Hard time considering Stinger because of one reason

[Ceramic_GT2]

Have you looked at a G70? Back seats are comparable to the R, but you do lose the functionality of a hatch if you really needed one

If the G70 came in wagon form I'd be sold on it

 

[Spaceme17]

I recently test drove a 2020 Stinger GT2 AWD against a Civic Type R (my other pick for my next daily of 5 years). I was pretty disappointed with how the Stinger handled in corners, however I loved everything else about the car.

I took a corner and there was just a lot of body roll and steering felt really light for a sport mode, not much steering feel too, and this car began to understeer when I tried to push it in the corners. Just not confidence inspiring like the civic type r.

Is there anything to help turn this into more of a buttoned down sports car? If it's stock, I wouldn't feel comfortable tossing it into corners in the canyons with all the body roll and understeer and somewhat lack of steering feedback. Or should I just get a type R since I feel like even if I do handling mods it'll still feel rather boat like and not like a buttoned down precision/zippy sports car.

I know there's the sway bars but does it really eliminate that much body roll and the understeer? Also is there anything to help improve the steering feel/response?

Did you check the tire pressures of the Stinger you test drove?

A lot of Stingers on dealer lots have the tire pressures at 50 or higher PSI. Seems a lot of dealerships forget to put the pressure to the correct setting after taking the cars of the transport.

My test drive was the same way. Lots of body roll and instability. Checked the tires and sure enough they were all at 55 psi. Set them correctly and the car handled much better.

 

[P22Tyler]

I don't need an all out sports car but I do want something that'll grip in the corners. I was going around 60 on a tight corner and the car almost understeered off the road. I usually push my cars hard around the corners so if sways can fix this issue then I wouldn't mind something nicer. I currently have a regular civic hatch so if I were to get a type R it wouldn't be too big of a change

I'm telling you, those all season tires aren't nearly as grippy as the sport tires. It makes a big difference. When I switched back to my summer tires last year I was blown away by the responsiveness, I had forgotten how much better they were. Between that and some other suspension upgrades that have been mentioned it'll make a difference.

But as others have said it's not a sports car, it will have its limits. You have to figure out what is most important to you. The Stinger can handle canyon roads just fine IMO, but not as good as other cars that are more focused towards that, but I've certainly never felt the car was dangerous on curvy roads when I've driven it hard. When I was looking at buying a new car I debated between more track friendly cars and the Stinger and ultimately decided that I would use cooled comfortable seats and all the tech way more than I'd use the better handling of some other cars. I haven't regretted that decision because the car is still incredibly fun.

 

[P22Tyler]

Did you check the tire pressures of the Stinger you test drove?

A lot of Stingers on dealer lots have the tire pressures at 50 or higher PSI. Seems a lot of dealerships forget to put the pressure to the correct setting after taking the cars of the transport.

My test drive was the same way. Lots of body roll and instability. Checked the tires and sure enough they were all at 55 psi. Set them correctly and the car handled much better.

My car, even used almost 2 years later, still had the tires overinflated. The Kia dealers are horrible about checking this. This was after a supposed "150 point inspection" too. I would have thought checking the tires would have been part of that but hey, maybe I'm crazy.

 

[Dieselxx]

I don't need an all out sports car but I do want something that'll grip in the corners. I was going around 60 on a tight corner and the car almost understeered off the road. I usually push my cars hard around the corners so if sways can fix this issue then I wouldn't mind something nicer. I currently have a regular civic hatch so if I were to get a type R it wouldn't be too big of a change

I have a Focus ST and an RS (similar comparison to the type R). In all honesty as much as I love the Stinger and the way it drives and handles for it's size, it will never be like my RS or ST. I do have both the front and rear Eibach sway bars and they definitely help. But body roll is still there, just not as much as before, especially with quick changes in direction. Seems lowering springs help with this as well.

I bought the stinger as a replacement for a family car (camry). Both the wife and I wanted something more fun and exciting than your typical boring family sedans. It's quick, fun, handles well, well appointed interior.
It's fun on the track as well, but it's no type R or RS.

At the end it's your decision, if you're a guy that really loves very tight handling, fun small cars, then you may be disappointed in the Stinger even with throwing money at it.
The type R will feel like "racecar" everytime you pull out of driveway. If that's your thing, get the type R. It's not a fair comparison the type R and stinger. Both cars are great buys, they just do things differently.

 

[Ozstung]

Yeah the Stinger is more comfortable to drive but with the springs and sways how is it in the turns? Like how much body boll does it eliminate for you? Also does it make the car feel more engaging in the bends?

