FTO AUSTRALIA

I need to upgrade my front swaybar
I have heard that FTO and Lancer swaybars are interchangable. That would make sense considering every single other suspension part is.

So, can someone get me an exploded view of a Lancer front swaybar (MR 2001) and FTO GPX or similar front swaybar?

Part numbers are
Lancer MR198869
FTO MB892329

Lancer swaybar is hollow like the std FTO i.e. minimal improvement if any. (f they fit). Any reason why you wouldn't go for a solid &/or adjustable sway bar like a Whilteline one?

Just had a quick squizz and the recommended bars for the FTO don't seem to match the Lancer ones..not sure if then if the stockers would fit.

Need either the model (Cb, Ce etc) or the chassis number to look it up

Scratch that - found 'em

Lancer CJ1A swaybar



FTO DE3A swaybar - part number is actually MR131542 (same for GPX & GR)



Close but not quite. Go get a whiteline one, they are only about $160 for an 18mm adjustable one.

I do want a whiteline one but they do not make any for a lancer
Where as they do for an FTO

And I heard that they are interchangable therefore I could fit a FTO whiteline one on my lancer
I just bought a 22mm solid rear one for an FTO to put on my lancer and this will certainly give me too much oversteer

The bars look the same but the ends are somewhat different?

My car is a CE 2001
So I think it is a CJ4A or 5A or something
That's what my coilovers are for anyway

Where can I get that program please?

Another question
Where does the swaybar mount to on an FTO??

Anyone have any pics?

Spetz head over to the www.suspensionparts.info forums and leave a message there. Wojtek and the other Whiteline boys should be able to offer you some advice on sorting your car out...

I just checked the latest catalogue & you're quite right by the looks of it... no front bar for your car (pg 55)

Having said that, Im pretty sure if you give Whiteline your existing swaybar they can make up a thicker one for you. The blokes Kid metions above would certainly be worth talking too.

Be careful not to go too big on the bars thou... I went up 2mm on both front & rear (16 to 18 on front, 18 to 20 on rear) and its a bitch to drive on angles now. Everytime I pull out of a driveway on an angle, either the rear wheel will lift off the ground or the inside front will spin when I try to take off.... (mind you that just tells me I need a limo diff lol)

On average, going up 2mm will make it approx 60% stiffer on that bar.

The FTO front one mounts up to the droplinks, hence the horizontal mount holes on the ends.

The best place to download CAPS is from http://www.fto-ireland.com/downloads.html

Its an arse to install & use, but once you get the hang of it, its ok. If you need help with it just let me know. I have a copy here on CD as well. The copy I have is supposedly only for FTO's but I managed to dig out those Lancer pics. The full version (which I've been meaning to get of Teania or smorrison) is about 4 gigs worth

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't most of whiteline suspension made to order

My rear wheel already lifts, that's with stock FTO bar
22mm
But that doesn't bother me, and if the front lifts, I have LSD already

I am then wondering, can I just source some FTO droplinks and put them in instead of what I have now? They should both connect to the same part on the LCA at the front I would think?

Also, I could take out the front swaybar and get a copy made, but this means the crossmember needs to be dropped twice which I will try to do myself but if I can't, I don't want to pay that much money.
It's $200 or so each time, + swaybar, mounts, bushes etc so roughly like $700 for a swaybar

I'll head to those forums but I have a read through them before. I don't think anyone really knows much about FTO's

Thanks for all the advice I'll check up the CAPS program. I thought it wasn't on that site

Just like to thank everyone who helped especially Bennoz
Confirmed today that whiteline FTO front swaybar with FTO droplinks will suit my car

Thanks guys, you just save me like $400!!

Nice one!

And knowing you are a bit like me & always wanting the bigger & better stuff - perhaps you want to get the 'Uprated' whiteline droplinks to suit the FTO (and your car)...





[Homer Simpson voice]Mmmm... better than standard[/Homer Simpson voice]

I've been wanting to get a set of these for a while now...

yeah...


hehehe,
They're like $150 though those things!

I also got the re-inforced chassis mounts for the swaybar too

But see these are only for the back, not the front. Seems like whiteline doesn't make them for the front which means I will probably need to get factory FTO ones

Does anyone know where I can get them?
Or a part number so I can go into Mitsubishi?

Hmm that reminds me I gotta check back in with the Whiteline guys. Last time I had a chat to them they were unaware of the rear suspension differences in the series 2 FTOs and they wanted some pics..

spetz wrote:yeah...


hehehe,
They're like $150 though those things!

I also got the re-inforced chassis mounts for the swaybar too

But see these are only for the back, not the front. Seems like whiteline doesn't make them for the front which means I will probably need to get factory FTO ones

Does anyone know where I can get them?
Or a part number so I can go into Mitsubishi?

LOL Spetz Love your work.

I reckon whiteline could make up front ones for you... the only difference between front & rear GPX droplinks is the length. So they'd just have to replicate what you have there, just with a longer thread.

If thats a no can do, the best place to get droplinks is Camskill in the UK. Even with freight etc they are far cheaper than Mitsi local prices.

Kid Dynamite wrote:Hmm that reminds me I gotta check back in with the Whiteline guys. Last time I had a chat to them they were unaware of the rear suspension differences in the series 2 FTOs and they wanted some pics..

Oooh really? I thought the only difference in rear suspension was between the GPX & GR.. irrelevant of year The main difference was the mounting points of the swaybar were different, the GPX utilising proper droplinks mounting horizontally thru the bar, where as the GR had a vertical mount using a bolt / bush / washer combo as a droplink of sorts. Or was there a change with the face lifted models? I know that the face lifted models got the same you-beaut front lower control arms that the GPvR had with the press fit bushes.

camskill hey
But how long would it take for it to come here?

Would you be able to measure the stock FTO droplink size? As they'd be different to the lancer ones and I wouldn't have a clue how long to ask them

Tomorrow I'll find out how much or if they would do longer spherical mounts. Though I think they might even already have some for other models (say, for a Nissan but can be used on my car and would be the right size)

I'll take pics of all the bushes and then you'll really love my work. I have every single last tiny bush replaced on the car

Alrighty, FTO front droplinks are 200mm from the centre of each stud end to end.

Camskill usually take 1 week to a week & a half get bits to me.

Here's the pics. Keep in mind that the numbers listed next to all the parts are not part numbers. They are reference numbers only. If you need to know the part numbers, let me know the ref number & I can look it up in the list

FTO Front arms - the arms pictured in the square to the bottom left is the facelfited & GPvR front arm only. It has a press fit rear bush - which is a much better design than the older ones.



Here is the lancer arms



FTO Rear



Lancer Rear



Almost identical....

Thanks heaps for that! Much appreciated!

So then, the FTO drop links, do they connect to the control arm or the shock body? I assume shock body?
My teins seem to have the little things that it wold connect to

but, if it connects to the shock body does that mean the front swaybar effectively becomes "stiffer"?

I assume you mean the front?

If so, then yeah, they are hooked up to the shock body. As you turn the steering wheel, the struts turns & pulls the tension on the droplink & swaybar

Yeah that's good as I have the Tein's which came with that little thing to put the drop links onto, but are unused on my car as the stock swaybar connects to the lower control arm

Do you know how this effects the swaybar stiffness?
ie, identical swaybar, one connected to shock body, the other to the LCA, which one is more resistant to roll?