steering and suspension New St Sways Installed

['76mintgrün'02]

I installed a set of ST bars (Blunttech) and am extremely happy with the results.  (H&R Sports/HDs)  The car feels better even when going straight!  Very stable and stays flat in the corners.  I have a thought about the old rubber mounted originals I took out.  The rubber pivoting attachments were softer than the poly, but I think the bigger problem was that they were sticky.  They would not allow the bar to pivot and transmit the torque to the other wheel.  A healthy dose of silicone grease in the original mounts would have probably made a big difference.  I am not going back there, but thought I would share my thoughts.  Tom

[M3M3]

that is a great street suspension combo.  fun but not too stiff.

 

you are correct on the swaybar bushings.  the swaybar must be able to easily rotate/slide in the bushing for it to be most effective.  the problem with most poly sway bushings is that they are too big.  when clamped down (no matter how much grease you put in them) they exert too much pressure on the bar and restrict its movement.  i have had to cut down the poly bushings on every 2002 sway bar i have installed.

['76mintgrün'02]

I was pleased to see some sort of fabric on the inside of the poly mounts.  Seems like a good way to keep some of the grease in the joint.  I did not check the 1/16" bushing protrusion which the instructions suggested, but they seemed to rotate nicely once clamped down.  Maybe they've fixed that problem.

[Pamola]

IPD, the good Volvo (and Subi) folks in Portland recommend Aqualube to deal with keeping rubber and poly swaybar bushings functioning properly and quiet. I have never personally used the stuff but have used many of their other offerings and put a lot of stock in what they recommend.

Anyone here tried Aqualube?

http://www.ipdusa.com/products/7399/100788-aqualube-sway-bar-grease

[John_in_VA]

I haven't tried Aqualube, but just used Sil-glyde Lube Compound on the bushings for the M5 rear sway upgrade on the E39. Hope it's good enough!

[Pamola]

I also have a 1/2 tube of Sil-glyde. I'm just to um.. thrifty to go out and try something else when I still have $1.13 of the last thing left and it seems to work. Actually Sil-glyde is what the shop used when I was a mechanic and was fantastic for stopping squeaks caused by weather-stripping. 

[182kartracer]

Im glad to hear that this suspension combo works well because it is what im swapping to over my winter break. 4 glorious weeks dedicated to driving my car.

[jgerock]

Same combo on my car.  Very controlled ride but not too stiff.

[M3M3]

i use either teflon grease or red wheel bearing grease.  whichever i grab first off the shelf.  nothing special needed.  never had a sway bar squeak.