Iām thinking of buying Eibach sway bars (or from RX 8).
Butā¦ within a month I do about 1200 miles. 1100 of them are on dual carriageways or motorways.
The rest is A and B roads and around the town when my days off.
So, is there any sense to spend that money for that sway bars ? I mean, I know how it works but will I really feel the difference on that couple roundabouts which I pass everyday ? Or when going straight ? (my suspension angles are set up for fast road).
My Mx 5 NC has lowered suspension with Eibach -30 mm springs. This was a huge difference between standard 4x4 look.
But is it worth to spend 250 quid for that bars if Iām not going to drive on a track ?
I canāt answer the question directly as I have never fitted them. But talking to the general point, look at what āAnti Roll Barsā (Iām not American) are designed to do. Their reason for existence is to transfer cornering force from one side of the car to the other in order to reduce body roll when cornering as to keep the tyres flatter to the road for increased grip.
The car may feel different when going in a straight line, fitting the upgraded ARBs may stiffen up the suspension. But thatās nothing you couldnāt achieve by adjusting the damper settings and it is not going to change the handling of the car when going straight because thatās not what they are designed to do.
If the car is a ādaily driverā that spends most of its time on the straightaway then I would spend the money elsewhere. Chassis braces or upgraded rails might be a good area to look at - they will reduce the āscuttle shakeā every time the car goes over a bump, which is something that happens whether you are going straight or round a corner.
Right. Thank you for your time you spent for that answer. This is what I thought but really that chassis braces will give me reasonable difference ? And which one is the most useful because there are many of them, at least 5 if Iām rightā¦
If you have been driving an NA or NB I would have recommended the chassis rail kits, by all accounts they are the best modification for those cars. Being a new owner on the NC scene I donāt have any first hand experience so unfortunately I canāt help you there.
If you donāt get an answer on here it might be worth trying the MX5Nutz forum as chances are someone there will have fitted braces to an NC and can comment on the effect.
It is all down to personal preference but when I went from a 30mm lowered NC1 to a stock NC3 I felt straight away that the initial body roll was too much for me, changed to the IL Motorsport ARBās and drop links and despite my initial scepticism that it would make much difference was pleasantly surprised how much better the car felt.
Life is not all straight lines and the fun is in the curly bitsĀ
Well yeah butā¦ when I changed my shockers and fitted eibach springs I felt huge improvement. But will it be the same with arbās ? Is it worth that money ?
Hi, almost 8 year old topic and hoping for some updated input on this issue.
I drive an NC1 with Sachs shocks and Eibach springs. I like to improve the ride a bit further and just like Lukas78 Iām considering upgrading the standard sway bars (maybe the IL Motosport kit) and probably the droplinks.
I do not track my car but like the occasional spirited drive.
I hope there are members with experience in a sway bar upgrade on a lowered chassis and if you think itās was worth the investment.
Thanks for your thoughts and help, much appriciated!
I wish you all a merry Christmas and a good and healthy 2025 with lots of open drives!
In my opinion: If you have stiffer springs (or lowered, which in some cases effectively makes them stiffer) then the ARB may need to increase in stiffness to remain optimally functional. If your springs are too stiff for the ARB, the ARB will just twist instead of imparting the force on the opposing spring to the one being compressed. Iām not sure why people are obsessed with stiffening the springs on lightweight cars, as - unless you are lucky enough to have very smooth surfaces to drive on - you are making the suspension less effective at its given job. Lowering springs give the ARB less actuation, therefore less force to impart on the opposing side.
Again, my opinion, but I feel that an ARB upgrade should be implemented before the springs themselves, especially since most peopleās complaints about stock or near-stock suspension revolves (pun intended) around body roll. Stiffer springs will reduce body roll at the cost of weight distribution and therefore overall grip and give a much bumpier ride. Stiffer ARB will reduce body roll at the cost of a slightly more bumpy ride, which wonāt be as noticeable as the body roll that it just reduced, and a softer suspension will do better at absorbing those bumps without the driver ultimately feeling them.
Overall, ARB improvements will result in more comfort and an ability to impart faster steering inputs to the car, as it will āsettleā after each input faster if the ARB is stiffer. As for straight lines, an improved ARB will only really be noticeable on particularly rough surfaces, ie if you have lots of potholes and bumps on only one side of your road space, although this is where the ride will feel bumpier overall, as the āsmootherā side of the car will be responding to whatās going on on the rough side.
