OH God! Another sway bar question! AutoX

[CB750F]

Good day gentlemen,

I'm looking at buying either a Hotchkis or Perrin front sway bar to improve
the handling of my 2015 BRZ.

Some pertinent info:
I've been doing autoX for 8 yrs, 2 yrs on OEM tires, the other yrs on 1 set of RS4. This yr I bought Falken 660, WOW! I do about 8 autoX events a yr, some track, I'm slow , Falkens will probably melt away on track, as far as I can find out on the internet. The first 2 yrs of doing autoX if there were 100 participants I would be about 75th. With the RS4s I'd be about 50th. Last event which was an invitational from another club, I finished 14 PAX.
I'm 2.5 secs off the top guys, was 5 secs off last yr. They were at nationals this yr & 1 finished in top 10.
So now I'm going down the rabbit hole, a little deeper, please help!

BRZ modifications are:
1 - OFT
2 - Gruppe-S UEL header.
3 - Cat back
4 - ST suspenssion XTA
5 - K&N air filter

I use my car to get to work but it's been 10 yrs I work from home.

I'm more interested in autoX then track days, but I will do a few(2) a yr.

So, everyone will have an opinion, tks.

So Hotchkis will be more 'stiffer'.

Any experience with either?

Hotchkis
Hollow
Front : 25.4mm
2 position
500 lbs/in 170%
630 lbs/in 245%

Perrin
Front : 19mm, 22mm
2 position
19mm Hole #1 25%
19mm Hole #2 72%
22mm Hole #1 130%
22mm Hole #2 218%


Bonus points.

How much would you pay for a NA Miata, in good condition with a blown engine?

Thank you for your time

[M0nk3y]

Neither

Karcepts would give you the most adjustment beyond either of those with actual usable rates.

[Code Monkey]

+1

[strat61caster]

Depends on your style, site, courses, and how the rest of the car is setup. None of the three will be bad but some adjustment options may be useless - the 25.4 full stiff and the 19 full soft are likely to be tried once and then never again imho.

Perrin 22 is most likely to be useful in all three positions, but not guaranteed. Karcepts bar is dope if you don’t mind the occasional clunk on the street or the pricetag, but be sure to email them and confirm it works with the coilovers, I know I can’t use the full stiff position on mine due to how my struts Mount the endlinks but I get everything I need out of the other five positions.

[otter]

Originally Posted by M0nk3y

Neither

Karcepts would give you the most adjustment beyond either of those with actual usable rates.

Plus Karwin is a great guy who's happy to provide extra info to help with setting up his products.

[cmiovino]

I've run my 2017 in DS the last 3 seasons and 2022 and 2023 I've had the Perrin 19mm. The idea was not to overload the suspension with a massive bar in DS, but also have a bar for going to STX eventually. I can say my times have improved with driving better and probably a hair contributed to the swaybar. Setting is on full stiff.

When moving to STX with coilovers, I don't plan on changing the bar or setting. With that said, the Karcepts bar is going to be the most expensive, but give you the most range of adjustability for your setup, your sites, etc.

Probably a 22mm Whiteline or Perrin would be a good second option. Remember to get endlinks too as those get trashed if you're doing any autox. Mine were making noise by the time 1.5 seasons were over (~20-30 events).

[CB750F]

Thank you gents!

Well Karcepts sound/look great but not the $. So I decided to go with Hotchkis.
Someone in our club has it , has good times & is happy. If it's a mistake the cost
is not bad. As for end links, I'll find out next spring if I need them.

[whataboutbob]

Originally Posted by CB750F

Thank you gents!

Well Karcepts sound/look great but not the $. So I decided to go with Hotchkis.
Someone in our club has it , has good times & is happy. If it's a mistake the cost
is not bad. As for end links, I'll find out next spring if I need them.

SPL endlinks are a good choice IMO.

[CB750F]

Thanks, the choice for endlinks are endless it seems.

[Breezio]

I run the Hotchkis bar. Works great on the 400/400 spring setup I have.
Many use the Perrin 22mm with great results.

Hotchkis makes endlinks for that bar and our cars. I have them and they work well, no complaints. Though they do get very close to the lower control arms.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by cmiovino

Remember to get endlinks too as those get trashed if you're doing any autox. Mine were making noise by the time 1.5 seasons were over (~20-30 events).

Based on your comments, is it safe to assume the endlinks are considered a part of the swaybar assembly and going after market is OK in DS?

I remember what was allowed regarding sways, but didn't recall reading anything about endlinks.

[cmiovino]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Based on your comments, is it safe to assume the endlinks are considered a part of the swaybar assembly and going after market is OK in DS?

I remember what was allowed regarding sways, but didn't recall reading anything about endlinks.

Yep, endlinks are 100% allowed in street classes. All good for DS.

I'd think the thought process there by the SCCA was if you slapped on a larger bar (which would be allowed) and the endlinks kept failing because of that larger bar, they didn't want that to be the weak point then.