Sway bars on the NC

[Guitarjon]

Hi guys, wasn't sure which section to put this in but decided to go with the NC section as loads of NC owners seem to do this modification.

Can I ask what differences people feel from adding them to their NC and what type of bar they have?

I know they make the car handle flatter but is this always a good thing on a daily driver? Do they make the ride any more crashier? I have never uprated the sway bars on other cars before but everyone seems to do it on the NCs.

[psulja]

After driving blackchicken's NC I would say definitely go for it. He has RacingBeat sways and I can't think of any downsides to them. It's nice having the car nice and flat through the corners rather than rolling around. I'm sure he'll chime in here.

Go for it.

[blackchicken]

^ what psulja said. :)

They address the brutal body roll in the NC and sharpen the steering. Car remains very controllable and balanced even with the RacingBeats at full stiff setting at both front and rear bar. Mind, I have the mazdaspeed springs so the car is lower but the springs are not much stiffer than the OEM Bilstein sport package springs so I would expect larger sways would work well even with the OEM springs / ride height.

Cheap easy mod with HUGE handling / feel benefits (not just flatness, but turn-in is much more crisp) and no negative impact on ride that I have discerned.

Lots of choices in bars (eibach, Racingbeat, Flyinmiata, etc.) and they are all very similarly sized and most are tubular (OEM bars are tubular too, incidentally).

Highly recommended. :)

[Grumpy]

I've got the RX-8 yellow dots (sport) on mine with the rest of the suspension stock suspension package parts (Bilsteins). You can easily find these used for 100-120 shipped. Similar in size/strength to the eibachs/whitelines/racing beat. Greatly reduced body roll. IMO the best bang for your buck suspension mod.

Edit: I daily mine, and have no adverse issues, on the contrary, I have even more fun taking regular corners... which may end up getting me in trouble. ;)

[Guitarjon]

The rx8 ones are the ones appealing to me, as you say they are available pretty cheaply.

[dropped top]

I did the yellow dots, too. I went onto the rx8 forum and advertised in 'wanted local'. I didn't have to pay any shipping and got a steal!

[Caoboy]

Yellow dots are way legit. I had them with Eibach pro lines, and it was dope.

[OldDog]

I have FM sways and it handles better than factory. A little tighter and flatter in the turns. I have also added FM springs and Blistien sport shocks(not factory) that are made for modified suspensions. I like the setup.

[freescopesdad]

I just installed a set of FM sways this afternoon. Man is that front install a bear though...not much room up there. My Tein Flex coilovers arrive tomorrow, should make for an interesting next couple of days.

[phinz]

Another one for RX8 Yellow dots. I had them plus JIC coilovers in my '09 and they worked great. I had the JICs in the '07 and could tell the difference between just the JICs and the JIC/RX8 combo.

[Grumpy]

That's the set up I want phinz. how did you like the jics? I won't have em for a while, due to finances, but someday....

[phinz]

I really liked them. They're still on the yellow car, wherever it is. I had grown tired of pulling suspensions after my third time, so I sold the car with the suspension still on it.

[Johnnie]

Currently running Racing Beat front at full soft and OEM rear with Racing Beat springs and Koni yellows. Car is balanced for me, which equals a bit of understeer at the limit.

I arrived at this setup after driving RB front at mid-stiff and RB rear at full soft. With that setup, Li'l Stinker was very easy to rotate but never felt planted and I had trouble putting power down early on corner exits. I could manage it at autocross with very careful control inputs, but it was not very forgiving or confidence inspiring.

The NC is razor-sharp out of the box, adding too much roll control made it too edgy for me to confidently drive fast, and I have tons of grip and and LSD.

The slight pushiness of the current setup is not as much *fun*, but I think it's faster.

[psulja]

I found the NC awesome to drive full stiff on the RacingBeat sways. Driving it back to back after making the adjustment to full stiff from mid stiff I loved how tight and crisp it felt. Sure you have to pay more attention when cornering hard but it is definitely worth it with the response the car gives you.

[Dano]

I too just installed a pair of RX8 yellow dots on my 2010 Sport (base). All else is stock. It def improved the lean in corners, well worth the install. It will change the ride as well. It's kinda hard to explain. The overall ride is still near stock, but you will feel the added stiffness on roadway imperfections. At some point I'm going to lower it a couple inches, just haven't decided on what method to go with. - Dano

[nails]

I have the Hotchkis Miata bars on the Eibach Prokit springs. It's almost too stiff for daily driving but absolutely necessary for track use due to the softer spring rates. If I had AST's or Ohlins I would go back to stock sway bars.

[Johnnie]

Dialing in more negative camber out front unlocked more grip. The slight understeer is now gone and the car is pretty much evenly balanced on Racing Beat full soft front and OEM rear.

[Johnnie]

Car still pushes. Trying the Racing Beat rear bar again.

[blackchicken]

I have Tein Flex coilovers on mine now so dialed down the Racing Beat roll bar stiffness since the coilover springs are fairly high rate (7/5). Alignment is -2deg camber front, -1.7 rear, zero toe front, minimal toe 1/32" in per side, high caster for weighty steering.

With the big change in suspension from previous (Mazdaspeed springs, factory Bilsteins), I moved the RB front bar to mid-stiff and the RB rear bar to soft and still found too much oversteer / edgy cornering. Disconnecting the rear RB bar made the car much more neutral (bit of understeer but takes a lot on the street to invoke this) and allows MUCH better traction out of tight corners and on bumpy surfaces so overall it is a faster setup. Will probably try the OEM rear sway to tweak a bit further.

[Mexican_Guy]

my car is almost full pay, so im thinking about this, lots of enthusias fellas are suggesting me the FM suspension package, so im think im going to do it.. i hope those punks in the dealer don't kill my warranty :S

[Johnnie]

With my setup, running the RB bars at the recommended baseline settings (middle front, soft rear was way too tail-happy in slalom. Setting the bars to full-stiff front/ full soft rear has produced the best result so far. I'm on Racing Beat springs and Koni sports with FCM bumpstops. Alignment is approx -2.5 deg front/ -2.0-ish rear. Tires wear evenly. Trying to make the best of too-soft springs in autocross environment. Next move may be Flyin' Miata springs. Getting off the bumpstops may make the biggest difference.

[jerjozwik]

sniffle...
http://www.caliphotography.com/photos/image.php?image=2396798|d|||||||||20121001020627

[JonB]

http://www.caliphotography.com/photos/image.php?image=2396808|d|||||||||20121103030338

[jerjozwik]

damnit jon...
oh, so mazda is sending out a tech monday to inspect my car. should be an interesting day.