[chylld]

Back when i had my getz, the best mod i did to it was to fit a rear swaybar (from whiteline). it turned my getz into a go-kart and made it a hoot to drive, and it also made it more comfortable since the car didn't lean over as much in the corners.

however i'm having a ridiculous amount of trouble finding an upgraded rear swaybar for the i30!! whiteline doesn't have one, and i can't seem to turn up anything on google either!

does anyone know of a place (pref in australia) that has one? (or would be able to make one?)

[EymaTeapot]

Hi Chylld,
I had my i30 lowered a bit but mostly because it looks tough.
I have noticed a small improvment in handling, not that there was ever much wrong with it before the modification either. It does corner really well though the ride is a bit harder than it used to be though still acceptable.
As for a sway bar, its not somthing that i ever considered so cant help you there.

[chylld]

i'm interested in any suspension upgrades atm, so thanks for your post

[EymaTeapot]

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=169

I only had the springs replaced, pics above.
It lowered the car about 35mm I believe.
I had it done at Pedders suspension, I dont know if they are just a local or national company. From memory, it cost around $400. I am overall happy wilt the result.

[chylld]

yeah we have pedders up here as well, thanks for the link/pics!

i'd imagine springs are relatively easy to change as there are standard sizes to choose from... swaybars have to be the same exact complicated twisted shape otherwise it won't fit. but bang for buck wise, they're supposed to be the best handling improvement you can make without sacrificing nvh.

[teamgeorge]

hi EymaTeapot,

i seen your pics with the lowering and the 18s and it looks as tough as guts, ive got my 18s on order after assessing how high it is i will go the pedders springs also.. did you get lows or super lows?

your cars also exceptional cos its the same as mines going to be  

[EymaTeapot]

hi EymaTeapot,

i seen your pics with the lowering and the 18s and it looks as tough as guts, ive got my 18s on order after assessing how high it is i will go the pedders springs also.. did you get lows or super lows?

your cars also exceptional cos its the same as mines going to be  
I am not sure exactly what the springs were. I dont think they were super lows though as I requested that it be lowered just enough to make an impact but not so low that I scrap every time I go over a speed hump.
Look foward to pics of your car.

[teamgeorge]

i look forward to them too, good thing we don't live in the same street.  

[Phil]

Without doubt, the best handling upgrade available is to the driver. Your local race track will have driving schools to enrol in where you can take your own car. With a driving school and about 20 hours of track practice you will be astounded at how much faster you can drive your standard car with safety. You'll be happy knowing you can see off much faster cars round town because you can get closer to corners before braking and take good lines at higher speeds - where safe, of course. What I would not suggest is getting a performance upgrade and a suspension lowering/stiffening package installed and then attacking the corners in your standard sx without any instruction coz you're likely to interact with the scenery fairly smartly. Those tyres are truly crap, and need a lot of skill to keep you upright at speed. The tyres on my slx crdi feel pretty good as they are. If you drive the car smoothly, you rely somewhat less on the tyres to get you round the corners, and the suspension works better as well if it isn't being asked to make sudden and probably impossible changes. Slow in the car and smooth at the controls means fast and safe on the road. Many years racing and instructing at Wanneroo taught me that. It's a shame that Mister Plod doesn't agree.

[chylld]

well said Phil. smooth driving and looking far ahead will, if nothing else, make the car seem like a better handler to your passengers, which is also one of my top priorities

however no matter how smooth you are, if you want to do a tight corner at moderate speed, the car will roll, and no amount of driver skill (apart from slowing down to pedestrian speeds) can prevent that. a little swaybar will help a bit amount!

[Phil]

Hi chylld. There is no doubt that a sway bar will prevent roll, and the thicker/stiffer the bar the less roll. You must also remember that doing so will also change the wet handling characteristics of a car - the stiffer the suspension the less grip through corners on a wet road/track. I'm always reluctant to do that coz I live in a wet part of W.A. (Denmark) and I like traction in the corners. I'd also think carefully about the effect of these mods on your insurance and warranty. If you're out enjoying the improved handling and happen to have an off and damage the car it's going to be difficult to disguise sway bars and other suspension mods when the insurance assessor comes for a peek. Or if you're in for your 15k service, are you going to put everything back to standard for the occasion. You'll get sick of that after a while. My suggestion is fit slx rubber/rims to your sx for an instant fix and nobody will complain, including the driver.

