fd_neal

iTrader: (4)

I gotta put this out there because im in a bit of sticker shock right now.

Got off the phone a while ago with tripoint, i wanted a sway bar till they told me the price, 475usd (plus shipping plus taxes im assuming) I know these things are praised by everyone who has them as the must have for any competitive track car, but is it really worth that much? I mean there are so many other ways that i can dial in changes to the car and ive never had an adjustable sway bar on any other car ive raced... I can get a SET of suspension tech bars for 308 canadian in my hands so like 155 per bar(taxs and everything included), am i really gonna be that dissapointed with it.

13b4me

Get the Susp Tech bars... They'll work just as well for what you need...

jgrewe

iTrader: (1)

Why not assemble your own set up with parts from Speedway Motors or HRPWorld.com? You can buy different lengths and diameters of hollow bars and bent or straight arms in aluminum or steel. With some simple math you can figure out what the stiffness of some other bars are and go from there. You may find that the Tri point bar isn't the best for YOUR car but you will have to do some work and research as well as measuring stuff on your car. $475 can be looked at as pretty cheap if you start to figure in the tools needed to find the right set-up for your car. A $1000 for scales comes to mind first...
I'd find as many other bars I could get my hands on and measure them to see what people think is best, then choose the parts to get the same stiffness and correct dimensions to fit the car.

fd_neal

iTrader: (4)

I hope i didnt come across as being cheap in my post, i just like to see the value in something when i buy it. And knowing what other bars cost im not seeing the value in the tri point bar. However i also know that if im having problems with car set up this coming season ill blame it all on not having that bar...

And for what its worth i hoping that i could modify the ST bar a bit to get some adjustability out of it.

KevinK2

Tri-Point is the best, but there are some other options, depending on what you have and want.

addco front is solid version of stock 28.6mm
racing beat rear is 19mm and tubular, 2 adj holes

some info here from FAQ section: www.fd3s.net

RB front is now solid 32mm like ST.

Eibach stopped making their nice tubular set.

ST bars are big and solid, front and rear. Ok if you have no value for a great independent suspension design by mazda.

fd_neal

iTrader: (4)

ST rear is the same deal as the racing beat reat 19mm and 2 points of adjustability. Im not sure if its hollow or not tho.

The thing about modding sway bars is its VERY easy to take stiffness out, a belt sander is all you need. Also depending how the arms are shaped and placed i MAY be able to mill enough surface to add a second adjustnemnt point for a stiffer setting. So basically plane the length of the bar untill its nice as a soft setting, then add a second hole further in on the arm and there you have a custom 2 point adjustable bar.

fd_neal

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the link, great info, looks like an addco may not be a bad choice for now... step up to a tri point if once race season hits i feel that it would really help me out.

RE Suzuki

few people has problem with tripoint rear sway bar. It tends to be too stiff and break one of the sway bar links.

DamonB

I've looked into this at length and it really can't be done as cheaply as you think. The tubes, mounts, droplinks etc are cheap and easy to come by but the problem is always the arms. The FD requires two large crooks in the arms to clear the tires with one of those bends being very close to the splined hole for the tube. If you're buying straight arms and bending them (which is common) the problem is that in the FD's case it's very easy to distort the splined hole when bending the part.

Tripoint solves this problem by machining the arms from solid aluminum. This is tremendously more expensive and wastes a lot of material in manufacture but it's the best solution IMO. Tripoint knows you can buy affordable steel arms and bend them too, it just doesn't work in the FD's case.

DamonB

Therefore you're not familiar with what an advantage an adjustable bar can be. If you're actually going to race and compete with the car the bar is worth it IMO. The first time you end up on a slick track or it's raining you'll be beating the crap out of people who can't adjust their bars. An adjustable bar gives you many more setup possibilities and it's easily adjusted at the track so you can setup the car for different surfaces or as track conditions change.

All the other bars are merely bent solid or hollow tubes and they aren't adjustable. They sure as hell better be much cheaper. This isn't a knock on cheaper bars, but there's absolutely no comparing them with an adjustable bar such as the Tripoint. They're two completely different products.

fd_neal

iTrader: (4)

And its testimonials like these that have me prepaired to get the tripoint

jgrewe

iTrader: (1)

I have not spent any time laying under an FD to see what fit problems there may be. ('fd neal' should have been a clue) It sounds like the tripoint would be the wise money for the machined arms alone. Do not under estimate the value of adjustability, way easier to tame a car by moving a couple links than swapping out bars.