EK GLi sway bar question

[civic-dream]

Hi guys,

i've noticed that the EK civic gli doesn't have rear sway bars,
how much difference in handling would there be if it did have them?

is the rear sway bar not that important to achieve nice handling for this car?

can u achieve a big difference by just upgrading the front one?

any info would be great,

thanks :)

[bennjamin]

Hi guys,

i've noticed that the EK civic gli doesn't have rear sway bars,
how much difference in handling would there be if it did have them?

is the rear sway bar not that important to achieve nice handling for this car?

can u achieve a big difference by just upgrading the front one?

any info would be great,

thanks :)

Even a vti or Si swaybar would be a decent upgrade for your car.
Yes it is important for a rear swaybar to reach "nice handling" for your car.
upgrading jsut the front IMO will unbalance the car too much and lead to more noticeable understeerign characteristics - try upgradign the rear with a nice 18 or 20-22mm item and be happy.

look aroudn at www.whiteline.com.au for mroe info -

[newbie]

upgrade the rear before you touch the front.... you probably wont need to upgrade the front at all...

[Paul1985]

is a sway bar and lower tie bar the same thing???
they are arent they, i just see both terms popping up all the time.

[Eclipsor]

No. A sway bar connects the lower control arms in the rear and pivots at two points on the subframe. Not certain but a tie bar only attaches to the subframe to strengthen it between the points that the lca's attach to it.

[Terry]

rear sway bar is Noticeable different man.....great little investment.....u will never go wrong with that!:D

[civic-dream]

upgrade the rear before you touch the front.... you probably wont need to upgrade the front at all...

even though the GLi didn't come with rear sway bar fitted, will a new sway bar just bolt in or will there need to be mounts welded on?

[newbie]

mounting kit should have to be welded one.. jut bolts connecting to your chassis/sub frame.

www.whiteline.com.au

[BlitZ]

just one thing u need to know -
good sway bars are expensive ;)

[ian]

rear swaybars are a great upgrade for handling performance for a front wheel drive vehicle. the difference is quite noticeable once fitted.

[Chi]

IF u get sway bars, make sure your rear LCA has the holes for the bars to bolt in.

Not sure about EK models, but i know the lower end EG models need to swap over to Vti or Si Rear LCAs in order to fit the sway bars.

[BlitZ]

best bang for your buck...
al ek shoudl have the holes for sway bars

[civic-dream]

cool, thanks for the info guys~~!!!

[Nick.]

Hi Civic-Dream,

I am a new owner of a bog-stock EK Civic GLi. I fitted an 18mm Whiteline RR swaybar kit about 1 week ago.
It cost $200 and took me about 1 hour to fit. It comes with all the brackets, links, and nuts/bolts/washers you need to fit it up.

I am still getting used to it and there are plusses and minuses.
The cornering grip has improved quite a bit and the body roll is reduced. 90% of the time it is a nice little improvement.
Slow speed and high speed corners are great with this sway bar. Mid-speed corners are tricky and I still need to get used to the new handling.
I probably should get a wheel alignment - it might help.

The Civic has awesome stock suspension - for an economy car. You lose that flexibility and subtlety and the car becomes a bit meaty and euro-trash GTi-ish.

I have spun the car once - big time though - since fitting the kit. There is very little warning [even less than stock :)]
Throttle controlled weight transfer doesn't work nearly as well as stock so there is no room for mid-corner delicacy. You have to be committed, keep the throttle nailed, and live with a bit of understeer (but be ready to wind lock off quick smart) to get the best out of it - but by any measure I am WAY quicker with the bar on than with no bar.

I think it is a worthwhile mod. to consider. I can't think of another bolt-on modification that gives you as much bang-fer-yer-buck.

Performance value: 7
Bling Value: 1

Hope this helps
Regards,
Nick

[chameleon]

wow you can slide the tail of your civic? I got 22mm rear bar and never felt the tail come round unless its in the wet and i jam on the brakes mid corner. even then the tail only gets a bit twitchy not loose control.

I must be driving too slow.

[Eclipsor]

great review nick. thanks

[izzy]

hey which is better for a civic ek cxi, a 18mm or a 22mm?

[A.G.System]

Think its more to do with how much stiffer you want the car than which is "better"

Picking up my 22mm Whiteline Bar tomorrow (going on a CXI) so ill let you know :)

The way the guy at whiteline explained it to me was the 18mm is a good upgrade of the std handeling but the 22mm is a better sportyer feel.

I think that if you want to save yourself a few bucks and just do std driving then go the 18mm. Myself i do a lot of fast hill driving and lots of twisty roads so im setting my car up to handle that kind of driving more.

In the end it all comes down to how fat is your wallet/credit card debt.