Some swaybar Q&A

[Racing Rice]

xarvet wrote on 02-26-2002 10:09 PM:
How do I find out what type of sway bar is considered "stock" on my 97 Civic HX? For that matter, how do I find out what's "stock" for any part on the car?

I dont believe the HX has a rear swaybar. If you are wanting to do any kinda work to your car I would get a helms manual. It has any and all information about your car in its stock form. Here is a link to the helms website http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp They are a little pricey, but worth every penny. The other manuals dont compare.

When it comes to matching front and back sway bars, are you basically matching the diameter of the bar?

The thicker rear swaybar you get the more oversteer you will have. If you use the same size or a little smaller then the front sway bar chances are, you will feel the oversteer. But there are things you can do to fix this. For Example:

I have a 22mm front swaybar in my EX. When I installed the 21mm rear sway you could feel quite a difference in the rear. I was feeling some oversteer. What I did to fix this, was since I have Koni [yellow] shocks I could adjust the rebound on them and make them a little stiffer. I stiffened the front all the way up and loosened the rear all the way up. The front rides alot stiffer in the front now, but the feel is very neutral. It feels very nice and balanced. Keep in mind that there is a lot more weight up front then there is in the rear. So just because the front swaybar is a little thick doesnt mean youll still have understeer.

I want to reduce roll in turns and feel like I'm turning in a go-cart rather than floating in a boat -- I'm assuming that a sway bar does that, right?

Correct the swaybar will help tons. But remember, the swaybar itself is only a piece of the puzzle. You also need good springs, shocks, and most importantly good grippy tires. If you cant keep traction then the rest of the stuff is useless. Play with the tire pressure too. Find out which air pressure is most comfortable without compromising performance.

Warning: Since you will be feeling more oversteer after you install the swaybar you have to be careful. A thicker swaybar will put you into a spin much easier then before if your not careful. Give yourself time to get used to it. Play around after you get the swaybar installed and see were the point of no return is, because if you do get into a spin this will make it a lot harder to get out of the spin under control.

Goodluck with your journey for aa great handling car. For more information of suspension parts check out the stickys in the suspension forum.