Sway Bar for SP20 2003
 

Hi All,

Sway bar? rear? front? what options do I have? how much % stiffer should I go? if i go too much.. I will skip not turn, if not enough % harder then why bother?

Help me out please.... I did a quick search and other sway bar talk was about the older astinas. I know whiteline do make them, but any other brands? (they have a rear only?)

there are only 2 companies that make front sway bars for the BJ's

Mazdaspeed, and Autoexe. you can find the prices on the autoexe stuff on www.japanparts.com - pretty good prices actually. the autoexe stuff is 26mm front, 21mm rear. pretty huge increase!

the mazdaspeed is 25mm at front, 20mm at the rear, plus it also replaces the rear subframe to make it stronger.

the stock size is 22mm front, 16mm rear.

i'm in the process of looking into the mazdaspeed sway bar set, but not having much luck.

Basically the weight. size etc of your car is the same as the BA's so the changes
to them apply to you. Changing the front swaybar is almost impossible without
removing the engine simply replace the bushes. A thicker rear sway will not make the
car skip it will reduce understeer and increase oversteer for the skipping check
your shocks. I did find my standard shocks were very skippy on bumpy roads.

i've got to say i was v. happy with the rear only

but hell go all out, and get chassis stiffening too!!!

on the BJ, the fronts can be changed by removing the subframe. it's a lot of work, but pretty easy really.

looking at white line i am confused!!

http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/cat...SB06h_full.pdf

looking at conversion chart.. going from 16mm to 20mm, 144% stiffer... (page 7)

parts are: (page 20)
BJII
BFR59
BFR59Z (Adjustable)

whats adjustable? and do I need to buy other parts to go with this??

twilight!!! I wish you lived in Sydney :cry:

I could do so much more to my car :twisted:

or just send your brain over !! :mrgreen:

and no I am not a POST WHORE! ..|..

the adjustable part just means you can make the sway bar act like a bigger bar by just adjusting where the bar links to the strut.

and yes, going from 16 to 20 on the rear is a big increase in sway bar stiffness, that's why i personally would only ever change both front and rear at the same time.

from what i can gather, the mazdaspeed set gives the car an almost perfectly neutral feel. dont know about the autoexe - dont know of anyone who's bought it

stiffness increase is in proportion to bar diameter^4 that is why you get pretty large increases in stiffness with relatively small increases in bar diameter.

i've got a bfr59z on my car, set on the stiffest setting (there are two alternate mounting holes on the sway bar legs). basically shortening the lever arm compared with oem. bar stiffness varies with leg length^2 from memory (might just be linearly though)

altering the roll stiffness front to rear changes the handling of your car. typically increasing the stiffness bias rearward decreases understeer/increases oversteer tendencies.
obviously increasing front and rear increases total chassis stiffness. it also increases one wheel bump stiffness and makes for reduced compliance. going all out to increase total chassis stiffness (not the monocoque stiffness, but the suspension stiffness in roll) will eventually increase the tendency of skipping as compliance becomes a function of tyre stiffness.

as a first step i would highly recommend installing a stiffer rear bar, and a front strut brace if you don't already have one. it makes an immediate and noticeable difference to the handling and cornering power of your BJ. Pretty small outlay as far as suspension goes as well.

as for the strengthening of the rear subframe, i don't think that is absolutely necessary. i've had the rear bar on the stiffest setting for 30K now and there is no clunking, squeaking or signs of distress under there - and i am pushing the cornering envelope on a daily basis.

i'd reccommend stiffening the rear, only coz i have a stiff rear frame to start with :p

gotta love the sedan handling!!!

Pree,
if youre gonna order the swaybar from whiteline, dont go by the part no. on their website. its wrong.

The part number SFC01 mentioned above is the correct one.

you have it installed Arden? if so $$?

Nah I aint got it yet, ive ordered the front strut tower brace from them.
A friend of mine ordered swaybar, got it and found it doesn’t fit, rang up whiteline and was told the part no. is wrong on website!pricewise, around $200.

I paid $136 for an ill-fitting BFR52, and got the swap/upgrade to bfr9Z.

By the way you CAN get a bfr52 to fit onto a BJII tail. Don't ask me to do it again, but it CAN be done dammit. :twisted:

I think that the bfr52 suits BJI and "lasers".

but i do, cost me $420 shipped for both the strut top and sway bar


will be cheaper if you pick it up from minto

my bad , $200 is the price for front slut bar!
expect to pay around $150 for sway bar!

Good ol minto, im just 5min from the whiteline shop

****.. that seems a tad expensive.. how much was the shipping cost?

AP

$20


$156 for sway bar
$207 for strut bar

exc GST