Racing Beat Front Adjustable Sway Bar End Links

[MR6]

While recently installing BC coils on my 09 Touring, a test drive revealed a LOUD clunk. I had never had the clunk before so i assumed it was something with the coils. After my initial panic wore off i searched around here and found out it was the dreaded front sway bar bushings instead. I wasn't entirely wrong though. Because the overall height of the BC shock body was shorter, reconnecting the front sway bar end link was a chore. The distance between the shock mounting hole and the sway was smaller so the OEM link was too long. I ultimately forced it in there. This preloaded the sway bar, placing the already failing bushings under even more strain. The tension was so great it even clunked from just turning the wheel!

To solve for this condition, i ordered a set of Racing Beat adjustable links. Solid aluminum beauties with a good range of adjustment both larger and shorter than the OEM links. I haven't installed them yet though. Seeing that i have to replace sway bar bushings anyway, i went and sourced some used MS3 front and rear sways. I ordered new OEM MS3 bushings and clamps and hope to get it all done this weekend.

At $95, the Racing Beat links are priced fair. Compared to PowerGrid @ $155, Whiteline @ $135, and the AutoExe @ an INSANE $335! In the end i bought the cheapest ones. After all, it's just a stick with threaded ends. I refuse to believe that $335 AutoExe's do this simple task better than the Racing Beat solution.

You'll see from the pics below, the end links are well made and direct replacements for the OEM units. I've laid them in the shortest and longest settings as it compares to the OEM links.

SHORTEST SETTING:





LONGEST SETTING:

 

[Rally Man]

Do you think this would be necessary for a H&R/Koni Yellow setup?

 

[MR6]

With the Koni shock in hand, measure the distance from the sway mounting hole to where the Koni sits into the vans steering knuckle. This is easier than it sounds. On the Koni shock, it should be obvious where this is. There should be a position where the strut body transitions from thin to thick. Measure from that spot to the Koni mounting hole of the end link. Make sure that the tape measure is parallel to the shock when measuring. Measure the same on the oem setup. If the difference falls between the range of adjustment shown in the pics above, the links will work. Hope that makes sense.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Thanks for the links! I'll probably be ordering these soon...

 

[MR6]

You'd think installing a metal stick with threads on the end would be a simple affair but like anything, the devil is in the details.

Notice that the threaded portion of the Racing Beat link is longer than OEM. When paired with BC coilovers, the clearance behind the end link mount is not enough and the link will not fit between the strut and the fender wall. This may or may not be an issue with other suspension kits or OEM, for that matter.



The easier way to deal with it is just turn the steering wheel until the strut/fender wall clearance is enough. Then turn the wheel back to straight to connect the link to the FSB. I also completely disassembled the link as working with just the end link housing was easier.



With both end links removed, you will be able to rotate the FSB up or down. I used the OEM link to set the initial length of the Racing Beat link and then increased the length a couple of twists until it all lined up without any pre-tension. That ended up being 4 exposed thread on the top and 3 on the bottom one.

Tightening the jam nuts that thread onto stud requires that the end link be completely installed. Meaning, the OEM nuts that attach to the strut and FSB must be in place and tightened. The jam nuts need a 14mm box wrench. When tightening the jam nuts, it is normal for the entire end link to rotate. You won't be able to really tighten each jam nut until the link reaches the end of it's rotation. i STRONGLY recommend blue threadlock/loctite on the jam nuts. I didn't and 1/2 a mile into my test drive they started jingling like crazy. And of course, loctite the OEM nuts as well.

 

[phunky.buddha]

I've found that I've had to use Loctite on the 5 more than any other car...

Good notes on the install. I'll keep that in mind when I get mine!

 

[flcruising]

I'm not trying to start an argument, but I think that adjustable sway bar endlinks are a waste. The only time I can think of it ever being necessary is when the sway bar/link is making contact with something it's not supposed to, like the lower control arm (LCA). If it is, then the strut is either the wrong one or improperly designed.

The sway bars sole purpose is to limit the amount of body roll by dynamically connecting the left/right side of the vehicle's suspension - with the end links being the final connection between opposing sides. It is only under load when 1 wheel is at a different vertical travel position than its opposite. Sway bars are never "pre-loaded". When one wheel of the vehicle is lifted/jacked up off the ground, then you will have load on the sway bar. Simply raising the strut (usually by jacking up the LCA) of the unsupported wheel up to the elevation of the other will bring the sway bar out load and allow you to work on the end link. When both wheels are resting equally, there is no differential.

The sway bar bushings sole purpose is to give the bar a solid mounting point to the vehicle body, but still allow it to rotate.

 

[sac02]

flcruising,

MR6 does have his mz5 lowered, which reduces the clearance to the LCA from the approximate stock upper mounting point for the sway bar link.

I agree that a more thorough design/engineering work on BC Racing's part, (wrt the placement of the upper link mount) could allow use of the stock link. But:
1) Sometimes things aren't perfect, especially with parts that are less than super-expensive-custom jobs, and
2) It is what it is at this point, and MR6 is describing how he countermeasured the issue with relative ease and low cost. Repositioning of upper mount point would be possible, but not realistic in this case (cut, fab new bracket, re-weld to strut)

I disagree 100% when you say that "sway bars are never "pre-loaded"". You don't have to have one side of the car up in the air to give a sway bar pre-load (as you mentioned in your response). A sway bar is a spring, and ANY displacement results in a force in that bar, not just large displacements. One of the most basic aspects of car setup in racing is corner weighting, and the A-number-one first thing you do before corner weighting a car is to disconnect the swaybars.

Adjustable sway bar links are often required on a car with adjustable height, and absolutely required if the car is being corner weighted. This can inclued "real" race cars, as well as street cars that are either used seriously for track/auto-x, or just a street car which has the type of owner that wants things to be as correct as possible (like not having any pre-load in their bar setup). And even for the street car that is not being corner weighted or obsessed over, adjustable links are useful if the adjustable ride height on your car isn't set perfectly within a mm side-to-side and you would rather just put adjustable links on the sway bar and call it a day.

If you actually meant "sway bars are rarely pre-loaded enough to really matter in a mini-van that is street driven only", well that is probably correct. But like I mentioned, some people just like to have things "right".

 

[MR6]

You took the words right outta my mouth sac. I'm having her corner balanced tomorrow. And i bet the shop i'm taking her to tomorrow will be thankful the end links are adjustable. yes i'm that guy that wants to have things just right.

Sway bars can absolutely be pre-loaded. All i'd have to do is set one end link shorter than the other and force them into position and the sway will be pre-loaded as the shorter link tugs the bar upward... I was working on it again today and as i went to reinstall the last end link i had to force the sway bar up about a 3mm to get end link into the strut. This mild bending of the sway is how one would pre-load it. As in, the steel would have tension in it while at rest. So to avoid that condition, i extended the lengths of the links 2 turns and the bar is now "relaxed", so to speak. Yeah i could swing the bar up or down in its bushings but i bet mazda went through a lot of trouble with guys a lot smarter than i when they decided the ideal position for the bar. I want to keep it as close to that as i can. Plus that would change the angle of the end link which no doubt would change how the sway transfers loads and such.

Would i notice any of this on the street? maaaaybe. i'm a nitpicky bastid

 

[turbo den]

I am also trying to remove the preload on my Mazda 5.
I lowered with H&R (1.5") and smaller tire (215/40/16), total lowered by approx 2".

Your picture on the Racing Beat end links show approx 1/2" longer than OEM end link.
Is this long enough?

Were you successful in removing all the pre-load? Making the sway bar horizontal?