Sway bars vs. strut bars?
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Sway bars vs. strut bars?
I searched first.
What's the difference? The ones that go under the hood that bolt onto the top of the wheel wells, those are strut bars, right? They provide stiffer handling I assume. So, on with the questions:
What is a sway bar?
Are aftermarket strut bars a good investment? I've seen them for as low as $20 in Import Tuner, and up to $200 each. Do they make a difference?
Do they make rear ones? I've only seen pictures of front ones. If you get front strut bars, do you need rear ones as well to balance everything out?
What about sway bars. Same questions.
I'm interested in this because I would like to improve my car's handling but I'm not really interested in lowering it (lack of money). Also, I would like to keep it looking stock (from the outside).
Finally, what brands of styles, etc. of strut/sway bars would you recommend.
Thanks. I realize this is a lot of questions but I DID do a search beforehand. I appreciate any help you can give to this hardcore noob.
IronFist
What's the difference? The ones that go under the hood that bolt onto the top of the wheel wells, those are strut bars, right? They provide stiffer handling I assume. So, on with the questions:
What is a sway bar?
Are aftermarket strut bars a good investment? I've seen them for as low as $20 in Import Tuner, and up to $200 each. Do they make a difference?
Do they make rear ones? I've only seen pictures of front ones. If you get front strut bars, do you need rear ones as well to balance everything out?
What about sway bars. Same questions.
I'm interested in this because I would like to improve my car's handling but I'm not really interested in lowering it (lack of money). Also, I would like to keep it looking stock (from the outside).
Finally, what brands of styles, etc. of strut/sway bars would you recommend.
Thanks. I realize this is a lot of questions but I DID do a search beforehand. I appreciate any help you can give to this hardcore noob.
IronFist
The Fallen Angel . . .
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From: Baltimore, Maryland, US
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Strut (tower) bars link the upper or lower end of your struts to give you a stiffer suspension, thus improving traction and cornering. There are Front upper, rear upper, and rear lower strut bars currently available for the 7th gen civic. General consensus is that either the Neuspeed or DC sports strut bars are best for the front (neither have clearance issues with an aftermarket intake, but I've heard more praise for the Neuspeed). To my knowledge, only DC sports makes a rear upper and lower strut bar, though I could be mistaken. The neuspeed is available in black or silver/chrome (not sure which). The DC is available in Chrome, Red, or Blue, if I'm not mistaken.
Sway bars I'm not too well versed on. I know that all 7th gen models have a front sway bar, but only the EX (2001 and 2002) and LX (2002) have rear sway bars. Some members have done the RSX rear sway bar conversion (giving them a thicker rear sway bar) and have said it improves handling. I can't confirm this personally. From what I understand, Progress Company makes a good sway bar replacement, etc.; as a matter of fact, I believe Grey is planning on upgrading to their system.
My recommendation would be for a Neuspeed front strut tower bar, DC sports rear upper and lower strut bars, and Progress sway bars, if you choose to upgrade them all. Just be prepared for a MAJOR change in handling performance.
Strut (tower) bars link the upper or lower end of your struts to give you a stiffer suspension, thus improving traction and cornering. There are Front upper, rear upper, and rear lower strut bars currently available for the 7th gen civic. General consensus is that either the Neuspeed or DC sports strut bars are best for the front (neither have clearance issues with an aftermarket intake, but I've heard more praise for the Neuspeed). To my knowledge, only DC sports makes a rear upper and lower strut bar, though I could be mistaken. The neuspeed is available in black or silver/chrome (not sure which). The DC is available in Chrome, Red, or Blue, if I'm not mistaken.
Sway bars I'm not too well versed on. I know that all 7th gen models have a front sway bar, but only the EX (2001 and 2002) and LX (2002) have rear sway bars. Some members have done the RSX rear sway bar conversion (giving them a thicker rear sway bar) and have said it improves handling. I can't confirm this personally. From what I understand, Progress Company makes a good sway bar replacement, etc.; as a matter of fact, I believe Grey is planning on upgrading to their system.
