Martin wrote:
My 95 with 20.6mm in front, and 21 in rear is the most neutral stock setup I've experienced to date in a SHO. No matter how much throttle lift, or even a tap of the brake pedal mid corner it doesn't swing the rear end around. I assume some of the credit should go to the BFgoodrich W rated G-force T/A's I have at all 4 corners.
Sounds like a nice safe setup. I wouldn't call it neutral, however. It sounds like it's heavily biased toward understeer (neutral in track sense usually means that all 4 wheels lose traction at roughly the same time with mild throttle, with oversteer or understeer resulting from more or less throttle application, depending on the drive configuration). That said, there's a lot to be said to having a safe setup like this on the street.
I think the first question here (for the original poster) is: what are you trying to accomplish? Are you going to do open track days or just tool around town? If it's the former then you'll want to set up the car for a fair bit more oversteer than comes from the factory. I'm running a 20.6/26mm combination and that's perfect for driving on the track, so long as you have the other basic suspension mods (Konis, subframe connectors, bushings, STBs, etc.). It gives you very nice controllable steering, with a bit of controllable oversteer with low throttle, but if you get one tire in the dirt you're going to be sideways. In comparison, my 24/26mm combo was very understeer-prone, especially after the subframe connectors were put on.
If you are planning on just using it on the street, the 24/26mm combo is a good one. It's not as harsh as the larger bars, but gives you a good safe balance. You will get wheelspin out of tight corners, but no more so than with a 26/28mm combo. You can always get a 22mm bar for the front (off of a Tuarus wagon) if you want more oversteer and less inside-tire smoking action.
The cheapest solution for you if you just want more oversteer would be to buy a 20.6mm bar to match up with the stock 23mm in the back. The 20.6mm bar can be found on Tauruses in junkyards everywhere, for less than $15 (plus $20 for new poly bushings). But you'll have to decide whether the increase in body roll is ok. As a bonus you'll get an improvement in front-end traction around tight corners, as the inside doesn't unload so much.
BTW, I think most people complain too much about body roll. They should drive my Contour (SVT) -- it rolls like crazy from the factory, compared to my SHO, but still handles extremely well for a factory car and has great balance. And the ride is a lot better than the SHO ever was.
Ok, I'm talking too much.
-Lance
