Brad4rdHay

Hey. Thinking of getting the 2004.5 Nissan suspension (to quell bounce), and then to add the NISMO stabilizer bars to help the car plow a little less at the limit (would get full s-tune, but w/my lip i cant lower the car). My question is will they make the car more tail happy in a straight line? Say in a rainstorm, will I loose a little rear traction?

Also, the one thing the Z has going for it, albiet with understeer at the limit, is its predictablilty. Now raceboy may say this predictabliity is simply steady-state understeer and is a bad thing, but for the rest of us mere mortal drivers, it makes driving the car hard a little easier on the nerves... and MAY translates into good lap times (if you track) Will adding the NISMO bars throw this away infavor of the more neutral setup? I think people read about understeer in reviews and flip ou and try to get rid of it no matter how, when in actuality, i think its been exaterated a little bit. But now that I've explored the limit of my Z, im looking to lossen the security blanket a little...give the car a few more .1Gs of corner WHLE not COMPLETELY changing it's character.

GaryM05

I can't answer your question with any authority, but I'm curious how you're going to get the 2004.5 suspension. Is this available as an upgrade through Nissan? And is it proven to stop the bounce?

Thanks, and good luck on your sway bar upgrade!

Gary

Audito350Z

iTrader: (1)

I don't believe swaybars will add or subtract any straight-line stability. The bars only really have an effect on the car when a twisting motion is applied.... such as cornering.

And, tail happy is not a term usually asscoiated with going straight... typically tail happy means the car has a tendency to oversteer, or bring the back end around, in turns. When a rear sway bar is set stiffer than the front, the car will oversteer.

In the rain, you want the bars set to the softest setting since you want as much traction front and rear. With stiff rear settings, the car (which may already oversteer in the dry) will oversteer more becasue of the lack of traction.

At Texas World Speedway this past weekend I had my 350EVO swaybars set to full stiff front and rear. The car felt more neutral than with the OEM bars and the front tires showed less wear on the outer edges... which could indicate that the swaybars were helping keep more of the contact patch flat on the ground.

Hope that helps.

PeteH

Brad4rdHay

Well the NISMO bars arnt adjistable.

Well I guess with my 275 sires and VDC on, i dont have to worry that much.

J Ritt

iTrader: (4)

My advice would be to try adjustable sway bars. Don't worry about straight line...they won't make a difference.

Having adjustables will allow you a degree of 'tunabiliity.' You'll be able to dial in understeer at first until you feel comfortble on the track...for bad weather, etc. Take them up a notch (stiffer in back relative to the front)...drive them on the street, autoX them, then try it on the track. Just ease your way to a point where you feel comfortable.