Hotchkiss Sway Bar Setting

[AutoEuphoria]

What setting (medium or stiff) do you guys use? Guess it would be applicable to Cobb owners as well, although that bar is a little less robust than the Hotchkiss piece. Just wondering what the advantages/tradeoffs are of having a stiffer setting compared to the less-stiff setting.

 

[mazdaspeedster3]

I have my cobb set to the stiffest setting. I have had the train of thought that those that have springs may not need the stiffest setting and can run the milder setting and with stock springs can run it a little tighter. I could be wrong but that is how I am set up. CWPspeed3 has eibachs and is running it at the stiffest setting and his car feels good. What are you experiencing?

 

[Rotus8]

I have my Hotchkiss bar set at the medium setting. For street driving, if you set it on the stiff position you run the risk of oversteer which can get you in big trouble. By the way, it is reasonable to set one end on medium and the other on stiff and you get an intermediate setting.

 

[Nliiitend1]

Simply put, the stiffer your rear sway bar is, the LESS independent your rear suspension is.

Here are a couple of general resources explaining the "ins and outs" o sway bars and sway bar tuning:

http://www.houseofthud.com/cartech/swaybars.htm

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/lean-less/

I like to look at sway bars as "the icing on the cake" when it comes to suspension tuning. They should be used to fine-tune balance, and should never be something that the rest of the suspension is built around.

Finally, here's an example of what can happen when a really stiff swaybar is coupled with soft"ish" springs on a car that uses the SLA "control blade" rear suspension design that the MZ3/MS3 utilizes:

http://forums.focaljet.com/suspension/598486-twist-snap-rear-control-arm-issue-thread.html

Happy reading!

 

[crossbow]

Cobb stiff is the same as hotkis soft setting. i'd use that.

 

[karl hungus]

cobb rsb @ stiff setting w/ stock springs. i don't push her hard enough in turns to lose the back end. car feels extremely neutral now. great mod.

 

[Moxhair]

Road Magnet Springs, Hotchkis Rear Sway Bar set on the Stiffest setting.

I autocross regularly and the car is very predictable with Zero Understeer issues what-so-ever. The rear of my car will slide out just enough to help the car rotate.

 

[Kain]

I have my Hotchkiss bar set at the medium setting. For street driving, if you set it on the stiff position you run the risk of oversteer which can get you in big trouble. By the way, it is reasonable to set one end on medium and the other on stiff and you get an intermediate setting.

+1. If the Hotchkis RSB is your only suspension mod, keep it on the soft setting. The MS3 is very well composed for a FWD car, but having the balance upset too much is a recipe for lift-throttle oversteer.

 

[Ferdball]

Boys, I spoke to one MS3 owner with a Hotchkis rsb, and the impression I got was that the bar was too stiff, even on the light setting. Do you guys agree?

 

[Kain]

Boys, I spoke to one MS3 owner with a Hotchkis rsb, and the impression I got was that the bar was too stiff, even on the light setting. Do you guys agree?

+1. If the Hotchkis RSB is your only suspension mod, keep it on the soft setting. The MS3 is very well composed for a FWD car, but having the balance upset too much is a recipe for lift-throttle oversteer.

 

[karl hungus]

Boys, I spoke to one MS3 owner with a Hotchkis rsb, and the impression I got was that the bar was too stiff, even on the light setting. Do you guys agree?

i disagree. i have a stiff cobb (= soft hotchkis) and it feels neutral.

quick story. i work in dc and occasionally take 2 office mates home to use the hov lane when we can leave early. w/o the rsb, the guys were nervous when i took turns fast w/ the stock understeer. they no longer tense up w/ the cobb rsb on stiff.

 

[Ferdball]

I have OEM swaybars and BC Coilovers.

Stock Mazda 3 Rear Swaybar:
Stiffness: 230lbs/inch
Weight: ~6.6lbs

BC Coilovers:
Front Spring Rates - 330
Rear Spring Rates - 220

Options:
Tri-Point Mazda 3/Mazdaspeed 3 Rear Swaybar:
Stiffness:
750lbs/inch (hole #1)
825lbs/inch (hole #2)
1000lbs/inch (hole #3)
Weight: ~8.6lbs
Swaybar O.D: 1.25"/32mm

Hotchkis Rear Swaybar:
Lightweight, durable and adjustable 1-1/4" (32mm) hollow Rear Sway Bar
95% stiffer than the stock sway bar with a rate of 1625 lbs/in
140% stiffer than the stock sway bar with a rate of 2030 lbs/in

 

[MicaSp33d]

i like the cobb on the stiffest setting but pushing it hard makes the rear want to oversteer. I switch to the softer setting, it feels better for daily driving, but once i hit the twisties again i feel its not quite stiff enough.

a few times using the stiff setting going on a on-ramp, the car felt like it was going to 3 wheel, which was cool and scary at the same time.

try both and see what suits you better for the area you drive in.

 

[funksilver07]

O.K. so I have a couple of parts I'm purchasing in the next day, I think the Hotchkis RSB is on the list... it seems if I got the Cobb I'd be using the stiffer setting and have no where to go if I want to adjust up...
Update: just put my order in the Hotchkis RSB, I will be starting out with the softer setting first.

 

[whteltning]

any updates on how the hotchkis is working out for you?

 

[funksilver07]

Boys, I spoke to one MS3 owner with a Hotchkis rsb, and the impression I got was that the bar was too stiff, even on the light setting. Do you guys agree?

NOPE...it feels very predictable to me on the softer setting, took it out for my first Autox last weekend and it handled great... If you know what it feels like to get your ass end coming around you'll have no problems. It's people that have never experienced this that may have some issues. I personally think this is a great mod for a tighter feel (on the street) and better turn in and cornering on track days. (drive2)

 

[whteltning]

NOPE...it feels very predictable to me on the softer setting, took it out for my first Autox last weekend and it handled great... If you know what it feels like to get your ass end coming around you'll have no problems. It's people that have never experienced this that may have some issues. I personally think this is a great mod for a tighter feel (on the street) and better turn in and cornering on track days. (drive2)

Yea, I think I'll be ok right??

My old car (2 cars ago, b4 my Mazda3), was a 2003 Civic SI HB and I had a DC Sports titanium front upper strut tower bar, RSX type-s rear lower sway, eBay rear strut tower bar, megan racing lower tie bar, and D3 designs double X-brace

I feel like it might be kind of similar, yea?