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Improving handling on a budget
Hey guys, I'm looking for ways of reducing body roll and understeer on my car on a shoestring budget (this has been my complaint about my car for years, and I am finally deciding to deal with it)
I've looked around on the internet, and here are 2 options that I formulated that fits my budget:
Tein S Tech lowering springs
1. Front strut bar + rear sway bars (my car doesnt have either of those atm)
2. In terms of body roll and handling which one would be give me the most benefit?
Thanks!
Purely
03-21-2013, 10:31 AM
on your ML? :troll:
trollguy
03-21-2013, 10:32 AM
What tires are you on? If you're on crappy rubber, adding either won't help
snails
03-21-2013, 10:33 AM
strut bars just look pretty, they really dont do much, sway bars are your best bet and a lower profile tire assuming you are already not on them, next would be firmer suspension or springs!
sonick
03-21-2013, 10:35 AM
I'd say beefier rear swaybar would benefit most for your goals and for relatively cheap. I'd go with this first.
Front strut bars can help depending on how rigid the car's chassis is to begin with, but won't do much for body roll or understeer reduction.
BrRsn
03-21-2013, 10:36 AM
It really depends on your car, should give a bit more info.
I wouldn't waste money on strut bars, they look really nice in the engine bay but don't make too big of a noticeable difference unless you're tracking your car.
On my jeep I have upgraded front and rear swaybars + endlinks.
The stiffer rear swaybar made a huge difference in performance/handling and was only $150.
Front swaybar made almost no difference, but it looks nice lol.
Lowering springs are generally stiffer so you get less body roll at the expense of ride quality. A good spring/shock setup will lower your center of gravity, decrease 'squat' when you accelerate and decrease nose dive when braking. Accelerate faster, brake faster and can corner faster.
ML has stock sway bars :okay:
So, perhaps I should ditch the strut bar for a front sway bar?
Tires are out of the question as they are too expensive.
EDIT: I was responding to gYU, the car in question is NOT an ML
snails
03-21-2013, 10:41 AM
stock sway bars in most factory cars are just big enough for manufactures to pretty much say they are there, get a bigger sway setup, 8-10mm at least bigger if u want it to be noticed in such a big car
sonick
03-21-2013, 10:43 AM
ML has stock sway bars :okay:
So, perhaps I should ditch the strut bar for a front sway bar?
Tires are out of the question as they are too expensive.
I would leave front sway stock but just get thicker rears to reduce understeer.
Guys, I have NO rear sway bars at all :lawl:, not too sure about fronts, I am still looking up on that.
The car in question is not a ML, it's a midsize sedan
Lower it. Stiffer springs.
BrRsn
03-21-2013, 10:49 AM
Guys, I have NO rear sway bars at all :lawl:, not too sure about fronts, I am still looking up on that.
The car in question is not a ML, it's a midsize sedan
Dafuq? No rear swaybars at all?
What kind of car is it? I've seen a few domestics that have PLASTIC swaybars but I've never heard of no swaybars at all lol. :badpokerface:
I stripped a nut installing my rear swaybar so I drove around for a month with no rear swaybar. I cannot imagine driving a car with no rear sways all the time.It SUCKED! If I was you I would look for a rear swaybar solution or just give up. Springs will take away some body roll but they can't replace the role of a fully functioning swaybar
Dafuq? No rear swaybars at all?
What kind of car is it? I've seen a few domestics that have PLASTIC swaybars but I've never heard of no swaybars at all lol. :badpokerface:
I dunno, I looked under the car and I couldn't see one, and the dealership tech said there was not parts no. for a rear sway.
Car is Mitsubishi Galant ES
ilvtofu
03-21-2013, 10:59 AM
I'd probably say tires, fat and stickier front tires.
As others have said rear sway should help
Adding some more negative camber should make a difference, not sure how much you can add with stock components.
These cars are so heavy and front heavy in particular really hurts the handling.
chunk_stir
03-21-2013, 11:12 AM
Cheapest handling upgrade - proper tire inflation. $0.
tofu1413
03-21-2013, 11:23 AM
second cheapest - alignment.
Akinari
03-21-2013, 11:43 AM
If it was an older car I'd suggest swapping out all the worn bushings for new ones. Bushings are one of the most overlooked suspension components in older vehicles and replacing them can make a world of a difference.
