Oversteer Options

[BonzaiCelica]

Well i just put in a new suspension set up on the car nothing to exensive since i didnt want like over a grand. But i have kyb gr2 struts with tanabe df210 dress up springs which dropped the car about 1.5 inches. Along with that i installed front and rear st sway bars. I still just have stock toyo spectrum not very good for turns. Anyays my question is when ever i take lane change really quickly,with a sudden jerk, my cars back end sways out a little and it not very convincing. if i were to go into a corner really fast it does the same to sways out a little. is this normal? If i were to get a rear strut bar would it blow out my rear kyb gr2 struts. Whats the cheapest brand of strut bars cause i know that c-one is expensive. Please help !! and Thank you

[windowlicker]

well, a strut bar is not going to blow your struts out. they are bracing the chassis by running from one strut tower to the other, which will reduce the flexing of the body due to a large open area like your engine bay or your trunk.

as far as the oversteer you are talking about, adding a rear strut tower bar is actually going to make it worse. if the rear suspension is stiffer than the front, there is more of a tendency to create more oversteer. if you want to neutralize things out a little more, i'd recommend putting a strut bar on the front and leaving the rear alone. also check your sway bars for adjustment holes (i'm not sure if yours have more than one hole per side to put the endlinks in) and if there are, you may want to put the endlinks on the outer holes which should put them on the less stiff setting. you can also counter the oversteer by lowering the tire pressures in the rear. you may want to consider upgrading your tires as well since it sounds like they aren't really performance orientated

personally, having some controllable oversteer is a lot better than quite a bit of understeer in my opinion. also when was the last time you had an alignment? if its been a while, you may want to get one.

hope this helps a bit, and if you have any more questions, ask away.

[Cuts_the_Pilot]

...is fun

[j0e_p3t]

sounds like you need new tires.

[BonzaiCelica]

Oh ok then. I now understand purpose of strut bar. So i always hear the rear suspension as if its reallly stiff probably cuase i have a hatchback. Is there more of a possibility that my rear might be stiffer than my front, and also is the more likely of a chance that my struts will blow cause i have stiff springs?? I have the newest ST sway bars the green ones. On the back when i was having them installed with the help of my friend, he said he put it on the stiffer setting which are the holes closest to the middle of the bar. so ur suggesting i put it on the 1st set of holes. Before i installed my suspension kit. I noticed understeer in the front when i turned sharp. How would understeer be applied to the back??? I plan on getting 16' enkei cdr9 with 205/50/16 falken fk452. Which should handle alot better. btw, what tire pressure should be used for tires like those??? Thanks for all the help.

[windowlicker]

hey, where at in orange county are you? maybe we can get a regular meet going on and we can talk in person about the suspension.

[BonzaiCelica]

hey, where at in orange county are you? maybe we can get a regular meet going on and we can talk in person about the suspension.

I live in Buena Park/Cypress Area next to cypress high school near knotts berry farm.......

[windowlicker]

damn, you're not too far at all, i'm down in the newport beach area. we really should start up a bi weekly meet at autobacs or something.

[Helix]

I would say that such changes in the way the car handles should be the result of bad alignment. Did you align the wheels after you dropped the car?

[BonzaiCelica]

I would say that such changes in the way the car handles should be the result of bad alignment. Did you align the wheels after you dropped the car?

I haven't had the car aligned at all i dont drive it much. im mainly riding my 08 Suzuki 750R, gas saver plus motorcycles are so fun. I know i should of had the car aligned, but i heard that i should drive the car some until my springs settle in and shocks loosen up a little, whether thats true or not... I dont know. i've driven at least a little over 150 miles with the new suspension set up. would it be considered to do alignment asap. Or wait until december to do it when i get new rims and tires....

[Helix]

I would advise you to align the wheels as soon as possible. When you drop the car, you change the angle between the suspension arms and the wheels.
That tends to alter the original alignment of the wheels, which can cause from uneven tyre wear to dangerous handling problems...

However, the original suspension setup can only be tuned by a small amount. When you drop the car too much, you cannot compensate for the change in the geometry of the suspension. Then the only solution is to get some top mounts that will allow you to further tune the camber/caster/toe angles.

[windowlicker]

dude, we should get together and i can explain more in person. plus it would be kinda nice to meet more celica guys down here in orange county. would really be nice to get a meet started thats bi weekly or something.