Ride Harshness: Springs or Anti-roll Bar?

[m3f_DownbeatDave]

With aftermarket suspension systems, do the springs or the anti-roll bars contribute most to ride harshness?

[m3f_Kesepton]

not anti roll bars, that makes your car stiffer body wise to stop body roll. However stiffer springs will. As well as whacky tire camber/toe settings like your avatar. heh

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

Springs will add the most harshness.



Swaybars don't make the chassis any stiffer.

[m3f_DownbeatDave]

Well, if anti-roll bars don't add stiffness, then why not make them huge? Like 50mm? What's the downside?

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

Lots of reasons. One is all the suspension components work in harmony together. Larger anti-roll bars will require stiffer springs, etc. The main reason that you do not want a super big/stiff bar is that at some point if the bar does not flex, it stops the independent action of the wheels which will kill the handling of the car and make driving around turns very difficult.

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

You can run big bars and soft springs, but at some point there will be a downside.



They don't add chassis stiffness, they will add wheel rate. Ideally you control roll with the springs and then use sways to tune handling.

[m3f_DownbeatDave]

If I wanted to keep the stock springs and anti-roll bar, what new shocks would you recommend? Do aftermarket shocks have to be modified?

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

I would say use koni's, but they only come in inserts for the front. Bilsteins are next, good shocks.