Ok, here is my plan. This coming summer, I plan to install KYB AGX's and Eibach Pro-kits. But before that, I want a thicker rear sway bar. Now, the stock rear bar is 17mm right? And the one from Suspension Techniques, as fare as I can remember is 22mm. My question is, will those 5mm have any significant anti-roll effects? I cant find anything thicker for the rear. So I was wondering whether I can get a metal shop to bend/forge/machine a thicker one for me? Would this be a good idea practically as well as economicall?

 

yes
i have the ST sway bar on my car and it was a major difference, but I also push my car harder than most, but I did notice a difference on the street
make this investment you will not regret it, sway bar is one of the most unknown, unexpensive quality suspension upgrades out there

 

So you highly recommend it? Ok, so do you think it is a good plan to first get the sway bar, and then afterwards the shocks and springs? Is $130 a good price for the ST bar?

 

it is all kind of relative......
roll bar helps push the weight in a direct line from one side to the other and eliminate doing it through chassis flex, doing it on the rear wheels of a front wheel drive car helps drastically rduce that stock built in understeer
shocks/springs help the car not over adjust to the weight transfer
both are relativly hard to feel unless really pushing the car
i put my ST bar on before my suspension and noticed a difference immediatley
i put my suspension on and was able to control that difference even better so putting the bar on first is a not a bad idea

$130 is a good to great price that I would jump on

 

I've seen the underchasis of my car, and the rear sway bar doesnt look to difficult to put on, do you think I can do it myself?
How do you like the rest of my planned suspension setup? I have both front and rear strut tower bars.

 

it took me and corey about ten minutes to install mine so it shouldn't be a problem at all, just give yourself enough time to do it and you will need a drill


your set-up is the same as mine except i do not have a rear strut bar and you know how much fun I talk about having in my car so
what spring rates are you using?

 

currently, or with the eibachs?

 

OK here's my Suspension techniques story. I got the front and rear sway bar set from them. Along with a neuspeed upper strut tie bar. I put the tie bar on first and that made a big difference belive it or not (my car is pushing over 200,000 miles) Then I got around to doing the sway bars... I had a bit of a problem with the front one coming into contact with a part of the sub frame but it was easily remidied by bending the metal up on the sub frame... the front sway bar is a bit wider than the original so the bushings are a little bit of a leaning tower effect.

First thing I have to say is that although the bars are not much larger in diameter they are solid unlike the stock Honda bars. I coulud bend the old rear stock bar and the new one it was not going to happen. They weight in at twice as much and with all those miles the original bushings had totally had it.

So with some minor difficulty with the installation they are on and the difference in handling is amazing. The ride is basically the same, but to really feel the difference you need to take an off ramp at some crazy speed and the car just begs for more. It's more responsive, and a hell of a lot more fun. Anyhow I did the set as it seems the original front bar is also lacking a bit. Anyhow good luck!!

OH I had some trouble with teh instructions they sent along... just some minor confusion on the washers... they are not very clear in their instructions and the packing list doesn't match the diagram they supply... but after a couple of calls it was all straightened out.

 

the fact that the stock bar doesn't look much smaller than any aftermarket bar makes people not buy it, they do not understand that the stock bar is hollow

my instructions were good, not great, but it isn't that hard to figure out


what are the rates on the eibachs?

 

The S/T rear sway bar is 13/16th of an inch. That's 20.6375 mm and no, you do not need anything thicker. Pretty straitforward install. Probably the hardest part is drilling holes in the trailing arms for the end links. You'll need a 13/32 bit IIRC. It's a great modification, but it rubs against my Greddy (which I had to take off for the S/T bar install). You'll probably be able to install the bar without having to remove the stock exhaust (is this right Morgan?).

 

yes, you will have no issues with the stock exhaust

 

Morgan, in Grassroots motorsports magazine, they reviewed sway bars for a miata and the hollow bar was stiffer. I do think the stock bar is definatly softer though.

 

was there a construction difference in the two?
I was speaking more in relation to the stock honda bar

I would be very interested in reading the article, do remember which issue it was in?

 

My suspension is currently stock. I'm want to get the Eibach pro-kits. I'm not sure what the spring rates are.
I was unaware that the bars were hollow. So should I just get the rear, or both?

 

REAR BAR ONLY!

 

just the rear IMHO,
every car built comes from the factory with a huge amount of understeer, FWD or RWD, built into the car, notice your front bar is larger than your rear bar.

understeer is safer than oversteer becuase if you push through a corner you can see where you are going, if you oversteer through a corner you will be spinning and not notice where you are going

a lot of autocrossers undo their front bars when making runs.
again only under extreme driving will you notice this

 

I have spun my car at the auto x with both ST bars and feel that rear only would be too much, do you recomend the stock front bar or no front bar.

 

don't know if you are asking me but............
stock front bar,
the rear bar allowed me the perfect amount of control to throw the car and rotate the *** end
don't be fooled you can still spin if your car wants to understeer, that has to do with traction though, remember that your tires get the best traction when actually sliding from an angle of 5-10%

 

Stock front bar for sure. If it's not enough rotation for you, you can always detach it for autox.

 

Rear bar only it is. I cant wait. Now, to rob a bank to pay for all the stuff I want.

 

I like the way my car felt at vir so I reluctant to change the setup. I might try the stock front this weekend at the autocross, we are having a drivers ed event tommorow and that would be a good time to experiment as no times are taken.

 

try it and definently let us know what the difference is.............. makes for a good reference point in future discussions

 

I have both the front and rear ST bars. Well, actually, only the front is on right now. The rear was hitting my exhaust, so I yanked it off. BIG MISTAKE!!! LOL! I am putting it back on, once I get off my *** and modify either the exhaust or the bar mounts. Seeing as my LX did not come with a rear bar to begin with, and I have a larger front bar, I have some pretty bad understeer. When I had both on, I could get the backend out pretty easy by adjusting my struts. I even have video somewhere of a 4 wheel slide. (that was fun)

I like both bars for street use, because honestly, I will not take corners that fast on the street. However, I would never be able to turn hard on an auto-x course.Now before the auto-x season starts again, I will get the back on the car again.

 

The rear bar does interfere with most aftermarket exhaust systems, but you can go to a shop and have them bend the pipe, My pipe never hits the ground any more it dosent rub on the bar and where is sits it looks good, except for the rust

 

rear sway bar installation is a breeze. i put together a quick how-to when i put one on one of my accords: http://scf.usc.edu/~dbares/honda/swaybar