96GS#007

I have a 2013 Grand Sport coupe, manual transmission that I use for track days. I'd like to reduce body roll and balance it just a touch better.

I have DRM/Bilstein shocks, R888 tires in stock sizes, and stock springs (coilovers aren't in the cards).

Given the above, would you recommend...
- Strano 1 3/8" 1-3/8 inch 2-way Adjustable/Solid Front Sway bar while still running the stock GS rear bar

or

- ZR-1 OEM front (33mm) and rear (31mm) sway bars

I'm leaning towards the Strano front bar.

strano@stranoparts.com

Oh, that's a no-brainer, seriously.

First you have to remember that I also make a 33mm bar too, which is still stiffer than the ZR1 front bar. And in fact it's what I use on my Z06 (and the bar most everyone else uses too in National Solo) and that's with the stock rear bar. Now, I also had a Grand Sport, and I raced another one for a year too. And it was on the first car I played with a lot of bars all the way from stock to 31.75, 33.3 hollow, 33.3mm solid, 34.9mm hollow, 34.9mm solid, and even a T1 bar @ 38.1mm (well that last one was on my 2012 car).

Remember that as you add camber to the car it will loosen up. And stock, the cars are setup to push from the not very aggressive alignments. Anyone who has seen the car Jim Mero drove @ Nurburgring does not have the negative camber that we would be running, so it will push more so more rear bar is a reaction to that.

You aren't really in that boat, or at least shouldn't be.

Now, I realize you said you are tracking the car. Rest assured I do as well, and I don't really subscribe to the whole notion that setups should be, or have to be different for the two uses. And if you watch any of my videos, particularly ones of cars I both track and autox you will see very similar and good behavior in both places.

On New Year's Eve I was in CA, borrowed my girlfriend Shelly's C6Z on Rival S's fully setup just like my car, slapped some track pads on it and drove it up to Thunderhill and ran 4 sessions, one wet, on a track I never ran before. And the only thing faster was Lew Larimer (two time SCCA GT1 champ) in a C7Z 8A, Z07 on brand new PSC2's. And the car did every single thing I asked, and did it well. There is video, but the sound is horrific as I forgot my remote mic.

Anyway, the solid big bar was pretty much designed for GS's with stock rear bars. And it doesn't make a push pig.. in fact my GS didn't push until I went T1 trying something to help a wheelspin issue which is primarily an autox issue. Bar helped that but ruined the balance.

strano@stranoparts.com

Found the T-hill video, keep the sound down, lots of wind:
For comparison sake here is my 2012 GS Autocrossing a few years ago on Hoosier's. You can see the behavior of the cars are pretty similar. http://www.stranoparts.com/videos.php?VideoID=30 (fast forward to 2:15 if you don't want to "wait in line".

96GS#007

Thanks for the insight and videos Sam!

Couple questions...
- Can the stock end links be used with the solid bar? On your website it doesn't say (although it does say they can be used with the tubular bar)
- Do the bushings come with the bar? If so, are they rubber or ?

Called your shop and left my phone number with your office manager.

wtb-z

What is driving those two choices?

The last thing I would blindly apply to a no-rules track day car would be a stock/street class autocross setup. The operating conditions the track car will see are different, and the track day car is not bound by rules that prevent issues from being fixed properly. This isn't a substitute for objective analysis of a given setup, just a rule of thumb.

96GS#007

What's driving the choices (in no particular order) are...
- Proven set-ups
- Bolt-on....Don't have to worry about clearance issues with mufflers, control arms, etc
- Street friendly....no noisy aftermarket end links or squeaky bushings (the car is my semi-DD)
- Cost...."75%" of optimal @ $300 is fine for me vs "95%" of optimal @ $800

I'm still open to suggestions

strano@stranoparts.com

I have the message, sadly I'm buried. And was fighting with a car when you called.

Yes, the stock links can be used.

Yes, urethane bushings come with the bar.

strano@stranoparts.com

Well, I'm guessing you haven't driven this setup. Because well, it works quite well, rules or not unless you want to go insane, which it seems Jim doesn't want to do.

Not going to argue, I think it's pretty clear to see in the two video's that a good stock class autox setup works pretty damned well on a track.

rfn026

I have to agree with Sam. I've won a lot of $5 autocross trophies and I've been running track events for almost 20 years.

While the setups are the same the driving styles aren't. Solo events require a vey aggressive driving style. I'm not even sure I could do it today.

The old rule still applies though. "A good autocross driver can usually be good at road racing. Not all good road races can handle an autocross."

Richard Newton
Track Days 101

Dropspeed

Was this with a front bar only? I ask as I just picked up a 2011 GS and have T1 bars (FR/RR) currently with Mag-ride. This is a track only (not Auto-X) car. (Former Auto-Xer turned NASA/SCCA RoadRace Lic holder/Racer...20 years instructing)

strano@stranoparts.com

Yes.

Whoop

Sam, like the OP my GS is a spirited street driver that will see 2-4 HPDE events a year. Do you still recommend your solid front bar with stock rear on a mag ride car?

feconi

Sam can chime in but just to offer my personal experience, I ran his 1-3/8" solid bar with stock rear on my '11 GS and it was a great combo with the mag ride. Made the car much more balanced, very minor impact on ride quality - can't comment on HPDE use but was awesome for AX.

Cyber Greg

Ttt

froggy47

sccaGT1racer

You can go wrong with the Sams front bar recommendations. I would suggest getting a adjustable rear bar at the same time. The GS being softly sprung I would go with at least a 35 mm bar. Don't forget to get a real alignment under that car and some Delrin bushings.

damnbiker

I've been trying to decide on sway bars as well, and I came down to either the ZR1 bar or the Strano bars because I don't need to buy them packaged with endlinks and rear bars. That said, Sam mentioned the 33mm strano bar is stiffer then the ZR1 bar. Is that in the stiffer or softer of the 2 settings?

How do the 2 settings of the 35mm bar compare to the ZR1 bar?

I'll be running this with my stock rear bar on a c6 Z06, which is much stiffer than a GS/Z51 rear bar.

Should I get the 33mm or 35mm bar? I plan to change the dampers to either DRM, JOC, or vikings as well.