Should I upgrade my swaybar?

[BoostinLI]

Few days ago I noticed the rear diff bushing had a large crack going across it, so now parts are ordered and getting ready to have the job done. Since I'm there, I was thinking , Do most guys upgrade their rear sway bars at this time? Or is the sway bar still a few more hours of work? Also, anything else I should upgrade while I'm in that area? Suspension parts? Thanks

[silverbackf8x]

When I get to the point that the rear diff bushings needs attention, I’ll have a brace with two points installed-upgraded.

Sway bar, upgrading the front to a 30mm adjustable and if the car behaves as I want I’ll just do the rear bushings to Polyflex. At the most I’ll do, the ZCP/CS rear sway package: bar and mount/bushings.

[fiveohwblow]

Is your car the base, or the comp and above? I ask because the competition and above have larger/beefier sway bars front and rear. The GTS has the beefier rear, but front is actually base model. I am going out on a limb here, but I’m assuming there was design behind this for the top tier track focused car. I decided to upgrade my rear sway bar and follow this model and found it to be much more planted.

My only experience I have been able to quantify would be a corner I typically was only comfortable going through around 85 mph prior, 95+ felt much more stable and I ran into another issue (body roll to tire rubbing). Antidotal, but my experience.

[hellokitty]

When doing diff bushings, that is the best time to do the rear sway since the subframe needs to come down. I would totally do it and I am a ZCP car.

I would also do toe arms and maybe traction arms as well since you'll need a new alignment anyway.

[jfritz27]

Not to threadjack, but on the topic of available aftermarket adjustable swaybar endlinks, anyone care to chime in on the beefiest option out there (that may best withstand daily driving in all weather conditions, including road salting)?

Turner?

Thanks

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by jfritz27

Not to threadjack, but on the topic of available aftermarket adjustable swaybar endlinks, anyone care to chime in on the beefiest option out there (that may best withstand daily driving in all weather conditions, including road salting)?

Turner?

Thanks

I had a chance to compare both turner and SPL side by side.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if SPL private labels end links for Turner because they looked nearly identical.

[jfritz27]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

I had a chance to compare both turner and SPL side by side.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if SPL private labels end links for Turner because they looked nearly identical.

Thanks.... yeah, you're right, SPL and Turner pieces look pretty identical in every way based on pics of both at ECS. Same price too.

Trying to figure out if price premium is worth it over the Ground Controls
https://groundcontrolstore.com/produ...-bar-end-links

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by jfritz27

Thanks.... yeah, you're right, SPL and Turner pieces look pretty identical in every way based on pics of both at ECS. Same price too.

Trying to figure out if price premium is worth it over the Ground Controls
https://groundcontrolstore.com/produ...-bar-end-links

Well I do have beef with ground control since I think whoever answers their phones suck (LOL). Just based off that, I would go SPL or Turner based on what is cheaper lol

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Well I do have beef with ground control since I think whoever answers their phones suck (LOL). Just based off that, I would go SPL or Turner based on what is cheaper lol

+1 to SPL and Turner supporting being much better.

One thing I like about the SPL is that it comes with a convex washer to fit the concave index on stock style struts and the thread pitch of the rod going through the strut/sway bar is the same as the stock end links so you're not limited to using whatever stupid nylocks are included and can use OE lock nuts. I think GC also has the convex washer, not sure about their thread pitch though.

[1000hp]

Originally Posted by cesarlcase

Few days ago I noticed the rear diff bushing had a large crack going across it, so now parts are ordered and getting ready to have the job done. Since I'm there, I was thinking , Do most guys upgrade their rear sway bars at this time? Or is the sway bar still a few more hours of work? Also, anything else I should upgrade while I'm in that area? Suspension parts? Thanks

Upgrading my base-model rear bar to the ZCP bar made a BIG difference, and I bought mine on ebay for $99.00. It is still some of the best money I've spent on this car thus far.