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dvst8
03-21-2013, 12:04 PM
^ +1
FN-2199
03-21-2013, 12:24 PM
Hey guys, I'm looking for ways of reducing body roll and understeer on my car on a shoestring budget (this has been my complaint about my car for years, and I am finally deciding to deal with it)
I've looked around on the internet, and here are 2 options that I formulated that fits my budget:
Tein S Tech lowering springs
1. Front strut bar + rear sway bars (my car doesnt have either of those atm)
2. In terms of body roll and handling which one would be give me the most benefit?
Thanks!
A bigger diameter rear sway bar is definitely one of the cheapest (and most effective) ways to increase handling, and reduce body roll.
Some cars typically only have a front sway bar, or it is bigger than the rear sway. They do this so your car will understeer (because most drivers don't know how to deal with oversteer).
chunk_stir
03-21-2013, 01:24 PM
depending on what car you have and age, you have a number of suggestions already that are relatively inexpensive... albeit rather lacking in bling, but quite effective depending on your goals.
adjusting tire pressures
alignment
getting better tires
changing suspension bushings
depending on what car you have, removing the front sway bar helps too - and is free. These are installed by factory to induce understeer earlier for safety for drivers. note the risk of doing so however.
Lomac
03-21-2013, 01:33 PM
If it was an older car I'd suggest swapping out all the worn bushings for new ones. Bushings are one of the most overlooked suspension components in older vehicles and replacing them can make a world of a difference.
Posted via RS Mobile
Exactly what I was going to suggest. Find all the old rubber bushings and replace them.
As for your car not having a sway bar... I'm pretty sure it has one. Perhaps the mechanic would have recognized stabilizer bar instead?
Akinari
03-21-2013, 01:54 PM
Not sure which Galant you own, but 8G and 9G Galants both have rear stabilizer bars :pokerface:
BrRsn
03-21-2013, 01:57 PM
Uhh.. OP just because dealership doesn't have a partnumber doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Sometimes its part of a larger mechanism that you have to buy as a whole, i.e. I broke a plug on the wiring harness. Dealership won't have a part number for that plug but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist -- you have to buy the whole wiring harness to get the plug.
Same deal here. Probably part of the entire rear axle or something.
Shave some weight off the car, like spare tire, lighter battery.....
SpuGen
03-21-2013, 04:22 PM
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/attachments/detailing/39834d1257430979-best-tire-shine-tire-shine.gif
Spray that all over the rear tread.
Have fun. You might even drift into the D-Dimension.
Prostrho
03-21-2013, 04:40 PM
Tires will make the biggest difference, and no they're not more expensive than a rear sway bar + labour to install.
You can pick up a set of used decent tires with rims for around $500 right here on Revscene classifieds.
The swaybar will not improve your cornering speed very much if you're still rolling on hard as rock 15" all season tires. It will change the balance of your car, but the cornering speed will not differ by much with no grip from the tires.
christiankirana
03-21-2013, 10:31 PM
Rear swaybar and front camber kit (-1.5 degree)
Santofu
03-21-2013, 10:50 PM
Dafuq? No rear swaybars at all?
What kind of car is it? I've seen a few domestics that have PLASTIC swaybars but I've never heard of no swaybars at all lol. :badpokerface:
I stripped a nut installing my rear swaybar so I drove around for a month with no rear swaybar. I cannot imagine driving a car with no rear sways all the time.It SUCKED! If I was you I would look for a rear swaybar solution or just give up. Springs will take away some body roll but they can't replace the role of a fully functioning swaybar
My civic doesn't come with any sway bars :pokerface:
ilvtofu
03-21-2013, 11:11 PM
Shave some weight off the car, like spare tire, lighter battery.....
wouldn't make a dent TBH
AVS_Racing
03-21-2013, 11:27 PM
Make Your Car Faster For Free - YouTube
:lawl:
BigBadWhitey
03-21-2013, 11:35 PM
My civic doesn't come with any sway bars :pokerface:
The new C7 has no rear swaybar at all. NBD
kunoman1
03-22-2013, 08:56 AM
Make Your Car Faster For Free - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5lHdZ8gF6E)
:lawl:
+1
!!! Love mightycarmods
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bloodmack
03-22-2013, 09:48 AM
The new C7 has no rear swaybar at all. NBD
Now EC is gonna think he's driving a C7 Vett..
hk20000
03-22-2013, 10:47 AM
Run 32psi front and 20psi rear and report back Plz.
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inv4zn
03-22-2013, 12:08 PM
Run 32psi front and 20psi rear and report back Plz.
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http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070709001937/familyguy/images/2/21/307_jesse.jpg
smoothie.
03-22-2013, 12:32 PM
Fuck that, 36psi all the way around
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