UUC Swaybarbarians?

[theox69]

I'm in this sort of dilemma as well.
I'll be buying GC coilovers soon with 525#/650# spring rates, and I think I'm going to keep my stock sway bars for now, until I really see a need in getting newer ones..
I'm hoping the slight "sway" will help me get through those corners, rather than oversteering because it's too stiff.

[guibo09]

I'm in this sort of dilemma as well.
I'll be buying GC coilovers soon with 525#/650# spring rates, and I think I'm going to keep my stock sway bars for now, until I really see a need in getting newer ones..
I'm hoping the slight "sway" will help me get through those corners, rather than oversteering because it's too stiff.

hey a fellow montrealer

yeah you are right, too stiff isnt better, unless you are on a super smooth track. either way, a soft suspension always offers more grip at the limit if you have your dynamic camber in check. stiff is only nice for the driver, you can change direction with much more ease since the car is more responsive.

[theox69]

hey a fellow montrealer

yeah you are right, too stiff isnt better, unless you are on a super smooth track. either way, a soft suspension always offers more grip at the limit if you have your dynamic camber in check. stiff is only nice for the driver, you can change direction with much more ease since the car is more responsive.

haha hey!

Yeah, you're right.
Probably the reasons why I'm going with Koni SA's. (Sorry for going off-topic)

But there's always that age-old question...
Which is better in terms of handling: Stiffer springs or bigger sways?
I'm sure there's a happy medium between the two, but how do you figure that out..?

[Massive Lee]

... I'm running fairly stiff GC coilovers with a stock front sway using M3 links and no rear sway.

What spring rate(s) do you run? If t is relatively high, chances are that your car doesn't have too much lean in corners. Without the rear swaybar you are currently maximizing rear grip, especially out of corners. Adding a big rear swaybar will greatly affect how soon you can be back on the throttle out of a corner. That is because the rear wheels will not be as independent. The outside wheel will go up in the wheelwell under compression, and the swaybar will try to do the same with the inner wheel, which will translate into less pressure on the ground from the inside wheel, which results in less grip.

My own e30 M3 has 425-650 springs and ST swaybars. I am upping the rear spring rate to 700, while replacing the rear sway bar for a stock unit.

Lee

[guibo09]

But there's always that age-old question...
Which is better in terms of handling: Stiffer springs or bigger sways?
I'm sure there's a happy medium between the two, but how do you figure that out..?

i dont think there is a single answer for this. the end result on a smooth track is pretty similar if you increase bar or increase spring. the only big difference being the squatting and lifting on accel/brake. also, many people dont think twice about matching their damper to the spring rate they choose, but never think of including the swaybar in the equation (although it is more difficult to valve for).

if you are primarly street driven and looking for comfort, bigger sways are probably the way to go. on a more track oriented, i would go with spring and then an adjustable bar set that allows you to fin tune over/understeer. of course, you need enough bar that it can actually have an effect on this. if you run 800lbs springs with a wire thick swaybar, it wont matter what setting you choose, it will have little to no effect on handling overall.

gc suspension is in the future plans for me too, however, i dont think i will upgrade the bars. maybe only the links.

[theox69]

gc suspension is in the future plans for me too, however, i dont think i will upgrade the bars. maybe only the links.

Are you going to bimmershop for the installation?
I was thinking of going there, but it's really expensive from what I hear.
I don't know if I'd trust anyone else with putting coilovers on properly though..

[z31maniac]

Yup, they are commg off tomorrow Danny. I'll get them packaged up this week so once I get the rest of the money I can ship them ASAP. But for the love of god use a direct bank transfer instead of a card, I already lost close to $15 on the last payment because of fees!

dont expect not to take a major comfort hit with large swaybars. they are almost just as bad as stiffer springs especially when coupled with good links. they are only more forgiving on expansion joints (or similar bumps).

Trust me I'm worried about. The car ison camber/caster plates, GC coils, GC control arm bearings and I'll be going to Poly in the subframe and RTABs as well.

As soon as I get it buttoned back up and running with S52 I'll give a full report of the UUC bars.

[Danny]

Yup, they are commg off tomorrow Danny. I'll get them packaged up this week so once I get the rest of the money I can ship them ASAP. But for the love of god use a direct bank transfer instead of a card, I already lost close to $15 on the last payment because of fees!

K sorry.

[guibo09]

Are you going to bimmershop for the installation?
I was thinking of going there, but it's really expensive from what I hear.
I don't know if I'd trust anyone else with putting coilovers on properly though..

i can definitely handle a suspension install myself, so no worries there. my buddy has scales, so i can corner balance also.

i had bimmershop rebuild my head this winter, i was satisfied with the quality of the work and the price seamed reasonable (~400 in labour for 3angle valve job, pressure test, clean, resurface, valve guides, etc). however, i asked them to price up a list of parts (control arms, filters, seals, cables, bearings etc) and the prices were completely stupid.

[z31maniac]

K sorry.

Just bustin yer balls!

[tabasco]

yeah...I created another thread about these...but I did not know this one was here.

I have these bars on my E30. They are really nice!!!! Srsly!!!

And I just got some photos back from the HPDE at RA last month.












:buttrock