evosky

^^^ i sort of agree with what you're saying.
however, it's a bit hard to say with FWD, as you're steering and power with the front wheels. plus, a set of tires can only be doing one thing at a time. you're either gripping or you're spinning.
but yeah, i agree to throttle when encountering oversteer in FWD.

THE-MACF

I have the TRD rear sway on order right now. I was wondering if anybody has done the TRD and an additional add-on from Hotchkis or Progress?

ShadowOnTheBayou

I have a progress rear sway bar currently, and I would like a bit looser rear end. The front still plows a bit too much for my liking. I was thinking about picking up on of the old Hotchkis bars and stacking it on my Progress.

Has anyone else done this?

XBMutha

Is there a way to make the rear sway bar mounts stiffer? That may help alot.

cobb

Man, this thread is clear as mud. Seems from reading it, the best and cheapest way to make your car handle better in turns is to just remove the front sway bar.

Seems else where to control roll, which helps it steer is to use sway bars, but those can hinder you steering. Elsewhere remove all sway bars and use a good set of springs, tires an shocks.

Then seems the sway bars vary in quality depending on who uses them. Seemed in the begining the hos was the best over progress and trd. Or for that matter 2 trd bars.

Then we have a 3 cylinder 1 liter economy car putting out over 105 hp doing a 4 wheel drift using kevlar straps.

I cant speak for any of the above. I just know the ford e 250 extendd body van I owned it would easily fishtail or the rear end come around the front end if I took a turn too fast an gave it too much gas. I feathere the gas and wheel while steering.

The mercedes 240d was loaded. It too had front and rear sway bars. It love to be steered into turns. The faster,the better it handled. Infact if there was any bank to the road it would steer itself. Only problems I had with steering and instead of grip the front would slip and I would need to untwist the steering wheel to get traction an let off the gas. Maybe it has over steer?

Think I will undo the front bar and take a road test.

XBMutha

1.3L 4 cylinder Suzuki engine to be precise. With a good deal of modifications and approaching the 100HP per liter mark, aspirated.

Anybody who knows, knows what a 4 cylinder Suzuki motor is capable of.

cobb

Sorry dude, I did not know the geo metro was offered with the larger engine like the swift was. I was of the assumption the 4 cylinder geos were actually toyota tercels with a chevy logo.

None of the engineers where I work recommend removing the front sway bar. They all suggest leaving it alone or a beefier one. All recommended the strut brace to prevent the towers from moving an causing stress or fractures that will be impossible to fix from harder corning.

Stranger

OK, I'm ready to order the Progressive rear sway bar TODAY. . . what are some of the best sites to compare prices to see where I can get the best deal?

Thanks in advance for your help!

cobb

Any more on the front sway bar? I am going to attempt the hos front bar to match my rear one. I have taken turns to 35mph and it feels like a rear wheel will lift, but still the front loves to plow or fold like a lawn chair.

How hard is it to install? Think a 300lb 30 year old retard with a pair of ramps and metric tools can do it in 4 hours?

evosky

yeah, the rear sway is literally like ... 4 bolts in the back. taking off the rear wheels to install will make it easier, but you dont even have to do that if you dont want to. it should take 1 hour if you're not concentrating ...

cobb

Thats where I screwed up. I have stock wheels, a jack and a 14 mm socket and 14 mm open ended wrench. I was unable to use the socket unless I removed a wheel. I went back into the auto store and bought a second wrench. I then used the zip tie method to raise the bar in place one side at a time. Then used a wire with electric tape to thread the bolts in. Also having a hitch on the car made it hard to get under it enough to.

The front strut bar wasnt as easy as seemed either. I had the front end jacked up with wheels off the ground, but strut tower plates off and had to manhandle the wheels to get the strut studs to drop low enough to get it in place.

So, any word on the matching front sway bar?

cobb

My bar came in a few weeks ago. Man its beefy. Will see how it performs next weekend. BTW, a hat with stickers came in the mail the other day. WOOHOO!!!!

cobb

WOOHOO, got it installed. I will admit it will still roll a bit, but the OH SHOOT, feeling is gone.

I took an on ramp waiting for it to pitch 15 degrees as I was getting ready to merge and all of a sudden I ran up on a bunch of cars. Turns out I was doing 55 on the ramp.

Now that I have their bars, strut brace, just need the springs.

cobb

I really love my front upgrade. Not only does the car steer itself around corners like my mercedes did, but I accidently drifted it the other day it was wet out. It did like a 4 wheel drift. It was a bit scary, but controllable and noisy with the wheels dragging. I just let off the petals and steered the car where I wanted it to go.

I cant wait to upgrade te sway bar links with the bolt and urthene upgrade I have seen on this site.

XBMutha

Be careful when you are in a four wheel drift and you jump off the throttle, that is the perfect condition for the back end of the car to come around and send you into a spin.

cobb

Thanks, I had to steer out of it. It was a bit different than drifting a rear wheel drive full size contractors van or mercedes 240d. It was early morning after a rain and no one was around the immediate area. Now I know the limits for those conditions.

offroadinfrontier

From reading these posts and experiencing the Progress rear sway bar, it seems to me that a smart decision might be the Progress rear bar, factory front bar, and poly end links and mounts for the front bar to help improve body roll and response.

This way the stiffer rear helps cancel out a bit of the understeer, while the front sway bar mods only help tighten up the front vs. getting an aftermarket bar that tightens up and brings back the understeer.

The (front) rubber pieces look like play-doh. I'm positive that swapping out end links and mounts while keeping the factory bar (which can be had for fairly cheap) will benefit as much as, if not more than, simply getting a new bar.

Thoughts?

cobb

You need to firm up the connection points between the car and tires. You have the springs and front sway bar and rear torsion beam. I noted 10% more firmness with hos rear sway. 30% more with front hos sway. Maybe 10% more with eibach prosport, however they helped the most with driving and wind causing the car to drift and bobble. I saw another good 20% with the end link bushings, plus it was easier to steer.

The bad part is on some steep drive ways I 3 wheel it. The otherwise, It still rolls slightly, but since its 3 wheeling on some drive ways, I better stop.

I can tell you this. Undong the end links to similuate no front sway bar does no good.

I can turn tight now to the point it drifts in a corner in a very controllable fashing while not feeling like its going to roll and drive in 50mph gusts in excess of highway speeds in full control.

BWB

I can vouch for the Progress rear sway bar. Huge improvement in reducing understeer & body roll.

I can also vouch for the comment on getting too confident after the install, going too fast into a corner, suddenly letting of the throttle & stepping out the rear end. I pulled a 180 & found myself going backwards down the offramp.

ricksxbox

I am looking for the Whiteline rear bar. What car does the xB share this bar with and does any one know where I can get one at for a good price?

Thanks in advance

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