Jump to content
Please check your junk folder for registration emails ×
  • Current Donation Goals

    • Raised $0.00

Issues with upgraded swaybar/end links


Recommended Posts

  • Admin

Hi guys,

 

I'm not comfortable with this
 

 

Replaced factory front and rear sway bars the other night with 24mm FSB and 22mm RSB but I'm concerned the FSB link alignment is not correct.

I read the instructions AFTER installing the bars and it says the wheels need to be on the ground/flat surface and to NOT jack just the car up and let the wheels hang down as this can pre-load the links. I performed this task by only jacking up the car.

Although the rear bar and links look just as I expected the FSB and links don't look happy to me.

Has anyone else done this on a GC8?

Can anyone provide me some feed back on this? 

17760804_10154583300456139_835071265090917758661_10154583300446139_734998571631117855246_10154583300701139_355632231338817814205_10154583300711139_622637944854617855057_10154583300856139_301697859002017760904_10154583300861139_4846602442416

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin
22 minutes ago, Zeus said:

Um wrong front links bud

 

Could you elaborate a little further on this please? 

The links appear to look identical this this kit here which is the GC8 front alloy links. What links should I be fitting?

KLC32.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

Well Whiteline also have this style as on option for this chassis yes.

 

KLC139.jpg

But my question still remain unanswered...

Actually, I've just answered my own questions.

I'm missing spacers on this setup which is why the angle is so pronounced. The links should be more vertical like this pic. 

17884198_10154586551061139_6036375580051

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, RaKid said:

 

Could you elaborate a little further on this please? 

The links appear to look identical this this kit here which is the GC8 front alloy links. What links should I be fitting?

KLC32.jpg

Those are for steel arms not alloy, they'd listed it wrong. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, RaKid said:

Well Whiteline also have this style as on option for this chassis yes.

 

KLC139.jpg

But my question still remain unanswered...

Those are what you want, you can get them from bnt cheap enough. 

 

Once you replace the fronts you'll be fine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin
Just now, Zeus said:

Those are for steel arms not alloy, they'd listed it wrong. 

 

 

Those are what you want, you can get them from bnt cheap enough. 

 

Once you replace the fronts you'll be fine

 

I've just replied but my reply got merged about your answer here.

 

Thanks for clarifying. 

 

On Whiteline I selected the 'GC8 STI' so presumably they would know it's an alloy arm? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin
42 minutes ago, 94 Leone said:

wrong!
You get wank factor with whiteline.

 

I'm using this post for technical help - if you can't provide it then your comments are best placed elsewhere.

 

The believe I understand the issue I'm having and as per the pic above it's my understanding that I'm missing the spacers on each end of the link.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, RaKid said:

The believe I understand the issue I'm having and as per the pic above it's my understanding that I'm missing the spacers on each end of the link.

 

Yeah those spacers might help get the angle correct again. Tbh the other style is a better link as the two ends pivot like a ball joint which puts less stress on the whole thing,  what you choose to you is your choice of coarse, just giving you an option

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin
4 minutes ago, Zeus said:

 

Yeah those spacers might help get the angle correct again. Tbh the other style is a better link as the two ends pivot like a ball joint which puts less stress on the whole thing,  what you choose to you is your choice of coarse, just giving you an option

 

@Zeus I totally agree with you here. The amount of pressure currently on the bolt seems rather insane. Admittedly, I've not installed the bar as per the Whiteline instructions and I'll be reinstalling both bars correctly to see if I can get rid of the pre-load on the links. When I do the front I'll also add spacers and reassess and consider an alternative link. I'm even considering retaining the factory front bar for now and just driving around with the uprated rear one to adjust to the new response time.

Edited by RaKid
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RaKid said:

 

 

KLC139.jpg

 

 

 

+1 for the above i rekon ^^

 

The spacers might help but wont be 100%, the bracket on your control arm is on an angle, so thats throwing things off

in the pic showing how the spacers work - the bracket is straight up and down on the control arm

 

bar definately looks the part! :) will be upgrading mine in the future, fronts pretty good but rear is terrible on me rs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The bonus with the design of the ball joint style, is the forces exerted on it will not be skewed, the spacer design will put vertical and lateral stresses against the bolt, and create weak points in the bushing, the ball joints rotate in all lateral and vertical directions, creating an even distribution of force against it, less likely to break anything or pop the bushing out either..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dog bones are for the steel,arms. 

 

V7 sti wagons got steels, as did the auzzie sti's iirc, which is what whiteline based their stuff for.

 

Balljoint links are the way to go.

 

Also, its worth loosening the bolts off until its flat and level, then tightening.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I cant talk about this from an official stand point, but I've dealt with this before while at work! While whiteline lists those front kits for Alloy Arms, that information is incorrect.

 

Now i've talked with Red Ranger, who operate both nolathane and whiteline a while ago about this, and it seems they *have* changed it, but only on their Nolathane system (which is what I was talking to them about at the time)

 

nolathane2_zpsycimkboq.jpg

 

However, the links are the same units regardless of brand, just with the different brands of polyurethane bush installed.

 

If you do want the ball type joints, the whiteline links are thicker then standard, and in theory allow you to add more tension to the bar, standard ones would probably be fine.

