looking to tighten up my suspension 2000 accord
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Hyde Park, NY, usa
looking to tighten up my suspension 2000 accord
I just got new wheels and their too tall for my suspension. When I hit bumps and **** the tires rub against the wheel wells a bit. So i need to stiffen up my shocks and I want to lower it about an Inch. So if anyone has any suggestions about what I should pick up that would be great.
and I'm looking for either a strut bar or a sway bar and was wondering which I should go for. Pros and cons of each or somthing.
mhm.
and I'm looking for either a strut bar or a sway bar and was wondering which I should go for. Pros and cons of each or somthing.
mhm.
be professional
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 14,842
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From: Pittsburgh, PA
Re: looking to tighten up my suspension 2000 accord (Gra5s)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gra5s »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just got new wheels and their too tall for my suspension. When I hit bumps and **** the tires rub against the wheel wells a bit. So i need to stiffen up my shocks and I want to lower it about an Inch. So if anyone has any suggestions about what I should pick up that would be great.</TD></TR></TABLE>
You should pick up wheels that are the correct size and offset, because lowering the car is only going to make it worse. Adjusting the dampers is not going to help.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and I'm looking for either a strut bar or a sway bar and was wondering which I should go for. Pros and cons of each or somthing.</TD></TR></TABLE>
They serve two completely different purposes. The only thing they have in common is the word "bar."
A "strut bar" or strut tower brace is a passive piece that serves to improve chassis rigidity. It reduces flexing of the chassis when stressed in certain ways, which allows the suspension to do its job properly. Debatably, this will not make the car any faster. It is mainly done to improve the feel.
Personally, I feel that spending a lot of money on chassis bracing is wasteful, and it's one of the last things you should do. In addition, most of the products out there on the market are bling items only and perform no real useful function, because the trend is to capitalize on suckers who are attracted to products that look pretty. You have to use your head when buying these types of items so that you don't end up spending a lot of money and effort on a piece that isn't rigid or helpful at all. If you have fabrication skills, tools, and materials, then you can make your own braces that will likely be much more rigid and less expensive than the average bling tube sold on eBay.
A "sway bar" or anti-roll bar is an active part of the suspension. It is a torsion spring that spans from left to right in the front and/or rear of the car. In a double-wishbone Honda it is connected to the lower control arms at each end of the bar, and the center is mounted to the chassis subframe. Its purpose is to add roll stiffness; a sway bar works only under roll. The advantage here is better ride quality over bumps vs. using stiffer coil springs. During pitch (acceleration squat or braking dive), it does effectively nothing.
When the body of the car rolls while cornering, the outside suspension compresses while the inside suspension droops. Since the sway bar is connected to each side of the car, the outside suspension is twisting up on one end of the bar and the inside suspension is twisting down. The bar is a torsion spring, so it resists this movement. This increased roll stiffness allows the car to corner flatter.
Sway bars can add a varying amount of roll stiffness, depending on material, torque arm length, diameter, and (for a hollow bar) wall thickness. Also, many people use sway bars to fine tune the handling balance of the car by using different bar sizes in front and rear. For example (and depending on a few factors), a front-stiff setup can bias the car to understeer, while a rear-stiff setup can bias the car to oversteer.
You should pick up wheels that are the correct size and offset, because lowering the car is only going to make it worse. Adjusting the dampers is not going to help.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and I'm looking for either a strut bar or a sway bar and was wondering which I should go for. Pros and cons of each or somthing.</TD></TR></TABLE>
They serve two completely different purposes. The only thing they have in common is the word "bar."
A "strut bar" or strut tower brace is a passive piece that serves to improve chassis rigidity. It reduces flexing of the chassis when stressed in certain ways, which allows the suspension to do its job properly. Debatably, this will not make the car any faster. It is mainly done to improve the feel.
Personally, I feel that spending a lot of money on chassis bracing is wasteful, and it's one of the last things you should do. In addition, most of the products out there on the market are bling items only and perform no real useful function, because the trend is to capitalize on suckers who are attracted to products that look pretty. You have to use your head when buying these types of items so that you don't end up spending a lot of money and effort on a piece that isn't rigid or helpful at all. If you have fabrication skills, tools, and materials, then you can make your own braces that will likely be much more rigid and less expensive than the average bling tube sold on eBay.
A "sway bar" or anti-roll bar is an active part of the suspension. It is a torsion spring that spans from left to right in the front and/or rear of the car. In a double-wishbone Honda it is connected to the lower control arms at each end of the bar, and the center is mounted to the chassis subframe. Its purpose is to add roll stiffness; a sway bar works only under roll. The advantage here is better ride quality over bumps vs. using stiffer coil springs. During pitch (acceleration squat or braking dive), it does effectively nothing.
When the body of the car rolls while cornering, the outside suspension compresses while the inside suspension droops. Since the sway bar is connected to each side of the car, the outside suspension is twisting up on one end of the bar and the inside suspension is twisting down. The bar is a torsion spring, so it resists this movement. This increased roll stiffness allows the car to corner flatter.
Sway bars can add a varying amount of roll stiffness, depending on material, torque arm length, diameter, and (for a hollow bar) wall thickness. Also, many people use sway bars to fine tune the handling balance of the car by using different bar sizes in front and rear. For example (and depending on a few factors), a front-stiff setup can bias the car to understeer, while a rear-stiff setup can bias the car to oversteer.
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