Too Many Bars?

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Victa_G

Junior Member
ok...

i just got my 95 integra coupe (or hatchback, depending how you look at it). the first thing i'm doin is my suspension all around. struts, springs, 16" rims, etc...

that brings me to my dilema...
strut bars and tie bars and sway bars, oh my

but what i really want to know is, what good are any of them. i know that the makers of these products will have you believe that they increase the handling and that each of them is a must have item, but they also want to make a dollar any way they can.

so what i want to know is what are the pros and/or cons of gettin any of these, and which ones are useful to get, what are everybodies opinions of these, etc...

the car is a 95 integra, it's currently stock. i'm lookin to drop it about an inch to an inch and a half, and i'm buildin an ls/t. the main purpose of this car is a street cruiser, something that i can make my 3 hours a day of driving in style and comfort.
 
hahaha, i thought this thread was gonna be about turbos.

if you do end up getting strut bars, be sure to get good ones. Cheap ones are totally not worth it, there is so much flex in them that it is worthless. Benen, skunk2, neuspeed are all good ones
 
front upper - OEM ITR, neuspeed, benen
rear upper- skunk2, benen, cusco
rear lower tie - comptech
front lower tie - neuspeed
rear sway - itr LCA's with itr suspension and itr rear sway bar owns j00! :)
 
I would say start with Suspension Techniques anti-sway bars, those work wonders for handling. But I heard you can't put in a rear lower tie bar, but I rather have the sway bar than the lower tie. Then like SolReaver, said don't buy cheap arse strut bars cause it's just throwing your money down the drain. Go for more of the name brands that many people trust. And besides that it's mostly pros, the only con I can think of is the bars adding weight, but it's not that much plus I'd make the sacrifice for better handling.
 
you can run a tie bar with the Suspension Techniques sway bar... they even make a tie bar... its bad ass (ask B he saw it :) ) i have it waiting to be put on
 
I plan on getting the ST speed tech rear swaybar w/ the lower tie bar on it. Then just get a regular ST front swaybar to finish my suspension.
As for the original post. There is no cons in my book to upgradeing your suspension! Just make sure you do it right the first time.
 
thats the setup i have ... your gunna shit when you see the lower tie bar
 
its BEEFY to say the least. thats why. i looked at it, and went... Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh thats f'in huge. talk about re-inforcement.

and dude- you better keep in touch while you go kill the sadaam-following bastrads, ok :)
 
Sweet! I like BEEF yo.
ST-SPTCSW.GIF

Oh and Brian I will keep in touch as best as I can. I will have internet access over there, so I will give you guys updates!
 
so if i got this right...
all of them do add noticibly to the handling and i should go all out and plan on gettin strut, tie, and sway bars.

i dont have any problem with savin the money and gettin them, my big thing is i want to make sure that whatever i'm gettin is gonna make a noticable difference. it's a shame you cant try before you buy, cause i really dont want to invest in something if it isn't gonna make a difference in the car's handling. on the other hand, if it does make a difference (for the better), it's deffinatly something i'll go for.

also, i was wondering if somebody could explain (in some kind of detail) what each type of bar "does". i realize that strut bars stiffen the chassie in places where it isn't solid (preventing chassie flex?). but what do tie and sway bars do?

i've got my engine mechanics down, i'm just a little in the dark on suspension.

another thing, is there any difference between coilovers and regular springs beyond the fact that coil overs are adjustable. i'm just lookin to get a set of sport performance springs, mainly cause i dont want to deal with having to adjust coilovers and i'm not interested in adjusting them. are there any other advantages to coilovers?
 
the goal of 'bars' is to conenct the suspension at the top to the other side.. therefore equling the stress out a little bit and thus making the car more rigid. just over regualr driving/bumps, i noticed my chassis was stiffer when i put on the upper front and reat strut tower bars
sways are down under. unless you have a cx, chances are you at least have a front sway. its kinda like a bow (as in bow and arrow). the ticker ones are harder to bend, thus providing more strength. what they do is they connect the 2 sides of the suspension together near the brakes.. they reduce sway. sway meaning body roll to some extent, but more so- its job is to keep the tire with the force (ie, the outside) planted to the gorund.
take chets car for instance....

s3e24a2801f1e4.jpg




if he didnt' have a 22mm rear sway, chances are the inside never would have popped up
 
Originally posted by Victa_G@Jan 20 2003, 05:03 AM
so if i got this right...
all of them do add noticibly to the handling and i should go all out and plan on gettin strut, tie, and sway bars.

i dont have any problem with savin the money and gettin them, my big thing is i want to make sure that whatever i'm gettin is gonna make a noticable difference.  it's a shame you cant try before you buy, cause i really dont want to invest in something if it isn't gonna make a difference in the car's handling. on the other hand, if it does make a difference (for the better), it's deffinatly something i'll go for.

also, i was wondering if somebody could explain (in some kind of detail) what each type of bar "does".  i realize that strut bars stiffen the chassie in places where it isn't solid (preventing chassie flex?).  but what do tie and sway bars do?  

i've got my engine mechanics down, i'm just a little in the dark on suspension.

another thing, is there any difference between coilovers and regular springs beyond the fact that coil overs are adjustable.  i'm just lookin to get a set of sport performance springs, mainly cause i dont want to deal with having to adjust coilovers and i'm not interested in adjusting them.  are there any other advantages to coilovers?

there is a noticeable difference. i just got my neuspeed front strut bar and pilot lower tie bar installed last week and the handling feels crisper. steering response also improved. plus, its alot easier to steer when parking.

as for coilovers and springs...the ability to adjust coilovers is the only difference. the springs in the coilovers are shorter though, resulting in a stiffer ride. coilovers are designed so you can place the car on scales and get a perfect balance on all four wheels...but most poeple just like the fact that you can lower your car almost to the ground. i want a set so i can raise my car for everyday driving. right now i am prone to scraping with my eibach springs. having to take driveways on an angle all the time gets old really fast.
 
There's a HUGE difference... my car handles much better / quicker now than it did stock, and that's with an extra 100 pounds in the nose. Yank the steering wheel and the sucker goes as soon as you ask it to. I'm running:

Neuspeed upper front brace
4 point lower front brace
Eibach Pro-Kit springs
Eibach sway bars 26mm front, 19mm rear
KYB AGX shocks
Skunk2 front camber kit
Ingalls rear camber kit
Z10 Engineering traction bars
 
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