I will eventually be gettin a rear sway bar, but for now I was thinking of just getting a fstb. Has anyone gotten this alone and noticed a difference in handling? I expect it won't be much. With the rsb, I have heard good things though. Thanks

 

i couldn't really tell...

 

1. they do different things
2. there is a change, but not as noticeable with the FSTB.

The purpose of the FSTB is to help correct "torque steer." What is torque steer? Well, that is when you are taking off with the wheel slightly turned(I guess it doesn't have to be) and you are getting on the gas pretty heavy. Well, you can feel the steering wheel searching back and forth and back and forth slightly. This is because it is Front Wheel Drive, and it is pulling hard on the same tires that turn the car......the front.
This is caused by the strut towers being able to move sideways allowing for this travel. By putting on the FSTB, you are bracing the strut towers in the front, therefore giving your steering a more steady feel. You will notice that some of the little road vibrations are gone, and that your car is not "torque steering" quite so much.

The RSB is a different animal all together. What is does is help eliminate sway of the car. Sway is when you are going around a turn and the car feels like it is going to roll over. When you put on the RSB, this will be more steady, thus, eliminating a lot of the Sway. It is a much, much, much more usefull mod, and you can definitely tell in everyday driving.

I like both of the mods though and am glad that I have both.

If you drive your car at all, you ought to be able to tell when you do each one, based on what I have described to you about them.

I would just put the FSTB on there and tell the difference. Then, I would put the RSB on there and you will notice that too.

You ought to be able to pick up a FSTB off of ebay for like $15-20 or so.

You ought to be able to pick up a RSB used for like $100-150. Good investment.

Hope this helps.

 

yes it improved.

 

definitely get one, no question about it, the best under 100 dollar mod out there. Your car will feel tight. It will keep the car flat when coming around a turn

 

Yes..they work good and its noticeable

 

I just installed my Otto bar about 3 weeks ago. I have Sprints as well. And with the bar it's a definetly noticeable, car stays planted even more. I don't know how some people don't notice the difference.

 

Get the FSTB for sure. I dont know your driving style but a RSB has more cons than pros for daily use.

 

More cons than pros with the rsb? You are the first person I have seen that has stated this. The only problem I can see is that there might be a little oversteer possible when the roads are wet, or there is snow. What do you mean? Thanks for the replies.

 

He basically means, with the RSB there is unexpected oversteer. If the roads are wet, or even if you have bald tires, the RSB can snap the rear end around quickly, and with a driver not very skilled can possibly wreck if something like that happens.

 

Wow, that is really, really not what causes torque steer...

From this page http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/ed..._technobabble/


So, as you can see, an FSTB would and should have little effect on torque steer.

 

Def go with the sway bar & FSTB. Not sure how much the FSTB actually helps, but I got them installed at the same time, and the car really has a nicer feel.

 

But that is what the FSTB is for......."helping" with torque steer.

"So back to torque steer. First, what is it and why do you care? Torque steer is simply the tendency of a front-wheel drive car to try to steer itself when you are accelerating."

So, maybe I was not totally technically correct with the explaination of the strut towers, but I did say that it was a problem caused in correlation with the struts and a front wheel drive car. I also said what it does.....just like the article quoted above.

Thanks for pointing out that article though. Interesting.

 

I thought the FSTB just helps with the leaning of the car during cornering... it might help correct the severe understeering tendencies of the maxima as an effect of keeping the front end "flatter" to the road. I need to get me an FSTB!

 

The FSTB is there to brace the strut towers together for more consistent handling.

When I installed mine on an otherwise stock car I noticed improvement right away.

Before, in an extreme turn (say 8/10ths of maximum speed), when I would hit a bump mid-corner, three things would happen. The car would move up and down on its suspension (normal), the car would roll to the outside (normal), and the car would "wiggle" in a yaw motion slightly (WTF?). As long as I was expecting it, and drove through it, the yaw wiggle wasn't that big of a deal.

After installing only the FSTB that little wiggle yaw motion mid corner disappeared completely. It made taking turns at high speed a bit more stable and able to be done at higher speeds with a bit more confidence. It doesn't increase your absolute grip any, it just makes it easier to get the most out of what the car has to offer.

Totally worth the $30 for an eBay strut bar. I paid $75 for my bar from Cattman back in the day.

 

Good article, MZ.

OT: Also I noticed your a Tool fan, that's a great song in your sig!

