04-12-2006, 10:28 AM
Quick and basic explanation I found on NABISCO:
"The Impreza chassis is nose-heavy being quite similar to a FWD chassis in weight distribution. It also has a McPherson strut suspension, which has quite a lot of camber change as a corner loads from body roll or weight transfer.
This loading of the corner changes camber to positive, so one is essentially riding only on the very edge of the tire instead of using a more optimal contact patch. Adding a front swaybar loads a corner more (say a -1 in the grip department like suspension tuning books talk about) but helps the camber curve so greatly that the overall effect (camber change minimization worth say a +3 or +4 for grip) is a net of +2 or +3.
Another benefit to the larger front swaybar is the turn-in response; the car responds much more quickly than without a larger bar.
The "problem" of the STi during cornering isn't that the rear is not getting enough traction but rather the ratio of front to rear traction during cornering. More front and less rear traction means more looseness, or a greater likelihood to "rotate." By adding a larger front bar, you're changing that ratio of front grip vs. rear grip and thus the car will "rotate" better or push less; whichever way you'd like to look at it."
Crazy Subies. Still want one? :wink:
"The Impreza chassis is nose-heavy being quite similar to a FWD chassis in weight distribution. It also has a McPherson strut suspension, which has quite a lot of camber change as a corner loads from body roll or weight transfer.
This loading of the corner changes camber to positive, so one is essentially riding only on the very edge of the tire instead of using a more optimal contact patch. Adding a front swaybar loads a corner more (say a -1 in the grip department like suspension tuning books talk about) but helps the camber curve so greatly that the overall effect (camber change minimization worth say a +3 or +4 for grip) is a net of +2 or +3.
Another benefit to the larger front swaybar is the turn-in response; the car responds much more quickly than without a larger bar.
The "problem" of the STi during cornering isn't that the rear is not getting enough traction but rather the ratio of front to rear traction during cornering. More front and less rear traction means more looseness, or a greater likelihood to "rotate." By adding a larger front bar, you're changing that ratio of front grip vs. rear grip and thus the car will "rotate" better or push less; whichever way you'd like to look at it."
Crazy Subies. Still want one? :wink: