Will adding sway bars and strut braces make the Rx-8 ride rough? I want my 8 to still ride smoothly down the highway, but improve in the handling department on the curves. I'm looking at Racing beat sway and links and maybe mazdaspeed strut braces.

 

Swaybars can contribute a bit of ride harshness, but more in the side-to-side swaying motion at low speeds over low-frequency bumps than anything else. Getting super-stiff bars will degrade the ride more notably, but any of the 'common' bars out right now (RB, Tanabe, Whiteline) aren't going to significantly change the ride characteristics on the highway.

Strut tower braces have even less effect on ride, in our experience. I would encourage you to check out our swaybar special this month in our vendor forum, too, if you haven't already.

 

There are 2 ways to make the car corner flatter. One is to install bigger sway bars. The other is to install larger springs. The springs will degrade the ride the most because they provide resistance to movement all the time. The sway bars only provide resistance when one side off the car is trying to move opposite of the other side. This will increase the harshness of the ride, but not as much as spring upgrades.