Sway bars seem to be a hot topic (again) right now. I'm curious, what sort of Front Sway Bar do you have and how do you use it?

 

I think that there are a limited number of bars that people use (Saner, Muz, Gendron, Comptech), so maybe we should have a poll or just post what bar is used.

Saner bar here

 

Comptech Adjustable.

 

Comptech adjustable, and adjusted between first 3 of the 5 holes. Wished there were lower settings still.

 

Based on the poll, to be honest I had to click the third option because I installed the Saner bar the end of last season and haven't bought my R compounds yet. I expect I will be changing settings this season. Based on only two events since I got the Saner, I find the Saner on the softest setting with S02s suits my driving style very well. Others say it is too stiff for street tires even at the softest setting, but I disagree.

 

I have the Saner bar with RA-1 tires, but haven't had it on the track yet. I'll probably tinker with it at the speedventures sebring event next month.

 

Erik you didn't ask the question right.

Because a lot of the votes are going to be from people who just auto-x the car in stock class and they have a whole seperate set of requirements than you.

Stick with your mugen front and get a softer rear when/if they're available and up the spring rates.

 

The plus of having some adjustability is for versatility such as in cases when switching tires may require different settings, such as when switching from a 225-255 to 245-275 or 225-285 stagger, or simply trying to balance out the car if you have wing, splitter etc., or softening things up for the wet, without having to change springs or bars. I agree it's more for fine tuning and that you should get the proper springs for your most common set-up.

 

No, I think I asked the right question. This has nothing really to do with me or my setup, it's just a general question about swaybars in general. I'm also not overly interested in which brand of bar people use.

What I want to know is do you have an aftermarket front sway bar and if so is it set and forget or do you actually use the adjustments. I'd like to know because in much the same way as my radio has bass, trebble, fade and balance knobs I never use them.

It's one thing to have the versatility to make adjustments, it's another to actually use it. I consider an aftermarket non-adjustable front bar == an aftermarket adjustable front bar that never gets changed. My suspicion is that most of the people with adjustable front bars would probably be just as well off with a non-adjustable one in all practical terms. I want to test that hypothesis.

I have a Mugen 31.something mm front bar. The stiffer of the two they were selling at the time I bought it 3 years ago. If I were buying one today I'd probably buy a saner and never adjust it Adjustable bars weren't a realistic option at the time.

 

Seems like it's roughly 2:1 in favor of set-n-forget