I think the car suspension and handling as it is stock was engineered to perform a certain way and when you start altering it the whole handling dynamic starts to change depending on how extensive you go about it..once you add this or that it makes something else the weak link or a shortcoming..

so when I say if you keep stock suspension im saying the stillen seems to have the least difference from stock though still stiffer than other manufacturers...so you get the bump in performance without going overboard in having to buy more things to fix it..although the same could be said of the nismo sways as well since they were made for a slight increase in handling.

Sway bars do not change handling dynamics as long as you keep the ratio of front to back stiffness the same - you run into issues when you change only the rear to be stiffer (oversteer) or the front (understeer)... The important thing they do is keep your car flat through turns when normally the suspension would encourage body roll

so should we try to keep the stiffness the same on both of the bars? or should the Z have different stiffness in the back and front for optimal handling performance?

The front bar is stiffer than the rear by design.

Bars are all about balancing the chassis... The Z seems pretty neutral to begin with but could probably use a smidge more rear bar.. Seems Stillen (and Hotchkis I would assume since I haven't seen their bar rates) have done therir homework on this already with the rear bar (at it's softest) a modest % stiffer than their uprated front bar. You can dial in more oversteer if you like by going to their stiffer settings (of the 3) on the rear. Caution though...This might be good for drifting and street tricks, but too much oversteer can get you in trouble fast if you're not an experienced driver, particularly in the rain.

^ truer words have seldom been spoken - thats how my Evo X met its demise - all it took was a little more oversteer than i was used to...

Alan, before you dissappear into Porsche-world, I'd like to know how your negotiations went down with Nissan when you said you wanted to return it, but you had already made some mods... was that straight-forward ? did you use local lemon laws ? did they resist ? etc... thanks

Re sway bars, I've got the Stillen set on... they are not stiff enough for me, if you look at this pic, you can see that the car is still rolling heavily in front and rear... fine for street, and fine for my casual track days... but if you compete, will prob want more

http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/u...b/bodyroll.jpg

and here are a couple pics of the stillen bars

http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/u...vis370Z015.jpg
http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/u...vis370Z021.jpg

Two holes on each side... I think that means three possible positions, right ?

Ha ha i hope you are joking... Im pretty sure you use the same hole as in... same hole both sides...

people use asymmetric sway bar settings all the time... i've never done it, but it's done plenty i understand

here's a discussion on it http://www.whiteline.com.au/articles...metric_adj.pdf

When getting swaybars, a few things to consider is whether you want hollow or sold bars, the level of adjustment you desire, then price and fitment.

Whiteline typically makes solid bars at a decent price. They should be similar to Cusco bars, but at a lower price point. Another good bar to consider are progress bars.

With Stillen versus Hotchkis, I don't think you can go wrong with either.

If it were me though, I'd get coilovers or shocks/springs to begin with, then decide what the car needed from there. Another thing to consider is whether the bars will fit an aftermarket exhaust if you decide to get one.

Only two positions. The two holes are to allow adjustment of the sway bar. The hole closest to the bar is the stiffest setting, this is the Stillen rear bar. The Stillen front bar is not adjustable.

I seem to remember a certain fav mechanic of mine telling me "that rear Stillen bar you got has three settings, I put it on the stiffest setting" ;) btw, coilovers arrived today... will drop those off next week

eibach will be coming out with there sways soon