Joined
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188 Posts
Mods if you'd rather they all be in one thread, feel free to merge this one with the already established one. I wasn't sure exactly what the rules were here.
My background:
- Car pedigree includes RX-8s, Focus STs, Sentra SE-Rs (of all years), etc.
- Performance driving background includes a couple of track days, years of competitive autocrossing (with multiple wins and runner up in class points finishes), years of off and on autocrossing (most recent class win is 2015).
The Elantra Sport in stock form is promising, but needs work. One area that needs help is in the understeer department as well as the responsiveness department. While the tires aren't the best, there are far worse so I figured before going the tire replacement route the suspension could be looked at. By the responsiveness department, I'm referring to the quickness at which the car responds to your inputs. The front end on the car is very quick to respond and eager to jump into a corner. The rear responds with a slight delay. In performance driving the car feels a bit wallowy. I wasn't a fan.
One of the easiest bang for the buck mods on any car is a swaybar and that is no different on the Elantra. I looked at all of the options. Progress is making a bar but it's not out yet and the size isn't known. Pierce has a solid 19mm bar completed but, at the time of me ordering, didn't have any in stock. Sxth Element offers a 22mm unit. Going with the "bigger is better" mentality I decided to order it and give it a try.
Installation was a piece of cake, but I had the luxury of having a lift at my disposal. I can see how it'd be a pain in the ass on jack stands. We removed the stock sway bar and leave the end links still installed on the suspension. We swapped the new bar in, greased up the bushings with some ShinEtsu, and installed it back in place. Make sure you have a long allen wrench handy as it makes it easier to run it through the spring to get to the end link which makes bolting everything back up easy. It took 30 minutes to do.
So how does the car drive? Great! The front and rear ends of the car are finally on the same page. The front is still happy as ever to jump into a corner and now the rear end follows right along with it. The transitional delay the rear end had is gone now. Response is quick and without drama. Given the size of the bar I figured oversteer would be pretty easy to generate but so far the car has been extremely neutral and the rear end stays right in line. Once trail braking was introduced the rear end started to step out but it was very linear, gradual, and didn't catch you nearly as off guard as it would in my Focus ST for example. One area of huge improvement is mid-corner performance. In stock form the front end of the car would jump into the corner with the rear end lugging around a millisecond or two later, at which time understeer would kick in. With the new sway bar in place the car jumps into a corner and the mid-corner grip is better as well thanks to the front and rear suspensions finally being on the same page. It's a much more neutral car now mid-corner! The car still has understeer when pushed to the absolute limits but that's where tires and factory alignment settings are kicking in (among many other things). It's a very comfortable car to push to the limits and doesn't leave you feeling on edge.
So is this mod worth it? Absolutely. It's easily one of (if not the) best mods you can do to this car. If it came this way from the factory I think reviews of this car would absolutely be different as it livens up the car a lot. I fully recommend it's purchase.
(The next post will be random nerdy things and other impressions about the sway bar not related to driving.)
My background:
- Car pedigree includes RX-8s, Focus STs, Sentra SE-Rs (of all years), etc.
- Performance driving background includes a couple of track days, years of competitive autocrossing (with multiple wins and runner up in class points finishes), years of off and on autocrossing (most recent class win is 2015).
The Elantra Sport in stock form is promising, but needs work. One area that needs help is in the understeer department as well as the responsiveness department. While the tires aren't the best, there are far worse so I figured before going the tire replacement route the suspension could be looked at. By the responsiveness department, I'm referring to the quickness at which the car responds to your inputs. The front end on the car is very quick to respond and eager to jump into a corner. The rear responds with a slight delay. In performance driving the car feels a bit wallowy. I wasn't a fan.
One of the easiest bang for the buck mods on any car is a swaybar and that is no different on the Elantra. I looked at all of the options. Progress is making a bar but it's not out yet and the size isn't known. Pierce has a solid 19mm bar completed but, at the time of me ordering, didn't have any in stock. Sxth Element offers a 22mm unit. Going with the "bigger is better" mentality I decided to order it and give it a try.
Installation was a piece of cake, but I had the luxury of having a lift at my disposal. I can see how it'd be a pain in the ass on jack stands. We removed the stock sway bar and leave the end links still installed on the suspension. We swapped the new bar in, greased up the bushings with some ShinEtsu, and installed it back in place. Make sure you have a long allen wrench handy as it makes it easier to run it through the spring to get to the end link which makes bolting everything back up easy. It took 30 minutes to do.
So how does the car drive? Great! The front and rear ends of the car are finally on the same page. The front is still happy as ever to jump into a corner and now the rear end follows right along with it. The transitional delay the rear end had is gone now. Response is quick and without drama. Given the size of the bar I figured oversteer would be pretty easy to generate but so far the car has been extremely neutral and the rear end stays right in line. Once trail braking was introduced the rear end started to step out but it was very linear, gradual, and didn't catch you nearly as off guard as it would in my Focus ST for example. One area of huge improvement is mid-corner performance. In stock form the front end of the car would jump into the corner with the rear end lugging around a millisecond or two later, at which time understeer would kick in. With the new sway bar in place the car jumps into a corner and the mid-corner grip is better as well thanks to the front and rear suspensions finally being on the same page. It's a much more neutral car now mid-corner! The car still has understeer when pushed to the absolute limits but that's where tires and factory alignment settings are kicking in (among many other things). It's a very comfortable car to push to the limits and doesn't leave you feeling on edge.
So is this mod worth it? Absolutely. It's easily one of (if not the) best mods you can do to this car. If it came this way from the factory I think reviews of this car would absolutely be different as it livens up the car a lot. I fully recommend it's purchase.
(The next post will be random nerdy things and other impressions about the sway bar not related to driving.)