Hey guys, I was just wondering who here has aftermarket sway bars on stock sized tires? The reason that I ask is that I have heard here and there that adding stiffer aftermarket sway bars to a car with stock sized tires is a complete waste of time since you technically dont have enough tire to make use of the added grip? I also remember reading in the suspension/brake forum that you actually lose grip with that kind of setup. Right now the car handles just fine for me but it does tend to lean a little bit more than I would like to in quick transition turns(though it is greatly reduced from stock thanks to the c/o), some have suggested that I switch to a CR front sway or a MY00 sway but im wondering if the difference will be at all significant from my stock 02 sway bar. Experience from those who autox or track would be greatly appreciated since the car will be seeing a few of those a year. The s2k is mainly a weekender and not a daily driver, the car sees the canyons more than it will ever see the track if that matters.

Setup
MY2002
F camber -1.8
R camber -2.5
Caster is stock
F toe 0
R toe 0.2 deg total

Bilstein PSS coilovers measuring 13.5inches from fender to centercap in the front and 14inches in the rear
Continental Extreme contact x4 in stock ap1 sizing

 

When you add a front sway bar, you are actually taking a little bit of mechanical grip away from the front. On stock-sized tires, adding a thicker FSB will make the car very understeer-biased. I added a Saner FSB to my MY03, on otherwise stock suspension. With 255 star specs all around, the car became much more neutral, though I may want to stiffen the FSB next season. I recently put my stock AP1 tires on, and with the FSB the car feels more planted. It definitely tends to understeer more, but the sway bar made the weight of the car more manageable.

That being said, I think a bit stiffer spring, along with re-valved shocks would be a better way to keep the weight of the car in-check. The FSB surely helped in my car, but with the still-soft stock suspension, there is still plenty of body roll. In slaloms at autox the car will still get a bit out-of-wack if your inputs aren't smooth.

I'm just starting to get my feet wet in suspension theory, so please correct me if anything I've said is wrong.

-Connor