First of all, I know absolutely nothing about this stuff, so I need some opinions.
I was thinking about taking some of the gap out of the wheelwells on my car by putting some different springs on it...just for appearance purposes. I was thinking that it would be nice to get rid of a little of the body roll it has, so I thought the springs would take care of both in one shot.
The car is not road raced or autocrossed at all, nor will it be....but I'd just like to have it handle a little better than it does stock.
What springs would be best for my situation?
Would I also have to upgrade the shocks/struts?
Or should I just try different sway bars to get rid of the body roll and improve the handling a little bit? If so, which ones?

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97 M6 Z28....K&N CAI, Air-Foil, SLP 2OTL, Pro 5.0, !CAGS, BMR STB, APHR, and tubular frame connectors, a non-functional SLP fan switch, and stock 3.42's...13.92@101mph
2001 CBR 600 F4i Red/Black

 

I'd do sway bars first..WHY??

1. They are cheaper (Spohn has a BIUG set for $275 if I remember right, with endlinks)

2. They are easier to install.

3. It would be interestin to see just how much it helps

Goodluck

 

Sway bars are cheap (or just get a larger front and stay with stock rear).

Shocks + springs are going to be $600 or above.

 

So then I should scrap the spring idea?
Aren't there any that you can use with the stock shocks/struts without compromising too much?
I'd really like to take some of the space out of the wheelwells if possible.
OK, swaybars then. Stick with the stock rear? Really. Great, cheaper that way.
What front bar should I look at?

Thanks for the help too!

 

It depends on you, some people mix aftermarket springs with stock shocks but technically its not correct, and will kill your probably already dead shocks faster than normal since the shocks cannot sufficiently dampen your newly aggressive springs.

If anything maybe some Bilstein shocks and stock springs, figure on under $400 for those, although plenty more work than swapping a front sway bar.

New front bar plus some poly bushings/endlinks for your stock rear, nice budget mod and definately noticable over stock.

 

The work and the money don't bother me if it would be worth the cash and effort.

If and when I do need new shocks and struts, should I go for the SLP Bilsteins or the regular ones if I'm going to do springs too? Also what springs...Eibach Pro Kit? LG Motorsports? Remember, I don't need anything really aggressive.

If I do a front swaybar now, what company should I look at? I have other BMR stuff on my car and I'm pretty happy with that...are their swaybars any good? 32 or 35mm?
Then stick with the stock rear bar and upgrade the bushings and endlinks? Why no rear bar?

Thanks Dr. Mudge!

 

Dan , If money is not an option,I will recomend(I have) Eibach Pro-kit(any lower,ouch!)Koni Adjustables,BMR sway bars.Koni makes a special thats cheaper non-adj. Eibach $229,Konis $850,$276 BMR sways prothane bush,and end links included.
Alot lower looking,Very responsive,Traction
Always up to the task,But this is pretty agressive,I'm running this mostly for the track.
Sways came last didnt make car any lower.
Dr.Mudge Do you know something I dont?Should I take off the rear 21mm,replace the stock?Rear tire does get light once in a while in the turns,But its not so prone to drift in the rear anymore.
I like this set-up Dan,Good luck

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Hella Clean Dark Green Metallic 98 3.8 L60E Coupe:Fast toys Ram Air,Holly filter,Whisper lid,160 Thermo,Man.fan switch,Purple ice wetter,Eibach Pros,Koni adjustables,BMR sways,Prothane bushins,Transgo kit,Magnaflow cat-back.National Auto Sport ***. member/student.

 

Most people claim the 21mm rear bar is too aggressive unless used with a 35mm front.

I've got Koni DAs and 600# fronts, 140-160# rears, that is what most people would call uncomfortable, I happen to like it (except when the back acts up, doh). Combo like that would probably run $1200-$1400 though.

The Bilstein HDs are valved for stock springs, but people have used them on other setups and enjoyed the results, some of it is a matter of how snooty/picky you want to be.

If its not going to be raced and just want a little more 'pep' in response I'd stick with a 32mm front (BMR has solid, and supposedly 40% stiffer than 1LE, not sure thats a good idea but I would not hesitate to try it out myself). Then I'd grab poly for the back on the stock bar (JMO again).

You'd save a good amount of dough and have what I consider a very nice feeling difference, my car is a 94 and when I put poly on the bars it was VERY different, I was definately happy, plus you wont have to worry about speed bumps etc like I do, so I'd start small and just sit on the idea for future upgrades as a possibility.

 

As a first step, I have always prefered stiffer swaybars front/rear to stiff springs to enhance cornering (personnal preference from old Herb Adams F-Body tuner days).

However, the stiffer the front swaybars, the more your independent front suspension is cancelled-out (rear is live axle anyway). The car will be a little more twitchy when 1 wheel hits a dip. The increased roll-stiffness more than compensates for this downside for me. Use greaseable poly bushings for pivot points to prevent binding/sqeaking of sway bar. Use poly links for instant response. Use solid-rod end links (if you are lucky enough to find bars of that type for race responsiveness).

A stiffer front bar is the first step (I use Addco 1.25" solid bar - cad-plated). The stiffer the rear bar, the more oversteer tendancy the car will have. More O-steer is good for autocross, but may be unnerving on high speed corners (I use a 1" Addco solid bar - cad-plated in the rear with 315mm tires, which remains close to neutral).

Stiffer springs will make the suspension more choppy when cornering, and harsher overall, but can be used effectively.

If you lower the car, you need stiffer springs to keep from bottoming out and to keep the car operating within its dynamic alignment range.

If you use stiffer springs, stock shocks will not be sufficient to keep up.

Good Luck,
Rick R