[Seoul-mate]

Check out the Korean tuning and modifications website I posted
under the "i30 Links" category on this forum.

Russ

[chylld]

Check out the Korean tuning and modifications website I posted
under the "i30 Links" category on this forum.

Russ

thanks for the link! two suitable products here and here.

now to save up for shipping

can you tell me whether the first link is the front or rear swaybar?

[Seoul-mate]

Sorry Chylld...I'm not sure what you mean by "the first link".
Russ

[Waja]

hey chylld, if you are looking for a front strut give shark racing a try: http://www.sharkracing.com/acecart/bin/shop.cgi?action=list&cate=011900000

if that link doesnt work, just chuck shark racing into google and it should work. they have front struts, rear trailing arms and some coilovers as well i think...

[chylld]

Sorry Chylld...I'm not sure what you mean by "the first link".
Russ

this one

link_1111: thanks for the info...

[I30Racer]

Hi ,
Looked at ebay..you will find many of lower springs for the I30 but the Maximum is actually 35 mm.

[nizzkid]

Hi ,
Looked at ebay..you will find many of lower springs for the I30 but the Maximum is actually 35 mm.
Dont know about other eBay sites though.

[G14Classified101]

Aussies, dont mess with the suspension, yeah fit a rear sway bar, but the australian i30 has different sus setup than around the world, and to make it better than what it is wouldnt be worth doing. (ie. fully adjustable coil overs etc).

However for you guys around the world, yeah you could set it up a lot better and match us down under.

[tzwientjuh]

http://www.kspec.com/main.php?ac_id=191

Also a good site

[bobbyd]

I contacted Signature Sway Bars (02)95255619 and they have subsequently measured up the rear of an I30 at a dealer and are about to make an 18mm rear sway bar (standard is 14mm) posted to me for $235 with bushes to suit. 

If anyone lives near Taren Point NSW and can take in a front sway bar they are able to make a copy of the bar in larger/stiffer specs.  I'd love a front bar also, but living in SA its not practical for mine to be measured up off of the car.  So please let me know if anyone makes the effort to do this, I'm sure many will order once Signature have specs to go off. 

Todd was very helpful and knowledgeable, he indicated to me rear sway bar upgrade on a front wheel drive will give the biggest handling improvement (70% versus 30% for front).  He can make a front bar but needs the bar off the car in order to copy the shape owing to its more complex nature compared with the rear.  Living in the hills I'll upgrade the front also when one is available so keep this post updated if anyone gets their front bar off the car and measured up.

[Dazzler]

Good work rob (hope someone responds)

I contacted Signature Sway Bars (02)95255619 and they have subsequently measured up the rear of an I30 at a dealer and are about to make an 18mm rear sway bar (standard is 14mm) posted to me for $235 with bushes to suit. 

This is probably the best bang for your buck with a terminal understeerer like we have. The rear sway-bar harnesses the body-roll to loosen the rear and counter the inherent understeer. So clever and no electronics required.

My opinion of the current setup is that the front/rear balance is, like most FWD cars, too conservatively biased towards maintaining the inherent understeer. Your change should make cornering more enjoyable.

Of all the front-drive cars I've owned I'll admit that an old Morris 1100 gave me a lot of driving pleasure purely because of the shift to quite strong oversteer on lift-off. You could drive quite fast around corners by throttle control of the balance. Not because of the power.

The extra 4mm will increase stiffness by more than 2.5 times over the standard bar. How did you come to that specification? I'm not suggesting anything - I have no idea how thick I'd make it.

I'm very interested in your results from this mod but I would be less inclined to stiffen the front as well because it will tend to restore the original understeer and undoing the good work done by stiffening the rear!

I'm happy with the work done by manufacturers to reduce the torque steer with FWD cars but less impressed with the total dumbing down of the front/rear balance so that any oversteer is virtually impossible.

