Has anybody upgraded these? I plan on doing so in the future, but I am not sure whether to go with ST, Neuspeed, or Progress Group (its new, I heard its 27mm and adjustable). Here are my concerns:

1) ST - 25mm, but less bends
Neuspeed - 28mm, has more bends
Progress Group - 27mm + adjustable + optional reinforced endlinks, don't know how it looks

I know the straighter the bar the more effective it is, so do the bends in the Neuspeed unit offset the larger diameter?

2) will it give me too much oversteer? I have a type SH, and I don't want the effect of atts and the bigger bar to throw my *** out every time I take a sharp corner.

Any input is much appreciated.

 

all i know is that the ST one is like $125 and the neuspeed one is like $300.

you can never have too much oversteer =]


[Modified by illusion, 7:50 PM 12/3/2002]

 

Neuspeed's bar isn't 28mm anymore. It's 25mm just like the ST bar but with beefier "L" brackets. I've used all three, in fact I was the one who went to Progress for the custom 27mm adj. bar which they're now selling as a production bar. I'm running their first 27mm adj. bar on my Prelude now.

ST - 25mm bar, uses the stock "L" brackets. It was a nice improvement for street, but I really don't think it's enough for auto-x.

Neuspeed - I wanted to switch to Neuspeed because of the 28mm bar, but when I got mine it was only 25mm. I called Neuspeed and they said they just discontinued the 28mm bar. Anyway, I had to stick with the 25mm Neuspeed bar since I sold my ST bar already. The "L" brackets are much stronger than the stock one, probably reduces the flex of the brackets under load. As for performance, it was about the same as the ST bar.

Progress - I went to Progress for the custom bar because I felt that the 25mm bar just wouldn't cut it for auto-x. The bar is 27mm adj. bar with Neuspeed style "L" brackets (that means very strong as well). It has 3 holes, the holes correlate to 27mm, 28mm, and 29mm settings. As soon as I put the bar on (set at 27mm, softest setting), the end result was dramatic in the auto-x. To make a long story short, the bar helps the car rotate much better. I now have the bar set at 28mm middle setting, and it's very nice. The rear would step out under hard cornering, not a lot though. If I set my shocks, tire pressures to what I normally run in auto-x, the rear will come out more often under hard cornering (not recommended for streets).

So my recommendation is if you're looking into improving the handling of your car for street use, go with either the ST or the Neuspeed bar. But if you're looking into performance for auto-x and road racing, go with the Progress bar. You can use the Progress bar for the streets too, just don't run too crazy of a shock and tire pressure setting.

 

Anything for 4WS Preludes? Anyone with custom bars?

 

So you're the guy I heard about. My car will probably mostly for street, with some track days at limerock, hopefully; I doubt I'll auto-x. OK, so I'm pretty sure that I'll get the progress bar. Before I get a new suspension I want to improve my handling ability as much as possible with only braces and tires. I just installed spoon strut bars and will be getting the rear ARB + good tires when I come back to the states this summer. Do you think that will be a good idea? Or will I definetely need to get a full suspension as well (thinking about GC or tein SS/HA).

BTW, what else do you have in your suspension? Also, someone told me you can buy reinfoced end links with the rear arb.

 

Well, the purpose of the optional endlinks are not really for reinforcement. The optional endlinks are constructed with two spherical ball bearings with a fully threaded stud. The main purpose was to allow optimum fine tuning like eliminating preload on the bar, and adjusting the lengths of the end links so the lever arms can be horizontal. However, it is recommended to get the optional endlinks because the stock endlinks are too thin. I bent one of them just before I switched over to the optional endlinks.

As for my suspension, go to my site http://www.vwong.org.

 

ST = best bang for the buck.. Still run the ST 25mm bar on the racecar, but will be upgrading to a full custom unit for next year.. Night and day difference from factory rear bar, best 125$ spent, and did it 2 years ago..

 

Where are you getting the custom bar made Corey? And how much?

 

how much does the progress one go for?

 

318 - I think your right, thats probably what i'll end up getting after all.

vwong - check your