Review: Whiteline 22mm Rear Sway Bar kit BHR83XZ comes /w rear subframe brace

[EG52NV]

So I came across this (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/190599562824?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648#ht_4076wt_1192)whiteline 22mm rear sway bar kit for EK civic and the kit which includes a rear subframe brace.

I reckon under $300 for a 22mm RSB plus sub frame brace is pretty unbeatable!!

Has anyone used this kit and what are your thoughts?

Pics can be found in installation guide
http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/install_guides/Z376.pdf

ended up buying it my thought below..

[EG52NV]

So I found this thread... http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?62204

Well after much reading I took the plunge and bought one LOL will report back once arrived and installed

[mugen_ctr]

Was in the same boat a 1.5 yr ago, ended up getting ASR with White line bar instead lol

Why didnt i go with whiteline brace? well for starters, few members have used the same setup and have had problems related to sub frame failure... so that really turned me off, the revised setup has yet to address the proper issue...

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?133650-Whiteline-22mm-Rear-Sway-bar-kit.&

Just hope it works out good for ya :)

[EG52NV]

I took some pics which might help answer some questions about the reinforcement bar

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/GTR4N/BILD0154.jpg
the tubes are pretty thick
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/GTR4N/BILD0155.jpg
the backing plate supplied
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/GTR4N/BILD0156.jpg
the whole kit seems to be supplied with hi tensile bolts now
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/GTR4N/BILD0157.jpg
comparison in size
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n633/GTR4N/BILD0161.jpg
side view of fitment

[Wru]

That subframe brace looks like a piece of cardboard cut out, seriously doubting the strength of that thing

[EG52NV]

That subframe brace looks like a piece of cardboard cut out, seriously doubting the strength of that thing

yeah that's what I thought too but upon closer inspection the whiteline bar its made of high density solid metal where as ASR is alloy (same strength with weight saving which is why ASR are so damn expensive!)

[EG52NV]

not to be confused with the previous V1 2 piece kit which was notorious for tearing subframes

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/nt_889/P1010853.jpg

Problem with the old kit was that the 2 piece rear swaybar mounting plates had the potential to flex when high load was exerted by the 22mm RSB at where the D bushings sit and depending on which side the car was turning it would eventually pluck the mounting hardware straight out of the subframe but "only one side", the new kit has a one piece bar meaning the mounting plates are now joined creating more surface area to distribute RSB load through out the whole bar meaning less flex in the mounting plate which equates to less load being placed on the mounting points not to mention the force that used to pluck at 3 mounting points on the subframe (including tie bolt) is now distributed across the 1 piece bar and needs to pluck at all 6 mounting points

I truly believe the 2 piece kit failure was simply due to it being a 2 piece mounting setup.

I would even go as far as saying that IF the ASR kit was in 2 pieces like the whiteline V1 kit above it would certainly tear the subframe too regardless if there were backing plates to sandwich the mounting points to the subframe...

So if anyone has reports of torn subframe with the new 1 piece design installed properly I'd really like to hear about it because I can't seem to find any post about it...

[EKVTIR-T]

Looks like shit welding on the back plate

also how do you identify high tensile bolt? if its golden?

[EG52NV]

Looks like shit welding on the back plate

also how do you identify high tensile bolt? if its golden?

what's the welds go to do with the price of fish? tubes are obviously welded on for convenience of holding them in place when installing the bar wouldn't make a difference if they were welded on or not as they are sandwitched between the subframe and the bar.

bolts are golden with hight tensile figures on them...

[impossi13le]

wow what a bargain! aren't whiteline a well known top quality brand? i'd get one of these for sure if i didnt have a brace already :P

does the brace feel flimsy at all when its installed in the car? everything bolt up properly and no mismatched holes etc? i'd like to know more about this thing! haha

[EG52NV]

wow what a bargain! aren't whiteline a well known top quality brand? i'd get one of these for sure if i didnt have a brace already :P

does the brace feel flimsy at all when its installed in the car? everything bolt up properly and no mismatched holes etc? i'd like to know more about this thing! haha

the brace is sold metal man, like I said if people want weight reduction save up for the ASR kit made of alloy, or else if you're not too fussed this kit works as advertised and when I did a search everyone was baging out the V1 kit and I agree 2 piece mounting plates were a bad ides havent seen anyone post problems with the revised 1 piece bar and had no issues with alignment

[impossi13le]

i doubt this one would be THAT much heavier than the ASR kit to have a noticable difference but yeh, didnt even know whiteline made braces, i thought only strut bars and sway bars lol

[EG52NV]

i doubt this one would be THAT much heavier than the ASR kit to have a noticable difference but yeh, didnt even know whiteline made braces, i thought only strut bars and sway bars lol

They had to lol the EK rear subframe is way too weak and their V1 kit was ripping out subframes everywhere! They were kinda forced to develop the revised mounting kit after the numerous complains and compensation claims they received. The new kit simply works.

[eeko]

EG52NV drive it around for a month or so and let me know if anything goes wrong yeah?

Probably end up going getting my own if all goes well.

[EG52NV]

EG52NV drive it around for a month or so and let me know if anything goes wrong yeah?

Probably end up going getting my own if all goes well.

For sure man! Take one for the team hahaha. Will remember to report on how everything is over time Whiteline have stated very clearly to retorque mounting bots after 100kms.

Btw I hear you can get replica ASR kits for about the same price as the Whiteline kit but I question the strength of the replica alloy might crack and the start putting strain on your subframe. But yeah if you're after looks you always have the replica ASR option lol

[eeko]

For sure man! Take one for the team hahaha. Will remember to report on how everything is over time Whiteline have stated very clearly to retorque mounting bots after 100kms.

