Eibach Sway Bar - Review
 

This weekend I installed a set of Eibach sway bars. I installed them with the front setting on the soft setting (only 2 settings up front) and the middle setting in the rear (3 settings in rear). Today I took the Z for my first test drive with them. I drove through wine country rolling hills with various sweepers followed by a coastal mountian range road that has some tighter stuff. So here are my driving impressions of the eibach sways.

1) To really test them I need a race track because I was going really quick through the corners without even stressing the Z. Double the posted corner speed limit seemed pretty easy. I did not want to push it more than that.

2) They fixed a problem that I did not even know I had. I always felt that the Z was stable and cornered really flat with minimum body roll to begin with. After taking the drive I now realize what flat is.

3) I either stumbled onto the correct setting from the beggining of my install or I will not find those front/rear bias charateristics until I hit the track because turn in was nice, direct, and the car went right where I pointed it. I had VDC ON but the traction light never came on during the corners (I can't say the same for corner exit and straights).

4) I like them!!:driving:

P.S. I posted this in the general thread but wanted to post it here as well so that the review can be searched in the future.

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Good review. any reason you selected these in particular. Im debating between these and Whitelines.

I was looking at these or Whiteline as well. I went with these based on cost, and them having the limiting tab built in rather than having to buy them seperately. For the type of driving I do I figured there would not be any performance difference I would notice. If I was at the track a lot I would have looked a bit more closely at the specs. Either way I do not think you can go wrong. Plus I like red since I have red interior on the 40th.

That why i like eibach too (40th also)

Good review. My choice was these or whiteline as well. I'm leaning toward eibach for similar reasons as far as cost to features.

Sounds promising with the middle setting. I'm sure on track you will be on the 3rd setting?

I still want to upgrade my brakes before I hit the track. When I do finally get to the track I will probably start out as it sits currently. From there play with the settings. More than likely the car will be much better than the driver for a good period of time. My only "track" experience is on the drag strip years ago in my old S14.

Thanks for the review. My Elbach front sway has been o back order for over three weeks due to a hardware shortage. I should get them by the end of the week.

You will like them.:tup:

Your review said it all. I installed them last summer and what a difference! I never thought that you can improve the handling on such a nice handling car to begin with. The body roll was almost completely gone, and I didn't thick there was some . This ride just keeps on getting better!

Great write up! The Eibach sway bars are awesome. What other suspension mods do you have done?

Since you're in SLO, Buttonwillow is close by and is a great all around track to learn on. Some decent pads would help but probably not needed for your first time out.

Woot!!!
 

Just ordered Eibach sway bars for my Z. Due in on the 11th! Can't wait to put them on.

For the track... You cannot put enough front bar on this car.
Our front bar is a straight 1.75" bar
Our rear bar is not much more than what is available in the aftermarket.

Yeah, did a bunch of reading and comparison before picking the Eibach. Figured I'd pull the trigger since I promissed my wife some $$$ for a new camera. Better give her a check before these arrive! LOL

Straight? I would like a pic of that, we're you able to reuse the plastic skid plate?

There is a lot of engineering that has gone into our front and rear bars an how they are mounted.
;)

Definitely would be cool to have all your upgrades! I'd still want my AC though. :tup: I'm guessing the RC does not come with it.

trade secret! Understood.

I have a double blade sway bar from my S2000, tried to see how much work was involved to use a straight bar, but realized need building custom brackets to clear that hump and skid plate. I gave up and bought the Eibach bar.:)

Figured I'd just attach my review along with this one.
Bought mine at Tire Rack. Thier west coast facility didn't have them in stock so I paid the extra $$$ to get them from thier east coast facility. Shipped the same day and arrived about a week later. Perfect buying experience with them.

Box showed up like this:

I have to say I was wondering what it was going to look like inside. I had worst case scenario in my mind... A couple of scratched up swaybars that had been returned from previous customers.

To my pleasant surprise, I got the best case scenario... an almost perfect condition OEM box that still had the original sealing tape on it.

Comparing them to the stocks:

Here's the front installed and the only problem I had with the whole thing. Had a burr on 1 of the holes. Had to knock it down with a rat tail file before I was able to get the bolt through it.

I was able to get them both installed in about 2-1/2 hours last Friday night after work. I'd recommend having a good breaker bar. Would of been a lot less time if it didn't take me as long to figure out what to use on those dang nuts.

