Hotchkis front and rear bars makes a huge difference.

I need to stop spending money on this car, not spend more :(

Front bar yes, rear bar no. The Hotchkis rear bar is way too stiff for a proper handling car. Best bet is to just stick with the OEM rear bar.

Yes, ignore all the people who say to get a rear bar. Front bar only needed for this car. I have a whiteline, some have Hotchkis, and there are others. Do your due investigations and choose which you like. There are others, but I personally think that these are your best options.

Tracy Ramsey

Hmm,

If the Hotchkis was a bit cheaper for the front only I think I'd bite...

Plus I'm now thinking hard about a smart string and camber set. If only it wasn't so easy to spend money on cars

Hotchkis bar on front, stock rear bar.

Good info in this thread since I will be getting into this shortly.

So I'm at a bit of a loss here. How does a really stiff front bar help the car, would it not just understeer all over again?! (the issue I was originally trying to correct, for what it's worth)

I understand that you guys use it, but how does a stiffer front end help? I'm in a situation now where there is a TON of lateral grip in the front and not enough in the back. I've got toe adjustment in the rear to fix still and then stickier tyres, but I'll also be going staggered 245/265 RE-11 which I know some of you go square.

It's gets a bit tough with the wheel base difference between the 2+2 and the Z, but I'm not sure I'm going to spring for a stiffer bar just yet, I can't get my head around why it would be a good idea in this scenario.

I have a G37 as well. My setup is Swift/Koni, 265(f)/305(r) tires, stock sway bars. My alignment is around -1.8(l)/-1.5(r) for the front, and around -1 in the rear. Slight toe in in the front and rear. I'm on the stock bars, and I've found that the car is extremely tail-happy. I attribute that to the tires being weak all seasons (Hankook V12's) but mostly, it's really easy to overpower the rear tires. It seems like that's how these cars are - the rear suspension cambers in A LOT under load. Probably for steady-state cornering, but for putting power down, they are terrible. So the car squats, the rear tires camber in, and you go for a slide.

A front bar sends energy to the front of the car. If you are relieving the rear of some energy by making the rear softer (relative to the front), then it is more compliant, and therefore gives the rear a better chance to put the power down. I say relative to the front because as a whole system, the front is now much stiffer, so the rear is the compliant end of the car's suspension system, even though you didn't change anything there. The result is that it allows the car to put power down under load, but still cambers in as much as it did before for steady-state situations, so you gain a lot in the handling department.

Well I caved in and bought myself a Smart Strings alignment system and got under the car last weekend ahead of a Porsche autocross to get the rear end under control.

At my last event I had 0 rear toe, hit 15 cones in 6 runs and threw away the video evidence to keep from being further embarrased. This time I put 1/32" of toe-in on each rear wheel and the result was INCREDIBLE!

The car was just so much better, I am still tingling it was that much fun! So easy to drive on the limit, very forgiving and just smooth. Here is the video from my best run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0kbkgL4yRw

I have ordered a Hotchkis front sway-bar which will be here in about 4 weeks :O so I'll get to try that as well.

Interesting note that the rear tyres are hotter on the inside about 10 degrees, but the fronts are hotter on the outside about 10 degrees. I need more front Camber, but I'm maxed out at 2.5 with the 7 degrees of caster. So, standard ride height kind of sucks and I'm not sure I want 3 degrees of front camber driving 60 miles for work each day :( This is why dedicated track cars are so much better when the funds allow :)

The rear suspension has a crazy camber curve built into it. You don't need as much camber in the rear as in the front.

I'm surprised that you are out of travel with the SPL arms.

I'm out because that's how i set it. I wanted 2.5 degrees neg camber and then just bottomed the arms out to get max caster, which ended up at +7.4 degrees.

Once I get the garage floor leveled so I can accurately measure camber then I'll look in to bumping up to perhaps 3 degrees in the front :) I am also toying with the idea of leaving it at 2.5 for now until I get the front sway bar in to the car, the reduced body-roll should help some.

I understand what you did now.