Traction bars
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Been wondering the same thing myself. I was suppose to pick up the innovative trac bar used from a guy but that deal fell through. I have heard though that it helps reduce wheel hop on hard launches. I just dropped a GSR in my crx and have barely got to drive it but from what I can tell there will be lots of wheel spin and traction issues on this car 
Handling/cornering? It keeps the lower A arms from moving forwards/backwards under stress, so it really stabilizes the entire front suspension system. It'll only help- unless it's designed incorrectly and causes binding. Most of the 4th generation Civic traction bars just replace the stock radius arms with something lighter and beefier, so the geometry is correct... so binding usually isn't an issue.
yea youll really only run into binding issues on EG/DC and up when using spherical bushings. having a spherical compensator bushing will not allow the LCA to move forward, but with a traction bar (usually spherical as well) it will try to pull the LCA forward under compression (bump), but the spherical compensator wont allow that movement, so it binds.
like calesta said, the traction bars on EF's (and other cars alike that use a radius rod setup for LCA control) just replace the stuff thats already there with lighter/stronger parts. there is no compensator bushing to potentially cause issues.
and from personal experience, ive had the full-race bars on my crx for a while now. completely eliminated wheel hop, and definitely helps keep the suspension tight in cornering. most of the affect suspension-wise is really from the use of spherical joints, so you dont have any slop from rubber. you can replicate this by replacing the rubber radius rod bushings with spherical units. its the exact same thing, but the radius rods arent as strong as most aftermarket units. this really only matters with high powered drag cars though. everyone in Honda Challenge runs stock crosmembers (due to rule regulations) with spherical bushings with no problems.
really the #1 advantage of a traction bar is better engine/header clearance
the #2 advantage is the spherical joints.
my .02
like calesta said, the traction bars on EF's (and other cars alike that use a radius rod setup for LCA control) just replace the stuff thats already there with lighter/stronger parts. there is no compensator bushing to potentially cause issues.
and from personal experience, ive had the full-race bars on my crx for a while now. completely eliminated wheel hop, and definitely helps keep the suspension tight in cornering. most of the affect suspension-wise is really from the use of spherical joints, so you dont have any slop from rubber. you can replicate this by replacing the rubber radius rod bushings with spherical units. its the exact same thing, but the radius rods arent as strong as most aftermarket units. this really only matters with high powered drag cars though. everyone in Honda Challenge runs stock crosmembers (due to rule regulations) with spherical bushings with no problems.
really the #1 advantage of a traction bar is better engine/header clearance
the #2 advantage is the spherical joints.
my .02
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Actually, properly designed bars on the EG/DC and up will not bind. You just have to keep the pivot point on the bar in line with axis of the original control arm set- if you do, it all just acts like one giant lower A arm.
i disagree
with rubber or other compliant compensator, i agree. but with spherical it will bind.
as the LCA moves up, the radius rod becomes the hypotenuse of the triangle. to not bind, the LCA will have to move forward since the radius rod is a finite length. if you have a spherical compensator, it wont let the LCA pull forward and it will bind. youll still get some movement, but it will eventually bind.
with rubber or other compliant compensator, i agree. but with spherical it will bind.
as the LCA moves up, the radius rod becomes the hypotenuse of the triangle. to not bind, the LCA will have to move forward since the radius rod is a finite length. if you have a spherical compensator, it wont let the LCA pull forward and it will bind. youll still get some movement, but it will eventually bind.
Not if everything is pivoting on the exact same axis...
K2e2vin
Senior Member
Yeah; mainly material and mounting. ESP is probably the most beefy one out there(heaviest but probably also the strongest); they're also the only ones using square tubing vs. round. It's what I have on my car. I also had ETD and Avid v2(gave this up due to manufacturing error and didn't want to wait long).
Avid uses only two of the original crossmember mount; replaces tow hook mount, and uses nice Aurora bearings.
Full-Race is probably the "best"; well engineered and quality parts. Though, price reflects it.
Innovative uses the factory crossmember mounting locations(IIRC, doesn't use the tow hook mounts), and uses a rigid mount on the LCA vs. a radius arm with two bushings(the Innovating radius arm is like the stock radius arm with a spherical bushing instead of the rubber bushing).
ETD/K-Tuned-avoid them. I bought this to temporarily replace my Avid due to manufacturing error, and it has cheap bearings/heim joints, L-bracket to use two of the original crossmember mounts(IMO, not as rigid compared to Avid, ESP, and Full-Race), and mine required force fitting/slight bending of the tow-hook bracket.
Avid uses only two of the original crossmember mount; replaces tow hook mount, and uses nice Aurora bearings.
Full-Race is probably the "best"; well engineered and quality parts. Though, price reflects it.
Innovative uses the factory crossmember mounting locations(IIRC, doesn't use the tow hook mounts), and uses a rigid mount on the LCA vs. a radius arm with two bushings(the Innovating radius arm is like the stock radius arm with a spherical bushing instead of the rubber bushing).
ETD/K-Tuned-avoid them. I bought this to temporarily replace my Avid due to manufacturing error, and it has cheap bearings/heim joints, L-bracket to use two of the original crossmember mounts(IMO, not as rigid compared to Avid, ESP, and Full-Race), and mine required force fitting/slight bending of the tow-hook bracket.
