Do I need SWAY Bars???

bobg · Postby **bobg** » Sun May 18, 2008 10:35 pm

Car 57 chasing MXRX. Have lots of pics of 57 cornering, first I have seen exposing so much wheel arch!!

The RX7 looks very composed. Better driving or sway bars needed?

OOPS posted as new topic :oops:

MxJadeMonkey · Postby **MxJadeMonkey** » Mon May 19, 2008 12:49 am

No harm in a set of bars mate!

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:11 am

What suspension do you have?

Paul.

bobg · Postby **bobg** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:58 am

TCR wrote:What suspension do you have?

Paul.

I have Tein Super Streets.

I was wondering if the photogapher had caught me in a position where this attitude may be normal?

I am have only recently fiited the Teins, so did not want to complicate with adjustable sway bars just yet.

Charlie Brown · Postby **Charlie Brown** » Mon May 19, 2008 1:05 pm

Hey Bob, did you remember to ratchet up those front shocks?

It does look like you need some sways though. Check out page 18 of the JPM site.

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Mon May 19, 2008 1:40 pm

bobg wrote:
TCR wrote:What suspension do you have?

Paul.

I have Tein Super Streets.

I was wondering if the photogapher had caught me in a position where this attitude may be normal?

I am have only recently fiited the Teins, so did not want to complicate with adjustable sway bars just yet.

That looks like fairly normal attitude for a car fitted with standard shocks, springs and swaybars.

I'm not really familiar with the Super Streets, what are the spring rates?

I assume you are still running standard sway bars?

What tyres are you running?

How's the cars balance? Does it tend to oversteer, understeer?

Is it your daily driver?

Paul.

Charlie Brown · Postby **Charlie Brown** » Mon May 19, 2008 2:05 pm

Bob, scanning through those photos of Turn 2 it looks like a lot of other MX-5s are the same. I think it has a lot to do with that corner, the speed, as well as the camera angle.
Robert in front of you is in the process of exiting the corner where you still have to get to the apex.
Look through some of the other corner shots around the circuit and do some comparisons there.

mxrx · Postby **mxrx** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:09 pm

Bob

You forgot to mention how SLOW I was going, thats why the car looks so composed.

My car has 300lb front springs on a MacPherson Strut front end with a 20mm front sway bar, so the front is very stiff, not very comfortable in normal road driving but, ideal for track use.

Robert

bobg · Postby **bobg** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:27 pm

After studying all the phots of turn 2 at EC, I think the attitude is normal. The suspension is not race spec as the RX7 and this photo may be on the warm up lap, I am usually weaving to get some warmth in the tyres.

The car is a daily driver and the specs of the TEIN SS Coilovers are as follows:-

FRONT
SPRING RATE / PART No. Replacement Availability
kgf/mm lbs/in Part # Max/Min(kgf/mm-lbs/in)
7 390 SA070-01150 +2.0 / +110.0 to -2.0 / -110.0

REAR
SPRING RATE / PART No. Replacement Availability
kgf/mm lbs/in Part # Max/Min(kgf/mm-lbs/in)
6 340 SA060-01150 +2.0 / +110.0 to -1.0 / -60.0

Which seems heavier than Robert's spring rate, but will need to ckeck the part No's on my kit :?:

Anyway thanks for the advice, I think I will not race out and spend more money.

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Tue May 20, 2008 2:46 pm

Given that information I'd suggest you consider a 24mm adjustable front sway bar.

I can't quite work out why Tein use the 7/6 combination with some of their coilovers as it's quite a bit different proprtionally to the original setup. A lot of cars are setup from the factory with a tendancy to understerr for safety and I suspect this is Teins way of addressing this issue but a lot of guys, myself included, run a 9/6 or 10/6 combination to great effect. The downside to this setup is the harshness for everyday driving.

