sway bars and strut bars (HELP)

[cory51191]

as of sway bars and strut bars whats the best setup to go with?.... (for a daily driver, really hilly area [2nd hilliest city in the U.S].. and lots of turns, also a S**TTTTTTT load of pot holes/bumps/uneven pavement)



1.) can u install both a rear and front sway bar or are u only supposed to do one or the other?

2.) if u install a sway bar/sway bars, can u also install strut bars with them??

3.) if so/if not, what do u go for? upper rear, lower rear, upper front, lower front???

4.) can u install all of them? (U-front, L-front, U-rear, L-rear, and strut bars)

any other information will also help.

Thank you
-Cory

 

[southrneclipser]

Our cars already come with sway bars. Unless its an rs. But being that you have a gst i would imagine that you have a front and rear sway bar. But you can upgrade them to a thicker bar. But to answere your question, you can have all four. Rear sway bar and rear strut tower brace, Along with front sway bar and front strut tower brace. With upgraded sway bars and strut tower braces, it would corner much better but as for ride quality i couldn't really say. Your spring/strut choice would affect ride quality more than anything.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

Like southrneclipser said, DSM already have sway bars and it's a huge waste of money if the car serves solely as a DD. You pretty much will not notice a difference unless you're a maniac driver. Sway bars are best used for autocrossing or other track events. Just get new performance struts and springs to better the handling.

 

[cory51191]

Like southrneclipser said, DSM already have sway bars and it's a huge waste of money if the car serves solely as a DD. You pretty much will not notice a difference unless you're a maniac driver. Sway bars are best used for autocrossing or other track events. Just get new performance struts and springs to better the handling.

any recommendation on the struts and springs? i know they sell for a lotttt of money just for some shaped metal..

if u have a recommendation don't forget.. a lott of bumps.

Our cars already come with sway bars. Unless its an rs. But being that you have a gst i would imagine that you have a front and rear sway bar. But you can upgrade them to a thicker bar. But to answere your question, you can have all four. Rear sway bar and rear strut tower brace, Along with front sway bar and front strut tower brace. With upgraded sway bars and strut tower braces, it would corner much better but as for ride quality i couldn't really say. Your spring/strut choice would affect ride quality more than anything.

that GST isn't mine

it was a deal that didn't go through

 

[greengoblin]

Well if you have money and bumps are a problem then a set of K&W coilovers would be a great fit. they have lots of travel and will you allow you to adjust your ride height to where you need it.



If you don't have money then stay with your stock setup if you have tons of bumps.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

I went with the Tien SS coilovers, but if that's a little pricey I've heard good reviews about the KYB AGX struts and Eibach Pro spring kit.

 

[cory51191]

I went with the Tien SS coilovers, but if that's a little pricey I've heard good reviews about the KYB AGX struts and Eibach Pro spring kit.

will the Eibach pro springs fit onto stock parts?

and are coilovers just shocks with springs on them (but they are adjustable)?

 

[1gDSM4g63]

Coilovers is short for coil spring over strut. They came with the shock absorber with a coil spring encircling it which gives you the optional of adjusting the height and/or the damper level.

As for the KYB AGX struts, you can adjust the damper level too, but not the spring height. You're stuck with whichever height spring you have and yes any springs can go with the stock struts.

 

[cory51191]

Coilovers is short for coil spring over strut. They came with the shock absorber with a coil spring encircling it which gives you the optional of adjusting the height and/or the damper level.

As for the KYB AGX struts, you can adjust the damper level too, but not the spring height. You're stuck with whichever height spring you have and yes any springs can go with the stock struts.

i'm probably better off getting coilovers for my area then. boston bay area. dumb winters = rising.. lots of bumps (when there isn't snow) = slightlyyy lowering/or stock height.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

Coilovers are not your best bet if you're using them for daily driving on hash road conditions. They are for track purposes and not the off-roading material which you described. They are very costly went it come down to repairs by the manufacturer or replacement when one of them blow out whereas if you go my the struts/springs you can easily get replacing parts for under a $100.

 

[ACM]

Cory, I spent the last 10 years next door in Fitchburg -stay away from Eibach Prokits and AGX dampers, whether together or combined with other parts - your head'll leave dents in your roof. The setup I ran was Ground Control 550/350 on Koni Sport dampers with RM anti roll bars and RRE strut bars. This setup was quite tolerable on my sunroofed 98, but a little too harsh on my non-sunroof 95s.

Jtoby used Konis with H&R OE Sport springs when he was in PA, which has similar road conditions to The Greater Fitchburg Metropolis, so my bet would be to go with that setup.

If you have a sunroof, RRE's strut bars will make a considerable difference on a street car, plus it will stop the sunroof from squeaking as much

Charles

 

[1gDSM4g63]

Cory, I spent the last 10 years next door in Fitchburg -stay away from Eibach Prokits and AGX dampers, whether together or combined with other parts - your head'll leave dents in your roof. The setup I ran was Ground Control 550/350 on Koni Sport dampers with RM anti roll bars and RRE strut bars. This setup was quite tolerable on my sunroofed 98, but a little too harsh on my non-sunroof 95s.

What are you saying? The AGX and Eibach springs are to sport and not enough damper?

 

[cory51191]

Cory, I spent the last 10 years next door in Fitchburg -stay away from Eibach Prokits and AGX dampers, whether together or combined with other parts - your head'll leave dents in your roof. The setup I ran was Ground Control 550/350 on Koni Sport dampers with RM anti roll bars and RRE strut bars. This setup was quite tolerable on my sunroofed 98, but a little too harsh on my non-sunroof 95s.

Jtoby used Konis with H&R OE Sport springs when he was in PA, which has similar road conditions to The Greater Fitchburg Metropolis, so my bet would be to go with that setup.

If you have a sunroof, RRE's strut bars will make a considerable difference on a street car, plus it will stop the sunroof from squeaking as much

Charles

maybe i should just stick with putting some good springs in

 

[ACM]

What are you saying? The AGX and Eibach springs are to sport and not enough damper?

This applies to 2Gs only - Prokits are a) too low for their spring rate or b) too soft for their ride height. Either way, the car spends most of its life bouncing off the bumpstops, resulting in a horrible ride. I have only run ProKits on Koni Sports, which have a shorter body than AGXs - so the ride will actually be worse on AGXs.

I ran AGXs for about a year on my 98. The stiction was horrible and the damping curves were not even close to what was needed - they were horrible.

1Gs are very different from 2Gs, I've heard that AGXs are very good shocks for 1Gs, but they suck on a 2G. Same for ProKits.

maybe i should just stick with putting some good springs in

Unless your OEM springs have broken or sagged badly, they are not the source of your problem - most likely your dampers or general setup is at fault. If you keep the stock springs a decent damper is the Tokico Illumina, the damping curves are well suited to stock springs, and you can adjust the damping to suit your preference - softer for the winter and then crank them up when you come out to Fort Devens or go tearing up Mount Wachusett (just don't get thrown out like we did

Setup issues that will create a harsh ride are as simple as tightening the suspension bolts with the car off the ground and suspension at full extension - that messes everything up, it puts bending loads on the dampers which creates a lot of stiction making the dampers harsh, and it winds up the suspension arm bushings giving the effect of much higher spring preload and rate. A good start would be to loosen off all the suspension bolts, let the car settle, then tighten them back up and see what effect that has. Don't loosen the rear toe link though, otherwise you'll need an alignment. If the basics aren't covered you'll be chasing your tail forever.

Charles