swaybar adjustment

[irishpwr46]

ok so today i put in my front and rear swaybars (roush stage 3). first OMFG what a difference. i cant wait to get some new tires to really hold the road. now for the technical question part. on my front struts. (roush stage 2) there are 2 places to mount the swaybar endlink. forward and rear of the shock itself. is this considered and adjustment area? i mounted them on the rear. if i move them to the forward position, that would raise the bar ends slighly. will this make a difference? ive only built straight line cars with the exception of one fox that i put a full coilover kit in, but the guy hasnt got his license back yet so we cant really road test/tune it yet. Ive come to the point where i could care less about going straight faster than anyone. i want to take corners fastest now. im building my road car little by little. ive done the roush stage 2 springs/struts/shocks. stage 3 front and rear swaybars. i have upper and lower control arms with lca relocation brackets (all not installed yet) a panhard bar that i did today (which was a cake walk). i know i need the uca reinforcement. what else should i be looking for? thanks in advance for any and all help

 

[SoundGuyDave]

Okay, first the tech...

The swaybar end-link bolts up to the REAR tab on the strut, that is the one closest to the rear wheels... "adjustment" on a swaybar would be one that changes the length of the arm, and requires multiple holes in the end of the swaybar itself. IIRC, the Roush bar is not an adjustable item.

Now the advice: If you want to carve corners, stop modding your car, right now, and get thee to a NASA HPDE event. Sign up for HPDE-1, stay awake in the classroom sessions, and be a sponge to every word your instructor utters. You will improve your cornering ability 1000 times more that way than you will with any chassis part. Period. You'll also gain a serious appreciation for the role that technique plays in taking a corner at speed. Once you get some track time under your belt, you may find that some part on your car is holding you back. THEN is the proper time to start changing parts. If you start now, you'll never know if it's your driving, or your chassis setup that is causing certain issues. Taking a modded-up Mustang on the track is cool, but you'll learn more in a bone-stock one. Or a Focus, or an Accord... Taking corners fast is 90% driver, and only about 10% machinery. Work on the driver first. Until you're consistent, and really start to feel the vehicle dynamics, you'll never know if the high-rate springs you threw into the car are helping or hurting.

 

[irishpwr46]

as it sits currently, i have had it on a closed (seasonal) road upstate. the difference from stock to now is very extreme. i would definitely like to get to some of those classes though. i just got to find some in nyc

 

[SoundGuyDave]

Check out NASA Northeast, it looks like they run at Pocono, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Lime Rock, Monticello, and Watkins Glen. I also think you're not too far away from Summit Point, which is another AWESOME track.

TRUST ME when I say that running it on a "closed" road, and on a track with a professional driving instructor in the seat next to you are two completely different things!! First off, the track is MUCH safer, and you'll learn a hell of a lot more, given the combination of theoretical and practical, with instant feedback from somebody that really knows what they're talking about.

There's a thread on driving techniques on this forum, check it out, and you'll see where pro instruction can pay off HUGE.

 

[irishpwr46]

awesome thanks a lot man

 

[Kaldar142]

+1 for seat time

best mod i ever did, and im addicted to it too.