On paper the 7/6 combination could induce quite a bit of oversteer near the limit and the bigger front bar will help this situation plus give you the added bonus of a bit of adjustability. I have never actually dríven a car with a 7/6 setup and since you haven't mentioned how the car balance is, this is only my best gestimation.

Paul.

CT · Postby CT » Tue May 20, 2008 3:19 pm

Those are the flex spring rates - not the SS rates - used to be around 283/200 I think. Did you spec them with higher spring rates?? And yes, you need heavier sway bars.

bobg wrote:After studying all the phots of turn 2 at EC, I think the attitude is normal. The suspension is not race spec as the RX7 and this photo may be on the warm up lap, I am usually weaving to get some warmth in the tyres.

The car is a daily driver and the specs of the TEIN SS Coilovers are as follows:-

FRONT
SPRING RATE / PART No. Replacement Availability
kgf/mm lbs/in Part # Max/Min(kgf/mm-lbs/in)
7 390 SA070-01150 +2.0 / +110.0 to -2.0 / -110.0

REAR
SPRING RATE / PART No. Replacement Availability
kgf/mm lbs/in Part # Max/Min(kgf/mm-lbs/in)
6 340 SA060-01150 +2.0 / +110.0 to -1.0 / -60.0

Which seems heavier than Robert's spring rate, but will need to ckeck the part No's on my kit

Anyway thanks for the advice, I think I will not race out and spend more money.

bobg · Postby **bobg** » Tue May 20, 2008 4:13 pm

Thanks Chris

Yes it did look wrong, I obviously have misread and misintepreted the chart :oops:

http://www.tein.com/tech_info/m64.html.

I did not up spec the coil overs, so you are right, they are probably mid 200 lb.

Have you any advice on sway bar brand :?:

?

CT wrote:Those are the flex spring rates - not the SS rates - used to be around 283/200 I think. Did you spec them with higher spring rates?? And yes, you need heavier sway bars.

bobg wrote:After studying all the phots of turn 2 at EC, I think the attitude is normal. The suspension is not race spec as the RX7 and this photo may be on the warm up lap, I am usually weaving to get some warmth in the tyres.

The car is a daily driver and the specs of the TEIN SS Coilovers are as follows:-

FRONT
SPRING RATE / PART No. Replacement Availability
kgf/mm lbs/in Part # Max/Min(kgf/mm-lbs/in)
7 390 SA070-01150 +2.0 / +110.0 to -2.0 / -110.0

REAR
SPRING RATE / PART No. Replacement Availability
kgf/mm lbs/in Part # Max/Min(kgf/mm-lbs/in)
6 340 SA060-01150 +2.0 / +110.0 to -1.0 / -60.0

Which seems heavier than Robert's spring rate, but will need to ckeck the part No's on my kit

Anyway thanks for the advice, I think I will not race out and spend more money.

mxrx · Postby **mxrx** » Tue May 20, 2008 4:15 pm

Bob

You cannot compare the spring rates directly. The MX-5 suspension does not act directly on the spring as in a MacPherson strut suspension.

So a 300lb per inch spring on my RX-7 would probably feel like a 200lb per inch spring when installed in a MX-5 suspension.

I'm not sure what spring rates the racing MX-5's like Chris's car is using but it would be a lot more than the 300lb ones in my RX-7.

Robert

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Tue May 20, 2008 4:24 pm

bobg wrote: Have you any advice on sway bar brand ?

Whiteline 24mm adjustable, part number BMF12Z

https://www.whiteline.com.au/store/

Paul.

Brad · Postby **Brad** » Tue May 20, 2008 8:59 pm

I went the Racing Beat front hollow sway bar.
http://www.racingbeat.com/resultset.asp ... mber=54105

Absolutly LOVE it. For me has had to be the best bang for my buck. The feel of the car on the road totally changed for the better. I used to have the Tein's set quite high on the road, like 10/7 as I was after that crisp turn in feel. Now with the anti-roll bar, I can run 2/2 and still have a nice compliant ride, but have great turn in.