StiffieQ I have a 1999 Honda Civic hatchback with an Integra Type-R engine and five-bolt spindle/brake set-up. I am currently running Buddy Club racing spec coilovers with 12kg/mm springs in the front and 18kg/mm springs in the rear. I'm running the factory Civic EX anti-roll bar in the front with an A-spec racing 32mm hollow adjustable anti-roll bar in the rear. I plan on running in the CASC (Canadian equivalent to SCCA) Solosprint series which is like the Time Attack format run in the US. My issue is this: a lot of people are telling me to remove both my anti-roll bars, as they will have little or no effect with the spring rates I am running. I have mixed feelings about this, as I've driven my car with and without the anti-roll bars and have felt quite a big difference between them.
I've also noticed that cars like the older Realtime Integra Type-Rs used to run both front and rear bars, even with spring rates higher than mine. Do you suggest I keep the anti-roll bars on, or do you agree with my racemates that I should take them off?John ColmsToronto, Canada
A First, let's calibrate our brains to your spring rates: 12kg/mm is 670lb/in, and 18kg/mm is 1000lb/in (multiply by 55.8 to convert). A Civic's front motion ratio is about 0.7:1, so the wheel rate is 469lb/in., and the rear ratio of 0.75:1 turns your 1000lb/in. springs into 750lb/in. at the wheel.
This is your street car? Ouch.
Your buddies are right to think the suspension is moving so little that the bars won't have a chance to do much. That doesn't mean they aren't doing anything, however.
Though you've already tried and proven that you can feel a difference, you still don't know which set-up is faster. My recommendation is to establish a simple test regimen next time you're at the track. Go out and set a lap time with your current set-up in the first session. In the second session, make a change based on how the car handled the first time out. Too much understeer? Disconnect the front bar. Too much oversteer? Disconnect the rear.
To save time, you can just remove the end link on one side of the bar you're disabling. This will save you the time of actually pulling the bar out. If your lap times improve, you can pull the bar out later to save weight.
In the HoodQ I have a 1997 Accord Coupe with the F22B DOHC non-VTEC engine and a brand new Evo III 16G turbo. It seems that I should try to eliminate under-hood heat as much as possible. Would a vent above the manifold/behind the radiator be a good idea?
I have been going over the question of hood vents for the past few weeks. I've been talking to people on many different websites, I've gone to Mitsubishi dealerships to check out the Evo IX's hood, and even dug back to the article in Sport Compact Car that was written when the SRT-4 came out. I'm trying to decide if I should invest in a vented hood.
To add to the confusion, in your most recent issue, the Miata went on a diet and a hood vent was put in behind the radiator; the new Evo is showing a NACA vent on the back of the hood near the windshield; your Silvia doesn't have anything except the stock Silvia hood; and some magazines show Intergras, 180SXs, etc., with the rear of the hood lifted maybe a quarter of an inch at the hood hinges. Which of these techniques is best? I want to know what you, proven thinker and problem solver of all things, have to say.Mike WildeboerCincinnati, Ohio