The Suspension Thread

Post by **smorison** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 10:32 am

damn man all these people who are catching up to me...

hope you got the adjustable sway bars... btw the hardest setting on the front with hardest on the rear promotes a bit of understeer (which is probably good for "normal" drivers)....

i've got to pull mine out and play with the adjustments to get a new setup probably going to go softer on the front to neutralise it a bit....

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:51 am

hey guys,

getting my new droplinks fitted.... I know one of my sway bar bushes is busted.... do you think i should just replace all 4 at the one time?

and do u suggest oem bushes or polyurethane?? any suggestions?

Post by **Bennoz** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:45 pm

I would get them all done. Or at minimum, the 2 on the swaybar that is worst (there are 2 per sway bar)

Im having no end of noise issues with all my Poly gear at the moment... if your only doing some of the bushes, I'd go with rubber oem

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:29 pm

hrmm confused...

so I should get 2 for each swaybar (thats 4 for both front and rear)...

and drop link bushes too???

what size are the standard fto sway bars (diameter)?

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:41 pm

Got your PM Euro.

I'll be able to be more specific when I get home - got pics & measurements etc..

I would replace all 4 swaybar bushes. They are the bushes that wear out the most on FTOs. There are 2 on the front one, 2 on the back one. They are a common type of bush (albeit front is slightly different to back) and not difficult to change (the front ones are a little fiddly, but if your mech has it up on the hoist It'll be a peice of piss)

The droplinks are also very easy to change - if they are not rusted on... then a bit of angle grinding maybe required. Again, its only 2 bolt for each to remove. Droplinks do not have bushes, they are a metal bar with a ball joint welded to each end.

Standard sways are 15mm and 18mm. Some people believe its 16mm on the front but Im pretty sure its 15. I've got my old ones at home - I'll measure them up tonight.

So all you need is 4 x droplinks, 4 swaybar bushes (2 front, 2 rear)

If your mechanic took 3 hours to change the lot, that would be more than ample. I'd get a wheel alignment done at the same time. You'll find it a pleasure to drive after... and less noisy.

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:48 pm

pm? it was a letter of affection....

i have the 4 droplinks, just need to order bushes from whiteline. they wanted measurements... your info helps a lot. thanks.

Now i need to decide whether I upgrade sway bars or just leave alone... if you could measure the standard sway bars that would help a lot.

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:56 pm

I recently got the front Whiteline adjustable sway bar.
I have to say it doesn't make that much difference at low speed corners, but you notice the difference on higher speed corners. The sway bar i got was for $238 inc fitting.

Also i'm getting the Tein Pillow Ball mounts from perfectrun atm, all up will end up being $240 including shipping, so that should give me a nice camber for the track

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 6:29 pm

EURO wrote:pm? it was a letter of affection....

Oh stop it!

Alrighty, my bad the front is 16mm (not 15) and the rear is 18mm.

You might even be able to make out the part numbers from the pic!
Gen Mitsi fronts: MR197005 - 16mm diametre bar, 16mm width (thats between the ridges ie. bracket width)
Gen Mitsi rears: MR197002 - 18mm diametre bar, 30mm width (again bracket width)

PS - Boris that a damn good price for Tein Tops!! Wish I'd paid that

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:26 pm

ok - one last question benno....

if i have already purchased drop links... they will only be compatible with current sway bars yes? so if i bought 22mm sway bars the current drop links I bought would not be compatible?

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:08 pm

EURO wrote:ok - one last question benno....

if i have already purchased drop links... they will only be compatible with current sway bars yes? so if i bought 22mm sway bars the current drop links I bought would not be compatible?

No mate, should be fine - I bought new (off the shelf) drop links & they fit just fine. All the droplinks have to do is go through the hole (no pun intended) and the hole in the whiteline ones is the same size as stock. See the below pic: Stock droplinks going into Whiteline swaybar.

The only time you need worry about droplinks not fitting is when you lower the car a fair amount - then you need shortened ones

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:20 pm

ok ... lol the drama continues...

I rang whiteline....

they have polyurethane rear bushes for 18mm sway bar...

they do not have any listed for a 16mm front bar? only for an 18mm bar.....

they have suggested I call fulcrum.... is this weird?

Post by **Bennoz** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:45 pm

I'll make some phone calls here too...

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:57 pm

got onto fulcrum bennoz.. so thanks but hopefully its been sorted

he has 16mm and 18mm....

he is just seeing if he can actually post them to me and then calling me back. was on the phone for at least half an hour whilst he searched.

At least I have part numbers though and will post them shortly.

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:08 pm

all ordered!

must say the guy at fulcrum was very very helpful.

hopefully they fit!

cost me $40 including postage for front and rear polyurethane.

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:37 pm

Don't forget part numbers mate.. will be helpfull to other ppl

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:52 pm

spf1344 - 16k for front sway bar bushes
spf2004 - 18k for rear sway bar bushes

there u go gentlemen.

the nice man even posted them straight away!

oh and by the way these guys supply white line with them.

Post by **Bennoz** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:53 pm

Nicely done mate!

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 2:59 pm

ok....

new drop links fitted

new sway bar bushes fitted.

so far so good! car definatley felt more 'solid - stable' on the road.. its not rocking side to side over bumps and nearly all the noises are gone! im sure other bushes could be replaced as well. but ill do a bit more driving before i make anymore changes.

thanks bennoz for all your help with this. the guys at revzone said changing the front bushes and droplinks was a nightmare!

Post by **Bennoz** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 3:13 pm

No probs mate

Yeah when those droplink have been on a while, some times you have to crack out the angle gringer to get 'em off! Meanwhile rollbar bushes require than hands of a midget

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:27 pm

Speaking a bit more about my modification, the pillow tops. I have to say i'm very impressed with them and they alone did much more then say a sway bar, maybe it's just me..

My handling is improved byt heaps, maybe 10 to 20%

Big difference!

Driving around Canberra's many round abouts is now an even bigger pleasure.

This simple modification comes reccomended if you are already pulling your suspension out... Installation and a professional alignment cost me $200.