Yes, do both at once. I haven't done my diff bushing yet, but you should definitely be able to get the rear diff bushing out when you lower the subframe enough to replace the sway bar. The sway bar was a smooth and straight-forward job for me. Took about 2.5hrs.

[jfritz27]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

+1 to SPL and Turner supporting being much better.

One thing I like about the SPL is that it comes with a convex washer to fit the concave index on stock style struts and the thread pitch of the rod going through the strut/sway bar is the same as the stock end links so you're not limited to using whatever stupid nylocks are included and can use OE lock nuts. I think GC also has the convex washer, not sure about their thread pitch though.

Does anyone know if all the endlink offerings have one of the ends reverse-threaded, so that when you spin the central bar both ends shorten or lengthen simultaneously? I know the GC's are like that, but wasn't sure about SPL/Turner.
That feature seems nice to be able to dial out preload with both ends attached, making it easier with the wheels/car on the ground so that you don't have to try to finagle getting the endlinks into the holes with poor visibility. You basically just rotate the central bar back/forth (again with both ends connected) until you achieve minimum resistance.

EDIT: Sorry, looks like yes at least for SPL, for those ECS site mentions "left hand and right hand threaded rod ends"

[ac419]

For a base model car would you upgrade the front and rear sway bars to the competition sways for a more planted feel?

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by ac419

For a base model car would you upgrade the front and rear sway bars to the competition sways for a more planted feel?

Certainly but I would go with adjustable sways from either Dinan, Hotchkis or H&R so you can dial it in with adjustable end links.

[ac419]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

Certainly but I would go with adjustable sways from either Dinan, Hotchkis or H&R so you can dial it in with adjustable end links.

Thank you for the quick reply. I'll definitely look into it. Been looking to keep the ride as close to OEM specs, but improved on the base model.

[hellokitty]

Originally Posted by ac419

Thank you for the quick reply. I'll definitely look into it. Been looking to keep the ride as close to OEM specs, but improved on the base model.

The rear sway bar will be difficult to install. If replacing the rear sway, you should do the diff bushings and turner diff bracket as well. The subframe needs to come down for these 2 things so it's ideal to do both at once

[aswy6]

Anyone has part number for GTS rear swaybar? Also does thicker = stiffer? And if not, assuming 2 sway bars are same stiffness but one is beefier than the other, what would the difference feel like when cornering?

[M 4 FUN]

One thing to think about is that a stiffer swaybar doesn't automatically mean that the car gets better. It depends on the rest of the chassi setup. If you already run a suspension setup with stiffer springs you may not benefit from it. Running both stiffer springs and stiffer swaybars will upset the chassi more on uneven surfaces, like curbs on a track for example. The car will lift the tires from the surface easier. Yes, the car will feel more "stable" but that is because of a more direct feedback on smooth surfaces but it doesn't mean that the car is better. The rear swaybar on the M4 is mostly there to avoid droop and has a very small affect on the chassi stability when you compare to the springs.

[jim1013yyf]

Originally Posted by M 4 FUN

One thing to think about is that a stiffer swaybar doesn't automatically mean that the car gets better. It depends on the rest of the chassi setup. If you already run a suspension setup with stiffer springs you may not benefit from it. Running both stiffer springs and stiffer swaybars will upset the chassi more on uneven surfaces, like curbs on a track for example. The car will lift the tires from the surface easier. Yes, the car will feel more "stable" but that is because of a more direct feedback on smooth surfaces but it doesn't mean that the car is better. The rear swaybar on the M4 is mostly there to avoid droop and has a very small affect on the chassi stability when you compare to the springs.

very well said. The rear bar on the F8x only contributes ~8% roll stiffness according to suspension gurus at fat car motorsport.

source -

[stevehifi]

at least do the bushings if you ever want to run adjustable end links in the rear to adjust preload.

The stock bar bushings make it very hard to adjust preload since the bushings are clamped onto the bar and prevent it from rotating.