Car is lowered on Swift Springs and have Hotchkis sway bars on tightest settings. Since lowering on Swifts, the car slides A LOT more when taking slowish turns at higher speeds. It feels more unsafe unless there is enough room to get squirrelly; admittedly it is kind of fun at times since the X rarely gets wild.

I auto-x and lowered mainly to help with stability and turns, but now I'm second guessing the lowering.

Anyone else experienced this or have suggestions? Maybe loosen sway bars to soft/middle settings? Get additional bracing? Upgrade shocks/struts to Koni yellows (not the cheapest option, but would do if it would remedy the problem)?

 

Koni Yellows don't fit the X.

What kinda of tires are you running?

 

Before I lowered myself on Swifts on my X. it would plow and body roll. I then lowered it and only put Hotchkis sways on the rear only.
In the summer I run ContisportContact 3, sometimes the rear does want to step out, but it feels tame to me.
Even in winter, I have to pick up speed to get the rear to fully swing in the snow.

Have you done any alignments to it yet? The toe might be off causing some traction issues

 

Lego: Hmm... I thought I saw someone with an X who had them... maybe it was your tag, haha, even though your don't have an X; they seem to be most highly regarded on the forum though.

I have 6 month old Hankook Ventus V12s. Before swifts, I did notice the rear end kicking out more after adjusting the rear sway bar to the tightest setting, but this is different. I don't think it's tire related since it started immediately after the swift install. It's more like a whole car slide than just over steer or under steer. I do not have camber kits and do not plan on it unless I crazy tire wear. Many people here on swifts say the uneven tire wear is not too bad as long as you rotate every oil change.

I can't complain too much since my buddy's non X G with A/S does 180s in auto-x by looking at it funny, but this was an unexpected side effect of the swifts.

VQ-vic: Good call man. I haven't done the alignment yet; I was going to get it done this weekend since the springs have now had time to settle. I guess the sliding could be caused by the increased negative camber. Maybe I should have gotten that done before posting...

Doesn't a little negative camber help for handling?

 

I recently put swifts on my X. Looks great but the ride on anything but a smooth paved road is questionable. The stock shocks cannot handle the springs. The car will jar on dips in the road, almost a bouncy feel.

 

I actually think I'm in the minority, most people do full coilovers.

I'd recommend messing around with the swaybar settings. Back each off 1 setting from the stiffest and see what happens

I don't remember what I have my Eibach sways set at, but it isn't the stiffest setting, and my car is pretty neutral, but I don't autoX, so I probably don't push the car as hard.

 

True. Ride is definitely compromised. Slowing down for bumps is a must now for sure. The roads here aren't too bad, so it's acceptable for me. I do have concerns for when my wife drives my car, haha.

Thanks. I will try that and see what happens. That may alleviate the sliding since the suspension won't be so tight in the turns. The front at stiffest and rear at middle was almost neutral on regular driving but a bit of under steer on auto-x; front and rear at stiffest had a bit of over steer on street, but more neutral for auto-x. The next auto-x is on Sunday, so I wanted to get things sorted out before then.

 

I will add I have done an alignment yet however I can't imagine the ride willing be smoother.

 

Definitely post back once you get the alignment, that is most likely the culprit for your unstable (or unpredictable) cornering performance. Prior to getting an alignment when I first dropped my G on springs it was night & day difference in handling. Hopefully you'll be able to get within a reasonable range, if not I'd definitely not hesitate to get the camber/toe kits.
G/L

 

I have swifts and Hotchkis front and rear also, Middle setting and my car corners like is a rails .. said before what tires are you running? I also have no issues with high speed lane changes or maneuvering at HW speeds.

 

LOL...

Get an alignment and you will be blown away at the insane difference it makes in feel.

 

I need to get an alignment too, been few weeks since I stalled them. Hoping the ride will get better.

 

Getting alignment will probably solve the issue to your twitchy handling. But the ride quality won't change.

I'm just waiting for my current shocks to go, and I will probably get some Koni Yellows

 

As mentioned before, alignment is the first thing you should do. The stock shocks are probably way past their limit, specially having the swaybars at their stiffest setting. Any suspension that is too firm will bounce or skip over any irregularities on the road, defeating the purpose of its design. I would go full soft in the rear and possibly on the medium setting on the front. You want the back end of the car to follow the front end, not hop or skip and go wherever it wants to. I have coilovers on my sedan, I have the damping set at 15 clicks on the front and 8 clicks on the rear. I had it at 15 clicks on the rear when I first installed it, felt like crap and handled the same way.

 

I have the Swifts/Koni's and Hotchki's on mine (not an X). The Hotchki's are at the middle setting front and rear, but the car doesn't feel as solid nor does it corner as well I thought it would. It could be the 75 pound W7 speaker/box in the trunk lol. Anyway, I was considering changing the rear setting to the most stiff, but you have me second guessing that now...