I'm going to be doing autox next year and i'm planning to run in the CS group. I was informed I could use a front sway bar and right now im looking at the best option for my Z. Any inputs would be great! thanks.


-2003 touring edition

 

stock.

 

You said: “I was informed I could use a front sway bar…”. So, do they not allow a rear sway bar?

 

You're only allowed a front bar modification? Interesting.... because autocross "likes" oversteer, it's odd because to promote oversteer, you want to take out front bar (which is why sleepiedaze's suggestion of stock is actually dead on).

Adding more bar upfront with no changes otherwise is going to make your car plow.

I would not rely on someone telling you what is and what is not allowed....get the *CURRENT* SCCA GCR (general competition rules.... presuming you are referring to SCCA C-Stock) and read up on what is allowable for that class.

FWIW, I run a set of Hotchkis bars (F&R adjustable through mounting holes - increase/decrease lever for stiffness) BUT...I don't autocross. I'm a road guy and have mine set up for a bit more neutral-to-oversteer with rear bar bias - mounted on hole 2 and front on hole 1. (Working with a NON-adjustable spring/shock setup) But again, that's me. You will need to experiment with what works for your driving style and type.

Have fun!

Mic

 

Thanks for the replies!

 

I got this information from another forum..
"Change, replace or remove ONE sway bar. One of the two bars must remain *OEM and attached though it is your choice of which one to modify"

So i just wanted to know what would work best to reduce oversteer, Ive done some practice events and the back just tries to go everywhere.Very new to this. Just don't want to spend money buying parts i won't really need. I've been told that this forum has a lot of drivers doing autox and can help make a choice of what has worked for them.

 

***Change, replace or remove ONE sway bar. One of the two bars must remain *OEM and attached though it is your choice of which one to modify "

 

Couple things to think about.

Replacing the front bar with something big.
Hotchkis, Stillen... The main idea is to keep the car from rolling too much. The front tires needs a lot of neg camber but a stock car has maybe one degree. So by reducing roll you improve the contact patch of the front tires. The car will push so you have to adjust your driving style for it.

Do you have good tires?
Thats the first place to spend your money. Buy an extra set of stock rims and put on some good tires. Hancook RS3's are a great choice. BRG rivals and Dunlop star specs are other options. Its a waste of time to try and tune your car's handling without having proper tires.

Does your car have the Vlsd or is it open. The Vlsd is not great but in stock class it will be a must have also.

If you're just starting out. I would get tires first, race as much as you can for the first half of the year and then see what you want to do. Stay stock, STU etc. and then start planning your build.

Welcome to the addiction.
Good reading - https://my350z.com/forum/autocross-r...ross-350z.html

Scott, 03 350Z STU

 

The main thing a front sway does for a Z in CS has nothing to do with body roll. It is all about load transfer to help the rear tires, which are working hard because of the worlds crappiest diff.

 

I would change front. There will be no benefit from a stiffer rear sway bar with oem front. I also have hotchkiss sway bar and it is a great option. Also whiteline makes a nice swaybars too. I would recommend upgrading your endlinks when you do this upgrade. You will blow right through your oem endlinks with upgraded sway bar. Mine lasted about a month and I was not autocrossing. I like Powergrids for endlinks or spl pro endlinks.

 

Big front sway bar is required or you'll be spinning your inside rear wheels every corner. Stock front, with disconnected rear bar wasn't enough.

 

I second this statement. I run an EVO front sway bar at full stiff and run into this problem. I can't lay power down coming out of the turns. Front still loads up enough to lift the rear resulting in lost traction. Factory vlsd sucks.