my swift spec R springs have just arrived a min ago, and i am thinking to re-adjust the sways to the stiffest alll the way around.

 

hey let me know how that works out fer ya... thats what im going to try this weekend as it seems to be the most popular

 

Keep in mind, I'm running 275s all around, so stiffer doesn't impact me much...I believe that is a correct statement. My head hurts.

 

3/4 front, 2/3 rear. Considering loosening the front to 2/4.

 

does making the front stiffer make your car do more over or under steer.
does making the rear stiffer make your car do more over or under steer.?
how does combining the 2 balance out the car?

 

Here is two different posts I have made on the subject elsewhere...


1) "Sway bars help control weight transfer during a turn, but some weight transfer is needed to help with traction. Too much weight transfer results in "floppy" handling and makes transitions problematic. But if the sway bars are too "tight" the car will not transfer enough weight to the outside tires in a turn, and the car will "skate". (Loose traction)

Generally, more traction from your tires puts more force on your car's suspension in a turn (making it lean). This force is what you are trying to control with the sways (and other suspension components). By controlling weight transfer for the front and rear of the car individually, you can also control the car's balance. (Neutral, understeer, or oversteer) The "softer" end of the car will be more likely to grip than the "stiffer" side. (Oversimplification for the sake of understanding)

So the trick is two fold;

A: Balance the weight transfer for both ends of the car so that it does what you want, when you want. (Understeer, oversteer, neutral)
B: Allow enough weight transfer to help the tires grip, without letting the tires' grip overwhelm the suspension.

Also, driver inputs have a lot to do with the car's balance too. So one driver's "best setting" might not be "best" for another driver.

I hope I haven't confused you further, but this is actually just one piece of the equation. There is a lot more that goes into it than what I have covered, in oversimplified terms, here. "



2) I have found, in my track experiments with the Hotchkis sways, that there is a lot more lateral grip once the car's roll stiffness gets balanced front to rear. When I put my sways on the car it was a little too neutral. -Perfectly neutral under steady throttle turns, but any throttle would step the back end out. The back of the car was already at its softest setting and I was concerned that stiffening up the front would just make the front "touchy" like the rear.

Not so. There is more grip in both the front and rear. I'm sure there is a "too-stiff" point where, no matter how well balanced the car, its weight won't shift enough to put pressure on the outside tires. But under that too-stiff point, balancing the weight shift seems to be an effective way to manage the car's energy in such a fashion that forces it to do work. (push the outside tires into the ground) When it's unbalanced, the lateral energy "escapes" by moving whichever side of the car gives (skates) too easy, too soon. "


Hope it helps anyway.

 

thanks z1nonly for helping me understand about the balance, but how about the first question?
does making the front stiffer make your car do more over or under steer.
does making the rear stiffer make your car do more over or under steer.?
and how do i combine the 2 so i can make the least amount of understeer as much as posible but at the same time, not to much over so i dont go flying hitting other cars/walls

 

So..

Stiffer front = understeer

Stiffer rear = oversteer


It's important that you understand "stiffer" is relative. You have to start from a base point, and adjust from there. If your car's balance is where you want it, but it's "floppy", you will want to stiffen up the front and rear the same.

If you want to get rid of understeer, you can soften up the front or stiffen up the rear.

If you want to get rid of oversteer, you do the opposite; Stiffen up the front or soften the rear. etc etc.

 

thanks, alot more clearer now.