twopu

I'm really not a fan of how my 05 TL handles turns. I'm not willing to go the spring and shock route because my wife complained how rough the ride was in my old car. Will a RSB like Progress help? What setting do you have it on? Also, is $145 shipped a good price?

snake134

iTrader: (1)

heeltoeauto.com i think is the best place to get them, i think. there's a coupon for AZ members. the RSB will give your car some oversteer from what i have read. also i've heard that the nuespring supercup kit rides almost as smooth as stock. make sure you check out the thread on that.

I hate cars

It will reduce body roll. It will take some or all of the understeer out meaning instead of the front tires breaking free first in a hard corner, the rear will slide out.

It's a balancing act between front stiffness and rear stiffness for overall balance of the car. With the Progress rear bar on mine in the soft setting, the tail will slide at the limit. Others have reported the car is neutral. The difference you should be aware of is the base 5AT cars like mine come with a hollow 25mm front bar. The base 6mt cars come with a 27mm hollow bar. The TL-S comes with a 27mm solid front bar. Once member with a TL-S reports the Progress bar gives him neutral handling which makes sense since he has the stiffest front bar offered by Acura. Keep in mind, going from a 17mm to a 24mm increases the spring rate by over 400%.

It basically goes:

Base 5AT 25mm hollow front 17mm rear
Base 6mt 27mm hollow front 20mm rear??
TL-S 27mm solid front 20mm rear

If you have a manual, you *might* try the bar in the firm setting but likely the soft setting will give you the best handling at the expense of a little more roll.

I just ordered the H&R solid 28mm front bar to balance my car out and because it rolls just a little too much for my tastes but I don't want to compromise ride quality anymore.

If you have the money, you could order the TL-S front swaybar for only $62 to compliment the Progress bar. Then you could also run the Progress on the firm setting to take more advantage of it.

So for the second part of your question, my car actually rode better with the Progress bar installed. Hitting uneven bumps in the road and going up driveways at an angle is much less annoying now. The initial bump is just a little harder but all you get is one small bump and it's over where before the bar you hit a bump or driveway and the car rocks. There's much less motion and drama going over bumps so even though it's harder, it feels like it rides better.

I would love to take a stock suspension TL, retaining all of the factory travel and install the H&R 28mm front and Progress 24mm rear. I think this would offer a great handling increase with little to no impact on ride quality. And best of all no one would know it's not stock.

Keep in mind, there are disadvantages to doing only swaybars but they're a great compromise for a daily driver.

Sorry for the novel but all I've been doing lately is researching front swaybars and just made the front swaybar purchase yesterday.

D R E W

nice write up man.

I hate cars

One mistake, 17mm to 24mm is a 297% increase.

One thing I realized is with a solid 24 in the rear and a hollow 25 in the front, this is the first setup I've ever seen with a stiffer rear bar. No wonder it's tail happy.

I hate cars

Just noticed why the TL-S with it's stiffer front bar uses the same rear bar as the manual TL. The rear spring rates are higher in the TL-S so there's the extra rear stiffness to match the larger front bar.

3zero3kid

what do you mean by increasing the spring rate?

leedogg

the stiffer rsb basically 'joins' the left rear spring with the right, so travel is shared by both springs.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If the rear wheels hit a bump at the same time there will be no reduction in ride quality, so the spring rates can't be increased.

I hate cars

The swaybar is a spring.

MobTownTL

iTrader: (1)

how many settings do you have for the progress rsb and what do they do? i'm interested in getting one this summer as a final project.

TLheaven

iTrader: (4)

I think what everyone is saying is....GET ONE. Honestly, hands down one of the best mods for the TL.

sho_nuff1997

iTrader: (2)

I have a 6MT with a Progress RSB and it is a night a day difference from the stock RSB. My car is not tail happy at all and there is nearly ZERO body roll. Well worth the $150.

I hate cars

Two holes which would mean 3 adjustments.

twopu

Thanks for all the help!!! Sorry still a little confused will the ride be any stiffer? Also, where is everyone getting there's from?

sho_nuff1997

iTrader: (2)

http://www.heeltoeauto.com/

twopu

thanks do we get a discount

sho_nuff1997

iTrader: (2)

There is discount code floating around here somewhere. Just search for threads started by mr heeltoe.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Start changing the RSB and be prepared if you don't add support to the subframe:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/fubared-need-some-help-rear-sway-bar-689881/
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/rear-sub-frame-broken-688749/

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

That subframe breakage has happened only on a few rare occasions. If the customer has upgraded suspension at all it should be fine. We have mapped out a reinforcement kit but even we feel it is not a specifically urgent issue to address.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

But some are installing the rear bar with a stock suspension. Sorry, but if one were to rip apart, it is one too many. Other models are experiencing the same problem.

I hate cars

Agreed. This is why mine is on the soft setting...among other reasons. Just taking a step back and thinking about it for a second, a 24mm solid rear bar is really big, especially in relation to a 25mm hollow front bar. I've never seen a car with more bar in the rear before.

