It seems every couple of months a newbie posts that their mechanic/father says the RSB can't be doing anything since the piece it is clamped to has no place to move. Here are pictures to prove them wrong.

I decided to drop my RSB to see what effect it had on ride and handling. My original plan was to do before and after runs at my local autocross to see what the difference was but every autocross weekend last year I was either busy or it rained . I will probably put it back on to do before and after runs at the autocross this year though.

Since I was taking it off anyway I decided to do an experiment. I unclamped one side and drove one wheel onto a ramp to simulate body roll. If the RSB is doing something it should no longer line up with the arm it is normally attached to. The result –






The area that was clamped to the arm is about 1 ¾” lower when the car was in the simulated body roll position, so the RSB is defiantly doing something. From looking at some of the autocross pictures posted it is defiantly possible to get the Max leaned this much. However it requires a huge amount of roll to get only 1 ¾” of movement on the RSB.

After I took the bar of I secured one arm and stepped on the other. I found I could flex it about 2” with just my body weight (170 pounds). I am not an expert on suspensions by any means, but to me an additional ~150 lbs. of force added to the outside spring does not seem enough to make a huge difference. In addition the bushings must absorb some of the force so the force would probably be even less.

Without the RSB the ride seems a little better and there is no noticeable difference in handling or body roll in some mildly aggressive backroad driving. In fact I can’t really explain it but the steering/handling feels a little better without it. Doing an autocross with and without the RSB will be a better test but for now I am going to leave it off.

I am lowered with H&Rs/ AGX. I do think the RSB had a noticeable improvement on the stock suspension, if I decide to leave it off I may put it on my wives GLE and maybe even do the same experiment.

 

This is interesting as I was considering getting one. But I don't understand how the ride/steering could be better without the RSB....anyone got an explanation

 

Anachronism,

I posted a thread about the RSB a while back in regards to its safety (fishtailing(especially). I also have the chance to drive my gf's maxima (completely stock, 97 SE) to compare with mine.

What I find is, RSB increases rear spring rate dramatically especially when it comes to crossloading one of the rear suspension. This dramatic increase makes the rear to be "flatter" during cornering......but not necessarily increasing rear suspension's gripping force.

RSB equipped, aftermarket spring-installed Maxima will definitely slide its tail out without warning once the tires let go due to cornering force exceeding rear tires grip. However, with non-RSB, the warning from the car will come more progressively...... before it completely let go the rears due to excessive cornering force. Even then, recovery from fishtailing is easier without RSB in my opinion.

I am going to take off my RSB once the weather has reached 60s.

 

The rear swaybar adds quite a bit of unsprung weight the rear shocks have to control. It is also possible that the RSB interferes with the way Nissan designed the rear suspention to move. AFAIK most aftermarket swaybars replace the stock swaybar, however on the Maxima it is an additional bar that attaches to the rear beam. On the Maxima the stock 'swaybar' is inside the rear beam and cannot be removed.

Ardika, I remember reading your thread. I never felt like my Max had unpredictable oversteer with the RSB .

As I understand it the RSB is not supposed to improve traction at the rear of the car. Theoretically by reducing body roll traction at the front is improved reducing understeer or increasing oversteer.

 

I am not sure about the unsprung weight, but I see it effects the movement of our cars' rear suspension dramatically. Much higher spring rate makes the car very flat in cornering, but it makes them extremely stiff.

I have had this...twice actually. The first one makes me ended up in the median of the highway, due to a little racoon crossing the road. The second one happened about three weeks back....but this time I could correct it in time (and thanks to the softer compound of my snow tires...they slide/unslide more progressively compared to W-rated tires at 40F).

I agree with your statement about RSB not improving our cars traction at the rear. However, it gives you the "illusion" that the rears would be capable of holding higher cornering force. I rely heavily on getting the right message from the car I am driving....and RSB clouds my judgement heavily since it delivers the wrong impression.

It's like you are turning and the g-force starts increasing...with RSB you will get messages like: still holding, still holding...yet still holding....holding fine, and then at a split second afterwards you lose it completely.

I suppose it gives you more control and helps you corner the car sharper/flatter during autocross/road race.... however, it might not help you as much during emergency lane changes/manuvers.

 

Update: my RSB is off today and I could definitely feel the improvement of doing so. The body leans (not roll, thanks to AGX/Maxspeed) a bit now, but it's more natural and predictable.

 

i drove my old 2k1 auto with only fstb and rsb up and down my mountain path to and from home everyday for half a year.

i now have a 2k1 5spd with only fstb and sprint/agx combo and I absolutely hate the way it handles on up and down the twisting turns to and from home. I can't wait till I get my rsb back on actually

also note that the 2k1 auto had only 16" stock rims with 215 series tires. Whereas I now have 18" rims with 245 series summer high performance tires. Same exact roads being traveled.