Best sway bars

[Enlefo]

Just curious about peoples sway bar experiences. Please post especially if you have used multiple brands or done some sort of comparison.Also, I haven't been able to find a lot of info about end links. They seem like a great idea and I am just curious if they have any negative impact that might make me not want to put them on my DD.Just a note, when I say best I am talking about maximizing grip and minimizing body roll. I am not looking to drift here, just run the touge and do some autox.:
Modified by Enlefo at 1:28 PM 4/15/2008

[94_240sx]

Progress bars have some good features and most bang for the buck. I love mine espceially solid endlinks.

- 3 way adjustable front and rear- Solid, not hollow- Comes with pillow ball joint endlinks- Fit like stock- Great customer service, finish and quality- Clears everything even Yashio Factory Kiwami support. Some other sway bars don't.

Installed pics in their website are from my car since I gave them persmission to use them.
Modified by 94_240sx at 11:50 AM 4/10/2008

[glitched]

I thought progress were hollow?

I've got this old sway bar thread bookmarked

zer...age=1

and theres a comment that they are hollow.

[94_240sx]

I thought progress were hollow?

I've got this old sway bar thread bookmarked

zer...age=1

and theres a comment that they are hollow.

That's wrong. I emailed Progress and asked. It's solid. Someone said hollow in wikipedia and that's how it all started. Progress corrected wiki after I emailed them.

[Enlefo]

I've read about how end links work preventing binding in the suspension... they sound great, is there any disadvantage on using end links on a DD?

[SmithSR]

Adding the thicker HICAS bars to a standard 240sx increases roll resistance by an engineered amount, relative to the vehicle. Your bushing master kits come with proper replacement bushings for HICAS bars.

The thicker, yet not overkill HICAS sway bars are the best sway bars for the 240sx, period.

Enormous sway bars with little to no flex put an instant extreme load on the outside tire when cornering, usually overwhelming the all season tires you skimped on because you wanted to mod your sway bars...

Tell me about tuning your sway bars front to rear. For what? driving to your school? Save your money. Get HICAS bars and enjoy at least some of the dynamic suspension that Nissan intended for your car.

[glitched]

Adding the thicker HICAS bars to a standard 240sx increases roll resistance by an engineered amount, relative to the vehicle. Your bushing master kits come with proper replacement bushings for HICAS bars.

The thicker, yet not overkill HICAS sway bars are the best sway bars for the 240sx, period.

Enormous sway bars with little to no flex put an instant extreme load on the outside tire when cornering, usually overwhelming the all season tires you skimped on because you wanted to mod your sway bars...

Tell me about tuning your sway bars front to rear. For what? driving to your school? Save your money. Get HICAS bars and enjoy at least some of the dynamic suspension that Nissan intended for your car.

except for some of us, use our 240's exclusively for track days, not driving to "school"

I personally would like a slightly stiffer, adjustable sway bar while using solid endlinks and is lighter than stock bar.

[Enlefo]

I'm by no means an expert but I'm not a newb here. I am learning from my experiences with suspension modification and trying to make the most informed choices I can before spending a bunch of cash on my car.I have coil overs, spl tension rods, spl tie rods, fstb and rstb, peak performance toe rods and upper camber arms. I have noticed when driving in the hills that my suspension performed well under the firmness settings I've configured. I noticed the body roll under hard cornering was hurting my grip on the outside tire and causing me to under steer. Aftermarket sway bars should decrease that body roll. No, I an not sure what settings I am going use. Depending on the bars I end up getting the configuration options will be different. I am not running racing slicks but I am do have kuhmo asx's at 225 all around and not being turbo or sr I am happy with the amount of grip they provide.From my understanding end links should help with potential binding, but I have no first hand experience with them.If you want to help educate how about providing info instead of insults.

[Enlefo]

except for some of us, use our 240's exclusively for track days, not driving to "school"

I personally would like a slightly stiffer, adjustable sway bar while using solid endlinks and is lighter than stock bar.

Thanx man.
Modified by Enlefo at 4:43 PM 4/1/2008

[Enlefo]

Bump, I know there are some serious people out there who know a lot about sway bars.

[kclo4]

What is the best place to source a set of progress bars for the best price? Sounds like shipping on these beasts will be a lot so places that charge the least for this would be good as well.

Thanks.

[Nismo_Freak]

Smith's suggestion is good for a stock sprung / lightly sprung car. Basically if you are on coilovers I'd generally ignore that suggestion.

The less suspension travel your car has the more sway bar thickness you need. This is because the sway needs control arm movement to provide rate, and ultimately effectiveness.

