Eibach sway bars review
10-12-2012, 12:23 PM
#1
Eibach sway bars review
I'm excited because my Z1 oil cooler adapter kit just came in and I've got some Eibach sways coming in tomorrow... going to give the sedan some TLC this weekend, and have a track day coming up in November!
Will post pics up of the progress for those that are interested. Oil cooler is a 34 row jobbie.
Let me know if anyone wants closeup shots of anything specific.
Will post pics up of the progress for those that are interested. Oil cooler is a 34 row jobbie.
Let me know if anyone wants closeup shots of anything specific.
Last edited by ashmostro; 10-13-2012 at 05:13 PM.
10-12-2012, 07:04 PM
#3
Administrator
iTrader: (9)
I'm in for reading opinions on these sways... starting with, why Eibach over comparable brands?
Your S-Sedan 7AT. This is RWD or AWD?
Your S-Sedan 7AT. This is RWD or AWD?
10-12-2012, 08:19 PM
#5
Administrator
iTrader: (9)
But yeah, I agree. We understeer.Good. Now I'm genuinely interested in your feedback. I'm on the long-troll for opinions of aftermarket sways on a RWD Sedan w/Sport Package.
The following users liked this post:
Mik3G37S (11-27-2013)
Trending Topics
10-13-2012, 01:37 PM
#8
Good choice on the eibach sways. They are a fair price and high quality solid bars. No weak points with welds. Install is super easy as well. Figure on 45 mins for the rear and 25 for the front. It's also fun to see the red bars peeking through at times! Adjusting the bars is a snap so you can get the setup best suited to your needs.
10-13-2012, 05:12 PM
#9
Ok Folks, intermediate update!
Installed the sways, didn't yet do the oil cooler assy.
With the oil cooler, I ran into a snag. The Z1 motorsports sandwich plate conversion kit replaces the Nismo kit's race sandwich plate (open at all temps) with a streetable thermostatic plate (only opens above a certain temp, so oil gets up to temp faster on the street). The kit also includes different AN fittings on the plate side which supposedly are less prone to leaking and have a tighter 120" angle to them which helps further with routing. The problem is, I don’t know how to properly remove the existing sleeve fitting from one end of each of the lines in order to use the new fitting assemblies. Does anyone here know the right way to do this without destroying the lines?
On to the sways- installation wasn't too bad, albeit for some stubborn end link nuts on the front which would have been much easier to deal with if I had an impact wrench. I ended up using a combination of a breaker bar and a well-placed floor jack- MacGuyver style!
The rears were easier to install since you don't need to bother with removing any underbody covers, and all the bolts are 14mm so the torque rating on the endlinks is much lower. You wouldn't need an impact wrench for this.
Where the rear gets just a little tricky is in clearance - the instructions detail removing the hangers for both sides of the rear half of the exhaust in order to get more wiggle room, but since the instructions were written for the 370z and the G coupe, I only needed to loosen one side of the dual exhaust to get enough clearance to jimmy the old bar out and the new bar in. Not difficult at all.
The settings I have chosen to start with are softer of the two on the front (hole closer to bar end), and stiffest of the three on the rear (hole furthest from bar end). I selected this setting to start with mathematically based on the published rates of the Eibachs vs the supposed OEM rates for an S sedan. I took the ratio of the front to rear and looked for the value that biases more relative stiffness to the rear and this was the only setting that would go in that direction- the rest of the iterations bias the stiffness more to the front, which will make the car understeer more, all else being equal.
In fact, if I were to criticize anything on this product, it's exactly that- Eibach should have designed more rear stiffness bias settings and less front, since our cars tend to understeer in the stock configuration. All of this assumes the rates published for the OEM bars is correct (I dug up OEM rates of around 560#/in front and 540#/in rear... please let me know if these numbers are wrong!)
Initial impressions: the very first thing I noticed (and was expecting) is more ride harshness over rutted road surfaces. The stiffer sway bar makes impacts that occur only on one side to get partially transmitted to the other side with more intensity than OEM. This is perceived as more bounciness and impact harshness. It's not terribly more, but it's noticeable. I would say 30% more if I had to come up with a number.
The steering response on the front end is a little less noticeable than the increased harshness under *casual street driving conditions*. I felt that the sways weren't as noticeable from this perspective than I was expecting based on prior experience with this product on other cars. But I don't think this is a major issue, in fact I think it's probably because our cars are pretty responsive on the front end from the factory to begin with.
The most noticeable change so far has been a feeling of increased "bite" when cornering harder and particularly when cornering under power. While I haven't really pushed the car yet (I will, and will report back), I can definitely say I feel like the tires are able to do their job more effectively by staying more parallel to the road, and the feeling of front end push seems all but eliminated - won't know for sure until I get to some decent roads.
