Need sway bar vendor

[john hood]

I have read repeatedly about the S2000 benefitting from a larger front sway bar and smaller rear to help with the snap oversteer. Honda has apparently done this with the new 04's. When I research aftermarket sways all I find is larger. That's fine for the front, but where can I find a smaller one for the rear? Also, anyone with experience in making this mod???? Your opinions would be welcomed.

[munckee]

I've never heard of anyone actually moving to a smaller rear bar. Most people settle for a larger front and that's it.

[GChambers]

I have never encountered this "snap oversteer" ghost. My car has never done such a thing. I drive very aggressively and I have never had the car do anything that I was not ready for. If the car is on dry, smooth pavement, this just should not happen.

On rough pavement, this is a whole different scenario. I believe that what you are referring to is not a problem with the sway bars. I believe it is more of a problem with the horrible shocks. The rear shocks do a very poor job at keeping the rear tires planted on the ground when going over small, sharp bumps. It seemed that my car would just skip over these bumps and the rear tires would loose traction. When this happens while the car is cornering near the limit, the car will spin. This may be what people are referring to.

I believe that you would be much happier with a better set of shocks. I have a set of Koni shocks and they have made a big difference in the way my car handles and rides. They keep the rear tires stuck to the ground worlds better than the stock shocks. They are also adjustable. IMO, you will be much more happy with a set of Koni shocks than you would be if you installed a softer rear sway bar. Actually, I doubt you could even buy one.

[DFBRL8R]

Originally posted by GChambers
I have a set of Koni shocks and they have made a big difference in the way my car handles and rides.

Do you have a part number for the set? Thanks!

[DSF_S2k]

The Front sway bar does nothing for bump oversteer. What the front sway bar does is stop rear wheel inside lift/spin. When you are cornering at the limit, the car will roll (body) opposite the direction you are turning. What this does is lift the rear wheel off the ground causing a lack of traction. ie. you are making a left hand turn, the car will dive/roll to the right causing the left rear tire to lift. The anti sway bar/roll bar will basically stiffen up the front and try to prevent the rolling motion, which in turn prevents the rear wheel from loosing traction. This is especially true when you run 225/245 tire combinations.

The reason you do not see any smaller rear sway bars is because that would be illegal in an autocross in stock class. You can only change the front sway bar. There are several vendors that make front sway bars. Comptech, Genderon, Saner make adjustable sway bars. Mugen I believe make a solid non adjustable one.

I have the Saner front sway bar and Koni Yellow's. The Koni's definately help the car's handling performance 100%. If your not tracking your car or autocrossing, I would stick with the Koni Yellows and forget about the sway bar. If you are running different tires (ie 225/245 combo) I would recommend the front sway bar.

Hope this helps,

Dale

[hecash]

I have the large Mugen sway bar with the Mugen N-zero suspension kit and Toyo RA-1 at 225/50/16 front and 245/45/16 rear and they work great.

[john hood]

Thanks. Sounds like I may opt for the larger front bar and a set of Konis. Are the Konis height adjustable (I know the ones for the Miata are)?

[C G]

Originally posted by GChambers
I have never encountered this "snap oversteer" ghost.

Look at this thread for a short video showing snap oversteer. (http://www.s2kca.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=610&highlight=snap+oversteer)

[Muz]

Whiteline are ideal for street use. You may want to check these out also.

http://www.australia-goldcoast.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=swaybars

[munckee]

Muz,
I've heard nothing but good about the whiteline stuff, but i do have a question about the sway bars. I read somewhere that the stiffness increase in the rear bar was higher than that of the front bar, so they exacerbate the oversteer "issue". Is there any truth to that at all?

Also, how do you find or have you heard that they compare to the comptech pair (not adjustable ones)?

[Muz]

Originally posted by munckee
Muz,
I've heard nothing but good about the whiteline stuff, but i do have a question about the sway bars. I read somewhere that the stiffness increase in the rear bar was higher than that of the front bar, so they exacerbate the oversteer "issue". Is there any truth to that at all?

Also, how do you find or have you heard that they compare to the comptech pair (not adjustable ones)?

Both the front and rear bars are the same diameter. I've not heard of or experienced any exacerbated oversteer myself. The thing with oversteer is that it is something that can be caused by so many variables (such as driving style etc etc) that it's very difficult to verify some of the comments you read.

I'm not right up on the latest Comptech bar specs but the Whiteline provides for up 50% increase in stiffness which in my POV is a good balance for everyday driving (including somewhat spirited driving:)).Some customers into auto-x have also reported improvements in their times, particularly slalom times I believe.

When making comparisons you really do need to compare solid bars to solid bars (hollow to hollow) as I believe they will provide more stiffness than hollow ones. Unless I'm mistaken the Comptech bar is tubular at around $200 USD ea. while our bars are solid steel at approx. $144 USD ea approx. but of course you're shipping them further also. :)

[youngjun91]

I have the Saner front sway bar and Koni Yellow's. The Koni's definately help the car's handling performance 100%. If your not tracking your car or autocrossing, I would stick with the Koni Yellows and forget about the sway bar. If you are running different tires (ie 225/245 combo) I would recommend the front sway bar.

Hope this helps,

Dale

From what I've been reading, it sounds like bump oversteer is being caused by the overly stiff OEM rear shocks. Are the Koni Yellows (or other aftermarket brands) actually softer helping to tame the S's oversteering tendencies? Could I be just buying rears and leaving the front OEM shocks alone (I see rears alone being sold by Comptech)?

[boxerx]

Figured I would post my question in this long dormant thread because if fit here. :-)

Anyone use Neuspeed front sway bars? Any opinions?

Thanks!