whiteline swaybars

[mudwaa]

Just ordered a set of 24mm swaybars. the rear is the adjustable blade type. Also using the spherical link kit. Bummer is i have to wait a week to get them

[photn]

LOL what they set you back.

I was quoted 173 EX GST for front INC bushes and 178 for rear inc busshes.

[mudwaa]

the link kit alone cost nearly that, but that is what i wanted. The standard links come with the bars so they will just be thrown in a corner somewhere but thanks to NSW TAB and a good horse my actual outlay is zero.

[photn]

LOL..... thats nice..

BTW mines for LR.. i forget what you have :P

[mudwaa]

New LS Zetec

[celicara65]

Mudwaa - forgive my naiveity on this - the swaybars you ordered go on the front AND back of the car? Why did you select that thickness? Do you have a strut brace as well?

I wouldn't mind doing something similar if $$$ and insurance permit

[mudwaa]

Yes the Focus has front and back swaybars standard.The other option would have been 22mm so 24mm was just my option. Adjustable on the rear as FWD make good improvements by stiffening up the rear. Could the same thing have been done using fixed 22 front and fixed 24 rear maybe but adjustable gives you some play. My thought is to take care of body roll before i bother going into springs and such which well end up being H&R but the research continues. Mind you this is only my personal opinion.

[mudwaa]

Had a look at my receipt. $203 each for the bars, bout $300 combined for the sperical links

[mitch_lx]

Whiteline make fantastic swaybars.

I felt an incredible difference with both front and rear adjustable whiteline swaybars. You should too

[On Focus]

I too have done the front and rear sway bar with sperical link swap and I tell you, frigging amazing! BEST mod I have done to the car... Recommend to anyone!!

I'm looking at Bilstein PSS9 coilovers next, having driven an XR5 with them and the sway bars, I am AMAZED...

Although, I did get a good price... Bars were $180 each, spericals were $280 full set, and the dude who sold it to me installed it all for like $300 and set up the rear bar too.

[On Focus]

Something I did forget, is I ordered them on a Wednesday, they were installed on the Saturday...

[FocusLSHE]

I understand what the swaybars are, more so have seen them, but what benefit would they provide to my focus, i mean they are a stiff car from factory, is it worth me spending the money? and what will be the most change or benefit to me? as in an example would be?

[On Focus]

Originally Posted by FocusLSHE

I understand what the swaybars are, more so have seen them, but what benefit would they provide to my focus, i mean they are a stiff car from factory, is it worth me spending the money? and what will be the most change or benefit to me? as in an example would be?

Sway bars were the best thing I did on my Focus, I kid you not.

They have nothing really to do with the spring rates, they are a lateral spring, they try to keep the car flat even as you turn the steering wheel and the outside front wheel loads up, the sway bars work to flatten the car.

Basically, by running big sway bars in a road car, they negate the need to run rediculously huge spring rates.

I think anyone interesed in enthusiastic driving should invest in a pair - the bang for buck is just phenominal, and the reduction in understeer is fantastic, it is so much easy and more predictable to drive

[Piotr]

Put simply a sway bars increases the effective spring rate. You can still run the low stock rate for a nice ride but while corners the swaybar will give similar results to a stiffer spring.

[FocusLSHE]

Originally Posted by Piotr

Put simply a sway bars increases the effective spring rate. You can still run the low stock rate for a nice ride but while corners the swaybar will give similar results to a stiffer spring.

Thanx On FOCUS And Piotr.

I understand now, seemed like a gimmick as when you look at it you wonder how the bloody hell a bar accross from east to west can stop a car sliding out ect. the first thing i did when i got mine was ditch the original 15" rims with goodyear tyres. yuk. got a set of larger rims with Pirelli P7000 rubber. that transformed the car, but now i think i shal investigate these bars. someone mentioned above that the focus had them standard? i doubt this with a car under the 30K bracket! For anyone in sydney, i can take on M4 bend where joins to parramatta rd at 125 km/h no dramas!! and they have almost got suspension vs ride spot on from factory!

How do these sway bars operate compared to strut braces?

cheers!

[On Focus]

Originally Posted by FocusLSHE

Thanx On FOCUS And Piotr.

I understand now, seemed like a gimmick as when you look at it you wonder how the bloody hell a bar accross from east to west can stop a car sliding out ect. the first thing i did when i got mine was ditch the original 15" rims with goodyear tyres. yuk. got a set of larger rims with Pirelli P7000 rubber. that transformed the car, but now i think i shal investigate these bars. someone mentioned above that the focus had them standard? i doubt this with a car under the 30K bracket! For anyone in sydney, i can take on M4 bend where joins to parramatta rd at 125 km/h no dramas!! and they have almost got suspension vs ride spot on from factory!

How do these sway bars operate compared to strut braces?

cheers!

No Hassles

Strut braces - all they do is keep the sam distance between the strut tops - they stops the struts from moving around that little bit at the top and hold them in place, thus keeping the "optimum" strut angle - which is actually not the best strut angle for performance... but they work.

A sway bay is spring steel. A strut brace is solid, very little flex. A sway bar is connected in 2 places - the Lower control arms and the body. The body obviously, doesn;t move, but LCAs obviously do go up and down with suspension travel.

