mike6789k

So, I'd like to put some money in suspension work for my car... but don't want to spend TOO much...

There are coilovers or springs/struts, front and rear strut bars, front and rear sway bars, etc etc...

I'm thinking of getting the stage 1 hotchiks suspension, but wanted to know if I should also get strut bars for the rear and front? will these help much?

does the front sway bar help at all either?

thanks!

rivas_203

iTrader: (1)

i have a front strut bar and honestly i wish i had spent money on something else. the sway bar though, omg nite and day difference. i only have the rear one on and its fantastic. the front one is sitting in my room since after two two hour attempts, i couldnt get the new one in. but im sure it would feel great to.

engifineer

Start by looking at what each part will do for you and go from there.

Sways reduce body roll and suspension independence (This is how to prevent body roll). The front will help you. If you go with the TRD rear, a thicker front sway is not really needed, and would probably throw it out of balance, making it understeer more than you like. If you go stiffer, like the hotchkis, you will want to go with the hotchkis front sway. Too stiff of a rear without a stiffer front will cause too much oversteer. This is why most of the stiffer sways come in sets. The TRD is a great balance between street driveability and performance. Remember, you are taking away independence, which will be detrimental at a certain point on bumpy streets.

Strut bars will not produce a huge noticeable effect, but do help some. They work to keep your strut towers (your camber) in alignment in reference to one another. Meaning when the unibody flexes, they will at least flex side to side together, helping the tires to track evenly. Contrary to what some companies trying to sell them tell you, they do nothing in the area of body roll.

With springs, make sure and pick for what you chose to do with the car. Too low and you are actually hurting handling performance, I wouldnt go lower than 2" of drop for sure taking that into consideration. Consider what type of roads you are driving on, tire and wheel size, offset, etc.

I am running a Hotchkis front strut bar, TRD springs, stock struts and a TRD rear sway on race setting. It is pretty much perfect for me for a daily driver. Handles MUCH better than stock, rides fairly nice and handles well on bumpy roads. Keep in mind that wildly stiffer setups may be great on a groomed track, but will probably be worse on day to day streets due to bumps.

Magnus213

iTrader: (1)

Hotchkis springs paired with a Progress rear sway bar is working beautifully for me, ride is still pretty comfortable, no more boat-like pitching when I turn. I also have the DC front strut bar but it didn't make a noticable difference.

mike6789k

ah ok thanks for the info guys... ill scratch the idea of strut bars

im still highly considering the hotchiks stage 1... how much more bumpy will the ride be? I dont want my rattles to get wayyyy out of control...

and plus, i have a carpc and TOO much shaking could damage the hard drive!!!