Sways and Skid Plate?

[coreyw]

If I install one of those weld-on skid plates, since that would kind of act as a chassis enforcement too, would adding stiffer swaybars make a difference? Or would it be dumb to do both?

[Sagaris]

Skid plate will only slightly increase chassis stiffness. Sway bar will increase roll stiffness. Do both, and include a rear sway bar while you are at it. Only installing a thicker front sway bar would encourage understeer

[jlevie]

Since the skid plate is forward of the wheels it will have no measurable affect on stiffness.

[coreyw]

Sweet, thanks guys.

[Fusion]

Before doing a rear sway upgrade, read up on them and why some people run oem or disconnected rear sway.

[coreyw]

Okay, so Sagaris says having only a stiffer front sway will encourage understeer, and Fusion is saying some people run an OEM or disconnected rear sway... I guess it all depends on the rest of my suspension setup?

Eventually I'd like to go the full GC coilover with shortened strut housings and stiff springs, so maybe then a thicker rear swaybar wouldn't be needed?

[Simon S]

Disclaimer: I’m not a suspension specialist.

Theoretically, a stiffer rear adds oversteer & and stiffer front adds understeer.

I think of swaybars as bandaids for body roll – and that’s pretty much what they are. In a dream world, a car shouldn’t need sway bars – but in order to compensate for ground clearance and suspension travel needed in the real world, sway bars are used.

Bars effectively “tie” L & R wheels together – thereby reducing benefits of independent suspension. The stiffer the bars, the more they are “tied” together.

The way I understand it, lowering the car (center of gravity) also reduces body roll. Wider, lower-profile wheels/tires can also effect the car’s handling – but again, the trade off can be a harsher ride.

It’s all a sort of “balance/trade-off” game.

Things like lighter wheels (less unsprung weight) and stiffer chassis – “help” the suspension do its job more effectively.

[Fusion]

There was a nice article about it somewhere, I can't find it though.
Watch some auto-x vids for example. When you go into a turn and brake hard, the front outer wheel has a tendency to "dive", therefore the rear inner wheel will tend to lift. If you have an open or let's say 25% lock differential, you'll lose lots of traction on that wheel. The stiffer the sway and rear susp., the more it will lift. That's why some don't have the rear sway connected, to keep the rears from lifting. This isn't much of an issue for front wheel drive, but in our case, when you want power out of the turn, you won't have the traction you need.
This is also theory and it really depends on what you want to run, the character of the course, etc. etc.