Took it out for a spin after the initial install. I really wanted to find out if my biggest complaint about this car's handling had been resolved. Namely, the ability to recover when the tail end came out. Found a good, left hander to test it out on. No cars and 4 lanes to give myself lots of room if something went south. Nice pitch and smooth recovery, no fishtail. Awesome, but did I just get lucky or was the car finally working right? Found another spot and tried it again. Yep, the car feels good now.

Sunday I took it on a nice windy road near by. Hicks Rd. in San Jose. It's not the smothest road so it would be a good test for the suspension. It's mostly 2nd and and an occasional 3rd gear. The Eibachs really perform on the transitions. (R to L or L to R) A lot less body roll than before. Feels almost flat. Normal driving feels about the same.

Overall I'm really happy with the change in handling characteristics. Great upgrade for those thinking about it.:tup:

Nice review!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2

Nice! Placing my order soon as well. What settings did you put? Any other suspension mod beside the sway bars?

Have the stiffest hole on the front, middle hole on the rear.

Mods so far in order of install:
Clutch pedal helper spring * OK but not convinced *
Oil Pan Cooler ** keeps it around 220 on hot days - not up to tracking **
Carbotech XP8 brake pads *** awesome ***
Motul RBF600 brake fluid ***awesome ***
Adjusted clutch pedal position *** awesome ***
F&R Eibach Sway Bars *** awesome ***

Pretty happy with it right now. I'd do HP upgrades but I don't want to deal with CA smog crap. If I thought I could get away with it, my budget short list would be:
Test Pipes (HFC maybe if I a CARB set gets released)
K&N Typhoon intakes (Maybe drop ins if I get a CARB HFC)

i haven't had much time to bolt mine on... cant wait though... your reviews got me hyped up to install.:driving::tiphat:

Nice! I just got mine swaybars and finally installed the front one. However, for the rear.. Did you disconnect the muffler from the pipe or did you just disconnect the hangers? Mine fast intentions exhaust is a pain to disconnect the muffler because of the tight locations of those bolts, and I really wasn't in the mood to break my arms.

Is there a general consensus to the best setting for these sways?

Where are you guys getting the Eibach sways? What is the cost looking like? I think I'm gonng go ahead and bit the bullet.

That depends on individual set ups. Usually yiu start on a mid setting and adjust it from there.





Pm kami speed

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2

Streetsideauto is where I just purchased mine...$295 for the twin bar kit with free shipping...Man after installation the Z felt like it was on rails...Used the middle position rear and the soft [outter position] for the front... at high speed minimal steering adjustment required...feels very planted.. Awesome mod.:ughdance:

I just got a single front from Stillen. I thought the price was fair, and I got it within a week. The Stock rules in Autox only allow 1 sway bar replacement, so that's why I only got the front.

Got mine at Tire Rack, both delivered to CA was about $380. I think I paid too much

I like letting on the throttle when coming out of the turns so...
Front is on stiffest
Rear is on soft
Haven't had any understeer yet but occasional throttle induced oversteer.

I had to disconnect the mufflers and shift them on thier supports (not removed) to get the rear in. Did not replace the gasket and seems fine.

I installed Hotchkis bars on mine and have the same review, drives likes its literally on rails now!

Whitelines here, both on hard settings, love em :)

They are not as stiff as hotchkis though, but they are 'perfectly' stiff.

O.K. I have a question for you guys...when you say "feels like its riding on rails" is that a good thing? I like the minimal ride comfort the Z comes with, after the coilover that comfort has been reduced a bit. But liveable...however, when you guys say "riding on rails" that makes me nervous. I travel in the Z so I want the last bit of comfort it has. So could you guys elaborate on that phrase? Thanks for the feedback.

ride comfort change?
 

Hey, I have the eibach Sways on and it does not change the ride comfort at all. It merely stops the car from rolling or "leaning" in turns. I am sure the other bars are the same as far as not changing the ride comfort.

Thanks Zycopth!

Not sure about other sways out there but mine feel the road 10x more i'd say. Every little bump will try to steer my car, so two hands is a must. Even having the rear in the stiffest setting makes the rear kick out a bit on bumps. I like it because I love driving and response, but if you want a comfortable ride, stay away from the hotchkis sway bars lol.

:iagree: