So tonight im driving about fifty in 3rd gear getting ready to make a left turn into a small street. I slow down to about 30 heal-toe/rev match and downshift into 2nd and take the turn. Bam the rear end of the car pops out.....i correct myself and it seems as if i "drifted" on purpose. This was kind of a scary experience considering i take that same damn turn atleast 4 times a week at the same speed doing the same thing. When the rear end poped out the tires didnt screetch and i didn't feel any friction or vibration in the streering; it was smooth. It felt my rear tires were on ice. Anyway, i have an addco rear sway bar.....and this is the first time that the end poped out on me(without me wanting it to). The floor was dry etc. Anyone else experience anything like this??

 

yea i've been able to do that on off/on ramps. i had the same setup with eibach/agx shocks. the car becomes more sensitive to off throttle or braking while turning in. nothing spectacular unless you really shift the weight to the front on purpose by braking hard. it can get a bit more scary at higher speeds if you're not expecting it. you'll see this happen if you take an offramp at high speed close to the top of 2nd or the meat of 3rd. the slightest liftoff will shift the weight and you'll be able to rotate the car through a turn. with fwd, traction is easily regained by just keeping cool and easing off the throttle. total opposite with rwd! good luck. stay safe.

 

thanks vq, makes complete sense, now that i think about it i was probably going 35-40....i was at about 4500 rpm in 2nd....

 

Incorrect.

Easing off the throttle will transfer more weight to the front wheels. You want to ease back on the throttle which will neutralize the car.

 

The rear sway bar does make the rear somewhat jittery. It's also known to cause the rear to jump out with little or no warning.

It's one of the drawbacks of having a tight a$$.

 

So it improves handling but it also makes the car a bit unsafe?

 

It's probably only unsafe if you aren't experienced enough to handle it. That said, I'm afraid of the backend flying out on me too, and 99% of my driving is late at night when I'm exhausted so I don't need any surprises. I don't have the bar, but I wouldn't mind trying it out for a while. It just probably doesn't fit my driving style.

 

I've mastered my "drifting" with the sway bar. I just slide until I want to go straight and just hit the gas and I'm gone. Once you've practiced a lot it becomes second nature. If you are afraid take it to an empty parking lot and try to make it go sideways and then correct yourself.

 

Do the +s outweight the -s when it comes to a rearsway bar?

Can someone explain to me exactly what it eliminates? Is it that floating feeling you get when you quickly change lanes going 80, or are we talking about actual body roll reduction when going into a turn?

 

what i meant was not a complete liftoff, but something gradual, especially when you don't expect this type of situation (in traffic). fwd, or at least my maxima, was a lot more forgiving than my S13 with full coilovers, pillowball arms and drift spec sways front and rear.

 

oh man, the sway was one of the first mods i've ever done to the maxima. even with stock springs and shocks my gxe had less bodyroll and more turnin. it felt like an entirely new car. also, the car was less bothered by bumps mid corner. definately worth it. when the springs/shocks were added it was awesome. the car still tends toward understeer so it's not made unstable by changing sways.

 

Well I havent had that happen to me only thing happened to me was I took a turn to fast and the front end starting sliding towards the outside of the turn

 

I am seriously considering getting a RSB.
How much does the max understeer? I havent really pushed it hard enough yet. And (n00b question, I know) once you're going too wide, how do you keep from kissing that lamp post that the car is now aimed at? Brake hard?

 

in the auto-x world we refer to that as throttle lift oversteer......now that u know it happens and not suprise you its easy to control and actually quite fun....on the track it comes in handy since without a RSB it understeers like a biatch

 

+1 10 char.......

 

Ya i tried it again on my way home tonight.....its pretty fun. Maybe i should go to the local auto x.....hmmmmmmm

 

dude i am telling u auto-x is the most fun short of going to a road course which is more of a hassle.....seriously i learn so much about the limits of my car everytime i go out.....all u need is a helmet...and a little tech inspection....they just check for loose front end parts...battery tie down...and a semi gut of the car....floor mats..spare tire...jack....**** that can move around in the cabin....see sig in previous post for action shot

 

i should go on sunday, my brother is taking his g35 and two of my friends are taking their s2000 and z4.....hmmmm i already have a helmet too

 

ur lucky u still have them...i have to wait til May.....but seriouly go...its like 20 bux...and its such a rush

 

Hmm I need to find out where these are around me

 

goto scca.com...and there should be a local region finder..they are actually called SOLO II events

 

Too bad it like 3 hrs from me oh well

 

that sucks,...we have a bunch of diifferent regions in NY so i can goto wny..or finger lakes or rochester ones all within 3 hrs.....WNY ones are likw 15 min away for me......try one anyway....u maybe able to find closer ones after u talk to people

 

There's a guy in the Altima boards that crashed his car cuz of the RSB. Just be careful over bumpy turns.
Jae

 

Im sure that the RSB brings nothing but positives when you are driving the car reasonably. Taking your car to the limits on streets and hitting bumps mid corner will most definetaly cause some serious situations to arise, especially if someone is new to the upgrade. That noted, yes be careful.

 

I tried looking around too for you and you're right - Nashville west, Lexington north, but nothing real close. Chattanooga used to run but they lost their only site in '04. PM me if you're ever doing a roadtrip and I'll try to hook you up with a club.

 

come to buffalo for a roadtrip in the summer