I wished I knew someone who had this done to their Stinger where I live

Its like chalk and cheese before and after. I put the springs on first they reduced some of the body roll and bedding down on take off. 6 months later the sways front and back both set on the soft setting. The back sway seemed to negate the rear side ways twitch on dipping corners. The front was noticeable on turning into sharp corners, you just point and shoot so much more confidence in fast corners. I went from the stock continental contact 5s to Michellin Ps4 that also upped the cars cornering ability. Now i can't fault the car.

Springs on 31 month's
Sways on 25 months.

 

[bulldozer1984]

It's because.. Well.. VTEC...

 

[Jayphil]

Well as everyone said difficult to compare and on top of that you test drove the heaviest Stinger with AWD. AWD is great for bad weather, ultimate acceleration grip etc but decrease its ultimate tracking competencies (not drag racing, circuit I mean).

So if you are really into track car vs GT / Luxury car you might consider a RWD Stinger with fewer options (like GT or GT1) to save some weight. After that add springs / Sways, replace brake pads and put lighter wheels. With the lighter RWD Stinger and those mods you should have a car that handle very well, still not gokart like the CTR but still enough for most people and even good for a few track events.

 

[narsnail]

I came from an 8th gen Civic Si, it will never be as nimble around corners. As the others have said it's a class mismatch, something I didn't fully understand when I purchased mine. Lowering springs will reduce a bit of the roll, and almost eliminate the squat when accelerating and the dive when braking. Sway bars should clean up the rest of the roll, and there are chassis braces to reduce some of the flex.

Just know that is in no way like the Type R, RS, etc in regards to handling and possibly feel due to the 6spd manual.

It will beat those cars in a straight line, and it will be more comfortable. Even with lowering springs, comfort mode is quiet and comfortable and sport mode wakes it up when you need it to. I think the Stinger does a lot of things really well, where the Type R does a couple of things perfectly. Totally depends on what your priorities are.

Side note, I think the Type-R is beyond ugly and didn't even test drive one for this reason alone.

 

[vipeboy2000]

Just chiming in.. regarding understeer, most rwd biased cars are generally tuned for understeer for the general public.. then compounded by the fact that the awd stinger only has primacy tour as tires which are only a grand touring all season .. why they decided to go with those vs the pilot sport as3± is beyond me ..the difference in cornering grip between the primacy and the bfg comp 2 as tires on our similar weight 4100lbs 540i wagon is so so noticeable especially on the 40+ mph sharp corners. That said, putting the stinger into sport to get the 80 20 power distribution definitely changes the characteristics of mid corner behaviour , after initial understeer once it grips, get and the throttle and it balances itself out beautifully with slight oversteer exiting the corner actually far more balanced exiting than the e39 which takes more effort to get the rear to push. Nevertheless, unless the car can shed 1,000lbs, it won't ever feel as nimble as a civic..

 

[P22Tyler]

Just chiming in.. regarding understeer, most rwd biased cars are generally tuned for understeer for the general public.. then compounded by the fact that the awd stinger only has primacy tour as tires which are only a grand touring all season .. why they decided to go with those vs the pilot sport as3± is beyond me ..the difference in cornering grip between the primacy and the bfg comp 2 as tires on our similar weight 4100lbs 540i wagon is so so noticeable especially on the 40+ mph sharp corners. That said, putting the stinger into sport to get the 80 20 power distribution definitely changes the characteristics of mid corner behaviour , after initial understeer once it grips, get and the throttle and it balances itself out beautifully with slight oversteer exiting the corner actually far more balanced exiting than the e39 which takes more effort to get the rear to push. Nevertheless, unless the car can shed 1,000lbs, it won't ever feel as nimble as a civic..

Well said.

 

[jazzdabb]

Yeah only reason I even got to comparing these 2 was because after dealer discounts for the Stinger it's pretty much the same price as the type R

So right there is the answer, IMHO. Stinger and Type R are very different cars but I would be hard pressed to pay Stinger money for a Civic Type R or a Ford Focus RS as a daily driver. Now, if I was a full time rally driver .....

 

[Dodger Blue]

People have had wonderful results with the Mando ESC module too. No hardware changes required, it just retunes the electronic suspension. It's made by the manufacturer of the suspension system as well, so it works perfectly and doesn't void the warranty.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I wished I knew someone who had this done to their Stinger where I live

You'd have to keep looking! Nobody has driven my car, but my wife on three very brief occasions, just because (she bought it for me).

It's funny how some people mention the body roll and others don't. I have never felt like my car "leans over". Probably I just don't push it hard enough (yet). But the Eibach sway bars have made a very distinct difference in how the car feels cornering. Even with the OE sway bars, Randy Pobst said that when he threw the car at a corner it stayed on the line that he directed it to without any unpleasant handling. So, most of this difference that drivers notice is the driver, not the car itself.

