Remove the front swaybar ?

[GhostLinker]

I have had clunk noise problems since the car was dropped (P5 2002).
I have the Eibach pro kit with illuminas, stock swaybar with AWR endlinks.
I have tried tightening them many times and put a lot of grease. The grease quiets them for 1 or 2 days ... but that's it.
A tech from a local raceshop suggested I completely remove the front swaybar
and stiffen the rear. He said it would make the car react/feel better.

What do you think of his suggestion ? Did anybody try this ?

 

[NegatiZE]

You will understeer less and tend to oversteer more. And have more body lean since no front swaybar.

IMHO, get the Racing Beat front and rear sways. It makes the car *very* neutral with almost no body lean.

 

[GhostLinker]

You will understeer less and tend to oversteer more. And have more body lean since no front swaybar.

IMHO, get the Racing Beat front and rear sways. It makes the car *very* neutral with almost no body lean.

What about the noisy endlinks ? Does Racing Beat offer endlinks ?

 

[NegatiZE]

They come with endlinks. They are the same design as the stockers but I'm running then and haven't run into any clunking problems.

Maybe your stock ones are just worn out/stripped or something.

 

[NegatiZE]

Here's the part number for the front swaybar endlinks if you want to order new ones:

LC62-34-170B

 

[GhostLinker]

The stock endlinks are weak. I had them replaced twice under warranty.

Now that I have to pay for them, I do not think it is a good option. I was hoping the AWR would solve my suspension problems, but I am now stuck with the clunk noise.

 

[uclap5]

the world challenge proteges do not run a front swaybar

 

[NegatiZE]

the world challenge proteges do not run a front swaybar

Yea, but I'm pretty sure they're not running stock dampers and spring rates either.

 

[uclap5]

easily fixed. its only $4000 for a set of coilovers from tripoint....

 

[Action Jackson]

easily fixed. its only $4000 for a set of coilovers from tripoint....

We'll still need a bit of engine work to go with that new suspension!

 

[GhostLinker]

I am not running the stock susp. I think I will remove the swaybar and try for the World Challange (crazy) . I guess the worts scenario would be to put it back.
I am more scared to affect the integrity of the P5 suspension. If the impact is just more oversteer, I will try it and see if it fits my driving style.

 

[Mallard]

The WC cars don't run a front sway bar because they have A LOT more spring in the front. It' might feel *ok* without the front bar, but I think you'll find the car will react quicker at the front if you leave it on. I would agree with the others though and say get the Racing Beat bars from an MSP.

The front bar is a pain in the ass to remove.

Are you using the spacers included with your endlinks? I put mine on last week and have no noise. BTW, my front spring rates are 275 lb/in and I still like my car better with the front bar attached.

 

[GhostLinker]

I did not get the spacers with my endlinks. Where can I get them ?

I cannot find the swaybar on the racingbeat site. Where can I get one and which endlinks are used ?

 

[Mallard]

The spacers should have been included with the kit. Can you take a pic of how your endlinks are installed? With my bar the spacers allow the bearing to rotate properly without hitting the bar. They also allow me to space the link away from the bar so they're not at an angle. If you don't have any spacers I'd call AWR.

I don't have Illuminas so I can't verify that stock MSP endlinks will work. Someone else should be able to chime in.

 

[GhostLinker]

thanks for the info.

I will take pictures today or tomorrow and post (I have to wash the car first )

 

[Mallard]

Ok, no need to wash though. Take the wheel off and get the camara in there as well as you can to get a side view of the endlinks. (So I can see a side view of the endlink bolts.)

I'll probably be taking my wheels off agan this week so I'll do the same and show you the spacers I'm talking about.

 

[vapors]

Don't Remove the sway bar. The car handles like s*** without it. The front tends to roll to the side when making turns while the rear stays put. From what I've experienced, It more like understeers rather than over steer and feels weird when making turns. ****** up s*** I tell you. Not to mention it's a real pain in the ass to take out. The clunking noise is probably a worn out endlink. Just buy another set and the noise should go away.

 

[GhostLinker]

Thanks Vapors. That's the type of info I was waiting for.
I will take pictures of the endlinks today (sorry for the delay... too many things in my agenda)

As far as replacing my endlinks, I am tempted to go for larger sleeves and rod ends with Teflon/Kevlar self lubricating race. It will be more expensive but it should get rid of the noise. My experience with the AWR links is not good.

Let's wait for the pictures ...

 

[GhostLinker]

Now the pictures ... (500K per pic)

http://www3.sympatico.ca/ciscoman/the_car.JPG
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ciscoman/front_wheel.JPG
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ciscoman/rear_wheel.JPG


http://www3.sympatico.ca/ciscoman/endlink.JPG
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ciscoman/endlink_bottom.JPG
http://www3.sympatico.ca/ciscoman/endlink_upper.JPG

 

[xelderx]

The AWR front endlinks clucked with me too. For me it wasn't a problem with the balljoints. The endlinks were binding against the strut tab when turned sharply. I made some custom spacers to make them work properly, but I ended up removing my front MP3 bar because it was causing too much understeer. I increased the front springrate to compensate. I'll be putting the stock P5 front swaybar back in next week along with the AWR endlinks. I'll try and get you an update if I can find a good solution to the clunk.