22mm Rear Sway Bar Group Buy #3

Post by **MustardCat** » 17 Apr 2018, 06:35

GROUP-BUY CLOSED

22mm Rear Sway Bar / Anti-roll Bar Group Buy #3

What does a sway bar (anti-roll bar) do? Basic explanation:

An anti-roll bar connects one side of the suspension to the other side, it is essentially a spring.
Imagine you are turning right, the left suspension compresses and the right suspension droops (causing the chassis to lean to the left, aka. body roll). With an anti-roll bar installed when the right suspension begins to droop the bar tries to pull the left suspension down at the same time, this reduces body roll. Or another way to look at it is that as one side of the suspension compresses the anti-roll bar causes the other side to compress as well.

The larger the diameter (stiffer) the anti-roll bar is the more "locked" each side of the suspension is to the other and the less body roll at that end of the car. On a front wheel drive car adding a stiffer rear bar will generally reduce understeer.

Here is how this 22mm bar compares to stock and Whiteline.

Bar torsional stiffness:
Stock 17mm: 91 (Lbs/In)
Whiteline 20mm: 175 (Lbs/In)
MustardCat 22mm: 268 (Lbs/In)

$$$
Estimated group buy pricing, shipping not included:

5 bars = $365 each
10 bars = $335 each
15 bars = $320 each
20 bars = $310 each

You cover the Paypal fees.

Shipping price estimates to give you an idea of cost to different areas, includes packing materials, includes insurance.
Shipping is from Washington State via USPS:

To California 90210: $60
To Texas 73301: $70
To Florida 32116: $80
To Quebec, Canada H3R1K2: $115
To the U.K.: $135

Buyers outside of North America should use a forwarding service such as https://www.myus.com/ (This is just an example there are other companies that can be used, do your research.) This usually saves on shipping costs and provides insurance in case of loss or damage.

Local pick up in the North Seattle area is also possible.

This sway bar/anti-roll bar kit will include:

7/8" (22.2mm) 4130 Chromoly anti-roll bar with arms made of mild steel.
Energy Suspension 9.5158R/G greasable anti-roll bar bushings.
New chassis brackets to mount the bar to the car. Made of 1/8" and 3/16" mild steel.
8 New JIS 10.9 spec bolts to mount the brackets to the chassis and the bar bushings to the brackets.

Additional options:

Fitting info and disclaimer:

This bar does require trimming a small portion of the plastic fuel pipe splash guard as well as part of an exhaust bracket (if you are using the OE exhaust). I can't guarantee fit on any aftermarket exhaust because some places do crazy routing, however I can say it fits around my own 3" exhaust fine. Untested on very low/"slammed" cars. If you are very low in the rear this bar could require some custom shorter end links.

Some have asked about chassis tear though, like what can happen with Civics using thicker bars. All I can say about this is that I have not experienced or seen any sign of it happening on either of my Preludes that are running this anti-roll bar. I can't guarantee this for your car because every car is unique. If your car is rusted near the anti-roll bar mounts it might be possible for them to rip out, if this is the case I could make you some weld in reinforcement plates for this area.

Like all performance aftermarket parts this anti-roll bar is intended for off-road use only. The sole purpose of this anti-roll bar is to alter the way the car handles. You need to take proper care after installing it and not immediately try pushing the handling limits, the car will handle differently. If you use it on a street car and then drift off a mountain... well that is on you.

Payment schedule:

I'm breaking the total payment into 2 stages, which should be more manageable for people and allow continuous progress to be made (all prices are estimates):

Stage 1: This payment will cover all the raw materials, bolts, bushings, and allow me to fabricate the bars + mounts. It also covers the cost of post-fabrication heat treatment for the bars and the cost of powder coating the bars and mounts. (Should be between $150-200 depending on total buyers and options.)
Stage 2: Payment for consumables, labor, misc, and shipping. (~$150-250, depending on previous costs, total buyers, and cost to ship to your location.)

I will order material once I receive all the stage 1 payments. After this point I can not offer any refunds.

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Additional:
Sway bar installation instructions: https://youtu.be/5huItJZKpnM

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Reviews from previous buyers:
Review by Nigeltay:
I bought the swaybar awhile back and i have been jsing it for 3 days now. I got it with the upgraded endlinks and poly bushings where the endlinks and swaybar connect. I was already on coilovers and poly bushings throughout the entire carriage but once this bar was installed, i could feel the rear end stiffen up ALOT. It rolls way lesser than before when i was on the stock sway bar, The front end pokes into corners alot quicker and the car just stays almost flat during a long bend.

Truly a great piece of engineering especially the structural design compared tothe original and whiteline swaybar.
Luckily the whiteline bar was out of stock as mustardcat's bar is way stiffer and from my perspective, perfect for our 3g chassis. I have never looked forward to an approaching bend ahead for quite some time since i intalled this swaybar??
101% reccomended if you're in love with improving the handling of our already amazing 3g.

On a sidenote, maybe one day you could design some h-braces for the undercarriage! Haha

Review by LudeAEM: Full review: http://www.preludepower.com/forums/show ... p?t=458570
A little background for peoples perspective. I have owned several cars with rear sway bar upgrades in the past (my old 89 Si, 07 Civic Si, and my Z06 which isn't as relavent here since its RWD). I had some road course fun in my Civic several years ago with the 24mm Progress bar and I was pleased with the results.

From the group by #2 I purchased the sway bar (der), upgraded end links and the superpro bushings that mate the end links to the bar. I was coming from an OEM rear sway but I do have Ksport coilovers and F&R strut bars.

Craftsmanship - VERY impressed with the welds, powder coating, and packaging of this bar. You could have told me Progress made this bar and I would not be able to tell the difference. It's that good. I am always a little skeptical going with an independent person making items out of their garage but if that is a concern for you, don't be. A+ there Dave.

Driving impressions - I will update this when the weather warms up here but all I can say is YESSSSsss. Coming from a Z06 to this Prelude was quite the shock as its an old FWD chassis from the 80s but this bar REALLY helps stiffen the car up. Much flatter in the corners, albeit I did not push it too hard since its 40 degrees and damp.

*Took it out today (2/23) and would say I was at 8/10ths around some roundabouts. Love this bar! I can come in so much hotter than before with a ton more confidence. I do recommend the combo of springs/struts and on our particular cars, strut bars. Eventually, I will see If I can get the tail out with a little mid-corner lift off

If you were on the edge about buying this in the next group buy, don't be if you care about cornering more than power, this is going to be your ticket. You really should be because we all know these cars aren't about straight line performance. It's more about the character, 'x-factor' that only us third genners understand

Review by Luzer:
I concur with this assessment. I installed this anti-sway bar when I did my 4ws swap last fall. The difference really is night and day. Makes the 3rd gen chassis feel like it's on rails. I realize a lot of people say that about upgrades they're done, but I have experience with other upgrades on this chassis.
This bar is definitely an improvement over the whiteline sway bar. I had one of those on my old lude, along with k-sport coil over shocks and front/rear STB's. And believe it or not this car handles better than that car, and I don't have the aftermarket shocks or STB's. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to improve handling on their 3rd gen Prelude. Highly recommended! Now I want to add the shocks and STB's to this car to make it handle even better.

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22mm Rear Sway Bar Group Buy #3

22mm Rear Sway Bar Group Buy #3