Sway Bars And Strut Braces

[bull_11]

Hey guys i have and r33 gtst. I was looking to get front and rear sway bars. I already have both which im presuming are stock and was wondering if the whiteline was the way to go? I was also told to try a gtr bar which would work for the back and not the front. I was curious of if changing them would make much of a difference or should i just get both front and rear strut braces to stiffen up the body?

All help and experiences would be greatful.

Cheers guys

[willL]

plenty of threads on this

in short, yes sways make a difference, they decrease body roll. 32 gtr rear sways bolt upto 32 gtst's not sure if its the same for 33's

whiteline are decent, most of their sways are adjustable, cusco ones are also somthin to have a look at, its what im running and they made a great difference

Edited October 5, 2011 by willL

[bull_11]

plenty of threads on this

in short, yes sways make a difference, they decrease body roll. 32 gtr rear sways bolt upto 32 gtst's not sure if its the same for 33's

whiteline are decent, most of their sways are adjustable, cusco ones are also somthin to have a look at, its what im running and they made a great difference

where did you get the cosco ones and roughly how much? So you noticed a fair amount in body roll reduction by changing out the stock ones? Do you also have strut braces?

Thanks mate

[willL]

got the cusco's off a sau member front n rear for 350 (used), i got lucky though as they go for roughly 300 each new

as above I noticed a big difference, less body roll/stiffer feel....I also have cusco front n rear strut braces which are a cheap handling upgrade which I did first

Edited October 6, 2011 by willL

[dori34]

swaybars made a big difference on my car.

if you can get the GTR rear swaybar for under $100 its a bargain.

if anymore, you can get whiteline for a bit more and just get that instead.

[GTSBoy]

Important note, front strut braces don't do anywhere near as much on Skylines as they do on cars that actually have struts. They do stiffen the front end up a little, which is desirable and helpful, but the main aim of strut braces is to stop the strut towers from moving around relative to each other (or the lower suspension pickup points) and so affecting overall suspension geometry. But because the tops of Skyline suspension units only carry the spring/shock loads, and don't actually locate the suspension geometry, it's not as important to keep them still.

It's the same with the rear braces on Skylines. Doesn't affect suspension geometry directly, just braces the chassis up a little.

It's arguable that they may only have a placebo effect.

Edited October 6, 2011 by GTSBoy

[djr81]

Strut braces and adjustable shock absorbers are probably two of the most over rated after market suspension "upgrades" ever sold.

[bull_11]

Thanks a lot guys. I saw whiteline sway bar on ebay but they are adjustable and i dont think i really need adjustable since i doubt i will ever use it as a hard out track car im trying to get it into a solid set up so that i can have fun when i go to drift days. You all pretty much confirmed what i already thought but i wanted peoples opinions that have been there and done that, I really appreciate the info.

Thanks everyone

[bull_11]

Also another question. If you buy a whiteline or cusco sway bar does it bolt straight on or do extra things need to be bought?

[GTSBoy]

There is (or was) a group buy on here recently for all sorts of R32/3/4 Whiteline bars. Look it up and check out what you need for the R33. I have a feeling that the R33 ones don't come with the drop links - you buy them separately.

On a 32 they pretty much go straight in unless you buy a secondhandy that someone has lost bits from. Example. Whiteline 24mm heavy adjustable rear bar for R32. Comes with new D bushes/mounts and new drop link hardware. Just rip the old one out, slip the new one in (and that plays down how much of a struggle it can be to get the fatter bar threaded in if you do it on chassis stands like I did!) and bolt up. Done. On a 33, assuming you have the links you need, it should be about the same.

If I were buying right now I'd buy the heaviest adjustable rear bar available (which is what I did when I bought mine) and an adjustable front bar to match (which is not what I did because I already had a heavy but non-adjustable front). The difference between most soft setting at the rear and most firm setting at the front (or vice versa) is usually enough to allow you tune the bars to compensate for whatever little imbalances there may be from having front and rear springs not super well matched. I'd rather spend the bit extra to get that adjustability than not spend it and then wish I had.

Oh, and given your post above - adjustable will probably suit your drifty desires more. You can stiffen the rear and soften the front to make it more tail happy for drifting, and then set it back so it is better balanced for the road.

Edited October 6, 2011 by GTSBoy

[MADE]

As mentioned, to me they made a noticable difference. I went with the Nismo on both the front and rear.

ER34 Sedan.

[Nee-san]

Strut braces and adjustable shock absorbers are probably two of the most over rated after market suspension "upgrades" ever sold.

Naaah mate, I took my strut brace off and nearly rolled the car..... Lol.

