the whole over steer thing what thickness is good i seen too thick is bad. i will probably just end up using a stock si rear and i allraedy got the stock dx front. it seems like theres a science to it. and will the stock si rear sway bolt up to a 88 crx dx?

 

So you have an '88 CRX DX, right? With an Si rear bar? What are you doing with the car? And what about how it drives are you trying to change? You don't need much rear bar on a street CRX, I know that.

 

I can't tell you all of the physics behind it, but here's the general outlook on suspension stuff;

Stiffen the rear to get loose (oversteer);
-increase rear tire air pressure
-thicker rear sway bar
-stiffer rear shocks (less rebound)
-stronger rear springs

Stiffen the front to get push (understeer)
-increase front tire air pressure
-thicker front sway bar
-stiffer front shocks (less rebound)
-stronger front springs

Now all of these things mix together to determine your handling characteristics. So adding a thicker rear sway bar will loosen the rear end, assuming that tires, shocks, and spring stay the same. If you fiddle with multiple variables (shocks + tires + sway bars + spring) then who knows what you will end up with. Change one thing at a time and in tiny increments.

I run my CRX on road courses and AutoX and use a Suspension Techniques adjustable rear sway bar and a stock front bar. I set my sway bar at "medium". Loose is fast and I know race teams that run no front bar and a fully stiff rear bar, but it is pretty much impossible to catch the car if you screw up with that loose of a set-up. So I keep a little understeer in the mix for safety, and all it takes is a little throttle lift for rotation.

 

if u have a dx, your gonna need si rear lcas to put a stock bar on.

 

All a sway bar is a strait spring, as opposed to a coil spring which everyone is used to for shocks and struts. It counters movement in the suspension when forced upon (bumps, hard turns, ect). When one end of the spring (bar) is moved in one direction the opposite side attempts to move but cant due to it being bolted to the other sides suspension. The side with the movement then basically rebounds returning back neutral state. The effect you get is less suspension travel and more stable driving. Bases on that if you want less suspension travel and more precise steering transitions a larger diameter and stiffness bar is used and vise versa for opposite conditions.

When choosing a sway bar you want to take into consideration size (diameter), weight (hollow or solid), and material in which its made.

Lots of FF race teams are running no front sway (for faster turn in) and larger than stock rear (for inducing oversteer).

Now have a beer and get to wrenchin.

 

I LOOOOOOOVE my rear sway bar! Not running one in the front. Could definately feel the difference when I was out on the track. Definately recommend! I have a suspension techniques rear sway bar on my 5th gen Prelude.

 

It is all about traction. Traction=Speed. To get the most traction you want your tires to have the best contact with the road surface. If your tires are "squealing" or even worse smoking (drifting is for morons) you are losing traction and not going as fast as possible.

A "Sway" bar (a.k.a. a stability bar) is designed to keep the car's body as level (stable) to the road as possible. When you car body sways in a turn, you are putting some lift on the inside tire and losing traction.

Here is the weird part- The front sway bar effects the rear of the car, and vice versa. A front sway bar tightens the rear of the car and induces understeer. A rear sway bar tightens the front and reduces understeer. If your car already has a front sway bar, you need/want a rear sway bar to reduce understeer and make the car neutral.

Follow the logic- Back in the 1960's Ralph Nader jumped all over GM because the rear engined Corvair would oversteer easily. The Feds got in on the act and basically mandated that all USDM passengers cars should understeer. Thus nearly every car sold in the world has a front sway bar to INSURE that the car understeers.

Scott

 

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lo-Buck EF &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if u have a dx, your gonna need si rear lcas to put a stock bar on.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

The DX also doesn't have nut serts to bolt on the sway bar brackets. He's going to need to either purchase an ST style kit, or fab something up.

 

i know alotta people have some luck with the ST rear bar and an HF bar in front. i think thats mostly an autox set up but its worth a shot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xJ.SLOTHx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i know alotta people have some luck with the ST rear bar and an HF bar in front. i think thats mostly an autox set up but its worth a shot. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Plenty of Honda Challenge guys run that setup also. If nothing else, its a damn good place to start...

 

If you want to do a ton or reading...this is a great thread. http://www.iwsti.com/forums/su....html
ENJOY!

 

Adjustment______<U>More Understeer</U>_______More Oversteer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Front tire pressure_____ <U>Lower</U>____ Higher
Rear tire pressure ____ <U>Higher</U>_____ Lower
Front tire section____ <U>Smaller</U>____ Larger
Rear tire section ____ <U>Larger</U>_____ Smaller
Front wheel width_______ <U>Narrower</U>____ Wider
Rear wheel width ____ <U>Wider</U>____ Narrower
Front wheel camber____ <U>More positive</U>______ More negative
Rear wheel camber_____ <U>More negative</U>_______More positive
Front springs______ <U> Stiffer</U> ______Softer
Rear springs____ <U>Softer</U>_______ Stiffer
Front sway bar____ <U>Thicker/stiffer</U>_______Thinner/softer
Rear sway bar_____ <U>Thinner/softer</U>____Thicker/stiffer
Weight distribution ____ <U>More forward</U>____More rearward
Front aerodynamics_______<U>More downforce</U>_____Less downforce
Rear aerodynamics____<U>Less downforce</U>_____More downforce


Modified by Project PR-EG at 12:19 AM 8/10/2008


Modified by Project PR-EG at 12:22 AM 8/10/2008


Modified by Project PR-EG at 12:27 AM 8/10/2008

 

Sorry for the crappy post...but I think you get the idea.

 

re: project PR-EG

More downforce up front will leads to more oversteer, not understeer. Less downforce in the rear leads to more oversteer. More downforce = more grip, so aero needs to be balanced to match your setup goals.

Staggering tire pressures with more pressure in the rear is a common way to get more oversteer, not understeer. Higher pressures can reduce contact patch (among other things) which takes away grip.