[Euro] WhiteLine Rear Sway Bar with Photo Comparison

I had a good run with the car this morning and I must say that this is a Bang For Your Buck Mod....

My call on this is YES it works... Definately LESS roll at corners and definately STIFFER up the rear end LOL!

Steering response wise, yet to feel it sadly.... Maybe I need more speed.... will update as I go.. :)


Matell, did you do yours on a hoist or on the ground, I'm just curious how the Sway Bar went in if you did it on the ground :) because on a hoist, the Sway Bar can slide out perpendicular to the underbody of the which in our case was impossible to do even if we did jack the car up all the way....

CHEERS

Update on my problem - called Whiteline - they said to check how tight the links are. Even half a turn on one bolt can make a difference between the sway bar moving or not. They think my sway bar is moving.

Fingers crossed this suggestion works! :o

Here is my preliminary review. I think it will change after a week or two.

Review of Swaybar
The car is really flat around corners now - it is quite amazing the first time I felt that. It is like a Mini Cooper around corners and very stiff at the rear. You could probably get the car on 3 wheels if you tried hard enough! I need to now re-learn the limits of the handling which could take some time.

Previously I knew the limit by feeling the rear end become unsettled. The car would give me heaps of warning and say "are you sure you want to proceed with this?" - then if you keep pushing there would be more and more roll but the car would still get around the corner.

Now where is the warning? There is no roll - it is a totally new learning experience where the limit is - and you probably need a track to find it. I do not feel confident with the car at the moment so am leaving the VSA on. It has changed the handling that much.

I have noticed when cornering there is LESS grip at the front - tyres squeal much more when pushed. The trade off on less body roll is less front end grip. I am worried about spinning the car on its axis (which is unlikely as I have not seen any oversteer). It is just the unfamiliarity of the handling that plays tricks on your mind.

The steering feels slightly different - somewhat lighter and the car follows the camber of the road too much. Combined with 225 wide tyres - If I am not holding the steering wheel with a relatively firm grip the car will veer off. I think the weight of my rims contribute to this - they are light and are too easily change direction. The car generally wants to change direction with the Whiteline- and likes doing so - more than before.

I think this is a good mod but I need to get used to the different handling characteristics. The car is very different now. I am sure the potential is there to take corners faster - but I need to find the limit of the front end. The OEM sway inspired more confidence for the average driver because the car held the corner with less tyre squeal (but with progressive roll at the rear). Now the Whiteline bar has no roll but more front end tyre squeal. It is not necessarily a bad thing - it is just you need to re-learn the limits and find the "warning signs" that I used to know with the stock car.

In my view the mod is not worthwhile unless you are a "spirited" Euro driver. If you normally turn into side streets at 30kph - don't both applying. You need to be someone who likes to push the car around corners.

Thats a good enough review for me...will be interested to hear about the bumping/knocking issue reported and the fix......thanks for a decent review too...was half expecting....."yeah its good" as seen in some other websites: (Read ozhonda people rocks !) :)

i wonder if a front bar etc would effect the handling...what about a wheel alingment too? would that keep the car straight?

Well put yfin! :thumbsup: You should gain confidence pretty quickly. Find a nice stretch of secluded road and do some slaloms first with the VSA on, and then with it off. That will help build your confidence.

No hoist or jacking at all. I have a slightly angled driveway so I reversed up into the garage so the rear wheels were on the flat garage floor, and the front wheels on the drive. This angled the rear up quite nicely. I've checked the torque more than a few times, and each time the car was level.

I followed the instructions that came with the bar (in this case Comptech) and just guided the bar out, and the new one in. I can't remember the procedure but it was simple and intuitive.

When another Brissy owner gets one I'll come and install it for them, and I'll document the jack/hoist free handling procedure to extract the bar.

(Hondata IMG install this weekend, followed by cutting up the cat converter lower heat shield so I can put that sucker back on! :D)

I think I may know what your issue is. I put some hose around the sway bar and then a hose clamp around that it on the bar on the innner next to the mounts to the car (both sides). This stops the bar moving side ways. Try this as a friends RX8 had this issue but no longer.

Matell, i'll be ordering one soon - i might have to take you up on that offer if there are no earlier takers.

Hondata IMG?? whats that

And ahve you thought about high-flow cat? or is that illeagle?

Not a prob Chris. Let me know when you've got it. IMG an intake manifold gasket. I can explain the theory behind it if need be.

And yep...I've spent this not particularly productive short week at work looking into high flow cats. I'm not going to be the first guinea pig so I'm holding out till one of the TSX guys in the US has done this swap out.

Ok thanks :).

Ahhh, the whole heatshield thing - i've heard they are good for a few horsepower and lower intake temperatures or something?

Yea good idea, i'm expecting a high flow cat to make more gains than a cat back exhaust. Sometime next-year (probably after you've replaced yours) i'm looking at just changing the cat and the mufflers which could work out alright.

For some reason i thought it was illeagle to swap the stock cat out before it gave way:confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris_F

For some reason i thought it was illeagle to swap the stock cat out before it gave way:confused:

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Yes I was of that belief also...I've yet to come across anything in Australia that states that. That doesn't mean it's not relevant, just that I've yet to ask the right people the right questions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peekay34

I put some hose around the sway bar and a hose clamp around that it on the bar on the innner next to the mounts to the car (both sides). This stops the bar moving side ways. Try this as a friends RX8 had this issue but no longer.

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Back on topic, Peekay34 great idea!. I might also do that this weekend.

Gents all fixed! Woo hoo! :D Thanks for your suggestions - we loosened everything then tightened the end links extra tight. The clunking has gone. :D

The other bonus is - in my review I mention problems with front end grip - well that is definately now much better. The bar must have been slipping last night causing the front end to feel light. That is why I mentioned I wasn't feeling so confident as the car felt light at the front (there was not enough grip at the front). I feel much better now with the car as the front is more planted and the tyres feel less inclined to break away.

Nick and I went for a drive and it is fantastic! I won't go on about how hard we took corners etc as that is just silly - it certainly changes direction faster and is less inclined to pitch and roll. This is a must have mod if you love corners. The only thing is you will be shopping for tyres sooner as you will be hunting corners more often :)

Must have mod. Buy the whiteline bar. You will love it :thumbsup: Enough said. Big thanks to Peekay for helping us buy the sway bar! :wave: And Nick for helping with the install!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adammet04

i wonder if a front bar etc would effect the handling...what about a wheel alingment too? would that keep the car straight?

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I don't think I will get a front bar for a while - the sway bar feels good enough and the car is quite darty at the front as is - ie it changes direction SO easily.

Re alignment - I think my car is aligned. On a PERFECT road it will not veer. The combination of 6kg rims, 225 wide tyres and now the sway cause the car to change direction very easily. If I am not holding the wheel it will just follow the road - but follow it fast :thumbdwn:

Like Yfin said..

He was taking corners like there was no tomorrow... And I have to say A BIG YES TO IT being a BANG FOR YOUR BUCK MOD! The car steers positively I must say!

And also, Me and on Behalf of Yfin would like to thank Peekay for ordering the part in for us at a FANTASTIC Price!