Can a sway bar make a difference: Testing G37S Hotchkis front sway bar at autoX.
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- Can a swaybar really make a difference? It's no secret that G37s and 370z have a pretty wild rear end, meaning that you are always fighting to keep it straight and put the power down. In order to fix that, I've decided to install a Hotchkis front sway bar, and do a before/after test.
At Speed Ventures autox, I was able to do just that, by running first two sessions in totally stock trim, and then swapping the bar in the pits and going out again. Immediately after swapping the sway bar, I could see improvement to the rear traction. This was due to increase in front roll stiffness, which reduced rear wheel lift during hard corners, and enabled me to be more confident while putting the power down.
End result I was able to take 1.1 seconds off my fastest lap time before the sway bar swap.
Stock Bar: 41.344
Hotchkis Bar: 40.235
The car has the following modifications:
K&N Cold Air Intake
G37S Coupe Wheels with Firestone Indy 500 tires (245 Front / 275 Rear)
Ebay Carbon Fiber Spoiler
Infiniti OEM Lip
GTR Red Start Button
Hotchkis front sway bar
2.4 seconds off your time is better then any power adders. Nice video
I have this front sway bar and can also say it was a great and affordable upgrade!
NVSTRZ34 hey bro dose away bar makes a difference for performance , what exactly it really dose
@@torvarrisevans3961 Hello Torvarris. Thank you for your comment! Yes. The sway bar made a pretty modest difference with car body roll (even with a stock suspension at the time). Now, I have it paired with some coilovers and other control arm goodies, and the car handling is like its on rails. Bang for the buck... its an excellent choice and easy to install.
NVSTRZ34 thank u bro, dose this help with wheel spine
Will it help me put down more hp with out wheel spine if am tracking the car
@@torvarrisevans3961 The front sway isnt really designed to do that. Think of it more as a handling enabler in turns (where its performance enhancement shines). HOWEVER, if you own a Z or G, they make differential braces that help with wheel spin, etc. I have a video on my channel (about the Bell Raceworks differential brace) that could help you. Its cheap and easy to install. That helped a lot for me (in both wheel hop and general rear end handling). Solid diff bushing could help out as well, but you will also pick up a lot of drive-train noise/vibration with that. The differential brace has really helped though.
This is a great video. Getting my Q50 ready for the mountains and about to install hotchkis sway bars.
How much do you attribute you’re improved times to the sway bars and how much credit do you give yourself to simply improving your skills?
I would say that by 3rd run, I had the car mostly dialed in, and at which point I would become pretty consistent. Running with SCCA, where all you get is 4 timed runs will teach you how to get the most of the car right away. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I would say that most of the speed came from the grip balance change. A bit more came from confidence, knowing that I can put the power down better. One thing worth mentioning is that I have since changed the front bar from Hotchkis 35mm to Eibach 32mm, to help get better balance still. Considering that per class rules, I'm running a staggered setup (look up SCCA Street Class rules, very limited on modifications allowed), I had have a sway bar stiffness that accommodated the difference in mechanical grip of tires.
D.M. Vakhlis This is great info. I’m looking at joining scca as well southeast region. I’ll have to look into the street class rules you mentioned as the car is modified now.
Thanks for the input.
@@SpeedCultureStudios if I were you, I'd review the rules very carefully. The SCCA Street class is very limited to modifications. All you're allowed to have is aftermarket shocks, one sway bar change, catback exhaust, drop in filter, and as much 200 tw tire as you can fit on stock width wheel. I've seen some of your videos, and roughly know what kind of modifications you have. Your car is far outside of the Street class, would be more at home in Street Touring Ultra class (STU). Having said that, I would try and find a track event organization out there which has "run what you brought" autoX events. That way you usually get more runs per day, you typically don't have to do the cone duty, because they hire course workers, and you don't have to change setup to comply to class rules.
D.M. Vakhlis thank you for that! Yes just by what you mentioned I’m well outside of the street class! That’s fine. I’m just looking to have some fun and get exposed to the sport! I’ve requested some additional information and hope to jump in as a driver next season. Thanks again!
@@SpeedCultureStudios check out my motorsport instagram page, more tech over there. @2khlis_motorsports
I had Hotchkiss sways put on the front and back of my 370Z sport coupe and the improvement in handling was significant. Of course, the tradeoff was increased ride harshness but it wasn't that big of a deal.
Indeed ride harshness should be minimal, because the wheels on each axle tend to go up and down together over uneven surface, unless it's very uneven and on one side only
Nice bro , did it made big difference in performance, and also do I really need to buy the front and rear sway bar for better performance or the front is just as good by it self
I have an all stock g37x, would you recommend just a fron or back swaybar for improved preformance?