I installed the eibach rear sway bar a few months ago on my 19 GT1 Awd and it was noticeable right away. The back end feels a lot better and more buttoned up.

And I added the Eibach front c. a month ago and noticed right away that incipient oversteer went away, improving steering feedback a lot; it only took me a year and a half of the rear-only sway bar to "discover" this.

 

[bulldozer1984]

Honda Civic Type R is for boys. Stinger is for men. Which one will you choose to be ??

Sorry couldn't resist. But seriously the Civic looks like grandmas hatchback that someone just stuck bits of plastic all over in the hopes that her grandson will think it looks cool.

I do not. Ugly as ! But hey each to their own. Hopefully you make the right choice

 

[Snowwhite]

The RWD Stinger supposedly has better steering feel than the AWD, but I haven't driven an AWD to know the difference. Springs and sways (both of which I've installed, ARK) do help considerably, but you still feel the mass no matter what.

I didn't find the stock Stinger to be particularly tipsy, but I think that's due to the lower center of gravity. I came from a G80 non-sport (that I added ARK GT-F springs to, but stock sways) and the Stinger's issue was more of a sloppiness and weird movements during higher-g maneuvers on bumpy pavement, not body roll so much. The swaybars did clean that up and dialed out a bit of understeer as well with the rear on firm.

There's no disguising that the Stinger is a 4,000lb car. The Civic is considerably lighter. Which one of the two cars makes you happier is up to you.

 

[Dodger Blue]

The RWD Stinger supposedly has better steering feel than the AWD, but I haven't driven an AWD to know the difference. Springs and sways (both of which I've installed, ARK) do help considerably, but you still feel the mass no matter what.

I didn't find the stock Stinger to be particularly tipsy, but I think that's due to the lower center of gravity. I came from a G80 non-sport (that I added ARK GT-F springs to, but stock sways) and the Stinger's issue was more of a sloppiness and weird movements during higher-g maneuvers on bumpy pavement, not body roll so much. The swaybars did clean that up and dialed out a bit of understeer as well with the rear on firm.

There's no disguising that the Stinger is a 4,000lb car. The Civic is considerably lighter. Which one of the two cars makes you happier is up to you.

I agree, to me the Stinger's handling flaw isn't body roll, it's the somewhat sloppy response to uneven pavement. I've heard the Mando module tunes that out but I don't have one yet to speak on it for sure. As it is stock though, you just have to be brave and not try to fight the car, that will just unsettle it more. After a little wiggle it will get planted again.

 

[2Slo4u]

My sons Focus ST corners better than my Stinger GT2 and my Stinger corners better than my Raptor. You're comparing two very different cars. You just need to decide what you are wanting.

 

[Ceramic_GT2]

Just chiming in.. regarding understeer, most rwd biased cars are generally tuned for understeer for the general public.. then compounded by the fact that the awd stinger only has primacy tour as tires which are only a grand touring all season .. why they decided to go with those vs the pilot sport as3± is beyond me ..the difference in cornering grip between the primacy and the bfg comp 2 as tires on our similar weight 4100lbs 540i wagon is so so noticeable especially on the 40+ mph sharp corners. That said, putting the stinger into sport to get the 80 20 power distribution definitely changes the characteristics of mid corner behaviour , after initial understeer once it grips, get and the throttle and it balances itself out beautifully with slight oversteer exiting the corner actually far more balanced exiting than the e39 which takes more effort to get the rear to push. Nevertheless, unless the car can shed 1,000lbs, it won't ever feel as nimble as a civic..

Maybe that explains it for me, here I thought the tires would be more performance oriented. I went 40 around some sharp corners and the tires didn't like it...went a little faster and that was where the understeer came in

 

[Ceramic_GT2]

I came from an 8th gen Civic Si, it will never be as nimble around corners. As the others have said it's a class mismatch, something I didn't fully understand when I purchased mine. Lowering springs will reduce a bit of the roll, and almost eliminate the squat when accelerating and the dive when braking. Sway bars should clean up the rest of the roll, and there are chassis braces to reduce some of the flex.

Just know that is in no way like the Type R, RS, etc in regards to handling and possibly feel due to the 6spd manual.

It will beat those cars in a straight line, and it will be more comfortable. Even with lowering springs, comfort mode is quiet and comfortable and sport mode wakes it up when you need it to. I think the Stinger does a lot of things really well, where the Type R does a couple of things perfectly. Totally depends on what your priorities are.

Side note, I think the Type-R is beyond ugly and didn't even test drive one for this reason alone.

I wasn't expecting type r levels of cornering but I was a bit surprised about all the roll (I was expecting it to be a bit more flatter) and steering just didn't feel like a sport mode type of thing.