This is part of the reason I decided to go ahead with the H&R 28mm solid front bar. It should balance it out nicely. It should also take some of the stress off of the rear bar when cornering but going over uneven bumps and driveways will still be the same. I would buy the reinforcement kit if there was one.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Most cars in this performance category either have rwd or more balanced weight distribution. It's been common for a long time to put disproportionately large rear bars on toi neutralize handling. Why Honda won't make RWD sports sedan is way beyond me!

If you are on a road course I can see needing the front bar to be bigger as you have done, but most of us are not doing high speed cornering.

twopu

Now I'm second guessing this. I have NO intentions of upgrading my shocks the RSB was the only suspension upgrade I planned on making. How concerned should I be with the RSB on a daily driver? How much is the reinforcement kit?

deygotbigga

Look just get the H&R front(28mm solid) and rear (22mm solid) sway bars and trust me when you turn you will see the difference your car will actually pull you into the turn
YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RAR

I have the base 2007 TL 5AT which has the 27.2 mm hollow bar in the front and I upgraded the rear with the Comptech 22 mm sway bar.

Should I upgrade the front with the TL-S 27 mm solid bar vs. the H&R solid 28 mm bar since I have the Comptech RSB (22 mm) and not the Progress bar (24 mm)?

Can I purchase just the A-Spec springs? Sounds like the A-Spec springs with Koni's is a pretty good set-up.

I hate cars

You won't regret buying the Progress bar. If you're doing no other mods, set it in the soft setting and you'll love the difference. Most of the guys who were breaking stuff had the bar in the firm position.

Elegant TYPE S

iTrader: (2)

Will this change how tight the steering wheel feels? I noticed my steering wheel got tighter after my wheel and suspension upgrade. And seeing that this is also suspension related (sort of) will it tighten the steering wheel a little more?

I hate cars

Any time you change the balance more toward oversteer (which the RSB will) whether it's less understeer or actual oversteer, the steering will feel more responsive.

kyle26

iTrader: (1)

Which holes are for the soft setting and which are for the firm setting? If my TL is lowered with a RSB should it be on firm or soft and what is the difference?

sixsixfour

what setting do you have both on?

I hate cars

The holes closer to the end, the softer the setting. It gives the arm more leverage on the bar.

Ride height makes no difference on the bar setting. You need to balance the handling. Stiffer will put you more toward oversteer. You need to find out how the car handles first to decide which setting to use. Firm will make the car feel like it handles better but it is possible it will handle worse if it's already prone to oversteer.

It's pretty safe to say that if you have the 04-06 auto, you will want the soft setting due to the small hollow factory front bar.

If you have a TL-S with the large solid front bar, either setting will do.

If you have a manual 04-08, soft will likely work best but it's a toss up.

Aftermarket suspensions may alter whether the balance as will 150lbs of subs and audio equipment in the back.

If you ask most for an opinion they will say firm because "it takes on ramps faster" or "it corners flat" or "it corners like it's on rails". 99% of the people asked will give you opinions but not facts. These are the people that have never taken the car to the limit so they associate less bodyroll to equal better handling. My car with the stock auto front swaybar and the Progress bar in the soft setting will slide tail out around hard corners. Going to the firm setting would only make it handle worse. When I get the large solid 28mm bar in, I have a feeling I'll end up going to the firm setting on the Progress bar to balance it out but only time will tell.

kyle26

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the advice. My car is auto and I have had it set to the firm setting but I think I am going to change to soft and see how it goes.

I hate cars

I would take it out to a deserted parking lot or some area where you can drive it hard without hitting anyone or anything. See which end of the car breaks free first. Keep in mind you need a little reserve for a real life situation where you may have to go left, right, left, right quickly and no matter how good of a driver you are, you don't want the tail coming around too much in that scenario trying to avoid something.

I think you'll find that lifting off the gas mid corner around a hard corner will cause the tail to come out. Steady state will also likely cause the tail to come out. I prefer to have it to where the car is nearly neutral in steady state cornering but will let the tail out a little on lift throttle. Right now taking off from a redlight in a left turn lane, if I pin the throttle to the floor it will slightly understeer but if I let off the throttle 3/4 of the way around the turn, the tail will come out pretty far. Far enough that if I didn't add any steering correction, it would spin.

kyle26

iTrader: (1)

I took my car out the other day and took a very sharp turn at 60 mph and I had so much understeer that the car stayed in a straight line, is this because of my crap stock tires or should I change my RSB to the soft setting. I have an 05 auto with the Neuspeed supercup kit with sport springs? Ever since then I don't have the confidence in my car I once did before. Should I change to the soft setting, will it handle better or what do you think?

I hate cars

Softer will make it worse. This isn't saying much for the Neuspeed kit but it follows why I think a-spec springs are the best for real performance since they are balanced.

kyle26

iTrader: (1)

I didn't mean soften the shocks I ment the RSB from firm to soft, is that what you were referring to and what do you mean the A spec springs are balanced? I supercup kit rides like stock which I like.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you could stand to soften the front shocks a little. That might help. It's easy to get those Konis too stiff.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

He was referring to the RSB. You want that firmer if you are understeering.

Generally you can expect that if it is too stiff it will slide.

kyle26

iTrader: (1)

Do the Koni shocks handle better when softer, I thought it was the other way around? I only have them turned 3/4ths from soft in the front and half from soft in the back. Before I had all of them at one full turn but I felt every bump.