.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top