The weight we add in our engine bays makes others' experiences of sway bars on standard RX8s to be suspect at best.

My initial thoughts are to fit a stiffer sway bar on the front and leave the rear as it is. The thread here covers the stiffness of aftermarket bars on stock cars.

I'm fitting the suspension from a PZ (a UK-only 'sports' special edition) with Bilstein shocks, Eibach springs 0.6" lower than stock and standard sway bars. My first thoughts were to fit a Whiteline front sway bar with 55% greater stiffness than stock and leave the rear as stock.

What have people here experienced over sway bars?

 

Over 200 views and no comments. Surely someone has some thoughts to help?

Sway bars are expensive over here in the UK and the difference between the catch-all RB set (with adjustable end links, $900 compared to just over $500 in the US) and a Whiteline fixed (roughly +46% stiffness, uses existing end links and which I can get on a special deal for $170) is $730, a lot of money even for a rotary swap.

Used sets come up only very rarely and even then can be priced insanely (on eBay there is a used set in poor condition without front bushes, clamps and end-links priced at $550 vs $600 for a new complete set).

 

A suspension setup needs to be looked at as a whole (including wheels and tires) and it's design should be based around your use of the car. No one is answering because there is no one answer.

 

And I also don't think the PZ uses any special sway bars, they are just GT sways.

 

+1. Also what problem are you trying to solve? Is it rolling over too much? Understeer?

 

Thank you for your time & inputs, and apologies as my explanation was inadequate: I didn't make clear that my car is under build and that I am at the point when changing the front sway bar is easy now (without radiator and oil cooler plumbing in the way) but will be more involved after the next week or so. I have no experience of how she'll handle once I get her on the road. The only conversion I know of in the UK is a race car with a special suspension set up for track work only.

I'm trying to get the best first attempt that I can by learning from other people's experience (I normally find I get mine too late after I need it). For example, if people say that the heavier front weight leads to the car ploughing on at corners unless a one-notch stiffer sway bar is fitted at the front then I'll start by fitting a one-notch stiffer sway bar at the front (whether by fitting uprated bars at both ends or by just at the front will be influenced by what others have experienced too).

The PZ suspension (0.6" lower and 60% stiffer) has standard sway bars. Owners of PZs with uprated sway bars say they have the same behaviour and settings as standard 231 [GT]s and R3s with them so, as a first approximation, I think we can treat my car as if it had the standard sports suspension.

 

The engine swap will not change handling much. And replacing the sway bar later is no big deal. Wait until you get the swap done and then save for a proper suspension setup and then get the car setup by someone who knows what they are doing.