I just put on my front and rear strut bars for my wagon. I know there is much more that needs to be done to really make my wagon stick. I still have stock rubber and I am not lowered yet. My next install is my rear sway with end links and heavy duty mounts. However I just had to ask this question.

My cousin and my brother drove my car after we installed the bars. My cousin has an RSX Type S. Both of them came back saying that the wagon had too much body roll and that it didn't stick well on the stock rubber. I have followed my cousin before, and we have gone through some hard turns and I didn't think I did that bad following him. He is on stock rubber and and is on Eibach sportline springs. Should his car handle that much better than my wagon? I know the lower center of gravity helps, but I thought as an awd car it should make up for it.

Am I just rambling and I should just finish my suspension with coil overs and get new rims and tires? Will that solve my problem? Is the stock rubber that bad as everyone says? I believe the Type S is on the same size rim and tire as a stock rex.

Can somebody give 5 recommedations from best to worst on coil over systems that will work on a wagon?

Thanks a lot. Sorry for rambling. :bang:

 

The rear swaybar and some good tires will make a world of difference. And lowering a car doesn't necesarily mean it will handle better, since lowing can throw the suspension and steering geometry off. And while your wagon and his RSX might have the same size tires, I'm willing to bet that he has a much more aggressive tire than the stock RE92's. The RE92's are decent all-weather tires, but there are definitely better sets of rubber out there. I recenty put some Toyo Proxes TPT's on my 00 2.5RS, and it was a very noticable difference over the RE92's. Oh, I also have a rear swaybay on my car (20mm), and that helps a lot. I still need the strengthened mounts and solid endlinks, though, to get the most fom it.

 

Actually both cars will respond well to suspension upgrades, yes the wagon does weigh 80lbs more than the sedan but has the advantage of that 80lbs being over the rear axle helping to offset the front end weight bias.


As for the RSX, Tein Coilovers, bars and decent rubber will take care of that.

 

thanks for the response everyone

 

Not completely fair. You can get EXCELLENT handling with the wagon with the right mods.

Sedan = 3085 lbs.
Wagon = 3165 lbs.

Difference is 80 lbs. of suspended, non-rotational weight--not real significant really for the average driver to notice. If it was 80 lbs. of wheel weight (rotational mass) or tires/brakes (unsprung weight), it would make a much bigger and noticable difference. But it's not so don't worry about it. Plus, you get better f/r weight distribution with the wagon.

Get good springs/struts or coilovers, and definitely better rubber, and you'll do VERY well. And with good driving, you'll outperform many "sport sedans" out there. Brake upgrades will help tremendously also. And last but not least, the driver is the biggest variable in how well the car performs.

BTW, my wagon is on Prodrive springs, Koni strut inserts, 20 mm rear sway, Flik Lex 17" rims, and Falken tires (soon to be Yokohama ES100). I'll let you know how I do at this weekend's autox. There are still a ton of mods I can do. Check out the posts by a guy named gtguy at nasioc.com. Very knowledgeable guy with TONS of info for wagon guys.

Oh, Tein Type Wagon is supposed to be an excellent compromise of performance and comfort. Haven't tried it yet, but I've heard nothing but good things.

Sorry for the ramble, but I don't like hearing blanket statements that imply that you can't get good performance just because you have a wagon. I know that probably wasn't downshift's intent though

~Chris

 

Thanks AWD,

I have recently added my rear sway bar with endlinks and hd mounts. The handling is much better now, but I still need coilovers and rims and tires to complete it. I have decided on two systems but I kinda need help on which to choose.

Tein Wagons - it will help with handling better and the price is good.

Tein SS - Not too much more in price and it has the ability to adjust the dampening. Don't know how much I'll do that, but at least I the options

Any advice would be great.

Thanks