Sway bar issue

[JCell]

Mods:
Tokiko Illuminas F-5 R-4
Tein S springs
AWR 21.5 MM Rear sway bar at really stiff setting
bunch of GT Spec Parts
AWR Adjustable endlinks, front and rear
Hankook K-106 205-45-16 on stock rims


problem: b4 i got the hankook tires the rear end of the car would swing out during hard cornering due to teh tires limited grip, now it feels pretty neutral BUT it has too much body roll

i had never considered getting a stiffer front sway bar due to teh understeer it causes, but i do want to stiffen her up a bit and reduce the body roll


is it worth it to get the MSP front sway bar? i do plan to autox soon

 

[o.g.sk8er]

JCELL, I have a similar suspension set as you. But I do have the MSP front sway bar installed. If I had to do it again, I would not have installed the front bar. For one, the bushings always squeak and need replacing every 20,xxx miles. Also, I drove another member's car that had a similar set as ours, minus the front MSP bar, and his car handled much nicer than mine.

A couple of things to try:

Put the stock front end links back on. They are easy enough to change out, and if you dont like it you can swap the stock ones quickly. (I did this just this weekend and was quite surprised.)
Try setting the front struts to "4".
Next, try putting about 40.5 psi of air in the front tire, and about 38 psi in the rear.
Then, if you can, adjust your rear sway bar so the bar sits level with the ground. I have found on the really stiff setting, the bar can actually cause more body roll, on my car anyway. I used to have my bar set about 1 inch from the radius curve on the bar. Now, I have it set back 2 1/2 inches from the radius. How close are you to the radius?

Try some of these out. Of course not all of these will suit everyone's driving style, just some.

Oh, and also, if you can afford it, get some AWR rear trailing arms. These made a big difference in body roll on my car, and are super easy to install.

Hope this helps.

 

[WRCprotege]

i sold my front MSP bar and only have the AWR 21 rear bar, much better, i was having the same issues as you only i bought skunk2 coilovers and slammed the dam car down, still on stock shocks but this helps ALOT in the sway area, plus i got the car balanced and it corners on rails now..215/45/16 azenis and still no lean... the only braces i have are a cheap ebay MX6 upper rear strut brace, very little cuting to make it fit the P5 and the stock front brace.. the car has no lean, a pic from last week after buffing car...and winter spec with the rear all the way up, still low and still turns!!

 

[low_psi]

What do you mean by too much roll?

 

[Black_Protege_5]

The body leans when entering turns. If everything is not set right it does that. And I still don't know what OGsk8er is talking about the my feels nicer. I like his car better.

 

[low_psi]

I know what body roll is, but i'm hoping JCell can somehow quantify "too much." If a ChampCar was to have the same roll rate as a Protege, yes, that would be too much roll... but I'm guessing JCell's car is just fine handling-wise but the body roll just doesn't feel "right" to him.

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Yea it affects the feel. If its to stiff it reduces your traction. There has to be some picth but not too much.

 

[low_psi]

But what is "too much?" That's what I'm getting at. JCell's car could have a roll rate of 3deg/g and that would be pretty ideal, but it could still feel like "too much."

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Its hard to explain. But you just feel it. You have to be in it to understand.

 

[JCell]

What do you mean by too much roll?

basically what Black protege5 said, i can feel the body rollin when i corner hard, b4 the rear tires would lose grip b4 i got to this point, and i could countersteer a bit and accelerate through the turn, now with the new tires that doesn't happen anymore. so teh body rolls a bit and i lose traction on the front tires due to the lack of LSD

 

[Black_Protege_5]

What gtspec parts do you have. I have the CP-racing front stb, GTspec Rear stb, Progress rear swaybar and AWR trailing arms and my front is so stiff I need my illuminas to be set at 1f 3r for daily and 3f 5r for track. Otherwise I get too much lean. You have to play with the rear swaybar and illuminas to find that sweet spot thats tight and doesn't move. Also play around with tire pressures. That usually makes a huge difference also.

 

[JCell]

i have the GT front low end tie bar, the 4 point ladder bar, front strut bar, and rear lateral bars

 

[Black_Protege_5]

Yea definetly lower your settings on the illuminas and set the front softer than the rear. Also loosen your rear swaybar.

 

[vindication]

hmmm, I find it hard to believe you have "too much" body roll especially if your back end was giving out. That is due to the setting of your illuminas(mine are f:4, r:3) and your awr swaybar. Where do you have the endlink mounted on the bar? This actually might be the problem. Is it under the lateral bar or over it? Have a pic? I dont think you need a bigger front bar. I basically have the same settup as you(just different springs) and my ride is perfect for street, could use tunning for the track.

 

[JCell]

i'll give it a try

Thanks

 

[JCell]

hmmm, I find it hard to believe you have "too much" body roll especially if your back end was giving out. That is due to the setting of your illuminas(mine are f:4, r:3) and your awr swaybar. Where do you have the endlink mounted on the bar? This actually might be the problem. Is it under the lateral bar or over it? Have a pic? I dont think you need a bigger front bar. I basically have the same settup as you(just different springs) and my ride is perfect for street, could use tunning for the track.

when it used to give out it was fine, i eventually learned how to 'control' it.

i'll snap a pic of the setup

 

[02PROTEGE2.0]

right now im on a quest to find out exactly what the perfect setting for the adjustable end links is... myabe the problem lies in that? have u tried making end links longer or shorter than they currently are?

i installed mine last night only for the reason that my stock ones are ******... i made mine shorter than stock but when i went for a test drive.. it was the oddest feeling...

it was stiffer... but seemed to gain some roll? i dont know... but i want the no roll back that i had before...

i guess ill just jack that b**** up and make them longer... maybe that'll do it.