You can get a similar threaded link (just not as thick as the whiteline ones) from places like BNT. part number would be LR** where ** is the center to center of the ball joints.

 

They look like these;

 

DSCF96061_zpseb56ada1.jpg

 

So yea, id probably change them as even with the washers, you could end up forcing the bush out of the link with enough use and force!

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember being given the ball joint ones for my car which had the dog bone style. The reason I can see for it not fitting is what most people have been saying, steel vs alloy arms. I had steel arms and the dog bone link fitted between 2 plates on the arm which sandwiched them together. If I can find a pic I will post it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

Thanks for all the replies - this is really good information and very helpful.

 

In the mean time, I've gone back to the factory bar and links for two reasons. 1) I want to experience just a rear bar upgrade with stock front bar, then consider if I even want a front bar 2) I definitely wasn't happy with the angle and as @94 Leone rightly pointed out, the stress on the bolt would be far too much to handle.

 

If I decide I do want a front bar upgrade, I will definitely get the ball joint links. Again @94 Leone pointed out the pressure and stresses are not just linear but a wide range of angles which a ball joint is designed to handle. So I'm hearing two options, the BNT ones, $30 is it? Or the adjustable Whiteline ones. Thanks @Fire

 

Thanks too @Firenza for the pics. Very helpful.

 

Thanks everyone for your input. If there isn't an archive document for this then this thread could be very useful for other members at some point.

 

I haven't even taken the car for a proper drive yet but she's had 4 new RE003s and a rear bar upgrade so she's going to get a severe thrashing this weekend.

Edited by RaKid
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think youll want to have the front bar in again pretty soon. I upgraded to an adjustable whiteline one in rear of my BF5, and while much better, its was a strange thing having a real boaty front end, even with the rear bar set at its softest setting it would be rather tail happy!

 

Id assume the BC5 RS would have a stiffer front bar then my GT, so you might be alright. I ended up getting a front bar off a v6 RA Sti someone had spare, and its a lot more neutral

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Firenza said:

I think youll want to have the front bar in again pretty soon. I upgraded to an adjustable whiteline one in rear of my BF5, and while much better, its was a strange thing having a real boaty front end, even with the rear bar set at its softest setting it would be rather tail happy!

 

Id assume the BC5 RS would have a stiffer front bar then my GT, so you might be alright. I ended up getting a front bar off a v6 RA Sti someone had spare, and its a lot more neutral

+1 for this. After adding a whiteline 22mm rear sway bar with the 19mm wrx front bar my car was a little strange to drive. As Firenza said it had a weird tight rear but loose front feeling. Better than stock imo but strange. I chucked an STI front bar 21mm and it was much better to drive all around.

 

This was on a v7 wagon though so your mileage may vary.

 

I had to swap to ball and socket endlinks with my alloy arms also. I just used the factory Subaru ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin

These bars are fitted to a V6 RA Ltd so I'm guessing the front bar will still be OK but I expected something a little funny like how you described. Guess I'll find out in the weekend.

 

I was considering using my factory front links but not sure if it will handle a 24mm front bar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, RaKid said:

I was considering using my factory front links but not sure if it will handle a 24mm front bar.

If it were me I'd just use the factory links for now and see how long they last. If you have the factory ball joint links they will probably be fine since they aren't as flimsy as the plastic links on some models. Plenty of time to sort a replacement anyway.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Admin
2 minutes ago, IZichard said:

If it were me I'd just use the factory links for now and see how long they last. If you have the factory ball joint links they will probably be fine since they aren't as flimsy as the plastic links on some models. Plenty of time to sort a replacement anyway.

 

 

Sounds good bro - cheers for the advice

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Similar Content

  • Recent Status Updates

    • MrSg9Sti04

      Afternoon team,
      im new to the group first time posting. Im hoping some body can help me get my launch control all dialled in on my link g4x. Ive had the computer and car all tuned from chris at prestige awesome knowlegable guy super happy with the results but now im wanting to get my launch/anti lag all dialled in. Ive been reading multiple different forums etc all with different conflicking information which has made me nervious with what do i listen to this or that if you get what i mean. Now ive started to make myself familiar with my PClink software etc the past few weeks and im eager to learn how to do minor setups or tweaks etc so im not relieing on my tuner so much and obviously saving myself abit hurt in the back pocket. 
      Now back to the question at hand.... Im wondering if theres and one who could please share there knowledge and wisdom with setting all my values, timing, fuel etc when i have launch control armed and engaged, or even a launch tune file they can possibly send me to load onto my tune. Ive figured out the setup of my digital inputs turning launch control on etc and its obvisously on its pre set factory settings. It engages but doesnt sound the greatest or as angry as it should i feel. Hence reaching out to you good buggers. 
       
      Cheers in advance for any info and help yous maybe able to give me.
       
      Cheers Shaun
      · 0 replies
    • Joker  »  gotasuby

      updated your DP's too : hope that's ok!
      · 0 replies
    • Joker  »  SAS

      Updated your DP's to reflect your business page  
      · 0 replies
    • Joker  »  Nachoooo

      Updated your Avatar : couldnt help myself  cheers!
      · 0 replies
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    40.9k
    Total Topics
    573.5k
    Total Posts


×
×
  • Create New...