Article on Sway Bars

[Seano]

Here is the linky :)

Rear Sway Bars

One of the cheapest and easiest ways of improving the handling of a front-wheel drive car is to fit (or upgrade) the rear sway bar. If you do this using factory parts from a wrecker, it’s a modification that will likely cost you less than AUD$75, have OE factory quality, and be a perfect fit. And even an aftermarket rear bar will still be a cheap upgrade. No aftermarket bar available for your car? It’s straightforward to have one custom made.

And the difference to handling? It can be worth a lot more than every cent...

[and1]

Here is the linky :)

Rear Sway Bars

One of the cheapest and easiest ways of improving the handling of a front-wheel drive car is to fit (or upgrade) the rear sway bar. If you do this using factory parts from a wrecker, it’s a modification that will likely cost you less than AUD$75, have OE factory quality, and be a perfect fit. And even an aftermarket rear bar will still be a cheap upgrade. No aftermarket bar available for your car? It’s straightforward to have one custom made.

And the difference to handling? It can be worth a lot more than every cent...

good find sean.. picked up some extra info i didnt know from it..

[1rocky]

excellent read

[MT]

When it comes to Sportivo's, there are a few things people should know about rear sway bars.

Firstly,

Sportivo Rear Sway = 19mm

1ZZ Rear Sway = 21mm

TRD Rear Sway (and others I think) = 23mm

Why is the sportivo rear sway smaller? My best guess (and SuperDave, the suspension guru agrees) is to combat lift off oversteer - ie pushing hard in a FWD car, get halfway through a corner and realise you are going a bit too quick, normal drivers just back off the throttle immediately, and the change in weight causes the rear of the car to swing around like an elastic band uncontrollably and into the nearest tree/pole - my proof of this is on the damaged cars auction sites - most statutory write off corolla sportivos have a nice pole imprint just behind the drivers door... and a dirty drivers seat :P

Therefore the smaller rear sway bar can lessen the chances of the rear swinging back at you when you dont expect it. Best technique to use if you think you are too quick into a corner is left foot braking, but incredibly hard for most drivers to learn how to do this well.

A cheap easy mod is to upgrade to a 1ZZ rear sway bar as you could get one from a wrecker for relatively cheap.

Those with coilovers, I would suggest that this mod is probably overkill. Our rally car which has proper Murray Coote coilovers and a 1ZZ rear swat bar is so tight it can lift the inside front wheel on certain corners on dirt. Not good.

Hope this adds to the above article :) and I hope you dont mind the hijack Seano

[Seano]

Not at all, I have actually found that having 36PSI on the rear tyres and 32 up front helps combat understeer quite nicely, although it makes you keep your driving very honest on corners.

Will probably be going with the 1zz sway bar, just need to find one :P

[TRDYUS]

So on a sportivo it's better to have a stock sway bar rather than TRD or Cusco etc ?

[Seano]

So on a sportivo it's better to have a stock sway bar rather than TRD or Cusco etc ?

As long as you don't intend on hitting corners hard, going u-oh and hitting a pole :P

I think what Micky_Tee is saying is that getting a new sway bar is good it just requires more skill to get the most out of it. If you read the article a TRD sway bar on a sportivo will increase stiffness by around 50% (as small increases in thickness seem to increase stiffness on a big scale...ok that is a weird sentence). Two Simple rules to go by

Stiffer backside = More Oversteer

FWD + Oversteer = Spinout and maybe pole death but has the plus side of less understeer

Also try experimenting with tyre pressure if you increase rear tyre pressure they have less grip then the front tyres = more oversteer*. It can be a bit of fun

*Cred to Ken for telling me this trick

Edited March 31, 2008 by Seano

[TRDYUS]

That's the first thing you notice once installing the sway, Stiffness.

Agreed, It does take more effort to control but once you get it right the benefits are obvious.

I guess you need a full, proper setup for it to work best.

Edited March 31, 2008 by TRDYUS

[MT]

So on a sportivo it's better to have a stock sway bar rather than TRD or Cusco etc ?

As long as you don't intend on hitting corners hard, going u-oh and hitting a pole :P

I think what Micky_Tee is saying is that getting a new sway bar is good it just requires more skill to get the most out of it. If you read the article a TRD sway bar on a sportivo will increase stiffness by around 50% (as small increases in thickness seem to increase stiffness on a big scale...ok that is a weird sentence). Two Simple rules to go by

Stiffer backside = More Oversteer

FWD + Oversteer = Spinout and maybe pole death but has the plus side of less understeer

Also try experimenting with tyre pressure if you increase rear tyre pressure they have less grip then the front tyres = more oversteer*. It can be a bit of fun

*Cred to Ken for telling me this trick

Seano's pretty much got what I meant. Basically, don't go all out on mods because you're told that they will help, or they are better for you. Try one mod at the time, and adjust your driving style to suit the changes you have made.

Changes in your driving style initially will make you a lot faster than changes to your suspension will. Learn to get the most out of the car before you start changing things. You might find some of the changes you make might make you go backwards.

Also, remember I am talking about on the track only. No point in killing yourself being stupid on the streets. However, this may be obvious as most people know my thoughts about adjustable coilovers on street cars being complete overkill anyway.

[Seano]

That's the first thing you notice once installing the sway, Stiffness.

Agreed, It does take more effort to control but once you get it right the benefits are obvious.

I guess you need a full, proper setup for it to work best.

From what I have read I'd have to agree, I know it's the last thing on my suspension mod list.

[SuperDave]

Seano's pretty much got what I meant. Basically, don't go all out on mods because you're told that they will help, or they are better for you. Try one mod at the time, and adjust your driving style to suit the changes you have made.

That reminds me of an article in a magazine many years ago. There was a Skyline track day the magazine organised and they invited John Bowe since he owns (or used to ?) an aussie delivered stock as a rock R32 GTR. He randomly selected two other R32's at the track day with various amounts of work done to them. The heavily modded one had the worst suspension setup and basically said the owner just bought stuff and put it on. The mildly modded one was faster since the owner had only touched the suspension lightly with coilovers, plus it could put down it's power better. Then finally he took his around and absolutly smashed them. The reason? The stock setup was perfectly matched to the stock power, brakes and chassis. All cars from the factory have a lot of R&D put into them to find out what is ideal for Joe blow and plain Jane. If you do not intend on playing with the settings of any after market item (if adjustable) then you will not see the best from it. The only way to tell what is best is by lap times, not feel. That said, the stock setup can go alright if you learn to drive with it.

I also own 4 different rear anti roll bars for fine tuning :P

Edited March 31, 2008 by SuperDave

[Kenneth]

Not at all, I have actually found that having 36PSI on the rear tyres and 32 up front helps combat understeer quite nicely, although it makes you keep your driving very honest on corners.

Will probably be going with the 1zz sway bar, just need to find one :P

talk to angelo :) he has got one sitting round!

[Seano]

Not at all, I have actually found that having 36PSI on the rear tyres and 32 up front helps combat understeer quite nicely, although it makes you keep your driving very honest on corners.

Will probably be going with the 1zz sway bar, just need to find one :P

talk to angelo :) he has got one sitting round!

Read my mind - muahahaha