QBallz

I have had RB springs/sways for close to a year. I put ths sways on a couple weeks before the springs and they where the biggest difference. It really eliminated a lot of body roll, the springs just made the car feel more sure footed. Eitherway I'm really happy with how the car handles.

Also the whole RB setup isn't a whole lot stiffer than OEM, so most roads won't kill your back.

iridearocket

Frankly, I'd like to see lap times that show how any street driver could care whether they have the stock bars or ones that are stiffer. Change the shocks/springs and you'll have a smile on your face for sure.

I'd guess the only way you will notice any sway bar difference is if your suspension is soft enough for your grandmother to go and get the groceries.

QBallz, I agree with your comments, but I bet if you put the springs on first and then the did the sway upgrade later, you would likely comment the other way around.

RX8SpdDmn

I dunno.... one of the sites recorded a maximum skidpad G increase of .02g by swapping to their bars on an otherwise stock car.

jskup1

iTrader: (7)

Has anyone tried using MS Springs and shocks with the RB Sways?

tuj

RB front sway is 208% stiffer than stock.

Spin9k

Close... but here's the real deal....in an email I received from Jim Langer, Racing Beat...

zoned

I just got a set of Racing Beat sways and the End links. I cant put into words how much better this car handles with them. the ride quality is only slightly worse, but the handling is a million times better. If you dont have them, get em. NOW!

El Kabong

My only suspension upgrade is the WL sways, and that alone is a great upgrade - ride quality is great, but still not harsh. Body roll much improved.

-Kabong

kwescott

I just helped Ghost install his about a week ago. Took about 45 minutes total...jacking the car up with only two scissor jacks, the removal of the stock bars and the installation of the new bars.

I have also seen a RB bar install, and was assisted on the MS bar install on my car.

My impressions.

Tanabe has equal improvements to both the front and rear bars...this results in keeping the nuetral feeling our cars have.

The Racing Beat bars are both significantly bigger than stock. They are heavy and require new hardware, which come with the bars. RB also recommends upgrading the endlinks, which are purchased seperately. In speaking with a rep from RB, they said they went at the sway bar by fitting the stiffest bar they could up front, and then trying to match it by increasing the rear bar.

The Mazdaspeed is a tiny bit bigger than the stock bars, but are significantly heavier given that they have a thicker wall than the stock bars. They definately made a big difference to the drive of the car. The increase on the two bars is not identical, so you end up having a thicker bar up front.

If you like the drive/feel of your ride now, then I would highly suggest the Tanabe bars. It gives you the best of both worlds. If your looking for something more aggressive, then the other bars may be better for your need.

I have no squeak from the MS setup. I have not heard any bad reviews from the friends who have Tanabe or RB. The only negatives I have heard about RB bars, is from a couple of people invovled in auto cross. Their opinion is that the front bar is too big/too stiff.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

Was this from a stock class competitor? If so they are only installing the front bar, which is an unfair way to judge any front bar, at least for those who intend to install the bars as a matched pair. I'm in BS, and have installed the WL front bar, and found even it to be too stiff when matched to the stock rear bar.

Just an FYI. Always take what us autocrossers say with a grain of salt - we have odd rules and specific goals which may not apply to a street car.

George

arr ex eight

Yeah i wanna know about this combination too if anyone has tried it

kwescott

I autocross as well. Most of those I know who are in BS are using a modified stock bar. But yes, the negative comments have come from those in the autocross world, and they were using just the front bar.

dsmdriver

iTrader: (3)

What rates are the Tanabe bars? When I did the math, the rear looked like it was way stiffer than the front (in terms of % increase). Looked like a massive oversteer bar to me, but I couldn't find stiffness or wall thickness numbers for the bars so I could be wrong.

SDB

Can someone help with some more information on modifying the stock sway bar. I keep seeing references to this but am not sure of the details.

Thanks

carbonRX8

iTrader: (1)

Interesting that SSC has a comment on just this difference between Japan suspension tuners and US suspension tuners. George basically pre-quoted them (SSC must read this forum!!! ), but I didnt think about the $ factor. That is pretty smart.


If you dont mind me chiming in here. I did the bass-akwards thing and put RB sways on first. I appretiated the reduction in roll (IMO the stock 8 likes to roll TOO much); however, I noted a distinct tendency to understeer. Note the differences in stiffness that RB put into their bars. A distinct front bias which supports my observations. I recently put some JIC FLT-A2s on and that tendency to understeer really went away. Now the car wants to turn!!! Initial turn in is almost snappy w/o that scary feeling that the rear wants to come around.

