Comptech Rear Sway Bar Installed

[Matell]

Well today my Comptech Rear Sway bar arrived, and resist as I may I couldn't hold off till the weekend to install it. So I decided to use about 1hr of this evening to install it and I have to agree with all the TSX guy's that it's an absolute hoot!.

The bar's diameter for those who aren't familiar with it, is 22mm and it is made of solid section, not hollow. It's simple to install as I did it without jacking and I'm a bit of a fat arse ;)

I can't compare it to the 18mm Whiteline bar, but compared to the thin stock bar it's a monster, and it makes the handling very sharp and slightly more sensitive of centre.

I still have the original Dunlops on the stock OEM rims (manufactured by Enkei :) ) and when doing a series of 180deg steering deviations (90deg left, 180deg right, 180deg left etc) at 70kmh you can feel the rear stay squat and flat, the body dives over the outside front wheel, and you can feel the tyre rolling on the rim. It's very quick to respond now, and is only let down by the tyres, and soft OEM springs. But remember you'd probably never try this drastic manoeuvre at this speed with the OEM bar. (Maybe I drove to much like a granny before ;) )

Taking round-a-bouts is now a joy, the nose tucks in where you want it and will keep pulling in until you back out or the wheels loose grip. As this was my first run I choose to back out.......but I still comfortably went straight through a medium sized single lane round-a-bout (~5-7m radius) at 70kmh without backing off, touching the brakes, or significantly straightening the curve.

I'll post some install pics tomorrow if people are interested...

Oh and the inevitable question of $......lets say the bar was $20AUD less than the Whitline, but for the shipping alone I could've bought a whiteline bar+a carton of beer.

[stephen8512]

oooooooh very very nice....
yes people are always interested in pics of their modified euros :D

[Matell]

Well the car doesn't look any different unless you're on the ground looking at the underside ;)

But yeah I'll post some pics tomorrow after work.

[Slugoid]

I guess there isn't much difference between a Whileline and a Comptech swaybar. In the end, it does the same thing imo.

OEM springs are a bit of a letdown, as they are mode for comfort. So are the shocks (i'm beginning to realise :( ). The tyres aren't that bad, contrary to what I said around 9 months ago. Don't follow the recommended 32psi...it's rubbish. Pump it to around 40 psi and you should notice a big difference. I've been driving around for half a year or so on 40 psi and there are no disadvantages of doing so. Learnt to do that doing my advanced driving course.

[EuroAccord13]

As always... PHOTOS DAMM YOU LOL!!!

We Want Photoooooooooos! Not you.. But the Sway Bar :D

[baboo]

Matt, I hate you!!...j/k :D

NICE~ Now piccys!!

do you use the original rubber bushing or Comptech has supply new ones?

[learner]

hey Matell... did u install it yourself?
is tat hard to install??

[jolt]

I had the Whiteline rear swaybar installed at the same time as the Injen CAI and I think it's absolutely great. Definitely improved the handling dramatically (I have standard wheels, tyres, shocks and springs).

Not sure about whether the Comptech is better or not, but just it was a hell of a lot easier to get the Whiteline swaybar!! :D

Hopefully I'll get a chance to crawl under there on the weekend and take some photo's to post on here. Will let you know how I go.

By the way, the Whiteline swaybar comes with replacement yellow polyurethane bushes.

Rod

[Matell]

Right, pic time....they're pretty crappy as it's hard to take larger pictures with so little room to work. I may as Rod suggested he plans on doing, try to take some more tomorrow when I climb under to check the torque.

Slugoid, I'm running 38psi front, 37psi rear. It's been a long time since I've played with pressures (I've used 40psi all round before) so I might give it another go.

After the drive to and from work it really is fun :) The rear is a bit more "alive" over unsettled roads, but not to the point of being uncontrollable or dangerous. Those familiar with Brisbane will know the on-ramp from the Centenary Hwy to the Ipswich Motorway heading towards Ipswich, well this morning it was a blast! A VZ Commodore was infront of me on the inside lane and his rear threatened to step out twice as he was pushing quite hard, yet I was still able to close and hold a 2/3rd car length from his bumper, and I felt was holding back.



Yeah baboo, I used the rubber bushes, mounts and washes supplied with the new bar. Re-used the bolts for the mounts, and nuts for the endlinks.



Poly bushes on the Whiteline bar aye? Damn I should've got the Progress adjustable sway! j/k. I may look at getting some poly bushes later when I feel I want it a fraction firmer, but for now the supplied rubber ones will do.



I honestly doubt that there'd be any significant difference between the bars in the performance department short of doing skid pad tests with a g-sensor. The smaller diameter of the Whiteline bar could easily be compensated by using a steel with a slightly higher stiffness which is what Whiteline may've done.



learner I did the install myself. It really is very easy to do. (Though my neck and arms are a little sore from working in a confined space. I reversed my car up our sloped drive so the rear wheels were on the flat and level garage floor, so the front was lower than the rear and I had enough room to slide underneath. If you're claustrophobic you may want to use jack stands or ramps. I honestly couldn't be bothered with them. I kissed the exhaust with my face a few times



There's only two tricks to the install:



(1) The nut on the end links require anchoring. Insert an Allen Key(Hex head) in the centre of the threaded shaft to hold the shaft stationary, then with the other hand I used a 14mm ring spanner to remove the nut. Installation is the reverse, once you've got it tight to the point of torquing it that last bit, swap to a 14mm socket and torque ot up :) The value I used was 26lb-ft.