 

Strut tower bars (front or rear), lower tie bar, and sub frame connectors are all meant to reduce the chassis flexing. A car with a stiff chassis will always handle better, and ride a little better too. The maxima can always use it since it does not have the stiffest body and frame.

RSB as I have heard can bring about oversteer especially combined with springs. Getting things in the front such as the front lower tie bar and maybe Front sway bar bushings may neutralize the handling more but you just need to be a little more careful.

 

The RSB increases oscilation of the rear. when you go over a bump with one rear wheel the other gets moved becase they are more stiffly connected. This means that daily driving comfort is lower and sometimes is just plain anoying. One member had a RSB for a short time, then lowered his car and immediately removed the RSB because of the akward movments comming from the rear. Its just uncomfortable to some. But if you want to give up one thing for another.... which happens with almost every mod.

 

Any cons with FSTB ?!? Thanks.

 

Not really any cons, that I could see.
I have had me RSB for over a year now, and I am pleased with it.
I drive my car everyday, and I drive over 25k miles a year. It is very comfortable to me because it gets rid of a lot of body roll.

 

Where I noticed the biggest gains with the FSTB was on the highway. The car felt like it responded faster to a right or left turn. It took the flex out of the chassis when turning the steering wheel at higher speeds. It basically makes the steering more responsive, which is noticed more at higher speeds.

Just my .02

Dub

side note....i do have the RSB and RSTB too. i love having the whole set up on the car. the gains where well worth it.

 

Is the anti body roll bar different from RSB or RSTB ?!? I just want that besides the FSTB

 

The anti roll bar is also known as the rear sway bar, or RSB.

 

The only real disadvantage is the weight, but the bars are pretty light. I think the Cattman titanium is less than a pound, and the aluminum ones should not be much more.

Stiffening the chassis is always good, there are virtually no disadvantages. You will handle better because there is less flex and your car will ride bettter because the suspension is doing more work that the chassis used to be doing.

 

I have a custom maxima FSTB. I like the fact that it actually tighten down so it tightened the front end quite abit. Before I was losing corners, going 30 around highway exits. Now I can fly around them at 60 without having problems. I like the mod. I've heard the RSB has problems with oversteering, like if your going around a corner you my lose it easily. But I don't have one so I can't tell you for sure.

 

I have the Otto Racing FSTB and I could tell a slight difference in handling. The most noticeable outcome of the installation was its help with torque steer. But overall, I wouldn't spend more than $30 on this mod...

 

I just installed mine today. I notice the difference, front of the car stays much more flat around turns. The install wasnt bad either, but for 99s, theres a bracket next to the driver side strut tower you need to cut away. Had fun with a dremel to cut that away.

 

I noticed a small difference in cornering...not on corners so much but more on sharp turns like onto a new street. It also seemed to completely eliminate torque steer.

 

that little bracket is because of the cali/fed spec differences.
I think it might be used for something on the cali spec cars, but on the fed spec ones, it is just in the way.

I started to use a drimmel, but I ended up just getting a coal chissel and knocking it off of there. It was easy, and looks good.

 

umm 30 to 60 with just a fstb.......

 

Oversteer??? Sounds like a good idea to me!!! Is anyone thinking what i'm thinking?!?!



So, who whats to put a Maxima in D1?!?!?!!!

 

Good luck in D1 with FWD.

 

Unless I missed it, there's no mention here of the RSTB. Is it a waste?

 

with the stock suspension i defenatly noticed a difference on turns espcially at high speeds. it really decreased body roll. i have a otto racing strut bar bought it of ebay for 30 bucks out off all the sturt bars iv seen this one looks the best its thick, not tin like all the othe ones look identical to the custom maxima one. worth every penny especially after the tein suspension

 

RSB prolly isnt the best idea if you aren't an attentive driver or live in poor weather. I have problems controlling my max in snow or rain without the rsb, so im not even gonna go down that route. However, a FSB would reduce teh amount of oversteer caused by a RSB and you could prolly get a ncie balanced setup out of that.

I'd only reccomend a rsb if you have fun twisties by your house or plan to autox. Everyone else should get a FSTB, some coils, springs, sticky tires, and subframe connectors.

 

Is there still that group deal for rsb's? I thought it was around $109.

 

turbo95max is selling some used stillen RSB for good price...PM him

 

RSB is not only for auto x or anything like that.
It is much much better for even everyday driving if you hate body roll like I did.

 

Rsb, My Next Mod, Good Info Fellas