I'm looking and getting one of these mods. From what I've read it seems as though if you were to get one or the other the rear sway would be the way to go. I will have little to no track time, but am an enthusiastic street driver.

Please feel free to post your opinions.

 

The rear sway bar in my opinion gives more affect as it helps neutralize handling. Many report the 19mm bar is the best street size, although the bigger is better crowd would argue for bigger. I think 19mm is the safest street size...it'll keep you out of trouble more so than larger bars. The strut brace looks slick and good ones help keep the shock crown from warping too. They're both relatively cheap mods that add to the driving pleasure. The struct brace is a very quick DIY install, if that matters to you.

 

I installed a 25 mm h-sport per peter (at m7's) recommendation and have never been happier. The car handles much better on the freeway and feels less "roller skate" like. Install it IMMEDIATELY!

 

Go for the rear swaybar to neutralize handling. It'll give you the largest performance impact. Strut braces give questionable gains in cornering stability but as Stevie said, a good one will prevent the struts from ballooning. I'd recommend a swaybar from H-Sport or RSpeed. Go for the larger one; the softest setting will still allow the car to understeer at the limit. I have the H-Sport comp and love it.

 

Go with the rear sway first,it will improve the handling alot more than a strut brace.

 

strut towers for this car is just another piece of metal you need to
remove to do your oil change.

not needed for street. i don't use one, probably never will on this car.

 

H-sport 25.5mm in mine and I'll never put another worthless strut brace in one of my cars again. Had one in my '92 GTI 16V and never noticed a difference in handling afterwards. The rear swaybar however, really is a noticeable improvement on our cars.

 

I have a Alta 22mm rear sway bar. Change was instant.
I also added a front and rear strut bar. No change noticed except in my wallet. They just add bling

 

strut brace commonly is used to tie suspension towers together on the top for weaker structural cars like civics and integras (not designed to be a knock on japanese cars!)

 

Not just Japanese cars, even on the Volv 850 I used to have, a front strut bar had MAJOR impact on the rigidity.

 

Def. go with the rear sway bar. Much Better bang for the buck.

 

Kyriian,

The strut bars in my 99 Si made a huge difference - front and rear. So, you're not knocking the cars, they require these. My 89 VW GLI 16V also benefited from front and rear strut bars, so much so, my wife noticed. She is in general, detached from anything automotive.

 

appreciate the feedback, sounds like a resounding vote for the rear, as I'd anticipated.

 

yea the rear is the way to go... but the front strut brace should also be considered after that if you can get a good deal on one... i have the alta 22mm.. and it feels much easier to turn the car and swing it around the bends.. i will oversteer on occasion if pushed to hard then understeer when you steer correct but thats only at its limits.. i really like the front strut brace tho.. it makes the front much flatter in the turns and doesnt tilt you as much.. as a first mod tho.. rears are definitely the way to go.

 

If you cant decide which size bar to get, or think you may eventually feel like upgrading to the best performing/looking swaybar on the market, take a look at our Webb Motorsports Extreme Rear Swaybar. Its fully adjustable meaning, it can act like a stock bar, or scale all the way past the stiffest bar out there with infinate points or adjustament in between. So basically, you dont have to worry about buying the wrong bar. If your thinking to yourself, "But I dont know how to adjust the bar, let alone decide what setting is best for me.", no problem, we offer full instructions with pictures as well as person to person walk throughs over the phone. And, like all other products we carry, this bar comes with a 2 year, 24,000 mile warranty if installed by us or a certified installer. Here is a link to some info WMS Swaybar.

-Brian

 

theres always an opportunity to advertise somehow lol

 

IMO, that's highly questionable...

I've yet to grasp how bolting a plate to the top of the shock tower is going to prevent mushrooming when the distorting force is coming from the bottom. I believe a hard hit is going to result in exactly the same damage - despite what a certain vendor would have you believe.

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Anyway... buy the rear swaybar. The two mods shouldn't even be considered an either-or, although they always are...

 

Next question is are there any to stay away from? I realize that this will be your personal opinion, and that bad things can happen even with the best products.

I will not be installing this myself as I have neither the time, patience, tools, nor skill to do so.

 

Rear sway.Lots of to do,s in forums

 

agreed. the rear swaybar ties to your suspension where the strut bar reinforces the chassis

 

Do most just recommend doing the rear sway bar? Why not the front also?

 

And it's M7, not a certain vendor!!

Thank you for that guesstimate of what the force will do, but you are wrong.

We have proven it over and over again with our STB, that has the same basic design. By sandwiching the weaker sheetmetal between the strut and the
M7 SRP you will distribute the force radially and evenly, across the the whole
surface....... Simple, elegant, and a solution to no solutions.

peter
Team M7
562-608-8123

 

the only thing missing now is a dispute between bhp and whp.... j/k lets not go there, besides we all know that stickers make your car faster.

Back on topic, instal costs for a rear sway on a convertible S, anyone have ballpark estimates they'd care to share?

 

According to Randy Webb (scroll 3/4 of the way for the sway bar section), adding a front bar as well would make the car handle flatter, but still understeer. Makes sense to me.

 

It's about weight transfer. A stiffer rear bar moves more weight to the outside front in corners, reducing understeer. A stiffer front bar moves it back to the inner wheel in corners, increasing understeer.

Please don't take this wrong, but if you want the most for your mod money, get a book on tuning suspensions. It sill tell you what the different changes are, and when you know how you want to make your car behave, you'll have a much better grasp of what to do, in what order, and why.

That said, get the rear sway bar!

Matt