[Clandestine]

I have made these changes to my series 1.5 gtst over the last year, I was running into understeer at the track when pushing it through the corners so decided that it needed stiffening up a little.

I did it in the following order and had these experiences:

- Fitted a whiteline front strut brace, slightly tighter chassis in the front but no difference to turn in etc. Felt more direct, but I have a feeling it was just the placebo effect coming on.

- Fitted a _front_ whiteline adjustable sway bar and left it on its softest setting (as per instructions) and took her for a drive. One word for you, whale. Like a whale on a seesaw.

- Fitted a _rear_ whiteline adjustable sway bar and tightened up the front sway bar. Suddenly had a very noticeable difference in handling, still a fair bit of body roll (stock suspension doesn't help here) but very predictable in corners. Next track day it felt like a completely different car, very controllable slight oversteer which kept me facing into the corner perfectly.

I ran this setup for a couple of months until at one of the track days a mate of mine rolled his R33, from which I gained a nameless rear strut brace which I installed a couple of weeks ago.

Strangely, this completely changed the feeling of the entire car. I refuse to believe that this is down to the brace, rather that it may have been the final piece in strengthening the chassis, so if I remove something else it will go back to being slightly less harsh again. I haven't been back to the track since, but on the road it feels like it's having trouble maintaining grip in the rear due to being too stiff on our rough Tasmanian roads, and has lost some predictability. I'm not sure if this is because I'm going through the corner faster, it feels faster, but is most likely due to the fact skipping around and I can't tell at normal road speeds whether there is any real speed gain. Next track day will see whether I leave the rear brace in, or take it out for some flex as the closest track down here is quite bumpy.

Jay

[Daleo]

There is (or was) a group buy on here recently for all sorts of R32/3/4 Whiteline bars. Look it up and check out what you need for the R33. I have a feeling that the R33 ones don't come with the drop links - you buy them separately.

On a 32 they pretty much go straight in unless you buy a secondhandy that someone has lost bits from. Example. Whiteline 24mm heavy adjustable rear bar for R32. Comes with new D bushes/mounts and new drop link hardware. Just rip the old one out, slip the new one in (and that plays down how much of a struggle it can be to get the fatter bar threaded in if you do it on chassis stands like I did!) and bolt up. Done. On a 33, assuming you have the links you need, it should be about the same.

If I were buying right now I'd buy the heaviest adjustable rear bar available (which is what I did when I bought mine) and an adjustable front bar to match (which is not what I did because I already had a heavy but non-adjustable front). The difference between most soft setting at the rear and most firm setting at the front (or vice versa) is usually enough to allow you tune the bars to compensate for whatever little imbalances there may be from having front and rear springs not super well matched. I'd rather spend the bit extra to get that adjustability than not spend it and then wish I had.

Oh, and given your post above - adjustable will probably suit your drifty desires more. You can stiffen the rear and soften the front to make it more tail happy for drifting, and then set it back so it is better balanced for the road.

I was running the GB. Link; http://www.skylinesa...34-gtr-and-2wd/

If the op wants something; send me a PM. The same goes for anyone else.

With regard to the R33 links; every Whiteline kit come with everything needed to fit; even lubricating grease. There are Upgraded links that can be bought separately; which are much stronger, and a very nice improvement, but these aren't compulsory.

Cheers, Dale.

Edited October 7, 2011 by Daleo

[bull_11]

wow you guys are really giving me a lot of things to think about with different ways to go with what i want to do. I really appreciate all the help!!!

[bull_11]

I was running the GB. Link; http://www.skylinesa...34-gtr-and-2wd/

If the op wants something; send me a PM. The same goes for anyone else.

With regard to the R33 links; every Whiteline kit come with everything needed to fit; even lubricating grease. There are Upgraded links that can be bought separately; which are much stronger, and a very nice improvement, but these aren't compulsory.

Cheers, Dale.

I was wondering if heavy duty link would really make that much more of a difference from the ones that come supplies with the sway bar?

[Daleo]

I was wondering if heavy duty link would really make that much more of a difference from the ones that come supplies with the sway bar?

The supplied links are urethane bushed at both ends which allow small amounts of compression and deflection.

The H/D links are direct mounted at both ends to the Subframe and to the Sway Bar, and they contain an OEM style ball joint at each end, which have no give at all. This means there is no delay in the reaction of the Sway Bar. You CAN feel the difference.

The best thing about them is; for all the direct action and solid mounting; there is no extra harshness or noise you would normally associate with these kind of links. They are virtually as good as a race style link but with NONE of the downsides or maintenance. You just fit them and enjoy the benefits.

[bull_11]

thanks a lot you guys. You have been a great help. Its much appreciated. Now to just save and get me a pair