I have just finished installing Progress RSB, and in my opinion, the design is one of the worst you can possibly come up with. The thing is, instead of making the holes in the brackets wide just enough for the bolts to fit, the holes have an elliptic shape and the bolts can slide up and down if not tightened properly not letting the bar do its job. Also, instead of small threaded bots with split lock washers that would keep everything tight, the bar came with large threaded bolts which can easily come loose.

The part that surprised me the most is that they suggest using zip-ties to secure the brake lines. Not only is it unprofessional, it is also extremely unsafe.

Now I'm ganna stop ranting and ask a few questions:

1. Is the bar set to to it's stiffest or softest setting when the trailing arm brackets are installed flush with the ends of the bar? It seems like the further away you install the brackets, the easier it is to make the bar flex, the less affect the bar makes. On the other hand, considering that the trailing arms and the U-shaped axle act as a sway bar (looks like they are welded together and they have to flex in order for the car to lean from side to side) installing the brackets further away from the axle will make it harder to the whole assembly to flex.

2. Those of you who had Progress RSB for a couple of years, did you have to re-tighten everything from time to time to keep the bar as affective as it was before?

 

Brackets at the end of the bar is set to full stiff. Thats the way I have mine. You are gonna see a huge difference in body roll around the corners. I felt like the RSB really should have come on the car from the factory as it made such a difference at no penalty in terms of ride harshness.

 

It is recommended to tighten up the bar after a few days after the initial install. I too agree the elliptical shaped bracket holes is stupid. However, I kept my factory mounting points for the brake line and e-brake, since I had my bushings at the tip of the bar, which meant the bracket was further away from the brake lines. I simply unbolted the e-brake line, put on the RSB bracket, then bolted back the e-brake line back into its original hole.

 

so have you driven the car yet with it installed? Let us know what you think of how it performs

 

i think the install is very easy...ive done about 5.
ive tried the brackets at both extremes and it feel exactly the same to me

 

I ended up installing the bushings half of an inch before the ends. Instead of using "recommended" zip-ties I reused original ABS and e-brake brackets. (just bent them slightly)


Driving impressions:

I could definitely feel the bar was there, the body leans much less than it used to, but I think I expected something more... In the corners, the car still understeers. I mean I can make it oversteer, but without any extra inputs from the driver front wheels will start losing traction first.

When I had my stock potenzas and FSTB, the car had a very minimal understeer. Once I switched to proxes 4, traction limits have increased and the car became much more predictable, especially in the rain, but the car started understeering like a b1tch. With Progress RSB the car remains as predictable as it used to be with just proxes 4 but the understeer became much less apparent.

 

Ya, I too expected too much from the RSB. I'm on stock springs and shocks and my biggest complaint when making any turn is the initial roll, and then you feel the effects of the RSB minimize the swaying.

 

hm... I think my turn in has improved as well. I might be wrong though, as I took the car for a very quick spin and I was also kinda tired.

 

No no, I meant when you turn, and the springs compress, and the car rolls alittle bit and then you feel the effect of the RSB.

 

that's how I understood you previous post. I think I felt the affect of the RSB as soon as I started turning the wheel. But again, I was a bit tired and my impressions could be different from what it really is.

 

I used zipties and haven't had any issues yet, nor has my Progress bar had to be re-tightened.

IMO, the closer the brackets are to the bend (the further they are from the ends) the more effective the RSB will be. When the brackets are closer to the bends, it is harder to twist the bar (more torsional rigidity) and that makes it more effective. Theoretically.

In reality, I can't tell the difference between the 2 positions, but maybe because my car has aftermarket struts/springs.

 

was really interested in the RSB esp with the GD cheap price... however i read that it makes the car perform much worse in slippery conditions - esp winter snow so i decided not 2 buy

 

can't control oversteer?

 

I havent heard this but I would imagine just getting aftermarket tires would be a much larger improvement in winter controllability than any detriment the RSB could possibly cause.

BTW I dont see how the RSB would make the car any less controllable in the snow

 

i can remember that a long time ago somebody complained how his car handeled in turns saying that it did not feel safe so he removed the rsb... but even with rsb it would not become as much fun in snow as a RWD would

 

Even with the sway bar the max is still and nose heavy front drive, understeer can't avoided... By installing the RSB, you're just taking some of the stress off the front wheels(which had the sole resposibility to steer, drive, and stabilize the car it also takes more of the car's weight), but it still has to power and steer the car on its own. Furthermore, because it is sterring, it has a wider turning circle than the rears which means it takes more centrepetal acceleration.

 

I wish I had a hand e-brake for the snow. This foot ebrake is a total fun killer

 

swap with mine

 

A little update of my "driving impressions:"

Today I decided to test how the car behaves in three slightly different situations. (overall 50 miles of driving) 1 - two lane curvy road (using 1 lane, good pavement) 2 - two lane curvy road (using 1 lane, poor pavement) 3 - emergency lane changes

On a two lane road the car understeered at the turn-in and the exit. (again, if I had some more room [or guts] I could easily trail brake in to the corner.) While going through some longer, constant radius turns the tail did slide slightly to the side and the car was going with that perfect four wheel skid. (neutral steer, the car rotated but there was no need to correct it)

I also threw it in a few corners with poor quality pavement. Obviously, bumps did affect the traction in the rear but the car still felt predictable.

During emergency lane change the car felt controlled and the tail stayed planted, however, I noticed that my stock shocks had a hard time controlling the RSB in some cases.

Unfortunately, my "test ramp" (180 degrees highway ramp where I tested all my previous handling mods) is closed by construction workers, so I can not accurately tell how much faster I can now take corners, but my butt g-meter tells me that maximum centripetal forces have slightly increased.

n3985, now I do feel that initial squash you are talking about.

 

Actually if you have the foot one, those can be easier than a handle brake sometimes. I drove my friends '97 Monte Carlo with the foot one, and it was soo much fun. All you have to do in the snow, is just punch the E-brake pedal alittle bit, and it will lock the wheels up. Then to release mid-turn, just punch it again, and it pops out. The best part is, you can have both hands on the wheel while doing it. Now this may vary with cars, but his pedal was pretty easy to use in the snow, and was alot of fun. Next time your out in the snow, give it a try.