2K255HP

slowly and slowly i will be adding mods with the little amount of cash i am able to save up each month after all my expenses. I'm just wondering getting a FSTB would it help much or is there any difference just by itself on the car? Or would having to add a RSTB be needed in order to get improvement?

Basically my question is kind in the sense of in which order should i modify my suspensions? Adding what first, second etc..

KP ROX

Basically my question is kind in the sense of in which order should i modify my suspensions? Adding what first, second etc.. [/B][/QUOTE]

Start with a front strut tower brace and a rear sway bar. FTSB's range from $40 to $150 while RSB's range $100 to $250. It's a good start.

Maximax2

Agreed. And there are a million threads on this: search under RSB, FSTB and (probably) "best mods".

jack63ss

I asked the EXACT same question about 5 days ago, so I'll summarize what I have found out.

A Front Strut Tower Bar is the FIRST item on eveyone's list. Prices run between $178 for an adjustable Stillen bar, $90 for an Otto, $70 for a OBX and $55 for a BOMZ. 2KRacing, CustomMaxima, rx4speed and a bunch of others carry them.

A Rear Sway Bar is SECOND on everyone's list. Prices run $240 for an adjustable Stillen, $210 for a Progress 22mm at PerformanceTechnology, $110 for a smaller Progress at CustomMaxima. I think I found a place to get a Stillen front & rear bar set for $288 (Intense MotorSports), but I am checking on that one. Even Stillen on their website recommends a FSTB and a RSB as the first two steps.

Next, almost everyone agreed that after a FSTB & RSB it was TIRES that made the biggest difference. That is a very personal choice and there are lots of threads going about tires so I will not go there. But I would guess it will cost you $500+ no matter what you do, more if you go for bigger wheels.

As for a Front Sway Bar, I had one response that said to stay with stock as a thicker bar would increase understeer, BUT I have a GXE and the SE has a thicker bar anyway. If you have an SE it already has the thicker bar so you probably don't need it. The Stillen set I mentioned above is the only FSB I found, and actually it is not even listed on the Stillen site, so beats me.

As for a Rear Tower Bar, I don't think anyone mentioned it. I only found one, a Stillen of course, and it was $203, so I will probably skip it.

Struts are a little lower down on the list, primarily because of cost. If you want to see the fur fly just ask about which shock to go with. Even within Tokico there are discussions about which model is best, but KYB and Tokico seem to be the brands of choice. Prices run about $115+ a pair.

Springs are a different story. I have not seen anyone that sells heavier shocks that were not lowered at least 1". A good spring set (all 4) goes $200+, but lowering is a much more radical thing than most of the rest of the tweaks. Lowering usually requires lower profile wheels & tires and different struts, possibly camber adjustment (depending on how low you go). But it will make a BIG difference in handling.

Something else to remember if your car is a GXE. A stock SE has heavier rear springs, a thicker front sway bar and bigger wheels (16" vs 15", maybe 17") than a stock GXE. If you can find an SE in a junk yard you can do some cheap upgrades.

So, I hope this helps.

jack63ssyahoo.com

MacAlert

iTrader: (1)

The $288 is for Sway Bars only, no strut bars.

02'maxed-out

iTrader: (2)

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I still haven't put a fstb, but i did add a addco rsb about 4 months ago and it definitly takes care of some of the rear swearving... so basically i did things backwards... works for me ... stillen fstb on the way though...