to traction bar or not to traction bar, that is the question.

remoer · 01-26-2010, 02:00 PM

so some of ya know i picked up a Jimfab traction bar from chris(crxrock) the owner of thezcr. now they stop making these so finding one was awesome.

now the other night i was talking about this awesome piece of hardwaer i bought on aol with hoe-C(pronounce like in spanish accent, the c has a short vowel sound)and then a question was asked...

this was was stated to me: if i was going turbo? cause usaully ppl get a traction bar if they're going to boost but i'm not.

yes i bought a Energy Suspension Hyper kit replaced every bushing possible. even bought the bushing from the honda dealership that ES didn't offer. ASR subframe w/22mm itr bar, 22mm frontsway bar, stiffer springs, lower the center of gravity, strut bars, etc. the only reason i bought alot of these things is to make sure my suspension is as firmer/stiff as possible without actualy putting in a cage so do say. alone they really don't do much but when you compound them it's a huge difference.

so the question remains as the title states...

to traction bar or not to traction bar?

please post comments, statement or opinion but remember ppl: opinions are like aresholes everone has one and they all stink. lol.

K2e2vin · 01-26-2010, 03:07 PM

If I said no, I'd be a hypocrite:

I'm also not a fan of poly suspension bushings(unless they're constantly serviced/maintain); a search will pull up reasons why.

greasemonky89 · 01-27-2010, 03:36 PM

how u like the esp bar

K2e2vin · 01-27-2010, 07:31 PM

It's VERY beefy. You can jack up the front end of the car by the traction bar with no worries. Can also double as a very good oil pan/header guard!

It's much heavier than the other bars I had(Avid and ETD), you can tell it's much stronger than the others(IIRC the steel is thicker), and utilizes the original crossmember bolt holes in addition to the tow-hook holes(the ETD had a "adpater" for this and the Avid method didn't seem as rigid as it was just a bent tab off the vertical mount; probably works just as well though). I don't have to modify my radiator mounts like the ETD. As for the hardware, I prefer the Avid joints(Aurora). Only reason I have the ESP right now and not Avid is because I had the first or second 2nd-Gen bars that had the holes drilled wrong and took them too long(for me at least) to fix it.

boostedEF804 · 01-27-2010, 08:33 PM

The ESP bar is nice I had one on my rex had to get used to the funny sounds that the bars made. To be honest its up to you man I say do it its always nice to be able to adjust things. Make sure that you have a good alignment shop that is used to trac bars as well

Eighty-Nyne · 01-27-2010, 09:18 PM

Don't traction bars do nothing but nice things? Like put less strain on your diff too?

This is an interesting topic.

Dominus · 01-30-2010, 04:57 PM

A TB is on my list as the next mod, and I am a natural aspirated guy too.
I've been looking one that Lakewood make.
Already have my Energy kit; I hate wheel hop and I'm planning go with the TB.
Very good investment in my opinion.
Congratulations!

Richard... · 02-09-2010, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by K2e2vin

I'm also not a fan of poly suspension bushings(unless they're constantly serviced/maintain); a search will pull up reasons why.

Just like anything else on the internet that is a load of crap i have run poly bushings forever and never had ANY of the issues the searches pull so IMO thats just another internet miss informational topic to add to a BIG growing list of them much like the crank pulley miss information as well...!

K2e2vin · 02-09-2010, 04:21 PM

I don't care what a few people have luck with. Hell, that one guy had his engine running with a fucked head and "homemade" pistons. I don't like taking risks and as far as everything regarding poly bushings and crank pulleys are concern, I've done my research and it makes sense to me.

For poly bushings in general, some bushings have grease fittings that make perfect sense. But, as stated before, they have to be maintained as once they get dry, wear accelerates. I don't check my suspension often(especially on my DD), so I wouldn't use poly. Makes complete sense. Even locally, a couple of guys have had good luck with poly bushings while a handful have had some go bad. And, especially if you "use your suspension a lot"(as in road course/autocross), that's indefinitely something I would not want to risk.

Does this mean poly will indefinitely fail? No. But, the fact that it needs lube, and I drive my car through snow/salted roads, rain, etc. This would pose a problem for me

Richard... · 02-09-2010, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by K2e2vin

I don't care what a few people have luck with. Hell, that one guy had his engine running with a fucked head and "homemade" pistons. I don't like taking risks and as far as everything regarding poly bushings and crank pulleys are concern, I've done my research and it makes sense to me.

For poly bushings in general, some bushings have grease fittings that make perfect sense. But, as stated before, they have to be maintained as once they get dry, wear accelerates. I don't check my suspension often(especially on my DD), so I wouldn't use poly. Makes complete sense. Even locally, a couple of guys have had good luck with poly bushings while a handful have had some go bad. And, especially if you "use your suspension a lot"(as in road course/autocross), that's indefinitely something I would not want to risk.

Does this mean poly will indefinitely fail? No. But, the fact that it needs lube, and I drive my car through snow/salted roads, rain, etc. This would pose a problem for me

I could sit here and go back and forth with you all day but god knows how many complaints the administration would hae against me so i will just agree to disagree with you on just about everything you said and leave it at that!