I do wonder also what changes were made to the Oz cars' suspension setup. Anyone know?

[jason117]

Great work Rob, I've been hunting a rear sway bar for some time now. I'll be on the phone to them tomorrow. My lap time should drop a little at Eastern Creek now...woohoo!

Thanks again!

Jason

Great work Rob, I've been hunting a rear sway bar for some time now. I'll be on the phone to them tomorrow. My lap time should drop a little at Eastern Creek now...woohoo!

Thanks again!

Jason

So, Jason, tell us why you expect this will help the lap time and if you do change the rear roll-bar give some feed-back please.

I'm not the least bit interested in any form of racing (myself) but would consider a change if it helped me get around corners without scrubbing the sh1t out of the offside front!

A few hundred bucks is of little impediment but if someone else is prepared to try and report, I along with others (I presume) will be grateful.

[bobbyd]

Todd at Signature suggested a standard upgrade for this vehicle of 18mm, but having spoken with them this morning I've decided to go for 20mm, above and beyond their suggestion but i figure living in the hills and doing a lot of cornering i will try and get the most out it that i can.

I asked if it affected the ride and he said a little but not much at all compared with stiffer springs or dampers.  I asked him to paint it black to avoid that overt modified look and he was happy to do that, they have been a great company to deal with, especially going out of his way to find an I30 and measure for me, rang back as promised in a few days and now its being made. 

Going on past experience, i'm not that keen to get stiffer springs, I'd love some lowering but the last car i had was almost knocking my fillings out with the lowered kings springs i fitted, i may look at resetting the originals.

I'll keep you up to date with how the vehicle handles when the bar is put on.  Having 18 inch wheels and plenty of twisty roads to take advantage of the upgrade, I'll know very quickly.

[stkman]

Todd at Signature suggested a standard upgrade for this vehicle of 18mm, but having spoken with them this morning I've decided to go for 20mm, above and beyond their suggestion but i figure living in the hills and doing a lot of cornering i will try and get the most out it that i can.

I look forward to hearing how it is. I put an adjustable 20mm rear bar on my last car - a Toyota Caldina. Along with the front 25mm bar, it was amazing. Adjusted the rear bar to the equivalent of 22mm and the car oversteered in the dry on a trailing throttle ... a bit dangerous! So I am keen not to go too far!

[jason117]

So, Jason, tell us why you expect this will help the lap time and if you do change the rear roll-bar give some feed-back please.

I'm not the least bit interested in any form of racing (myself) but would consider a change if it helped me get around corners without scrubbing the sh1t out of the offside front!

A few hundred bucks is of little impediment but if someone else is prepared to try and report, I along with others (I presume) will be grateful.

I hope the change will improve the lap times due to the amount of understeer the car has in most of the slowish corners. This change shouldnt have many compromises in on-road comfort and as I dont intend to do many track days in it it should be a good change.

Thanks Jason, it looks like there are two of you trying a thicker rear bar. Be sure and let us all know what results you both get.

[Surferdude]

I do wonder also what changes were made to the Oz cars' suspension setup. Anyone know?

This info from a Hyundai i30 link (somewhere )
Advanced suspension - further refined for Australia
i30 suspension and steering have been specially calibrated for Australian driving conditions. This involved refining i30's European settings to accommodate our multi-patched, lumpier, bumpier local roads.
Testing was undertaken, both in Korea and in Australia, to specify the optimum combination of front and rear springs, shock absorbers and anti-roll bars, together with revised mapping of the control unit on the electric power steering system. The components chosen for Australian i30s debut a combination that is unique in the world (although NZ cars will also share them).
The result is a considerably sportier driving experience but with enough built-in compliance to smooth out our rougher roads. i30 has more neutral handling characteristics with no unexpected vices, with steering that benefits from increased weight and more feel. It is a dynamic package fully in tune with i30's youthful target market in Australia.

I suspected different spring rates, shocky valving and possibly different compound suspension bushes.
Which sounds pretty much like they said up above. Looks like they might have upped the sway bars, too.