I could go on but surely on one forum there's a really intelligent post about how they work using triangulation - the wheel most affected by roll is most affectively held down by the opposite wheel and end's sway bar - so in a FWD car, it is usally the outside front wheel that cops the mos load and unsettles the car, whilst the inside rear actually work against the sway bar and pulls it flatter.
Not the best description, but yeah


Take our advice man, sway bars W O R K bigtime. MASSIVE difference, no strut brace will make that difference

MC

[mudwaa]

Strut braces add rigidity to the chassis. Swaybars to the suspension.

[BlackLS]

the Focus does have a rudimentary strut brace already, joining to the firewall.

[mudwaa]

Has anyone actually installed swaybars themselves on the LS. Rear is strightforward but looks like i may have to drop out of the front cross-member/subframe to install the front. Any help appreciated.

[On Focus]

Originally Posted by mudwaa

Has anyone actually installed swaybars themselves on the LS. Rear is strightforward but looks like i may have to drop out of the front cross-member/subframe to install the front. Any help appreciated.

Correct, subframe needs to be dropped to the best of my knowledge.
There's a lot of cars like this nowadays, very frustrating

[BlackLS]

Check the Ozmazda club in the 3 section. I think there is a tutorial in there.

[On Focus]

Originally Posted by BlackLS

Check the Ozmazda club in the 3 section. I think there is a tutorial in there.

I couldn't find it - doesn;t mean its not there, but I struggled

[mudwaa]

yeah i couldnt find a tutorial either but did find a good link http://mazda3online.web.aplus.net heaps of stuff for the mazda3 which also fits the LS/LT focus.

[Velociraptor82]

I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering how Mudwaa got on?

I visited Pedders on the weekend and booked the car in for a wheel alignment (finally). Anyway I was asking about puchasing some sway bars front and back and they pretty much talked me out of it saying they will damage the car particaully if they are too think?? my options are: whiteline 22mm or 24mm adjustible.

What's the deal with swapping the spherical link? (I don't even know what that is)

[alky89]

if ur just using the car for street duties, just a rear bar would suffice i should think. 22-24mm bar would be fine. theres one stupid 28.6mm bar from america that snaps your control arms. but anything under 25mm would be ok.

i've got a rear 22mm adjustable and yes the difference is amazing. mind you on the street the difference isnt thaaat big to be honest (in my opinion). it does feel tighter through roundabouts with less body roll. the major difference is on the track. even on the middle setting, the car has lost alot of the understeer. it has made hairpins much better. i can actually get on the gas now without it understeering into the distance. through the faster sweepers though it can be a bit taily if ur not smooth. a slight throttle lift is enough to make the rear end wiggle. just keep the gas planted and its fine. i only had one session with the new bar so im still getting used to it. for now it is more unpredictable than before with the rear end coming out occasionally when im not ready for it. but it is much better to drive.

im also curious about the spherical endlink.

[Velociraptor82]

Picked up my car from Pedders this morning at 11:30. got 24mm sway bars front and back. the back one has 2 points of adjustablilty and is currently set for the softer of the 2. I haven't taken the car for a ride yet but clearly the steering seems to be a little stiffer (could be just the alignment). Anyway I'll get some pics if I can.

Sadly tho they wreaked my lock-nut key. So I've taken the lock-nuts off (using a clamp on the lock-nut key) and I'm running around with the original nuts. This means I can't fit the hub caps over the top of the nuts. Gotta find some new ones before the Euroa car show this weekend :(

[Tj-zetec]

Originally Posted by Velociraptor82

but clearly the steering seems to be a little stiffer

Could be those gigantenormous brakes you run. :P

I'm thinking about doing my rear bar. The front sounds like a big pain in the scrote to fit. And reportedly the rear makes a big improvement on it's own. Cheap too, I've heard quotes for under $150 for the rear (parts only)

[alky89]

yes the rear makes a great improvement. under $150 is a bargain and it'll take you less than an hour to install yourself (unless there are some bastard bolts that wont come loose). just make sure the new bar comes with all the proper bushings and endlinks.

[Velociraptor82]

I've been driving the car for a couple of days now and i'm astonished at the difference the swaybars gave. I recommend them to EVERYBODY, not just those looking for performance. The cornering is just sooo smooth now with next to no roll at all. Each day i've been going around the corner just a little faster than the last, getting used to the new handling and carefully trying to find the limit. So far it hasn't understeered or steped out once.

The sway bars did cost a little more than the $150 as started by alky89. In fact they were about $250 for each plus the pedders installation and alignment charges. As stated above the rears are fairly easy to install however, to install the front you need to drop out the front end.

Still unsure about the spherical links as pedders tell me that aftermarket ones do nothing.

[F06CUS]

Originally Posted by Tj-zetec

Could be those gigantenormous brakes you run. :P

I'm thinking about doing my rear bar. The front sounds like a big pain in the scrote to fit. And reportedly the rear makes a big improvement on it's own. Cheap too, I've heard quotes for under $150 for the rear (parts only)

where about did get this quote? all i can seem to find is rear sbars for around 250?
thanks