My recommendation would be for a Neuspeed front strut tower bar, DC sports rear upper and lower strut bars, and Progress sway bars, if you choose to upgrade them all. Just be prepared for a MAJOR change in handling performance.
Escaped Convict
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Rep Power: 367 first of all, suspension tunning isn't exactly just (bolt on all the bars) and your ride will do 360 like nothing...
stiffer isn't always better, and this is where suspension tunning gets complex...
strut bars basically stiffens up ur front suspension by connecting together the two strut towers...
and the rear strut bars ties together the rear strut towers... (actually perhaps it should be shock towers, since in the rear, we have shocks, not struts. but this is another story.)
sway bars are bars that attach your lower suspensions together. cars have them mostly to deal with the body roll that can occur during high speed turning/cornering... thicker sway bar means more stiffness.. and sway bars do have negatives such as making your independent suspensions less independent...
depending on the vehicle and situation, sometimes increasing/adding front/rear sway bars will yield oversteer or understeer... the point of suspension tunning should be finding the preference you want... most people would want neutral handling... where the car doesn't oversteer or understeer...
what else...
there are also other types of bars... tie bars that ties up your lower control arms... front/rear tie bars also stiffens up your ride more.. tie bars have the advantage of reinforcing your subframes, so you can use a thicker sway bar... (sometimes using sway bars too thick will result in subframe damage when the sway bar rips itself outta it)
personally from what I've read, strut bars and the likes should really be applied only when you've lowered your car.
replacing/adding sway bars will get you immediate handling difference... depending on your ride, I suggest a 19mm RSX rear sway bar.
lowering a car wont cost that much really, springs runs for around 150 shipped. Nuespeed/Goldline
but you may have to deal with installation cost and the cost of the strut/shocks when/if they blow.
anyhow, I'm missing lots of details, but I think thats the gist of it.
stiffer isn't always better, and this is where suspension tunning gets complex...
strut bars basically stiffens up ur front suspension by connecting together the two strut towers...
and the rear strut bars ties together the rear strut towers... (actually perhaps it should be shock towers, since in the rear, we have shocks, not struts. but this is another story.)
sway bars are bars that attach your lower suspensions together. cars have them mostly to deal with the body roll that can occur during high speed turning/cornering... thicker sway bar means more stiffness.. and sway bars do have negatives such as making your independent suspensions less independent...
depending on the vehicle and situation, sometimes increasing/adding front/rear sway bars will yield oversteer or understeer... the point of suspension tunning should be finding the preference you want... most people would want neutral handling... where the car doesn't oversteer or understeer...
what else...
there are also other types of bars... tie bars that ties up your lower control arms... front/rear tie bars also stiffens up your ride more.. tie bars have the advantage of reinforcing your subframes, so you can use a thicker sway bar... (sometimes using sway bars too thick will result in subframe damage when the sway bar rips itself outta it)
personally from what I've read, strut bars and the likes should really be applied only when you've lowered your car.
replacing/adding sway bars will get you immediate handling difference... depending on your ride, I suggest a 19mm RSX rear sway bar.
lowering a car wont cost that much really, springs runs for around 150 shipped. Nuespeed/Goldline
but you may have to deal with installation cost and the cost of the strut/shocks when/if they blow.
anyhow, I'm missing lots of details, but I think thats the gist of it.
Registered!!
Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Dallas, TX
Rep Power: 0 I have only just begun to look into this, so forgive me if this is a stupid question, CapYoda: I have noted a couple of posts saying that since the 2001 LX Sedan (which I have) did not come with a rear sway bar, it requires somewhat more work to install one. Is that true? My personal preference is, as you mentioned, a "neutral" steering feel for the most part, but I would like more level cornering. Would a 2002 LX sway bar fit, or would it be more cost-effective to buy something else?
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