Btw I hear you can get replica ASR kits for about the same price as the Whiteline kit but I question the strength of the replica alloy might crack and the start putting strain on your subframe. But yeah if you're after looks you always have the replica ASR option lol

Cheer's dude! appreciated!

Nah i wouldnt trust a replica subframe bar lmao... no doubt it'll break.... Function > Form aye. :) wont be in a position to buy for another month so yeah haha.

[impossi13le]

For sure man! Take one for the team hahaha. Will remember to report on how everything is over time Whiteline have stated very clearly to retorque mounting bots after 100kms.

Btw I hear you can get replica ASR kits for about the same price as the Whiteline kit but I question the strength of the replica alloy might crack and the start putting strain on your subframe. But yeah if you're after looks you always have the replica ASR option lol

the replica asr kits come with swaybar and linkages too? i'd be questioning what their swaybar is made out of, probably hollow lol. i dont see why people buy the fake asr if they could go for something like a blackworks rear brace, which is probably the same price but better quality or alternatively, the whiteline kit :D. wonder if whiteline makes front ek LCA for upgrades to CXi civics hahaha

[EG52NV]

Nah I think the replicas are just the bar and mounting hardware $150 apparently, you have to source dc2r or ek9 RSB for about $150 so $300 in total for the ASR look Hahahaha.

Or to be safe and just for the looks replica ASR bar and 14mm RSB off and EK4 or EM1 lol

[Lanzamus]

Great review. Any idea if there is a similar package for EG?

[curtis265]

yeah that's what I thought too but upon closer inspection the whiteline bar its made of high density solid metal where as ASR is alloy (same strength with weight saving which is why ASR are so damn expensive!)

any ideas what metals they used? I'm interested. And what diameters?

as a general rule of thumb, lighter bar will not have as much torsional stiffness as heavy. You need that cross sectional area to resist all the torsion, so a solid bar of a given diameter will be more stiff than a hollow of the same diameter, so the only way for ASR to be as stiff is with a hax material.. (which is why i ask if you know).



yeah that's what I thought too but upon closer inspection the whiteline bar its made of high density solid metal where as ASR is alloy (same strength with weight saving which is why ASR are so damn expensive!)
are you talking about strength or stiffness here?

[stndrd]

When I purchased my 22mm rear swaybar from Whiteline about 12 months ago, I had to call them to let them know that the mounting brackets for the D bushes were no good as it did not line up with my ASR sub frame brace and they didn't even know what an ASR brace was until I emailed them pictures. It is good to see that they have now revised their old kit =]

[EG52NV]

any ideas what metals they used? I'm interested. And what diameters?

as a general rule of thumb, lighter bar will not have as much torsional stiffness as heavy. You need that cross sectional area to resist all the torsion, so a solid bar of a given diameter will be more stiff than a hollow of the same diameter, so the only way for ASR to be as stiff is with a hax material.. (which is why i ask if you know).



are you talking about strength or stiffness here?

Im no metal engineer but it Looks to be 5mm steal I'll measure it next time I'm under the car for those who are interested, mid section seems to have a 10mm steal beam welded in place to further reinforce for torsion twist.

No idea of the composition making up the ASR alloy but the slab of steal by whiteline seems quite strong.

Perhaps some baller can buy both bars and stress test the metal for us under a press and let us know which breaks first.

[Lanzamus]

"Our brace is made of 6061 grade aluminum by Alcoa to ensure consistency and top level quality."
"high grade 10.9 zinc coated fasteners"
"Lastly, contoured machined billet backing plates further reduces stress on the subframe mounting points."

Taken straight from the ASR website

http://www.asrparts.com/?page_id=154

[EG52NV]

"Our brace is made of 6061 grade aluminum by Alcoa to ensure consistency and top level quality."
"high grade 10.9 zinc coated fasteners"
"Lastly, contoured machined billet backing plates further reduces stress on the subframe mounting points."

Taken straight from the ASR website

http://www.asrparts.com/?page_id=154

So fancy 6061 aluminum vs steel block, this explains the price and weight difference

[impossi13le]

got any pics of it all installed? :D

[EG52NV]

got any pics of it all installed? :D

http://img.tapatalk.com/9587915c-584c-d37b.jpg

[Mikecivic78]

They had to lol the EK rear subframe is way too weak and their V1 kit was ripping out subframes everywhere! They were kinda forced to develop the revised mounting kit after the numerous complains and compensation claims they received. The new kit simply works.

Whiteline lost EK owner's trust with their sway bar mounting kits a long time ago with subframes that looked like this

http://i47.tinypic.com/2l91v8w.jpg

This revision is too little, too late.

One look at it and you can see it's inferior to an ASR brace.

[bennjamin]

there WAS a few issues with the whiteline kits (possibly whiteline in general)

1. lower than OEM grade fasteners.
Why would you use LESS tensile rated bolts for something under MORE stress than designed ?

2.bad mounting plate design. double sided , angled and also no backing plates to spread the load.

[EG52NV]

anyways just thought I'd update

Have jacked up the car and re-torqued bolts after 150kms (as instructed by whiteline), everything seems to look ok, no tears or cracks so far :D

Conclusion: not a bad kit if you're on a budget...

[bennjamin]

gary , i forget - is your car (aggressively) lowered ?

If so , that can put alot more strain on any part of the swaybar system and subframe mounting.
If standard height - i can see why this kit wouldnt last the cars lifetime ( as it is designed upon)

[EG52NV]

I wouldn't call it aggressive lol im tucking a lil but yeah I'll make sure to keep tabs on the subframe and make sure whiteline hear about it if I see any issues ATM everything seems quite rigid

[chunky]

hrmm interesting, might be looking into getting one soon

[EG52NV]

Just an update, the heavy duty subframe brace still holding up very well!