My comfort level with my Z in the mountains and on the track isn't what it should be. I can feel when the body rolls and the rear end is ready to break loose and slide out. I feel it's time to try some aftermarket sways.

I have been considering a Hotchkis set. Whats good? What are you using? I am looking for something lightweight and greasable.

 

your tires are without question your limiting factor...T1R are a nice daily driver tire, they have super soft sidewalls, so contribute a ton towards roll, and are absolutely useless for track use unless your the pace car

lightweight isn't what you necessarily want in a swaybar. Adjustability is first. Weight is actually something many find desirable in a sway, as its virtually the lowest point of the car. Swaybars aren't greasable. The bushings are, but they are regardless of what sways you get, Urethane bushings for the sways aren't all that critical IMHO, the stock bushings are quite durable

 

I was gonna switch it up and try R888's but available sizes are an issue as is the soft compound for recreational driving vs tracking. I think I will be purchasing another set of Volks for track days.

I'd like to have more control over the car again. Honestly, I had more confidence in the stock nismo suspension for tracking. The car just feels sloppy.

 

Stock NISMO tires (RE050A) are far grippier than T1R IMHO. I've run both. I have, and love the RE's on my car. They are the first set of Bridgestones that I've owned, kept, and loved. I've tried several others in the past, and have always gotten rid of them in short order. The only other non R comp I'd use in favor would be the PS2. Big price difference though. Everything else, to me, has been a compromise on this car. The PS2 and RE050 are the only 2 that are quiet, relatively comfortable, and great wet or dry.

R888's are a great tire if you track the car frequently or don't care too much about tire life (you'll get ~10k per set on street use). They bear absolutely nothing in comparison to any non R compound tire. Being an R comp size options are more limited, but they also run bigger than standard tires.

 

I 100% agree much stickier. Tire life with the RE's seems very short as well. TR1's seem more for Show.

I'd like to try some R888's on another set of wheels. Possibly 18" CE28N's all around? Then I can just swap wheels for track days and get more use out of the tires. I'll admit, I like the aggressive appearance of the Toyo's. I'm a Toyo *****. I like to use them on my Truck as well or Yokohama's.

 

+1 on tires. Personally i dispise RE050s. I felt so unsafe in the mountains. Then i switched to PS2s (aggressive/show setup 255/295) and those are like a dream. But then i drove on my star specs(track/autoX setup 245/255) and there is nothing my car cant do.

There isnt much better of a street tire then the R888, but i wouldnt even drive them on the street.

Ive got a similar setup with the HKS coilovers also and i did go with the hotchkis sways. After 2 years, my last couple autoxs and track day, and dragon runs, my car is exactly where i want it to be. Minus the brakes.

 

Dont confuse the RE050 which are a mediocre tire with RE050A or RE050A pole positions, which rock.

 

^^^ Good to know. Thanks! I am currently running the common 255/275 setup on +22's. I don't have the Hypermax III sports. So my suspension is alittle softer. I would never use the R888's on the street either. Not unless I was running on the Dragon and thats 900 miles away

I'll have to look into another set of wheels. Consider different offsets. Either run Volks or Advans. I will do some searches and see what others recommend.

I'll order up some Hotchkis sways. I need to get this body roll under control before I total my car out. Next visit to the shop the car will be corner balanced with me in the car. Something I have never had done. I'll also have them do a 4 wheel lazer alignment. See what they recommend. It was just done 2kmi ago but it was by the dealer after I installed my camber kit. I lost the data sheet.

 

I have stillen sway bars/stillen lower arm brace/megan tie bar those of which can be seen from the rear.

Also get adjustable links both front and rear to complete everything.

At speed in the "mountains" my car is very confident and predictable. I'm missing another $1300 in suspension parts.

 

All this talk about the Dragon is making me sad that I'm missing ZDAYZ this year.

How much are we to gain by aftermarket sways? The stock sways seem pretty beefy to me

 

The ability to adjust is where the stock sways lack. With an adjustable set you are able to better tailor the car to suit your driving style. They are a marked improvement, but will only help a car that has sufficient grip in the first place. With the addition of adjustabe endlinks, you can then really get into sophisticated cornerbalancing, by controlling preload on the swaybars as well. Tires are, without question, the most important aspect to overall handling and predictability.

 

So before I upgrade anything I need to ditch my Nitto 555's!

 

If body roll is a factor on the street, your driving way to fast. When i screwed up an endlink i drove on the street for 2 weeks without my front sway connected, no problems.

Probably not a factor on the track either. I would bet the adjustability will actually slow your track times down a bit till you figure things out.

 

so then what ur saying is being said here is pretty much u need the following for a properly balanced and grippy setup....

tires
fully adj coilovers
endlinks
swaybars

 

Running Toyo TR1's is a major issue for what I am doing with the car. The body roll with my car is very predictable in my opinion. I am almost use to it. It's scary at times. It's not even at high speeds. I notice it often on mountain roads I drive every weekend. The rear end of my car is very loose.

The Quaife pushes the car through the turn great. Traction on the mountain runs isn't bad at all. It's not like the car is drifting through the corners. It's hard for me to describe, I am no suspension expert! To me the body roll is very noticeable. I ordered my Sway bars today and will have them installed next week.

I guess I'm in the experimental stages now. I wanna try different tires/wheels. Different sway bar settings and see if I can find something I am comfortable with... Continue to play with my damper settings on the coilovers. I'll go a couple more clicks in on the rears.

Zim

 

I think I will retire the CE28N Time Attacks & Toyo TR1's for shows only and switch it upto 18" Volk or Advan wheels for racing. Offset unsure right now with R888's for track use.

I'll watch the classified section for anything that I can use or contact a vendor.

 

What sways did you go with?

 

^^^^ Hotchkis

I may order up some endlinks. Not sure

Edit: Also ordered up an InjectedPerformance Nismo Diff Brace.

 

Don't race on wet tracks! It's to expensive. Money better spent on an MCR hood!







I'll ship it out to have it refinished. Nothing was bent. I will keep it for a spare once it comes back good as new.

 

Lakeside I know what you mean about "scary" it goes away with the sway bars. Endlinks are not really needed but after getting use to the car with the sways the endlink would get rid of a little roll that's left.

I have everything set to stiffest setting, my dampening is more to the hard side aswell. At speed in those rolling turns i.e. Mountains/long track turns the rear well no longer rise/shift/floaty feel which gives the "on edge" feeling. But this added stiffness is going to put hell on your tires. Wear will increase!