Smaller front anti roll bar

[EmZvr]

I've been reading lately how to improve my handling further more and came to the conclusion that my front arb (26mm from MB6) is too thick. Anti roll bars increase stiffness and reduce body roll at the expense of grip. Because we are FWD it makes a lot of sense to install a beefier rear arb to let the rear wheels fight the body roll. We don't need a lot of grip there. But we need lots of it on the front wheels and with this thick front arb we are sacraficing it.

 

What are your thoughts on this subject, has anyone tried different front arb sizes ? I maybe talking sh*t here but that's what I learned from the internet, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I think I'll try installing my stock MB3 one which if I remember correctly is around 18mm. But this will be done when the winter is over. I'm curious if there is a 20/22mm front arb that fits our cars.

[Jayhoath83]

Well the mg zs has a thicker front arb n they handle better than a standard honda m so im not too sure about that but could be worth a try

[EmZvr]

Actually MB6 has the thickest front arb, probably because they have a pretty high and weak stock suspension which results in a lot of body roll. But almost everyone here is lowered. Some numbers:

 

MB6 - 26mm front, 18mm rear

MG ZS - 24mm front, 20mm rear

Integra R - 24mm front, 22mm rear

 

Thickening the arbs increases stiffness and doesn't affect ride comfort unlike stiffer springs but all of us are willing to sacrifice a little bit of comfort. Also cars are always set from factory to understeer. But everyone who is modifying his car wants to make it balanced or even oversteer. The bigger the rear arb and the smaller the front arb, makes the car balance shift to oversteer. MG ZS and ITR both have better rear to front arb ratio.

 

Again I might be wrong but this is the information I gathered from the internet and sounds logical to me.

[dr_broon]

Could be on to something... Will be interesting to see how you get on.

Definitely agree that the stiffer bar at the rear helps combat understeer.

[Jayhoath83]

According to the mg fourm the zs 120 has a 24mm the mg zs 180 has a 26mm n the mb6 should have a 22mm as standard iirc

[Grant]

Well I know for certain the the MGZS rear is 20mm .. Ive measured mine .. Not sure on what our front ones are though ..

 

However, I would've thought that the theory works ..... The ARB at that thickness were designed for our cars at "stock" ride height .. With the addition of better lowering springs, coilovers, what ever set up your running, if it is better than the standard struts, logically you don't need as big ARB ..

 

Having said that, firstly, if your on coilovers, for example meisters and have them set up properly, then the reliance on the ARB is surely reduced anyway? Also, the changing of ARB by 2 or 4 mm, are you really going to notice it???

 

As Simon said, I'm also interested as to how this will pan out and your feedback afterwards ..

[Krzys]

I would say on the standard MB6 I noticed the difference between the OEM and MG rear ARB in terms of how the front end behaves. I might one day go for the JDM rear ARB for the Type R as its thicker than the UK one, should work on the same principle.

[Jayhoath83]

Well im running standard shocks n arb on the front on the rear i had a 18mm rear arb but took it off to replace the droplinks but didnt put it back on as it was rusty as foook n i noticed the understeer had calmed down a lot n that the lift of oversteer was increased which suits my lunatic driving better so i recon a stiffer front than rear suits my deck better plus body roll is comical lol

[Grant]

Lift off oversteer INCREASED when the ARB was off?!?!

[EmZvr]

MG ZS 180 has 24mm front arb, you can see here: http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID003093

MB6 has 26mm front arb, I have meassured mine personally.

 

Grant, that are exactly my thoughts. Especially for those runing Meisters such a thick arb doesn't make sense to me. According to the website I got most of my info (http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/lean-less/) the torsion rigidity of the arb is meassured by this formula:

 

"twist = (2 x torque x length)/(p x diam4 x material modulus.)"

 

And according to their calculations:

 

"A 16.5mm bar is 1.46 times as stiff -or 46 percent stiffer- than a 15mm bar of the same design. Add just one more millimeter to the diameter of the bar--for a total of 17.5mm--and the torsional strength skyrockets to 85 percent stiffer than the stock 15mm bar."

 

So the change from 26mm to 18mm front arb should be noticeable. I read some threads in which track honda guys are even removing the front arb completely but of course they run very stiff springs and I wouldn't do that on a street car.

 

But as I said I'll do the swap when the winter is over. It's freezing cold here and my winter tires (185/65/14) are wobbly as hell.

 

Krzys, ITR rear arb will be a great mod but I don't think it will fit without modifications or will it ?

 

Jayhoath83, your experience is strange. You should have felt the opposite effect I know my car felt horrible without rear arb even with the mg zs shocks and springs.