i know that there are anti roll kits out there, but what are the good ones and what kind of improvement will i see. My stock base 87 N/A has more body roll than i knows what to do with. The handling will skyrocket if i can find info on this for FC. FD's have it so nice some times......

here is where i think i am at:
-intending to do coilovers (tein) when the money happens
-i want a anti roll (some call it sway) bar kit (front and rear)
-rear strut braces which dont remove the rear speakers?
-i know energy suspension makes a good bushing kit

is that a good start and what else is there. Everythinig seems to be on the FD's in this area and that is all fine and dandy except i like my FC's.

 

Just start with the coils and look into other options for coils as well. There's

GP Sports, Silkroad, and Zeal to name a few. The first two mentioned are a better value and product than the entry level teins you find out there. Don't get bars until after you've used the new suspension.

Rishie

 

Stabilizer bars, but better known as anti-sway bars...

BTW, SHOCKS make the most difference.


-Ted

 

Roll is controlled by the springs and bars; primarily the springs. Stiffer springs will have less roll and at the same time require less stiff sway bars.

Shocks do not change the amount of body roll, they only effect how quickly the chassis reacts to the transition. The same car with the same springs and bars will roll exactly the same amount through a turn regardless of how soft or stiff the shocks are.

 

yep. but there is no point in putting stiffer springs on bad shocks so...

 

DamonB was assuming that I was talking about shocks affecting body roll, but I wasn't trying to imply that.

I made my statement to say that replacing the shocks first would give you the most significant change in suspension feel...not necessarily fight body roll.

When I dropped my hard earned $1,200 for a set of Tokico Illuminas, Eibach Pro-Kit springs, and Suspension Techniques anti-sway bars, I did a quickie experiment.
Although I had all the components in hand, I changed the stuff one by one.
I changed the shocks first, keeping the stock springs and sway bars.
Then I changed the springs...
Then the sway bars...
The initial shock swap made the most significant change in suspension performance.


-Ted

 

i am looking into coilovers as my option for the struts / spring problem, but how am i supposed to go about finding the best preformance settings in height and dampening? I dont have any cool g-force measuring things....

 

Yeah. The first thing I ever did to my FD was put Konis on a completely stock car. I had already been autoxing it and with the Konis added the car was greatly improved in any hard transition.

2ndGenV8RX-7, as far as height you want the car as low as possible without bottoming or rubbing (assuming that is legal if you're actually competing). Lower is always better. As for damping you can go with something off the shelf like a Tokico as they are adjustable and you can vary the stiffness. You don't need anything to measure handling other than your butt. If you actually drive the car much you'll notice the difference in how the car acts with different settings.

If you go the full coilover route then the company you purchase from should be able to discuss your options with you. Ideally the spring rate and damper are matched, but you'd be suprised how often this is not true. The majority of coilover kits out there are more for show and height adjustability then outright handling performance, but for the street that's just fine.

 

I have KYB AGX struts with suspension technique springs. The ride is a lot stiffer now and way less body roll.

 

Springs/shocks and good tires REALLY wake up the FC chassis. For a comfy and budget friendly suspension, try the following:

-Tokico blues or KYB GR2/Gas-Adjust combo
-Eibach pro-kit
-Sumitomo HTRZ II tires

 

Lower is not always better. You can screw up the suspension geometry and you might end up with more body roll. You see often times when a vehicle is lowered the roll center is lowered more than the center of gravity, causing there to be a larger moment arm, causing more body roll. It's explained a bit better here:

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/pr...c_project300z/

 

This is true, but we offset this with with higher spring rates, and for some cars that have alignment problems after being lowered, they sell new different length tie rods and such to fix that.

The benifits of lowering your car doesnt end at just a lower center of gravity. We also usually get more negative camber, and having a really low roll center also is a geometric way to help get rid of any jacking forces.

 

Contrary to link, lower does mean less total weight transfer, a good thing. But roll stiffness and f/r balance could change, as well as bump steer, etc.