Yeah, noob question, I know. I just ordered a ST rear sway bar for improved handling in the corners, but I still don't know how exactly what a tie bar does. Would there be any reason to have both for a daily driver. And what about a front tie bar or sway bar, do I need that too? Right now, besides my H&R sports, all I have is a front strut bar. Thanks!

 

A Tie Bar/Strut Bar is just a metal bar used to brace the frame and make it stiffer. An Anti-Sway Bar is a metal bar that extends from one wheel to the other and transfers the spring rate from one wheel to the other in a turn and prevents body roll and improves handling the most.


[Modified by FourthGenHatch, 9:57 PM 1/18/2003]

 

So would there be a good reason to have both?

 

yes it would.
If handling is you main concern


[Modified by SIRX, 8:32 PM 1/19/2003]

 

Yes. On my car I have 4 braces (Front Strut, Rear Strut, Rear Lower Tie and Front Lower Tie) and the 2 sway bars.

 

I thought I read that having both front and rear sway bars causes too much understeer or somethng...

 

a big front sway bar will cause understeer. a big rear sway bar will cause oversteer.

for a daily driver, i would just keep both bars on. you don't want to be braking hard on the highway then when you go to swerve, the *** end hangs out and you crash...

 

Hmmm....now I'm confused.

(CRX7)

(FourthGenHatch)

 

Sway bar = attaches both sides of the suspension.
Tie bar = attaches to both sides of the chassis.

for our cars, it's best to just buy a bigger rear sway bar (preferably a ST or eibach one). This will reduce the understeer/push.

Removing/disconnecting the front sway bar will also reduce the understeer/push too, but to a further degree.

what most autocrossers do:
no front bar, ST rear bar.

 

what driven is pointing out is the main difference between the two.

a swaybar (antiroll bar) is a part of the suspension. a tie bar is simply a structural stiffener and not really at all part of the suspension. very different!

a swaybar is a torsion spring that works only between the two wheels of the same axle by relative up/down motion. meaning if the left wheel is forced up (by going over a bump or turning) then the spring force increases and pushes the left wheel down and pulls the right wheel up because the two wheels are at different heights. if both left and rear wheels are forced up at the same time like going straight over a speed bump, the swaybar really isnt doing anything. its really a matter of fine tuning. increasing the relative front/rear spring rate differences affects how the car turns by altering how the front and back suspension work together. the stiff rear swaybar setup is just a basic way of (dramatically) reducing the inherent understeer in stock suspension.

a tie bar just provides an extra connection between two parts of the chassis reducing chassis flex. that flexing slightly changes suspension geometry. stiffening the chassis reduces that change. if you look at the engine bay, its basically a big box with a 350lb weight in the middle. its really not a structurally stiff setup that provides a lot of flex in turns and harsh bumps, which affects suspension geometry and thus behavior. which is why a front upper strut bar is fairly effective in reducing flex.

 

Thank you for the excellent explanation, Tyson!

Let me ask you this, out of the six possible bars (2 strut, 2 tie & 2 sway), which combination would you suggest for the best handling?





[Modified by Hondanut, 12:06 AM 1/21/2003]

 

Strut bars and tie bars don't do anything compared to what sway bars will do for handling. Get sway bars then get the other bars.... I think thats what you are wanting to know....

 

the basic setup is installing the rear sway bar and stock front. as for tie bars, im not a huge fan of em except for the front upper strut bar. i should have stressed that sway bars and tie bars are completely independent and irrelevent of each other and tie bars do not provide any dramatic handling changes, whereas a sway bar will.

 

have guys tried sway bars from other hondas or acura that help the handling of your car

 

My uk spec VTEC CRX has both front and rear sway bars and handles very well.
There are a lot of differences between the US spec CRX and UK spec CRX.
That must be one of them.

 

hmm, kinda like how the US CRX Si has a front and rear swap bar?

Strut/tie braces are pretty worthless on our cars. the front upper is helpful, but is more of a nausance than help (fuel pressure regulator gets in the way, intake piping is tough to remove, etc etc etc.)

 

What about an ITR sway bar...will that fit?

 

Strut Bars help a lot on Hatchbacks because we have this huge open space in the back of our car, when I put my rear strut bar on my car there was a very noticable difference. The front bars help improve and make the steering easier. The lower rear tie bar doesn't do much but it does help to make your rear crossmember stronger which is good if you have a sway bar.

 

will it fit - yes
will it work - yes
is it a better alternative to a ST bar - no
will it perform better than a ST bar - no
is it worth going out and buying - most likely not

 

Does anybody have the ST website? I cant seem to find it.

 

http://www.optauto.com has them for around $223 for the 88-91 civics.

 

Yeah not bad, but I dont need the front one. And I need the kit for 88 Si (type R) LCA's I lost the part # for the adapter kit.

 

http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/honcrx88rear.html

$124.95 for the ST rear only. Street Beats web site says you need an adapter for 88-91. If you go to the ST site it says the adapter is only for the 88. I called and they told me I needed it for my 90. You don't. I ended up sending it back. Not a bad price for the rr only. I am totally happy with the product.

Good luch

 

i like my ADDCO bar better than the ST i've seen. it bolts in the stock location, just reinforces the mounting areas..

and i think they are cheaper, not sure..

 

Bryant, they don't have one yet. However http://www.belltechcorp.com/ is their parent company. I can get you the 800 number for Suspension Techniques if you need it though.


One thing I'm wondering if someone can answer for me is, now that I'm adding a rear sway bar, do I leave the front one alone or take it off altogether?




[Modified by Hondanut, 7:51 PM 1/21/2003]