hello all. i've been researching some front spring/swaybar combos and wonder if anyone knows the actual rate of a global west s-2. i've searched this site and have seen 480, 580, shy of 500, and around 600 similar to the hotchkis springs. so no one seems to know! i've emailed gw about 2 weeks ago and recieved no response. is it a 'factory secret' or something they don't like to devulge? is the light spring/stiff bar the best for daily spirited driving? i think i saw that comment somewhere. alot of you guys run the hotchkis 600#/ 1 and 1/8 inch hollow bar (equivalent to a 1" solid bar). this sounds like a 'stiff spring/soft bar' set-up. is the global west combo simply the other approach? they make a 1" solid bar, but only recommend them in certain stages, like the 'pro-touring' and cat-4 that has a higher spring rate (which they don't talk about online). any insight or experiences, team?

btw, running a 245/45R17 up front.

If you call them you will get some info. They get tons of Emails and lots of spam so your email could easily get lost.

You can just add the front antiroll bar and see how you like that. Then get their springs. You can ask them but I believe if you bought lower rate springs from them and decided you wanted stiffer springs, they would swap with you. But ask them about that.

With your tires, I'd say you need a 500 to 550 front coil, but for really agressive driving and autocross or open track use, use a 600 to 700 front coil.
I don't know what rates GW uses but their serious packages have to be in the upper 600's.
David

I e-mailed them along time ago, and they told me they where #500. that's what I run in my car

ROPO355, which sway bar are you using? do you like them or wish you had more/less?

Another thing to consider is that these cars generally respons well to big front bars and fairly stiff springs because their stock roll center is VERY low and their front moment arm is really long,giving it a lot of leverage to make the car lean in the corners. It takes a lot of roll rate to fight that. If you`ve done the G mod or are running tall ball joints or tall ATS spindles you`ve corrected much or all of that poor geometry,raised the roll center to a proper location and shortened the front moment arm a great deal. Now you don`t need as much front roll rate,in fact you can be running too much in relation to the rear (unbalanced roll couple) and cause understeer. Now,I`m not talking about the tire squealing plowing they do in dead stock form. It shows up as turn in that`s not to quick or crisp and a heavier overall feel. Once you start modifying the car you may have it set up pretty decent and think that`s as good as it gets but still have a lot of room for more improvement. Swaybars are a tuning aid,don`t be affraid to try different ones. You can even fine tune how quickly the rate of the bars comes in by swapping out poly bushings for rubber and vice versa. You won`t know if you don`t try. Besides testing`s FUN! :thumbsup: Mark SC&C

John I'm using a 1 1/8" solid sway bar that came with my car. I just got it running last sept. So I'm not sure yet how it handles, because everything was new and I needed to lower the rear a little.
Ron

so this question is for mark at sc&c: you've got me hooked on your stage 2 package. expect a call next sometime next week and get ready to take some of my income tax refund! with the global west s-2 coil springs, which we've determined to be 500lbs/inch (thanks, ROPO355), which sway bar would you recommend: the 1" solid, or 1 1/8" solid bar? if i follow what you're last post says, the tall upper and lower ball joints will effectively make the spindle and inch taller, similar to lowering the attachment points on the frame. that raises the roll center, making the stiff sway bar less neccessary? did i get that right? btw, i have the gw l-2 leaf springs to match the soon-to-be-bought s-2 front coils. thanks for all the help, people!

I`d recomend a 1" front bar with that combination. If you do a 2-Plus package or use a std. Stg.2 in combination with the G Mod you may even want to try that 1" bar with rubber end link bushings (to soften the initial rate) to make turn in a little more crisp. It depends a lot on the rest of the cars setup (rear spring rate,alignment specs,shock dampening etc.) and your driving style and preferences but a 1" front is a fairly safe bet for that combination. Mark SC&C