• Updates
• About
• Car Specs
• Build Plan
• Events
• Contact

Sway Bar Installation - June 20, 2008

1. I decided to install the rear sway bar first. All of the bolts for the new sway bars must be tightened with the car at ride height to avoid preloading the suspension, so I jacked up the rear of the car and placed the rear tires on large blocks of wood. With this setup, I could get under the car to install the bar and still have the rear suspension compressed.
2. I took off the stock bar by unbolting the endlinks and then unbolting the bar from the two spots where it's attached to the chassis.
3. Next, I applied grease (supplied with the bars) to the Whiteline rear sway bar bushings and placed them on the bar. I placed the bar in the proper location on the chassis and used the stock sway bar mounting brackets to attach the new bar. I left the bolts loose to allow for easy adjustment.
4. I began to assemble the rear sway bar endlinks supplied with the Whiteline sway bars. I threaded the two supplied nuts all the way down on the endlinks and locked them together. Threading the nuts all the way down keeps the endlink close to vertical when installed (when using the stiffer rear sway bar setting). It also holds the bar higher or closer to the car to allow for more ground clearance.
   
5. Then, I slipped a washer and bushing onto the endlink and applied some grease to the bushing where it will be in contact with metal.
   
6. I loosely bolted the rear endlinks to the rear bar (in the stiffest setting), slipped them through the holes in the control arms, and installed the top bushings and nuts.
   
   
   
7. At this point, I tightened the bolts that hold the sway bar to the chassis and then the bolts and nuts on the endlinks. I tightened the top endlink nuts enough to just start deforming the bushings and then checked to make sure there was an equal amount of thread sticking out past the top nuts on each side. This ensures that there is the same amount of force on the endlink bushings on each side, which means that the endlinks will be equally stiff.
8. With the rear bar installed, I raised the front of the car and placed it on blocks.
   
9. I removed the stock bar.
10. I bolted the brackets that come with the Whiteline front sway bar to the lower control arms. These brackets act as the lower mounting points for the endlinks.
11. Then, I placed the sway bar bushings onto the front bar applying grease to the contact surfaces.
12. I bolted the bar to the chassis using the stock sway bar brackets.
13. Then, I bolted the endlinks to the bar and to the brackets attached to the lower control arms. I put the endlinks on the medium stiffness setting to start out with. There are two endlink holes on the brackets that bolt to the lower control arms. The endlinks should be bolted to the holes that allow for the endlink to be positioned closest to vertical for whatever sway bar stiffness setting you're using.
14. With the front sway bar components on the car, I tightened all of the nuts and bolts to finish off the sway bar installation.

Just from driving on the street, I can feel the added stiffness in the suspension when cornering or going over bumpy roads. This upgrade should make a big difference in autocross and drifting. The front Whiteline bar with a 27 mm diameter is a moderate upgrade over the stock 24 mm bar. However, the rear Whiteline bar at 22 mm is a huge jump from the 15 mm stock rear bar. I'm expecting a lot of oversteer as a result of the much bigger rear bar, but I should be able to adjust the bars to make the handling of the car neutral.