(2) As seen in one of the photo's there's one nut on the left mount that you can't get a socket on due to the flange of the exhaust and muffler sections. You could unclip the muffler from it's rubber mounts and swing it down, but I didn't bother. Just used a 12mm ring spanner and a hell of a lot of force. If you have a "crows foot" attachment for your socket wrench you'll be fine.

http://img107.exs.cx/img107/7149/img2799smlrtendlnk3of.th.jpg (http://img107.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img107&image=img2799smlrtendlnk3of.jpg)
Right endlink with OEM Sway(top of picture)

http://img107.exs.cx/img107/7254/img2795smlrtmnt4jb.th.jpg (http://img107.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img107&image=img2795smlrtmnt4jb.jpg)
Right mount with OEM Sway

http://img107.exs.cx/img107/2601/img2796smlltmnt7jn.th.jpg (http://img107.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img107&image=img2796smlltmnt7jn.jpg)
Left mount with OEM Sway (looking outboard)

http://img107.exs.cx/img107/5898/img2798smlltendlnk4mo.th.jpg (http://img107.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img107&image=img2798smlltendlnk4mo.jpg)
Left endlink with OEM Sway

http://img205.exs.cx/img205/5321/img2803sml3xm.jpg
Sway Bar comparison 1

http://img205.exs.cx/img205/3985/img2805sml8da.th.jpg (http://img205.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img205&image=img2805sml8da.jpg)
Sway Bar Comparison 2

http://img170.exs.cx/img170/5816/img2812sml7qx.th.jpg (http://img170.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img170&image=img2812sml7qx.jpg)
Comptech Installed Left Endlink

http://img205.exs.cx/img205/5090/img2815sml6yb.jpg
Comptech Installed Left mount (looking inboard)

http://img205.exs.cx/img205/2646/img2187sml1hp.th.jpg (http://img205.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img205&image=img2187sml1hp.jpg)
Comptech Bar Installed

http://img170.exs.cx/img170/2095/img2830sml2ah.th.jpg (http://img170.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img170&image=img2830sml2ah.jpg)
Comptech Installed Right Endlink(top) (Enkei wheel mark bottom :cool: )

[PNR888]

thanks for the pic and info.. great work..
I know the section of road you are talking about (on-ramp roundabout to Ipswich Hwy --- down hill 270 degree left turn). It is always very exciting when driving that section... I also enjoy the roundabout linking Ipswich hwy to Centenary hwy. (west bound then north bound). it is a good section to test out the limit of the tyres and suspansions.

[baboo]

Matt,

That's one huge ass sway bar, the stock one looks piss weak compare to it.

[D16Y]

great work matell

[stephen8512]

:thumbsup:

[Matell]

Yeah, every morning when I hit that roundabout it's sweet. On more than one occasion I've got rolling in the left lane (or been stuck in the right and done a complete loop) after waiting for traffic on the roundabout, and then opened to about 1/2-3/4 throttle and the tyres just jump up and spin till the VSA steps in hehe...great fun!.

It sure is a big meaty chunk of metal!......Shame there's no sticker for that extra 5hp of sticker "Bling" value :)

I'm sure as soon as you swap out that bit of spaghetti OEM bar Steve your suspension setup will really come into it's own. I'm sure you can sneak a few hundred dollars for the Whiteline Bar out from under your lady's nose and get away with it ;)

[yfin]

Bloody good post and review Mattell :thumbsup: You go to top of the class and are awarded :star::star::star::star::star: for both bravery (in kissing the Euro exhaust) and photography.

By the way - how did you get your hands on the Comptech bar? I send a few places in the USA an email about the bar months ago - they said it was over the limit for length to post outside USA. I presume they were talking about air-mail - did you it sent by ship? :confused:

[Matell]

lol thanks! :) Plenty of clean nose and lip marks on the exhaust after that! Not to mention the split where it goes from one pipe to two likes to be friendly with ones forehead :D

I bought it through Acura of Escondido's ebay store, and they shipped it via UPS Expedited which is by air. I had it exactly 1 week after I made payment using PayPal.

[EuroAccord13]

OH MY! Look at the size of the CompTech SB in comparison to the OEM one LOL!!! Must have been STIFF AS!

[Matell]

whats the price including postage?

Bar ~ $105USD
Shipping ~ $Obscenely Expensive$

[Matell]

how obscenely expensive? whiteline + carton of beer....?
carton goes for about $40AUD...

hmmm....

Whiteline+Full tank of Ultimate+6 Pack imorted beer :D

[V205]

Geeez... judging from the Comptech bar thickness.. is it a lot heavier than the stock sway bar??

[Matell]

Geeez... judging from the Comptech bar thickness.. is it a lot heavier than the stock sway bar??

13lb's

[V205]

Comptech = 13lbs

Stock = ?

Matell, are you in Melb?


13lb's

[Matell]

Nup, Brisbane. No idea on the weight of the stock bar sorry.