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WhiteComet
06-18-2008, 12:35 PM
I have the following on my ep.

Stock Front: 25.4mm
Rear CTR swaybar: 22mm

This is very similar to Eibachs and alot of aftermarket sways out there.

Eibach
front 25mm hollow
rear 23mm solid

Why would Eibach make a Front swaybar that is the exact same size as the stock one? Is there actually any performance difference in these 2 setups?

ep_hatcher_510
06-18-2008, 12:41 PM
is hollow?

Zzyzx
06-18-2008, 12:46 PM
The stock bar is hollow, where as I would suspect the Eibach one to be solid...

mustclime
06-18-2008, 01:04 PM
I put this togather on another forum.......

http://forums.clubep3.net/showthread.php?t=567637

:mcool:

WhiteComet
06-18-2008, 02:01 PM
yes Musty had a really good writeup on clubep3

My question is are the front & rear sets u get from Eibach and Neuspeed going to perform any different than Stock + CTR rear sway?

Both the stock and Eibach fronts are the same size and are hollow. So would there be any benefit of buying the set as opposed with just installing a rear CTR and calling it a day?

!@#$%
06-18-2008, 02:10 PM
I think some will say that different brands of sway bars will behave differently, but at the end of the day, it's a bar under the car that is the same size. I don't think it is worth shuffling money around to have basically the same thing. The cost-benefit ratio is not a favorable one here.

shanewdude
06-18-2008, 02:13 PM
It's not the size of you bar that matters, it's the stiffness. However, there is SOME correlation between size and stiffness, so that's how they are measured. Each bar has a certain spring-rate, that's really why they feel different.

!@#$%
06-18-2008, 02:23 PM
It's not the size of you bar that matters, it's the stiffness. However, there is SOME correlation between size and stiffness, so that's how they are measured. Each bar has a certain spring-rate, that's really why they feel different.

So are you saying that spending $XXX amount of money is worth the performance increase from going to a 23mm rear bar or not?

A bar that weighs ~10 lbs and a millimeter difference isn't going to change jack when it's supposed to help regulate something that is 3000 lbs. I bet he wouldn't feel any difference, or he would make himself believe that to justify the cost and time it took to change it out. That's just me though.

shanewdude
06-18-2008, 02:56 PM
So are you saying that spending $XXX amount of money is worth the performance increase from going to a 23mm rear bar or not?

A bar that weighs ~10 lbs and a millimeter difference isn't going to change jack when it's supposed to help regulate something that is 3000 lbs. I bet he wouldn't feel any difference, or he would make himself believe that to justify the cost and time it took to change it out. That's just me though.

I'm not suggesting one bar or another... I'm just trying to pass on some knowledge I've learned by reading all the posts about sway bars. If you understand what the part does, and how it does it, and how to compare options, then you can make your own decision.

mustclime
06-19-2008, 03:55 AM
Look, tires determine suspension because the suspension's job is to keep the tires on the ground. Stickier tires need stiffer springs, stiffer springs need smaller swaybars.....sways are almost the last thing you should change for handleing....they are for fine tuning, not setting the suspension.:mwink:

BlackEP9
06-19-2008, 02:25 PM
Look, tires determine suspension because the suspension's job is to keep the tires on the ground. Stickier tires need stiffer springs, stiffer springs need smaller swaybars.....sways are almost the last thing you should change for handleing....they are for fine tuning, not setting the suspension.:mwink:

Just trying to increase my knowledge here, but why would you need smaller sways with stiffer springs? wouldn't you want larger sways to decrease bodyroll? Isn't that why aftermarket sways are bigger?

What Sways give you also is a tighter feeling when you drive..think of a go-cart, instant response.

Zzyzx
06-19-2008, 04:11 PM
Aftermarket anti-roll bars are "bigger" because thats what the customer expects, bigger stronger...

In reality, anti-roll bars are a fine tuning tool. and they have an up side and down side, depending on what you are tuning for.

Upside being that they help stabilize the tires contact patch by reducing chassis roll. The down side being that they increase the dynamic load the outsid tire caries durring a turn (and decreases the load on the inside tire).

So, between the two you need to decide where you stand to make more traction. Do you need to stabilize the tires contact patch? or do you need to not transfer more weight between tires? The answer isnt easy, but you could conclude that if you have enough spring to stabilize the contact patches, then you dont need an anit-roll bar to do that job... and you could conlculde that by adding an anti-roll bar you'd actually be reducing the amount of traction you could be makeing because of the increase in dynamic weight transfer.

Now as far as why after market anti-roll bar sets are almost always stiffer then OEM... well, for starters they are typically aiming their tuning for the street and average joe street drivers. I.e. they prefer to tune the car to have more understeer then what an open track & autocrosser would want. Secondly as they are tuning for the street, they expect said cars to have relitivly soft suspensions, so they probably go by the "stabilize the contact patch with the anti-roll bars" creedo. Finally, and arguably more importantly,they alter the "feel" of the car. As you said they tend to give the car a go kart like feeling. and ultimatly for street cars, how it feels is more important then how it actually handles.