I'm going to toy with this setting for a while and find some more interesting roads to really push the car- today was just a crappy traffic and errands day in the ol' DC metro (traffic sucks here).
Anyway, I'm a fan of detailed and helpful reviews, so if anyone has a specific question please don't hesitate to ask and I'll do my best to address it.
Here are some product and comparison pics:
Front (top) and rear (bottom) Eibach bars:
Front OEM (black) vs Eibach (red) comparison:
Rear OEM (black) vs Eibach (red) comparison:
Installed the sways, didn't yet do the oil cooler assy.
With the oil cooler, I ran into a snag. The Z1 motorsports sandwich plate conversion kit replaces the Nismo kit's race sandwich plate (open at all temps) with a streetable thermostatic plate (only opens above a certain temp, so oil gets up to temp faster on the street). The kit also includes different AN fittings on the plate side which supposedly are less prone to leaking and have a tighter 120" angle to them which helps further with routing. The problem is, I don’t know how to properly remove the existing sleeve fitting from one end of each of the lines in order to use the new fitting assemblies. Does anyone here know the right way to do this without destroying the lines?
On to the sways- installation wasn't too bad, albeit for some stubborn end link nuts on the front which would have been much easier to deal with if I had an impact wrench. I ended up using a combination of a breaker bar and a well-placed floor jack- MacGuyver style!
The rears were easier to install since you don't need to bother with removing any underbody covers, and all the bolts are 14mm so the torque rating on the endlinks is much lower. You wouldn't need an impact wrench for this.
Where the rear gets just a little tricky is in clearance - the instructions detail removing the hangers for both sides of the rear half of the exhaust in order to get more wiggle room, but since the instructions were written for the 370z and the G coupe, I only needed to loosen one side of the dual exhaust to get enough clearance to jimmy the old bar out and the new bar in. Not difficult at all.
The settings I have chosen to start with are softer of the two on the front (hole closer to bar end), and stiffest of the three on the rear (hole furthest from bar end). I selected this setting to start with mathematically based on the published rates of the Eibachs vs the supposed OEM rates for an S sedan. I took the ratio of the front to rear and looked for the value that biases more relative stiffness to the rear and this was the only setting that would go in that direction- the rest of the iterations bias the stiffness more to the front, which will make the car understeer more, all else being equal.
In fact, if I were to criticize anything on this product, it's exactly that- Eibach should have designed more rear stiffness bias settings and less front, since our cars tend to understeer in the stock configuration. All of this assumes the rates published for the OEM bars is correct (I dug up OEM rates of around 560#/in front and 540#/in rear... please let me know if these numbers are wrong!)
Initial impressions: the very first thing I noticed (and was expecting) is more ride harshness over rutted road surfaces. The stiffer sway bar makes impacts that occur only on one side to get partially transmitted to the other side with more intensity than OEM. This is perceived as more bounciness and impact harshness. It's not terribly more, but it's noticeable. I would say 30% more if I had to come up with a number.
The steering response on the front end is a little less noticeable than the increased harshness under *casual street driving conditions*. I felt that the sways weren't as noticeable from this perspective than I was expecting based on prior experience with this product on other cars. But I don't think this is a major issue, in fact I think it's probably because our cars are pretty responsive on the front end from the factory to begin with.
The most noticeable change so far has been a feeling of increased "bite" when cornering harder and particularly when cornering under power. While I haven't really pushed the car yet (I will, and will report back), I can definitely say I feel like the tires are able to do their job more effectively by staying more parallel to the road, and the feeling of front end push seems all but eliminated - won't know for sure until I get to some decent roads.
I'm going to toy with this setting for a while and find some more interesting roads to really push the car- today was just a crappy traffic and errands day in the ol' DC metro (traffic sucks here).
Anyway, I'm a fan of detailed and helpful reviews, so if anyone has a specific question please don't hesitate to ask and I'll do my best to address it.
Here are some product and comparison pics:
Front (top) and rear (bottom) Eibach bars:
Front OEM (black) vs Eibach (red) comparison:
Rear OEM (black) vs Eibach (red) comparison:
Last edited by ashmostro; 10-14-2012 at 08:35 AM.
10-14-2012, 12:02 PM
#10
Administrator
iTrader: (9)
Good review so far, ashmostro.
I'm assuming you have some favorite ramps and twisties that you'll be able to call judgement on changes, so I'm looking forward to your follow-up.
I'm assuming you have some favorite ramps and twisties that you'll be able to call judgement on changes, so I'm looking forward to your follow-up.
