i'm thinking about putting a bigger front sway bar (front swb only, not the rear one for the controlled oversteer), but having a dilemma over hollow vs non-hollow. i think hollow ones are lighter+ ridgid, whereas non-hollow ones are heavier+not as ridgid. i guess it all depends on the material used for the swb, but which ones would you guys put in for a 03 bugeye that desperately needs help in handling?
do i HAVE to put a rswb if i do the front one? i dont have enough money, but also i need to satisfy my desire to make my car steering 'feel' better. hell, a honda accord has a better 'feel' to it then my car; it feels a lot more like go-kart. i'm looking to make my steering feel like a BMW (i think this is a perfect example). I want my steering wheel to respond to the slightest input. right now, i`ll wiggle my wheel left and right going at like 70 or 80 mph, and the car just goes straight, not left and right (of course, it's a slight movement, but i want my steering to be 'beefy' enough so that it reponds to the slightest input) whiteline steering rack bushings did a good job, but i still need a lot more. i want the wheel to feel really heavy. i guess my question is, will the swb help my car feel solid when i turn the wheel? i hate it how i am wiggling the wheel left and right, but my car does not respond... btw, i'm running 45+ psi all four corners, just to see if it would feel any better at higher psi on the tires, but still not satisfied. HELP ME!
if possible i would. it's that bad. swb only affects a car when it is moving right? my car steering feels loose when i move the whel even when it's parked (like when i back out from a parking lot or something and turn the wheel), but jake's 02 bugeye felt really solid even when it was parked. do sti owners feel like this as well? cuz you guys have beefier springs/swb, so it should be better right? or are our cars never gonna feel like a bmw? hell, even a honda? (drive a rsx, accord, s2000; it feels significantly more soild than bugeyes) WHY? please tell me swb will fix the problem. maybe i should get a new rack...
I'm no pro, but if you do just fsb on a bugeye your'e probably going to still understeer horribly. I'd definitely say do rear or do both. Either way though, I don't imagine that you will feel the difference so much in small wheels movements, more in full turns (once again though, I'm no pro). And as for the other cars you listed feeling more solid...I don't know about that. I mean sure there are more responsive cars than wrxs, but mine sure feels solid to me. That's something I've always loved about it. I've driven an RSX, civic, and Acura TL and I feel my car without a doubt feels better than all of them. And I'm totally stock suspension. I know there is much room for improvement, but for a stock car, I think it feels splendid. The beauty of AWD?
mokin, when was your last alignment. I also like the BIG, solid bars. 27-29mm front and 22-26mm rear. Doing those two will cut the total roll angle nearly in HALF. They will also reduce understeer. Doing just the FRONT bar will give maybe 70% of the improvement of doing both... SS
Depending on how many miles were on each car some steering rack bushings might help to firm up the steering. Tire choice will also drastically affect steering feel.
Like I said in the PM, if you want a heavier wheel, quicker turn in, shorter ratio look at the quicksteer steering column. It may be under a different name now as the Crucial Racing owner sold it off.
i think the problem is that there is something wrong with my steering rack. hopefully jake can chime in on this, cuz he drove my car so he knows what i am talking about. as far as bushings, i just installed the whiteline steering rack bushings, and all my tires are running at 35 psi (took kingwrx's advice and lowered it from 45+ psi to 35 psi to allow the tire to have a bigger contact area, and it works!) well, i should be spending money on my rack, but as of now i'm getting jake's AP v1.0 heheheheh!
OMG!!!!!!!!!!:eek3: my bushings just broke in or what? i can tell a HUGE difference now... this is so weird.. well, at least i learned a lot on how to make my steering feel even better. man, bushings DO make a huge difference.. how come nobody told me you have to wait for the bushings to settle in? nah, jk i am so damn happy right now with my steering feel hehe.