From a performance stand point, what are teh best sway bars for our car. i was thinking of getting the RM DSM bars? are there any better than this?
thanks
James

For a more neutral car, get suspension techniques. The front(19mm) is adjustable and I have it set on full stiff(reacts like a 21mm bar). The rear (19mm) is not adjustable.

I really like the RMDSM, but their fwd setup causes too much understeer for my tastes and there is no adjustment.

When I finally get adjustable struts this winter(tokico HP now), the tuning will be much better for autocross.

I found shox.com to be one of the cheaper places that sell these sways. I paid wholesale through our shop distributor and only saved $20 from Shox price shipped.

If you are dead set on RMDSM and have adjustable struts, then you could set the rear near full stiff and the front near full soft for a more neutral handling car.

i am going to get the tokico 5 way shock and spring kit. does the ST kit come with all the necessary hardware. I already have a rear sway bar (GS MODEL) so i won't need the mounting hardware, but does it come with all the bushings and stuff i need?
thanks
James

When where your RMDSM bars purchased DeanoD? I bought mine about 2 years ago and loved them. I couldn't make the car understeer after the install. Maybe they changed the design :wary

I have ridden/drove a fwd 2g car with rmdsm fwd sways. It had stock struts and springs also. You have to push the car hard on the skid pad or take off/on ramps fast enough where your tires are breaking loose to feel the push. The sways are good, do not change my meaning, they just cause more push in the corners than I like. It is fairly similar to a GS-T swaybar setup (18.5 front and 14.5 rear---actual measurements with a caliper), only stiffer overall. It is not more neutral with this setup, just less sway. Fine for the street, not good for autocross or extreme driving IMHO.

James did say he wanted it for a performance setup.

Intrax was suppose to make a setup for our cars, but they never released them....damn!

If you do decide on RMDSM, then with adjustable struts you can fix the understeer.

BTW: both swaybars come with the bars themselves and poly bushings/lube. If you already have a rear sway, then you are set.

I have also driven most every combo of factory setup you can have with the 19mm/18mm/16mm fronts and 13mm/15mm/18mm rears(factory numbers). Each one is actually .5 mm smaller than quoted.

I was not changing your meaning and understood your point clearly. My car was subjected to autocross and extreme driving conditions on a regular basis. That's why i asked if the bar design might have changed. As i stated before, i could not make the car understeer after the install of the RMDSM bars.:)

Curious:
What struts were you using and what were your settings?

What tires and size rims were you using?

What springs do you use(spring rates if possible)?

What air pressure up front and what pressure in back?

Do you run all 4 strut/tie bars?

What is your camber settings front and rear? even a guess would help me. Less negative in rear with more negative up front will help counter understeer.

Do you have factory toe settings? or do you run no toe/slight toe out?


There are many ways to counter under/oversteer, just would like to know how you balanced everything out. Even if you cannot answer everything, I would like as much info as I could get from you. Helps with my own understanding of how our fwd setup takes to specific mods.

Thanks Buddy!!!

The big difference between the ST and the RM bars is that the ST bars are designed by engineers who look at the stock equipment, and the RMDSM bars are designed by enthusiasts. The ST bars don't like to work with larger then stock exhaust setups, while the RM bars make compensations for this.
-=B-=

Turbo swaybars are thicker also, the TSi swaybar is 19mm RS's are like 16mm. You can see teh difference. Heh it makes it understeer more too :(

Haha I say forget about the front sway bar set all you need a rear sway bar bwahaha oversteer mania! Get adjustable shox and a big fat rear sway bar and tune it :) Right now I got a 19mm front and a 12mm rear and I need to make teh back all the way stiff and front all the way soft so I can bust out with the drift action.

I'm going to experiment with a double bar mod also. I recently bought a 15mm GST swaybar and I have my 12mm TSi swaybar so I'm gonna try a little ghetto mod trick I heard of using steel clamps to double up on sway bars. I asked RRE about it and they said it couldn't be done though we'll see about that.

Hehe they did say that b4 an autox you can disconnect the end links for the front swaybar for some oversteer action hehe, but they said it's not fun driving on the street like that :P

okay,
I've talked with many and I have some questions. Once i get sway bars, i'm kind of leaning towards the RM kit. will the car drive totally different. keep in mind i am going to basically do my entire suspension at one time. ( tokico illumina 5 way, tokico springs, Energy upper shock mounts and the RM sway bar kit) I use my car on the street, no Auto-X but i do very frequently drive on curvy mountain roads and other open roads just for the heck of it. i mean often, basically i am looking to make my car handle damn good. when i put the shocks and springs on i know there is going to be a difference, but i have never fiddled with sway bars. I know the theoretical changes, but can anyone with experience with the RM bars explain to me how the car will handle after i replace the bars?
thanks
James

Do not worry, you will adjust quickly. It actually will inspire confidence in taking corners. Your car will just grip really well.

Do yourself a favor and buy the RRE front and Rear camber kits. $150 well spent. I just have the rears, but I also want the extra negative for autoX. You will lose hella traction if you do not get the camber back in spec.

Get the car aligned in spec since you just street drive it. It will promote good tire wear, good front grip and track very well in the wet. The handling will still be amazing.

Try setting front struts to 2 and the rear to 4 for performance/near neutral handling on the streets. Probably 4 in front and 5 in rear for drag racing. For highway comfort on trips, try 1 front and 2 rear.

If you have never had your swaybar endlinks off, then spray them with some sort of penetrating oil the night before. You will only need to remove the nut that attaches to the bar itself.

if you want some slipety slide o action you can set the front soft and rear stiff. Haha but if I don't wanna die I set the front a little stiffer. :P

okay i installed everything, the tokico illuminas the tokico springs and the RM sway bars. all i have to say is oh my god does my car handle! Last night i took it for a quick drive in the rain and i could not make any of the tires break loose as hard as i tried! i have my shocks set to 2 in the front 3 in the back and it drives great! i'm going to fiddle with the shock settings today and see how it changes handling. the car naow corners flat! barely any body roll its amazing! i have racing seats so man could i feel the body roll, but now no more!
i am very happy with this combo, i'm gonna drop in some spacers to help the rear camber and see wassup!
lates
james

>I'm going to experiment with a double bar mod also. I
>recently bought a 15mm GST swaybar and I have my 12mm TSi
>swaybar so I'm gonna try a little ghetto mod trick I heard
>of using steel clamps to double up on sway bars. I asked
>RRE about it and they said it couldn't be done though we'll
>see about that.

i had 2 gst rear bars, i thought about having them welded together but i didn't think it would work because it wouldn't mount with the bushing/brakets even with new bushings