10-14-2012, 03:21 PM
#12
Ok fellas, thanks for being patient.
I just got back from a nice half-day stint out to the Shenandoah Valley instead of working on my oil cooler install (I have a few more weekends to do it and wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather to see the colors changing in Skyline Drive).
For those not familiar with the region, Skyline Drive through Shenandoah Valley is about three hours of mountain roads, not all that tight save for certain areas and the speed limit is pretty low. You can still exercise the chassis if you pick your battles though- just be patient. I've included some pics below for those who might be interested
On to the update on the sways. I can conclude three things now:
On to the pics:
I just got back from a nice half-day stint out to the Shenandoah Valley instead of working on my oil cooler install (I have a few more weekends to do it and wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather to see the colors changing in Skyline Drive).
For those not familiar with the region, Skyline Drive through Shenandoah Valley is about three hours of mountain roads, not all that tight save for certain areas and the speed limit is pretty low. You can still exercise the chassis if you pick your battles though- just be patient. I've included some pics below for those who might be interested
On to the update on the sways. I can conclude three things now:
1) This is how the sport sedan should have come from the factory. I need to revise my statement earlier when I said I feel an increase in harshness of about 30%... it's much lower than that. Or I got used to it that much faster. Either way, it's not all that much more harshness for a lot of positive feedback. For the sake of completeness, let's say the perceived harshness is more like 15% more.
2) The overall roadholding capacity is *much* higher. Grip at the limit is noticeably more, and is probably amplified by my excellent PSS tires. If you have good tires, sways of any brand will make the most out of them.
3) The balance is more neutral. Obviously, this could change with different settings, so this comment only applies for the settings I have chosen.
4) The body roll is not only less, but it feels like the outside wheels are pushing back against the road more, rather than caving into it. I know tht sounds touchy-feely but it just feels more authoritative and makes me much more confident in the twisties.
5) Overall enjoyment in the drive is up due to increased road feel. I think I actually prefer the slight increase in harshness because I'm getting more feedback from both sides of the car and the steering feels more talkative too. This one's a subjective comment, I concede.
The last thing I will say for those that want more A/B commentary- yes, I can take corners at much higher speed than before, particularly cloverleafs. How much faster? No idea- I look at the road when I'm driving aggressively, not my dash. Suffice it to say that I can definitely push harder before things get hairy... and more importantly, I feel like the envelope for error is larger. Again, half of this is attributable to my tires- the bars just make them work better.2) The overall roadholding capacity is *much* higher. Grip at the limit is noticeably more, and is probably amplified by my excellent PSS tires. If you have good tires, sways of any brand will make the most out of them.
3) The balance is more neutral. Obviously, this could change with different settings, so this comment only applies for the settings I have chosen.
4) The body roll is not only less, but it feels like the outside wheels are pushing back against the road more, rather than caving into it. I know tht sounds touchy-feely but it just feels more authoritative and makes me much more confident in the twisties.
5) Overall enjoyment in the drive is up due to increased road feel. I think I actually prefer the slight increase in harshness because I'm getting more feedback from both sides of the car and the steering feels more talkative too. This one's a subjective comment, I concede.
On to the pics:
02-17-2013, 10:13 AM
#13
Administrator
iTrader: (9)
Having just purchased these Sway Bars from the OP after he de-modded his car and moved on to a 335is, I've been re-reading this thread a number of times, feeding some pretty high expectations. In a few months, I hope to be confirming the things he wrote here.
Ash, these are excellent posts, with a very well-worded, nuanced review of the sway bars. I'm very excited for springtime.
You should reach out to a moderator and ask them to change the thread title, something like "Review on Eibach Sways". Your comments are too good to get buried.
Ash, these are excellent posts, with a very well-worded, nuanced review of the sway bars. I'm very excited for springtime.
You should reach out to a moderator and ask them to change the thread title, something like "Review on Eibach Sways". Your comments are too good to get buried.
Last edited by Rochester; 02-17-2013 at 10:19 AM.
02-17-2013, 10:23 AM
#15
Having just purchased these Sway Bars from the OP after he de-modded his car and moved on to a 335is, I've been re-reading this thread a number of times, feeding some pretty high expectations. In a few months, I hope to be confirming the things he wrote here.
Ash, these are excellent posts, with a very well-worded, nuanced review of the sway bars. I'm very excited for springtime.
You should reach out to a moderator and ask them to change the thread title, something like "Review on Eibach Sways". Your comments are too good to get buried.
Ash, these are excellent posts, with a very well-worded, nuanced review of the sway bars. I'm very excited for springtime.
You should reach out to a moderator and ask them to change the thread title, something like "Review on Eibach Sways". Your comments are too good to get buried.
