Rear Sway Bar Only?

[ms3brendan]

My next upgrade is going to be suspension and I'm going to be doing sway bars first. Would getting a Hotchkis rear sway bar only be a good idea? Or should I get the fronts along with it at the same time.. I guess the only reason I'm asking is just because the front is a huge pain to install.. and I am just wondering if any of you get tremendous lift oversteer with just a rear sway bar installed..

 

[hominemodi]

from what i've hear and read the front one will not provide a significant improvement and is, as you mentioned, a major pita to install. the rear one is a snap to install and you'll notice much increased cornering responsiveness right away. couldn't comment on oversteer; if you're going to race on the track you might experience some of that.

 

[SingleFin1969]

I'm using a rear sway bar only and it makes a big difference on the street and track. It gives us what we need, more rear end rotation, which reduces our cars' understeer.

 

[ms3brendan]

I'm using a rear sway bar only and it makes a big difference on the street and track. It gives us what we need, more rear end rotation, which reduces our cars' understeer.

I'm highly considering then doing a rear sway bar only setup and instead of getting the front one I'll get a torque damper (since they cost about the same) which should relieve some wheel hop.

Which rear sway bar did you get? I want the Hotchkis one but I can't find them sold separately.. Cobb's does though.

 

[Hank3]

Here's a thread where the OP asked the same question:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123758112&highlight=rear+sway+bar+only

Progress now has a swaybar, too.

 

[SingleFin1969]

I'm highly considering then doing a rear sway bar only setup and instead of getting the front one I'll get a torque damper (since they cost about the same) which should relieve some wheel hop.

Which rear sway bar did you get? I want the Hotchkis one but I can't find them sold separately.. Cobb's does though.

I have the Cobb. Looked on the other thread and people are talking about blowing endlinks. I've had mine on for more than a year, no problems with anything.

 

[Saskatchewan17]

I hear that with an FSB the car pushes and understeers more. And that some people recommend just a RSB for a more snap-oversteer prone car. So in essence, you want a car that is able to rotate the rear out more to reduce understeer.

 

[ms3brendan]

I have the Cobb. Looked on the other thread and people are talking about blowing endlinks. I've had mine on for more than a year, no problems with anything.

Yeah that's what I'm leaning towards and I would definitely be getting the AWR Adjustable Endlinks with it, they're not expensive and I'll hopefully be able to avoid broken endlinks.

 

[jv92red]

I want the Hotchkis one but I can't find them sold separately..

You can find the Hotchkis Rear only bar at Protege Garage:

http://www.protegegarage.com/product_info.php?cPath=160_447_254_446&products_id=1635

 

[CHICO2003]

Had my Cobb RSB (firm setting) on for about a month. Phenomenal difference. Test drove a '10 the other day and it felt like a buick in comparison.

I think the front is overkill. If for no other reason... the fact that it takes so F'ing long to install (meaning you'll most likely be paying 5X the cost of the SB JUST for the installation) doesn't sit well with me. That said, the front feels loose in comparrison now... so I'm thinking it would be pretty sweet to have a matching FSB. But again... not worth it iMO

 

[gogogomoveit]

Sway bar add roll stiffness to the suspension. Stiffer rear bar add roll stiffness to the back and reduce understeer, which is in general a good thing on FF cars.

 

[BigDaddyMS3]

Rsb

Just installed my Cobb RSB with new Hankook Ventus tires, (215/45/18). I've been doing quick lane changes at freeway speeds and notice that the car fells quicker. I have it set on soft, (35% stiffer than stock) and will be on track in April. I'll adjust the RSB between morning and afternoon sessions to determine what the ideal track setting is.

I had no problems with my end links. The adjustable sway bar links were about another $85 but did'nt need them. I'm at 22,000 miles on an 07 MS3, and never drive in rain, so don't know if that makes a difference or not.

 

[Jdm_Mica]

Cobb rsb =bad clunking noises....having to look at endlinks ftl

 

[CHICO2003]

can you elaborate on that? I'm experiencing minor issues with 'clunking' and am unsure as to what the solution is.

 

[wizard9x]

End Link Cluncking

I just got a set of Hotchkiss sway bars (front and rear) from 7lautosport.com and experienced the famous clunking noise. The noise basically sounds like you have a loose bar somewhere in your trunk / hatch.

The guys at 7L were very helpful and helped me figure out what was going on. We inspected the rear sway bar and discovered that the rear passenger end link had become loose. At this point i thought, "No big deal just re tighten it". A week later the clunking came back. Again the nut had loosened up. So this time i drenched the bolt with locktite and re tightened the nut to 50 ft lbs instead of the factory 40. So far so good I have not had a problem since then.

