I'm thinking of adding a Rear Sway Bar and have done some research on the matter, from what I have found, the general consensus is that it improves handling quite a bit, however what the exact difference is and when you will notice it seems to vary.

Anyhow, what I also did come across a few times was that adding a RSB can make the car more "dangerous" to drive in slippery conditions (Rain, Snow, Ice). It seems that since the car is so tight, oversteer can be quite hard to control unless you're an amazing performance driver, (Which I'm not).

I know that Stillen has an adjustable one, but if you "adjust" it too soft to avoid the oversteer, doesn't that defeat the purpose of the RSB?

I don't want to risk losing control of the car all the time during the winter if it just gives a minor handling improvement.

Thoughts?

 

i dont think any modification to our cars will make it oversteer significantly. the maxima is always known for its understeer, and adding an RSB will alleviate that somewhat, but its not gonna be like you spin out on every corner. in the winter, you might have to be careful. I took a turn too fast once in the snow, and the car didnt fishtail, but rather the front end slipped sideways, and i hit the curb with my front tire. So yeah, I wouldn't worrry about oversteer too much. And get the Addco, people says its the same thing as Stillen because most people say they don't really adjust theirs anyway.

 

I have no experience with Rear strut bars on a Max, but when I used to autocross (other cars), anything that stiffened up the rear end (in terms of spring loads) actually helped me control a slide (and consequent fishtailing) BETTER that with a softer setup. Reason being there is less spring load (and rebound).

 

He is talking about the Rear SWAY Bar.

 

As long as you have traction it should be fine... I've had one for a couple of months and today I took one of my usual "fast turns" - a 90° right - but there was a lot of gravel on the road from some construction, so I slid left hard... Didn't hit anything, just got the car dusty...

You just have to be careful - not because you have the bar, but because what you are capable of doing with the bar+traction... Take the traction away, in any situation, and you'll be in trouble bar or no bar...

 

Buy the STILLEN rear sway bay.

It will reduce your body lean. I've had mine on at the stiffest setting and pushed the car in Chicago weather and never had any problems.

My cuz has the ADDCO and I don't feel that it has the tighter feeling as the STILLEN (I know it's cheaper but wait another paycheck to get the Stillen).

 

I will most likely end up buying the Stillen RSB, however from what I've heard, the Addco is just as good for less isn't it? You would be the first to say that the Stillen bar is noticeably better.

Thanks for the input.

 

Yes definitely.
It is one of the things STILLEN did...right on the money.
You will also have peace of mind, there will be no:
"Gee, I wonder if I had waited and spent more on the Stillen one instead of this ADDCO one....?"
It is worth the money.

 

I have the ADDCO and it worked wonders on my car. The only advantage to the Stillen is adjustability.

As for winter driving with an RSB, the only time this become an issue is if you drive hard in winter. In snow and rain, I don't drive the same way as in the dry.

DW

 

they are both equal in terms of getting the job done... but the addco only costs $120 the stillen is adjustable but nobody ever adjusts it and my addco is just fine.

is it dangerous?? No. is it different? Yes. You will have a more neutral car, a lot less understeer going into the turn and a little more oversteer coming out of the turn.

you just have to understand what you are changing and how it will help you corner more stable... if you know what you are doing the RSB will make your car safer in any conditions. (if you don't then you will possibly make mistakes)

 

i've only had it less than a week and now i don't feel any changes...i think i have gotten used to it...plus my turns although a little better are still not where i wanted them to be...my car still pulls to the right when i turn left and i hate that....does it a little and there is improvement but i can still feel it...i think cause i put too much into it...but oh well...

 

Take a 90° left at 30mph without braking and you will feel it pop you back where you were going... aftermarket suspension, especially lowering, will also help if you don't mind the loss in ride quality...

 

There is no real noticable difference between the Stillen RSB and the Addco RSB. The one thing people say is good about the Stillen is adjustability. And like theblue said, nobody really adjusts their Stillen RSB.

Do a search, there was a thread a while back asking people with their Stillen RSB if they ever adjusted their RSB. Almost everyone said they haven't touched it since they put it on.

And since Addco is just as good as the Stillen RSB while being cheaper, the Addco RSB is a better choice.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I will have to take the Addco into consideration. On a side note, Stillen (http://www.stillen.com/) have just completely re-designed their website, updated their prices too. Still overpriced though...

 

I adjusted mine a couple times. First was too stiff when I had it right under the rear beam. Waaaayyy too easy to create lift-throttle oversteer in the rain. Spooky on a front driver. Adjusted it rearwards until I liked it and got the true neutral handling I was looking for (even in snow/rain/gravel, etc).

So I'd vote for Stillen. True that once you get it where you like it you probably won't touch it again.

But whatever you do take it out and really hammer on it on empty/safe parking lots, highspeed empty highway on/offramps in rain, etc so that you know how it handles before you're on some windy two laner bordered by oak trees in the snow...

-RMB

 

Take it out and see how it handles. That goes without saying.
Addco RSB is awesome. Handles so much better One nice thing about stillen is that you don't see these U-gly bolts on the beam, but I don't really care about that.
It does handle differently, but I wouldn't say it's unsafe. It does oversteer sometimes, but it's very controllable oversteer. Just go step off the gas and it regains grip. And I have crappy bald tires. New tires are probably much better.

 

I have moved my Stillen RSB a couple of times already.
That adjustability does come in handy.

When I had a stock suspension, the difference was night and
day on the track. When I finally got the $$$ to upgrade to
eibach's and koni's though, I definitely realized that the RSB
was set too aggressive with the new suspension setup....