waht front strut bar should i get? do you guys recommend a rear strut bar? and how much will this improve my handling? thanks alot

 

Either spoon or neuspeed front and spoon rear... you will notice a difference if you have an upgraded suspension and lower profile tires... prob won't notice much on stock suspension though. You can pick up the spoon bars from RandDmotorsports.com... he just ended a group buy... but I think you can still get ahold of them and get them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">prob won't notice much on stock suspension though</TD></TR></TABLE>

And why is that?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cottonwoodz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

And why is that?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I read that the stock suspension is just too soft to notice any gains from strut bars... and that until you stiffen up the suspension... you won't really notice the strut bar... and from experience... my strut bar made a lot bigger difference once I was lowered than before I was lowered...

 

could you explain the thinner tire profile making it better? thanks

 

lower stance.. stickier tires... less sidewall roll... once you eliminate those weak spots... that's when you will feel a big difference with the strut bars.

 

would it make any difference wtih just a front sturt bar? and wtih that make me understeer more? thanks for the info

 

IMO it was a day and night difference on stock suspension with just a front bar. Handled 10x better!

 

anone else wtih opinions?

 

Get front and rear sway bars before strut bar, at least that is what i plan to do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92LudeSI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">IMO it was a day and night difference on stock suspension with just a front bar. Handled 10x better!</TD></TR></TABLE>

You dont need to lower your car to take advantage of a strut bar.. Xlerate9, when you lowered you car, were you like "Man I can really feel this strut bar working"? If your stock setup up is soft,weak and you throw a strut bar on to stiffen it up, I think you would feel it more then if you lowered and stiffened it up and then put one on.(one hell of a run-on sentence ) Make sense??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stoopid215 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get front and rear sway bars before strut bar, at least that is what i plan to do.</TD></TR></TABLE>

And again, why is that?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cottonwoodz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

And again, why is that?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Most people told me that sway bars have more effect to better handling than strut bar. So thus i'd get the sway bars first.

 

If you really want to upgrade your handling...IMO I would get the Suspension Techniques sway bar kit. Best $200 I spent, the car handles so much nicer now and it doesn't feel like I'm gonna lose it when I take turns too fast.

 

Other folks experience with RandDmotorsports.com may have been better than mine, but I placed an order for a Type-S front air intake with them in March of 2002 which I have yet to receive (for the first nine months they kept saying it was in their next shipment) and for which I have been charged a deposit of over $70.

It's been 15 months and they still have my money but I've got squat. $70 may not be a lot but their behavior has been very unprofessional and I would recommend looking elsewhere if you really want JDM items.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Xlerate9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lower stance.. stickier tires... less sidewall roll... once you eliminate those weak spots... that's when you will feel a big difference with the strut bars.</TD></TR></TABLE>
All of that information is kind of correct expect a lower profile tire doesn't necessarily mean less roll, it does help though. Most racing tires have a built side wall i.e. the azenis have a 3 ply wall so rolling them is kind of tough. And also consider that the smalled the side wall or profile equates to less pressure the tire can handle. High profile tires can handle greater amounts of pressure which is the main reason why road racers use them.

 

I have a front strut tower bar on my 5th gen, but it really did not make a noticable difference to me. There are better things to spend your money on than strut tower bars IMO. But many people have them, probably because it is a relatively inexpensive mod that is simple to install. But if you really want to change/improve the handling of your car, spend that money on a larger rear sway bar instead of some strut bar.

Andrew

 

And don't get the front ST sway bar. I'd like to take mine off and and put the stock back on the see the difference. Supposedly less understeer.

 

from my experience, after putting neuspeed springs and front bar on, it handles much better... only gripe is with no rear support the back end breaks out a lot are there any rear bars that work like the spoon?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Arkaneprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">from my experience, after putting neuspeed springs and front bar on, it handles much better... only gripe is with no rear support the back end breaks out a lot are there any rear bars that work like the spoon?</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you have a car that is biased to oversteer, then a smaller rear sway bar (and/or a larger front sway bar) can fix that.

If you are talking about a neutral or understeering car that is prone to lift-throttle or snap oversteer, then you just need to work on being a smoother driver.

Andrew

 

the sway bars are the ones that go underneath the car, as opposed to the strut that are "above" ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Arkaneprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the sway bars are the ones that go underneath the car, as opposed to the strut that are "above" ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sway bars will have far more effect on your car's handling than strut tower bars.
This explains sway bars as well as anything I've seen:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question432.htm

Andrew

 

it defintely looks like the sway bars will be more effective, but one question i have is... after doing this, do you need a new wheel alignment?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Arkaneprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it defintely looks like the sway bars will be more effective, but one question i have is... after doing this, do you need a new wheel alignment? </TD></TR></TABLE>im also wondering