I was planning on getting a Front sway bar within the next month and I have a couple of questions the autox faq didn't touch on in detail.

My set up right now is stock with stock tires, and I will be keeping with this setup for quite awhile. My question is will adding a bigger bar with my stock setup actually help me in my car handle better in autox events or not. I have been looking at some threads and reading that a bigger sway bar on a stock tire setup might net too much understeer, any more info would be great thanks!

 

It will make your car slower, but it will make YOU faster. You'll learn the finer details of slow in, fast out with a heavily understeering car. When you move up to R compounds, you'll be that much faster.

 

Ok thanks, so with what you're saying if I want to continue to run the times I'm running right now (faster) I should postpone the bar, but when I move up to R Compounds get the bar also and learn the slow in fast out technique.

 

How do I learn the fast-in fast-out technique?

 

No, actually, I personally like the idea of getting the bar and dealing with the understeer. You'll be much faster in the end. Since you are on street tires, you aren't competitive anyway, so the loss of speed really isn't a big issue at this time.

 

While I can see the merits of learning how to "drive around" an understeering car, it's my opinion that the car with stock tires and oem suspension handles about the same as the car with r-comps and a front sway bar.

What you'll gain from learing to auto-x you car as it is has many merrits. The most important being, learning how to handle a car with nuetral characteristics. It isn't half as easy as learning how to drive a slightly understeering car.... plus it's more fun. Secondly, you'll be fairly used to how the car handles and that will better prepare you for r-comps and a bar in the future. If you don't, you'll be spending time and tires ($$$) spinning out with the r-comps and bar re-learning how to drive a neutral car..

I say learn to drive the car stock and then take the plunge with tires and bar at the same time. I think they go hand in hand. Besides, you can learn "slow in, fast out" with a neutral car too.

 

I found the pre-2004 car to be nicely balanced on the stock tires with a Gendron hollow bar, the one time that I drove one. The solid bar probably would be a bit much for stock tires.

 

Well that's the thing, in my region I am competitive, I just got the TTOD last weekend on a wet course and I usually rank in the top 5 overall. My closest compitition is a MR2 Turbo with Toyo RA-1's, Koni Shocks, Front Sway Bar, and springs, he usually beats me but I come very close to beating him, and finally edged him out. I was just looking at the bar for another advantage, but It looks like i might just have more fun with a lighter cat back exhaust system to drop weight and stuff.

 

sorry I was using my g/f's computer that was me lol

 

I thought that was strange. I was like "where did this dude come from"

I'm still farily new to auto-x but I will still offer my opinion/support for the others.

Congrats on the TTOD in the rain, that means you are doing a good job of being smooth. I would bet you still have a lot of time left out there though so you should focus on your own driving. If you plan on staying stock then don't worry about the swaybar. I have put springs on my car so I have a set of cusco bars coming right now. I'm hoping they will cure my balance issues since I went to 225/245 17" set up for the street but we'll have to see. The last auto-x cross I used the new street setup to see how they felt at the limit and it was pretty scary.