Nevertheless, all this suspension work really took the fun out of pushing it on the street (safely.) Now the limits on the car are so up there, that I have to go that much faster to test skills. I am really not willing to do that with the car as it is set up. I will admit that it kinda is anti-climactic. Even worse is that dedicated racecars, or even weekend racers, will totally destroy me. I am kinda in a dead-zone between to fast for the street and to slow for hanging with the big boys.

Just a thought you may want to consider when doing your cost/benefit analysis.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I have experienced this as well in the Miata. On the street, it's got so much grip it's hard to exploit. But, on the other hand, I just did a Porsche club autocross, and was faster than just about everybody short of two SM2 914s on race tires. And I was on street tires. So there is some upside, but I've spent several years honing my driving & setup skills on the autocross circuits.

On the RX-8, I just love the combination of D-Specs & T1-Rs. Much more responsive than stock, but the Toyos are just a blast to drift around on. Sure they don't have as much grip as Azenis and such, but they have such a nice big fat sweet spot they make me smile everytime I drift them through an apex.

kwescott

You basically will drill a second hole in the bar...further towards the end. You're basically moving the endlink down. This basically makes the bar stiffer. When you remove the stock front bar, you'll notice the spot I am referring to.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

I think you mean "...further towords the bend." Drilling a hole further towords the end will make the bar softer.

kwescott

Yes. It would make more sense to the guy asking, when he actually goes to remove the bar. He'll see that the tab is large enough for a second hole.

MazdaRich

I run the RB bar. It kind of depends on what your goals and budget are as to which bar you want. The RB bar will make the most immediate and largest change to the handling of the car. When you put better tires on a car it tightens up, which is probably why so many people complain about the bigger bars in stock. It handles really well on street tires with this setup, with very little push. The transition speed is so much better it makes up for any push you get.

Now I've put better tires on my car, but not "race" tires. I'll see this weekend if it pushes too much with my current setup. I really want better shocks but not in the budget just yet...

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

I disagree with this. Assuming we are talking about mods in the confines of stock class autocrossing, shocks will make the largest change to your handling, largely because you can stiffen the front and the rear (not to mention pitch and dive control). The transitional resposnse you get with the D-Specs (or Konis, I'm sure) set to full stiff is amazing. When I installed the Whiteline bar (which roughly splits the difference between the stock bar and the RB bar), I found myself reducing the rear damping to dial out some of the push. So I thought: what's the point? Even with the stock bar, I can get excellent transitional speed out of the dampers and the car doesn't push on the sweepers. This is on 710s, by the way.

In the end, though, I think this is a personal preference thing. Some well respected autocrossers have said they like the car with the larger front bar. I don't. The current BS champ thinks the Konis are worth 0.5 seconds, so in the end we may be splitting hairs. But, I know when I went from the WL bar back to stock, I went from being 0.8 seconds off the pace of a multi-time national champ (who's car has a stock front bar, Konis, and 710s) to being 0.15 second off, on the same lot. Not saying it was all the front bar but I do think the car is faster (for me) with the stock front bar.

But on stock shocks, the car may be faster with a BFB (big front bar). I've no experience with that configuration. I do recall people saying the push didn't arrive with the RB bar until they put the Konis on.

George

carbonRX8

iTrader: (1)

I agree. Sway bar controls roll. "Coilovers" control roll and pitch, and can improve braking (can tune weigh distribution) and acceleration (by removing tendency to hop.) PLUS you can tune all of this with a twist of your wrist. If you have the $ you can even have limited impact on NVH fpr daily driving (with olans and zeals.)

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

I want to make a clarification to one of my above posts. When I said that I was backing out the rear damping to compensate for the big front bar, I should have said that I was backing out the FRONT damping.

In other words, the car was pushing, even in the slaloms, so to compensate I was backing out front stiffness in the shocks. So, at best, my slalom speed was the same but the car was pushing in the sweepers, so I saw no upside.

Note that this is all "seat of the pants." No objective measurements to back it up. But on a nicely balanced car the RX-8, I don't see an upside to a front bar that is 50% or more stiffer than stock. The MS bar (or drilled stock) might be a nice option, though.

pianoman

It seems lilke the RB bar is for a lack of a better word a band-aid to getting new springs/shocks.

And George, I've seen some 914's in action, they are wicked cars with a good driver behind the wheel. Cheers to you and the 8.

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

I am sure I may have said something to the effect of them being worth 1/2 a sec at best not that they are worth 1/2 a sec. Shocks will change how a car feels but the driver must be able to take advantage of that difference.