Been contemplating getting an Eibach front sway bar for my S. I'm looking at taming the rear end of the car.



I've got an 02 AP1 with OEM wheels, Dunlop Direzza Star Specs in the summer, lowered on KW V1 suspension with factory alignment numbers.

Anybody with experience using an Eibach sway bar? I'm looking for specific feedback on the front sway bar.

I use my car primarily as a daily driver. I may hit Mission for a track experience in the summer.

 

if you have it lowered, you probably want to look into a bumpsteer kit. It will help a lot in terms of stability

 

if you want to stabilize your rear, bumpsteer and the proper spring setup is always the way to go.

You really have three options:
1: stiffen up the front sway bar but I personally dislike that approach as you lose a lot of suspension independence.
2: loosen the rear sway (with NB miata front sway), I've done this approach, this will soften the suspension, making your car roll a bit more. It'll be more comfortable for daily, but when comes summer time at the track you might find it roll too much. You'll need stiffer springs to balance it out.
3: Get spring rates to balance the car. 10k/8k / 11k/9k or something as such.

Or you can do a combination of the above to achieve optimal balance.

Good luck!

 

Wow, there are quite a few options to consider. Each option has both pros and cons.

The stock springs on KW are rated at 515lbs/in or roughly 9.2kg/mm. My understanding is the KW spring rate is designed to match the the KW shock. With the KW helper spring, I'm not sure there are even options out there for other spring rates?

I might be better off getting more seat time track driving and learning to work around the natural tendencies of the car.

Keep the posts coming. Lots of good information being shared.

 

running Ap1 with Kw V1 as well , Coltron don't you find it is a little bit stiff for the street ?

 

get a bumpsteer kit, it'll make all the difference. AP1 have a tendency to have bumpsteer and upsetting the car's handling. Lowered AP2 doesn't have this severity of an issue because of the different subframe. I did a lot of research on it a long time ago, and the easiest explanation is to look here:

http://www.circletrack.com/chassiste...d/viewall.html

 

The rear roll steer on the ap1 does take some getting used to, and can definitely catch people out if they're not expecting it.

Best advice I can give you is to get more experience with controlling the car at the limit, in a safe environment, before you go and start changing things. UBCSCC and VCMC run autocross and track events, look them up. Next event is a Slush Series autocross this Sunday, January 13th at Pitt Meadows Airport.

Once you learn to expect how the rear end is going to react to inputs, and know how to react accordingly, the roll steer actually starts to work for you - it's one of the reason ap1's have such good turn-in response. When Honda took out the roll steer geometry for the ap2, they lost some of that razor sharp front end feel.

 

It's over twice the spring rate of stock so it's definitely noticeable. It's tolerable for a lowered S though. I prefer it over stock. The one area I find the V1 lacking is going over smaller bumps in succession i.e. some bumpy roads in Vancouver. The compression rate can be a bit harsh in this circumstance.


Thanks for the read. Detailed article. Any recommendations as to which bumpsteer kit? What kind are you using?/what would you recommend?

 

I'm not using a bumpsteer kit as I have an AP2. AP2 have a different subframe, and yes bumpsteer is still valid but not as noticeable or extreme as it is on AP1 that are lowered.

I don't believe you have that many options in regards to bumpsteer...another member can chim in if they can think of other brands.

T1R Rear Bumpsteer Kit
Megan Rear Bumpsteer Kit


Have a look at MuckaLun's thread in the FS forum, he has one locally for sale