As for just running the rear sway bar, I am running both bars, and I like this setup a lot. I do a GMR run every Sunday, and have been for the last 6 years. So I can say with some authority that the front sway bar does help. Installing just the rear bar makes the car want to over steer a lot. If you are doing time attack runs like I do this is no good, you end up loosing a lot of speed and time. This also makes the car much harder to drive at the limit. By having both bars this makes the car very neutral. While in a turn if you step on the gas it does under steer a bit, but when you let go it over steers a bit. This allows you to use the throttle to control the direction of the car. This setup does not make the car behave like a RWD car, but it does make it more manageable while in a corner.

 

[ms3brendan]

I guess I will be getting the adjustable endlinks and making sure I use loctite with the install to prevent any of these clunking sounds.

I just got a set of Hotchkiss sway bars (front and rear) from 7lautosport.com and experienced the famous clunking noise. The noise basically sounds like you have a loose bar somewhere in your trunk / hatch.

The guys at 7L were very helpful and helped me figure out what was going on. We inspected the rear sway bar and discovered that the rear passenger end link had become loose. At this point i thought, "No big deal just re tighten it". A week later the clunking came back. Again the nut had loosened up. So this time i drenched the bolt with locktite and re tightened the nut to 50 ft lbs instead of the factory 40. So far so good I have not had a problem since then.

As for just running the rear sway bar, I am running both bars, and I like this setup a lot. I do a GMR run every Sunday, and have been for the last 6 years. So I can say with some authority that the front sway bar does help. Installing just the rear bar makes the car want to over steer a lot. If you are doing time attack runs like I do this is no good, you end up loosing a lot of speed and time. This also makes the car much harder to drive at the limit. By having both bars this makes the car very neutral. While in a turn if you step on the gas it does under steer a bit, but when you let go it over steers a bit. This allows you to use the throttle to control the direction of the car. This setup does not make the car behave like a RWD car, but it does make it more manageable while in a corner.

I'll be getting in my first track times this summer, I don't plan on tracking a whole lot since the closest track to me is about 3 hours away.. but I do drive spiritedly (and I do mean spiritedly) & the motto is "the world is my race track" so maybe both bars might be a better idea.. I have been pretty concerned about doing the rear only because of the oversteer (especially when it gets really snow-ey out, I oversteer now as it is). I guess my main reason of not doing fronts isn't even really about price, it's most likely almost 100% because it's a huge PITA but... it might be worth it..

 

[funksilver07]

I'm using the Hotchkis RSB only with good results for street and track days...(2thumbs)

 

[ole dude]

My thoughts on the RSB. I have a 2009 MS#, Cobb RSB only.

Noise - No problems at all, I used PTFE grease (Grease gun application) a trick learned years ago for any polyurethane bushing. With the stock end links the clearance is close on the LCA to Bar area, close the the bottom of the LCA. Make sure it will not touch with LCA movement.

AWR end links. My experience with the end links was not good. The quality of the pieces was poor, rod end crossed threaded and with a smaller than stock lower attachment bolt. This 10-1.25 bolt instead of the stock size bolt will cause chunk noise as the smaller bolt moved around in the larger RSB hole. In addition, the minimum length was too long for a stock spring suspension. If you have lowered your MS3 length would be Ok.

Those of you that have installed AWR links what was your opinion of the quality?

Track - Ran couple HPDE events with the bar. Understeer was improved somewhat. The MS3 seems more stable at 100+ than on stock bars. I did not see much roll improvement, but did expect much. I am sure there is some.

I am pleased with just the RSB installed. It is worth the effort and cost.

 

[ericrapp]

I am alittle late to the game again. I installed my rear bar first and drove around for awhile. It was fun to have the rear come out fairly easily and controlled. And i kind of miss that fun. I then had the front bar and the Cobb springs installed. I am much more comfortable with this set up. I have the Hotchkis rear set on the stiffest.
with a little more tire on the car is extremely well planted at speed and in transitions. If i want to hang out the tail i just add more psi to the rear tires.
The rear bar was a great upgrade but adding the front was even better and completes the package. I would recommend starting with the rear at least and get a feel for that. You will have some good fun once you get familiar with it!

 

[ms3brendan]

I am alittle late to the game again. I installed my rear bar first and drove around for awhile. It was fun to have the rear come out fairly easily and controlled. And i kind of miss that fun. I then had the front bar and the Cobb springs installed. I am much more comfortable with this set up. I have the Hotchkis rear set on the stiffest.
with a little more tire on the car is extremely well planted at speed and in transitions. If i want to hang out the tail i just add more psi to the rear tires.
The rear bar was a great upgrade but adding the front was even better and completes the package. I would recommend starting with the rear at least and get a feel for that. You will have some good fun once you get familiar with it!

Yeah. I think I'm going to end up just buying a set and just putting on the RSB only for now, mainly because the front is a huge PITA. I've been reading bad things about our shocks with springs and how they're weak, I don't know how true this is but I may just hold off on doing springs until I can get the Koni Yellows with it as well.

Now I just need to figure out which endlinks I want to get for the RSB..