Translated, if you run high rates on crappy tires, drift, or otherwise don't care about handling you want Largus or some other thick bar.

If you have more suspension travel, via a softer rate, or an R-compound or better tire then you will want to look into something a bit thinner. Otherwise you'll end up with a snappy car that has alot of dynamic shift. Some people like that and run thick bars, or cars with poor weight balance like FWD cars tend to run a crapton of sway rate.

[Vaikis_]

I go for whiteline

[94_240sx]

What is the best place to source a set of progress bars for the best price? Sounds like shipping on these beasts will be a lot so places that charge the least for this would be good as well.

Thanks.

I got mine from Never Enough Auto. I think they offer the lowest price for 240sx Progress sway bars. They go real quick, so you better hurry.

http://motors.search.ebay.com/...h2003

[Enlefo]

Seems to be a lot of support for progress. Has anyone used the swift sway bars?http://www.201motorsports.com/product.p ... 354&page=1

They look interesting... I could see how the extra bends would allow more flex.

[JNM240]

I go for whiteline

Ditto

[crzycav86]

also, whoever said solid bars are an advantage is WRONG.

hollow bars are lighter, reducing unsprung mass, and their stiffness is still quite comparable because most of any bar's torsional stiffness comes from the OUTSIDE of the bar.

Adjustability is nice too.

[glitched]

also, whoever said solid bars are an advantage is WRONG.

hollow bars are lighter, reducing unsprung mass, and their stiffness is still quite comparable because most of any bar's torsional stiffness comes from the OUTSIDE of the bar.

Adjustability is nice too.

So, what are our options for hollow adjustable sway bars?

[95lstegman]

also, whoever said solid bars are an advantage is WRONG.

hollow bars are lighter, reducing unsprung mass, and their stiffness is still quite comparable because most of any bar's torsional stiffness comes from the OUTSIDE of the bar.

Adjustability is nice too.

whiteline FTW in my book. with a hollow bar, you can get the same area moment of inertia with WAY less weight. hands down it's hollow or nothing.

actually, i'm still running an '89 non-Sport Package front bar (25mm hollow, don't know ID) b/c i don't think any sway bar on the aftermarket is weaker/less stiff. but i don't have the original 53/47 weight distribution, and the non-sport front bar + whiteline rear on stiff (BTW, whiteline has infinitely adjustable end links w/ poly bushings = practically no maintenance) is perfect for me.

[Neil]

Courtesy Nissan saw fit to sell Suspension Techniques sway bars. For $100 complete with links and bushings you can't beat it, but they've been on "back order" for at least two months.

I own a Hicas sway bar which I believe is 21mm. I like it.. it makes the car feel more receptive to spirited driving. With no sudden inputs, the car will still understeer a little as a safety net at the limit of traction. However, one time it did scare me as i was coming around a turn kinda quick and had to suddenly get on the brakes.

[glitched]

after finding this site, I think Im gonna eventually go with tanabe sways. The tubular chromoly constuctuion is the ticket for me, instead of solid steel like some of the others...http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/N..._Bars

[S14toRPS13]

Anyone know how much lower some of these aftermarket sway bar hangs?

[Enlefo]

I just ordered a set of progress bars last night... should be here next week!

[95lstegman]

after finding this site, I think Im gonna eventually go with tanabe sways. The tubular chromoly constuctuion is the ticket for me, instead of solid steel like some of the others...http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/N..._Bars

don't get all excited about CrMy steels. for a sway bar, the performance comes from the metal's resistance to strain, or in engineering terms, the modulus of elasticity (E, aka Young's Modulus for some people) combined with the shape and dimensions of the cross-section. as for shape, well, that's a given, since it's in torsion. they will all be hollow tubes if they are to be effective and relatively light. as for the value of E, it's basically the same for most all steels, so chrome-moly is just more expensive, though a little more corrosion resistant than mild steel. but i doubt any sway bars are made of mild steel anyways.

[Enlefo]

Holy crap these things make such a huge difference in handling. I'm totally sold. I am not quite sure how the setting changes I make to the progress bars will effect handling. Before anyone comments these bars are not adjustable in the "traditional" sense of moving the pivot bushing in or out. They are adjustable by changing the length of the end links and by moving the end link attachment point into one of three holes at the end of the sway bar.
Modified by Enlefo at 10:56 AM 6/4/2008

[Fancy_Footwork]

Bump. This is great read. I've been curious if anyone has had experience with cusco sway bars myself.