all i got to say is i have the progress rear sway bar and the fit handle like a dream and i am now going for buddy club coil overs

 

yes the fit will snap oversteer but thats due to the extremely soft shocks from factory that allow the car to squat and transfer the weight nasty. the progress RSB will help for track and with a good spring shock combo you have an amazing handling fit. also 1 degree of negative camber in the front tires works like a charm when auto crossing.

 

Mr Mahout has raced in SCCA competition since I was a kid and I will be 60 in 4 months.... If you like sliding around all over the place keep doing what you are doing, if you want a car that you can drive fast on a track listen to someone with first hand knowledge.... Wider light weight wheels, good tires and stiffer rear shocks will help more than adding a rear stabilizer bar and overly stiff springs with a smaller amount of travel than stock....What you have done so far by stiffening the unit body structure has positive results because it allows the suspension to stay properly aligned during hard cornering keeping the wheels and tires on the ground at the proper angle.

 

our comp notebooks are the basis for statements; we tried different things on numerous cars and invariably the issue always boiled down to getting springs right and balancing with sway bars. If you don't believe what I say why would you believe my notebooks? I suggest you go visit some chassis engineers for good NASCAR teams or IMSA or Indy cars and see what they say. Stopwatches are the judges, not what you feel.
Here's another choice: write Grassrootsmotorsports or their bulletin boards and ask them, too.

 

In your opinion. If I don't want to lower will I see improvement with a Progress rear sway bar? Improvement in this case being defined as better cornering.
Thanks

 

grassroots YES nascar NO (nascar only makes right turns in only 2 races lmfao rotfl and when they do race((only in pristine weather by the way) at the road courses they even ditch their "normal staff" for more competent road racing specialists)

if u want to ride the roller coaster dont ask the merry go round ppl how the ride is

imsa? what r u like 80 years old? it must bring back memories of "the good ol days" watching the the imsa races taped on the beta max

u should put positive camber like those 1920's racers lmfao



mahout is right though, even if his sources r seriously outdated but you shouldn't take my word for it!!!

do your own homework!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

sure but 3 degrees is 30 times better

 

Yes you will see improved handling because increased oversteer counters much of the understeer. ultimate cornering limits are slightly reduced but unlessyou're on track it isn't a factor.

 

Agree with the poster who suggested adding some negative camber to the front. I did this weekend, about -0.7* with camber bolts, and it helps a lot. I knew it would. Also agree that adding the rear sway on a stock suspension will help reduce understeer and improve feel. Considering this too

 

you should get an alignment if you mess with camber on the front of a fit. i adjusted my camber, and my toe was 2 degrees off on each wheel. wore out my tires in 300 miles

 

Also agree that adding the rear sway on a stock suspension will help reduce understeer and improve feel. Considering this too[/QUOTE]

You would be much better off getting some stiffer rear shocks instead of a rear sway bar.... The Fit doesn't have a problem with under steer but does with over steer... Adding a rear sway bar is going to have your car sliding at both ends and will make the over steer even more pronounced.

 

I do hope you're kidding.

 

No I wasn't kidding but I definitely got it backwards for sure....The second sentence isn't wrong though, of course you can spend a ton of money for sticky fast wearing ultra high performance tires to compensate for the the additional under steer created by using an anti sway bar.

 

facepalm. if anything, the rear swaybar would increase oversteer

 

Okay, I guess I'll get in on this discussion. My understanding is neither oversteer or understeer is desirable but that understeer is easier to deal with for a novice driver so most cars will tend to understeer more than oversteer.

On hard corners in some of those Malibu canyons I find myself (snap?) oversteering as my rear tires lose traction over potholes and the like. If the road is in good shape I almost never oversteer, it tends to understeer instead if anything.

Seems to me if I added a RSB I would feel more solid handling on corners and less body roll, up to the point when the tires really do lose traction and you oversteer anyway. With that in mind, on curves where I'm oversteering because of bad road quality and potholes, would the RSB actually make that situation more dangerous?

Seems like at that moment the car would need that outside rear wheel hard on the ground more than it would need both rears to be down. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

 

Yes this is correct for any car and certainly for the Fit. I could see the toe changing as I tweaked the camber so then I had to reset the toe.

You got it wrong again. A rear sway will increase oversteer. Of course, the idea is not to induce the rear end to slide around but to make the car more neutral. Where you're correct is in implying that a rear sway will place more demand on the rear tires as you've decreased compliance at the rear suspension. If you're on stock crappy rubber then you could have an issue with oversteer, particularly in slippery conditions, but let's face it, your first handling upgrade on this car should be better tires. They don't have to be R-comps to make a significant improvement either. I have Bridgestone 760 Sports and liked them alot though they're a bit too heavy for the motor and clutch. Now they're worn and I'm changing to General Exclaims.

You were also correct that either stiffer rear springs or shocks would help to decrease understeer though you'd want to do the fronts as well to keep decent balance in damping. One of the biggest problems with this car is the ultra soft bushings which allow the suspension to squirm around at its attachment points and thereby decreases precision. Irritates the crap out of me.

 

If you're oversteering you're likely lifting off the accelerator while deep in a turn and unloading the rear suspension. A rear sway in this situation would be worse.

 

Thanks! Rep for you.