I've never driven the all wheel drive version, but I'm sure it's a pretty stable car, maybe some understeer, since there's so much weight in the front. You have to really ask yourself, what is it that you want to adjust. Then from there, you can call around, ask manufacturers how stiff their bars are by comparison to stock, and make your decision that way. Let's say that you like your car balance, and you just want to reduce the body roll, well that's easy then. Find a sway bar manufacturer who makes a kit that keeps OEM balance between front and rear roll stiffness, and that's it, job done. If you're not happy with stock, and you want to adjust the grip balance then go stiffer in front to increase rear grip, or vice versa, stiffer in the back to increase front grip.
On the rear hotchkis sway bar, what notch setting is best for the g37s coupe or is it just for fitting?
The holes on the bar are for stiffness adjustment. I can't say what's best, because sway bars are for tuning the chassis balance and reducing the overall body roll, so this is more of what feels good to you. I like the cars to have just a tiniest bit of understeer, which helps me put the power down confidently, and gets the most out of front tires, so I wouldn't go for a stiffer setting in the rear, unless the front has enough stiffness to keep the balance I like.
Nice, the front sway bar has only one insert so cant change much there. But I'll just use the middle insert and go from there. Thanks alot 🤙🏾 also was wondering what insert your using in the back?
@@Hondacbr600rrish That depends on what kind of setup you have everywhere else. I'd call Hotchkis and ask them specifically which setting will help you maintain factory like balance. They will tell you which opening to use on the rear adjustable bar. I've taken a look at their data on the website, but it doesn't make sense to me that front bar is 205% stiffer than OEM Sport back, but rear bar ranges from 35% to 80%, I would have thought it would much stiffer than that. I know they are big believers in having the most bar possible in the front and adjusting with the rear bar, so they can answer this question for you better than I can.
Hey bro, just got a hold of them and they said the second notch in the rear is for street use 🤙🏾
@@Hondacbr600rrish what notch did u use for the front? stiffest?
have you install the rear sway bar. If so did the rear sway bar make a big difference as well
I have not done a rear bar yet. Sway bars are usually used to change the balance of the car by making one of the roll centers (front or rear) stiffer or softer by comparison to the other one. It's usually easier to do it with a sway bar, because to change stiffness with springs will require a coilover kit with a wide selection of spring rates, and that's significantly more expensive than just one sway bar. G37 has a very loose rear end, so I was trying to address that by making the front stiffer, and shifting balance around to the point where it would suit my driving style, giving me a stable rear end with just a hint of understeer. Adding a rear bar would probably undo that change, and leave me right where I was before, so I didn't bother.
BTW, also worth mentioning, I have since changed Hotchkis 35mm to Eibach 32mm bar, because Hotchkis bar was way too stiff and with staggered wheels and tires, the car had more understeer than necessary. Eibach 32mm adjustable bar in stiff setting proved to be even better balance than before, making the car much more neutral.
@@MaxGripMustang thanks for your input. I ordered the eibach front only bar. My cars a 08 g35 sedan sport. Hope this helps in the cornering and spirited driving. It should compliment my eibach pro kit I already have.
G37 has so much body roll. Is this the best option for a sway bar?
The sway bars are tuning tools, which allow you to dial in balance, so it's really up to the setup whether this bar is the best or not. For example, with the setup I am running (staggered wheels and tires, Koni SA sport dampers, stock springs and factory alignment), the Hotchkis bar was too stiff and actually changed the balance too much to the rear. I ended up getting a softer Eibach bar, which gave it much better balance
@@MaxGripMustang hmm, maybe I'll just go with them then. Thanks for the reply and heads up.
very nice
I spot a GTR button lol
Marshall Volkmann yup, probably best 30 dollars I spent on this car lol
D.M. Vakhlis haha that and the $10 lights for the door that project the Infiniti logo on the ground. Was watching this video cause I️ just picked up hotchkis front and rear bars for $180 putting them on tomorrow 👍
Marshall Volkmann there are some things to keep in mind when it comes to sway bars. Size of tires, stagger, spring rates. For example, when I changed the front sway bar only with everything else stock and 245 Front 275 Rear stagger, the stability improved, but the grip bias has shifted too much to the rear, and now the car understeers. I just recently bought an Eibach sway bar, hopefully that one will allow me to find the right balance. Testing to come soon. You can check out my build thread here and follow me on Instagram as well
instagram.com/2khlis_motorsports
www.myg37.com/forums/build-threads/286152-project-eff-the-street-2010-g37s-sedan-scca-autox-build.html
Hey! I have one too! Lol
@@MaxGripMustang Have you tried running a square setup for tires?