Suspension Setup?

[NuWiz]

I have done searches and read through various posts but am still unsure what direction I should go in. The goal I am trying to achieve right now is to reduce some of the body roll in the car. I just do basic street driving no autox or other track racing. There are three options that I have decidied on, and would like some feedback. I know in the end it is my ultimately my decision on what to choose. Thanks in advance Mike

 

Option 1 - replace the rear sway bar with the AVO bar, brackets, and endlinks.

Option 2 - replace both f/r sway bars with Perrin 22mm, and endlinks.

Option 3 - no sway bars just Tein (basic) coilovers.

[rporter]

Bars will reduce the roll. I went with Cobb bars, which worked great.

 

I would do that before other changes. I went with Ksport coilovers, but the bars had the greatest single improvement. Definitely get better endlinks in the front. My stocers broke after one track day.

 

The Ksprts are a little rough on our Midwest roads, although they are great on the track. I'll probably go with the Tein Comfort Sports that I was originally going to get.

[HansGT]

invest in struts and springs. they will reduce body roll while enhancing all other performance areas.

 

read this...

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5941

[rporter]

Since his concern is body roll, sway bars are what will handle that.

 

Yes, in a perfect world with a perfect chassis structure ( as in a CART/F1 car, for example), sway bars are not needed, and the shocks/springs can handle it with their stiff chasses.

 

Sway bars cut the body roll tremendously. IMHO, they didn't do much for track work, except the other guys didn't say my wagon looked like it was about to roll over. They are a band-aid, but an effective band-aid on a daily driver.

 

Gettng into spings/shocks/struts/colovers involve compromses that most folks don't want.

[ebpda9]

or run bilstein hd's with pinks and no swaybars. they work awesome, same as stock ride, no roll

[HansGT]

Since his concern is body roll, sway bars are what will handle that.

 

But you don't "need" better ones with good struts and springs. Bang for the buck struts and springs will greatly out weigh just sways.

[LRegvall]

My limited experience with a few cars and what I've read tell me that good dampers will help hide a lot of chassis imbalance. Stiffer springs will help get rid of roll while diminishing ride quality in equal proportion. Sway bars are not cosmetic, but are the best way to adjust the roll balance of the car (keeping slip angles in the front and rear balanced and manageable). The stock LGT RSB is far out of balance with the front. I added an AVO RSB and the car is much more balanced. The car can now be under-, over- or neutral steered at will. It needs better damping and I'm thinking about some Teins. But the sways are the starting point for balancing the car. And they are the least expensive improvement.

[Underdog]

My limited experience with a few cars and what I've read tell me that good dampers will help hide a lot of chassis imbalance. Stiffer springs will help get rid of roll while diminishing ride quality in equal proportion. Sway bars are not cosmetic, but are the best way to adjust the roll balance of the car (keeping slip angles in the front and rear balanced and manageable). The stock LGT RSB is far out of balance with the front...

 

 

Springs and Struts to cure roll/squat/dive.

JDM or AVO RSB to balance out weight transfer due to front-heavy car.

 

Using swaybars alone to eliminate body roll will be effective but will cost you grip at the limit, especially if you have compromise tires.

[q2slinger]

Using swaybars alone to eliminate body roll will be effective but will cost you grip at the limit, especially if you have compromise tires.

 

This is not true. Larger sway bars on a Legacy will not reduce grip at the limit. Larger sway bars will reduce the amount of positive camber gained while corning. This is always a good thing.

 

To the OP upgraded sways will make the car better for under $400. You can always do struts and springs later if you wan more. Upgraded stuts, springs, and sways is really what the Legacy needs IMO.

[Underdog]

This is not true. Larger sway bars on a Legacy will not reduce grip at the limit. Larger sway bars will reduce the amount of positive camber gained while corning. This is always a good thing...

 

Actually, it is true. A stiffer swaybar increases the weight transfer across an axle, which in turn reduces the cornering efficiency of the axle.

 

It is also true that a stiffer bar will reduce camber gain (which is a good thing) but the multilink rear suspension of the legacy is not prone to excessive camber gain, unlike the macpherson strut design up front.

 

That is why it is a trade-off... going stiffer on the rear bar helps up to a point (where you have compensated for the front-heavy nature of the car) and after that you are reducing the cornering efficiency of the axle.

 

Reference this thread for some of the basics. I have been meaning to add to it, but haven't found the time. Within that thread you will note that members with more knowledge and experience than me, confer the same advice.

[wavewagon]

Perrin RSB, KW V2 coilovers, and Goodyear F1 tires here. The car stops and handles much better than stock. I have the RSB set at medium and the car has a bit of oversteer, but I like it. Very little body roll or dive.

 

Good tires is a critical component to consider too. I did the RSB and coilovers before tires. This helped me see how limiting the stock tires were in maitaining traction and control (not a surprise but it was cool to go through this in steps to see what each change did).

[LRegvall]

Actually, it is true. A stiffer swaybar increases the weight transfer across an axle, which in turn reduces the cornering efficiency of the axle.

 

It is also true that a stiffer bar will reduce camber gain (which is a good thing) but the multilink rear suspension of the legacy is not prone to excessive camber gain, unlike the macpherson strut design up front.

 

That is why it is a trade-off... going stiffer on the rear bar helps up to a point (where you have compensated for the front-heavy nature of the car) and after that you are reducing the cornering efficiency of the axle.

 

Reference this thread for some of the basics. I have been meaning to add to it, but haven't found the time. Within that thread you will note that members with more knowledge and experience than me, confer the same advice.

 

One of the suspension books I read (Paul Van Valkenbergh) said that two equally weighted tires (i.e., under the influence of a sway bar) will grip better than one tire with twice the weight (i.e., no sway bar). This doesn't take into account acceleration and deceleration forces. My limited experience suggests this is true even though there is more slip in each of the tires.