Progress sway bar installed..... after 3 years LOL
Oct 25, 2006, 06:14 PM
#1
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Progress sway bar installed..... after 3 years LOL
Well after 3 years and two moves, i finally had an excuse to install my Progress sway bar w/ the steel perches.
I must admit, i was a little daunted but the install is actually pretty easy... after i figured out how everything went.
The steel perches are WAY stronger than the stock units and make the rear end very stiff. Butt dyno says that the rear end is a lot tighter but i have yet to test out any improvements. The realt test comes this saturday when i take part in my first auto-x.
I also did my brakes - good thing too. My pads were almost worn through
so i took the opportunity to turn the rotors as well.
pics of oem sway bar vs. progress bar
oem perches vs. steel perches
i had replaced my broken cat-back with the oem unit i kept and disconnecting it actually gave me a lot of room to work. The stamped steel perches are WAY better than the oem units and made the rear end a lot stiffer. Removal of the stock piece is pretty much straight forward and i noticed that the bushings were beginning to crack so i guess it was a good thing that i did this.
Install of the progress bar is.... interesting. I thought i had the bar installed upside down because the bar did not sit flush on the end links. I turned the bar over and turns out i had it right the first time. If you turn it over, the bar hits the well for the spare tire
The instructions for putting the end links together is not that clear, but you can figure it out after a few minutes. Now the fun part; since the bar did not sit flush on the end links, i had to force the retainers upwards to get the bolts in the holes of the perches. A real PITA Everything finally went together and i was able to button up all the hardware, but the effort IMO was not necessary in order to get the bar into place. The bolts and the spacers seem like their too short 
I'll let everyone know in the next few days how i like this bar and it's definately an improvement over the pencil - thin oem bar... but the bar was a real b*tch to get into place.
Final outcome
Close up of end link and perch
I must admit, i was a little daunted but the install is actually pretty easy... after i figured out how everything went.
The steel perches are WAY stronger than the stock units and make the rear end very stiff. Butt dyno says that the rear end is a lot tighter but i have yet to test out any improvements. The realt test comes this saturday when i take part in my first auto-x.
I also did my brakes - good thing too. My pads were almost worn through
so i took the opportunity to turn the rotors as well. pics of oem sway bar vs. progress bar
oem perches vs. steel perches
i had replaced my broken cat-back with the oem unit i kept and disconnecting it actually gave me a lot of room to work. The stamped steel perches are WAY better than the oem units and made the rear end a lot stiffer. Removal of the stock piece is pretty much straight forward and i noticed that the bushings were beginning to crack so i guess it was a good thing that i did this.
Install of the progress bar is.... interesting. I thought i had the bar installed upside down because the bar did not sit flush on the end links. I turned the bar over and turns out i had it right the first time. If you turn it over, the bar hits the well for the spare tire
The instructions for putting the end links together is not that clear, but you can figure it out after a few minutes. Now the fun part; since the bar did not sit flush on the end links, i had to force the retainers upwards to get the bolts in the holes of the perches. A real PITA
Everything finally went together and i was able to button up all the hardware, but the effort IMO was not necessary in order to get the bar into place. The bolts and the spacers seem like their too short I'll let everyone know in the next few days how i like this bar and it's definately an improvement over the pencil - thin oem bar... but the bar was a real b*tch to get into place.
Final outcome
Close up of end link and perch
Oct 26, 2006, 10:41 AM
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Wanna know why you had trouble with the endlinks?
I bet your car was up on jackstands. Which means that your control arms were sagging WAY down. If you had your car on ramps, the endlinks would have gone on a hundred times easier.
Congrats on the new toys.
I bet your car was up on jackstands. Which means that your control arms were sagging WAY down. If you had your car on ramps, the endlinks would have gone on a hundred times easier.
Congrats on the new toys.
Oct 26, 2006, 01:56 PM
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Originally Posted by crypto
nice write up. this is gonna be my first suspension mod, glad to see its something i can do myself
Oct 26, 2006, 01:58 PM
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Originally Posted by sdhes
Now lets not get all crazy Crypto
It SHOULD be everyone's first mod, FWIW... Unless you count an entire Stage 2 turbo kit as one "mod."
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Oct 26, 2006, 02:15 PM
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That's a beauty ! When I looked at the Evo MR sway bar when I was at the dealership last week, I thought...Man, those things are huge ! Wish I had something comparable... Good to know we do and it works great !
Oct 26, 2006, 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Blacksheepdj
I bet your car was up on jackstands.
Just kidding. That would explain it though. The real test for this mod comes this saturday at the auto-x. I'll keep everyone posted.
Oct 29, 2006, 06:33 AM
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looks great. my sway bar is off right now... when i was doing coilovers with lanceradam we noticed that one of my perches had snapped clean in half. i need some of these steel ones!
what was more amazing was that i'd never noticed the perch snapped in all the time i'd spent under the car to date. oh well... i'll have to call RRM tomorrow morning. it looks like that perch had been snapped for awhile. most likely it happened when the car was rear-ended in the care of the previous owner.
what was more amazing was that i'd never noticed the perch snapped in all the time i'd spent under the car to date. oh well... i'll have to call RRM tomorrow morning. it looks like that perch had been snapped for awhile. most likely it happened when the car was rear-ended in the care of the previous owner.
Oct 29, 2006, 07:08 AM
#15
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UPDATE
well guys, after yesterday's auto-x i can firmly state that this thing.... KICKS *** !!!
The rear end of the car felt firmly planted on the ground and it felt great. I really believe that if i left the stocker on there the rear end would have kicked out at a few places on the course.
This mod gets
well guys, after yesterday's auto-x i can firmly state that this thing.... KICKS *** !!!
The rear end of the car felt firmly planted on the ground and it felt great. I really believe that if i left the stocker on there the rear end would have kicked out at a few places on the course. This mod gets