people who have installed it up side down have broken stock endlinks

you need to position the rear swaybar so the arm ends are curving upward, the curve dip is to allow clearance from the subframe brace located above the arm ends as the suspension compresses and the arms move upward towards the subframe

my bars make a lot of noise :( i think maybe i need more grease?

the lube they supply is the problem, use a teflon-based sway bar lube

^ have a good example of the lube Team?? I purchased my sways a little while back but they are on backorder aparently. Would like to have the right lube for the job ready........ the right lube for the swaybar install job........ -_-

after you install the bar and before you hook up the endlinks you also need to check how easily the bar rotates by pulling up/down on the bar end with your hand. It needs to move free and smooth. If it's too tight or binds remove the pivot bushing and sand down the flat part until it moves freely.

Petroleum based greases tend to be absorbed into rubber and urethane products and once it goes dry it increases the binding between the bushing and the bar. Here's a couple of links for lube, there are others out there too

http://polybushings.com/pages/bushinglube.html

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/Energy-Suspension-Formula-5-Prelube-Bushing-Lube.asp

hey, i am trying to figure out which part im supposed to sand down. is this on the 2 bushings, where they go against the chassis?

yes, if it sticks out past the bracket this will squeeze the bar too tightly once it's bolted to the chassis and cause the bar to bind

the bar needs to move freely once it's bolted up, you don't want the suspension to be working against the bar, it hurts handling

Thanks a lot Team!! for both the links and the install tip!!

ahh okay i shall do that. or maybe i should just get the energy bushings and brackets w/ the fittings.. hmmm...

the same applies regardless of the supplier

just saying, if im taking em off anyway maybe i should upgrade so that i have the fittings for easier greasing

assuming you can get the right kind of grease for a grease gun canister

I wouldn't bother until the bushing needs replacing

okay, thanks for the advice. i will however be on the lookout for some proper grease

okay, thanks for the advice. i will however be on the lookout for some proper grease

LMK when you find some. I'll split the cost w/ you if you wanna share. I still haven't installed my bars yet, been too busy with home improvement projects.

haha yeah it wont happen for me for a long time too, im too busy trying to pass school. i was supposed to take out my supercat a long time ago but still hasnt gotten done yet :p:

not as good, but available locally will be white lithium grease

some more polyurethane bushing grease links, Prothane SUper Grease is available in a grease gun tube from Summit Racing:

http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10002_533456_-1

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?Ntt=grease&N=700+115+400351&Ntk=KeywordSearch

Where did everyone order their PT bars from? I just heard its going to be ANOTHER 6 weeks now before the front bar is in from Ptuning.com. Im going to ask them to refund my money and order it from somewhere else if I can find it in stock, ready to ship.

http://www.neverenoughauto.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=2461
http://www.neverenoughauto.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=2462

Brad is a good man

thanks. I sent them an email

My 2 cents...

OMFG...I love the PT Sways...

I went from a RB -> PT...and was not expecting to feel such a dramatic difference...

I would recommend the RB for a daily driver who is not going to be tracking as I think the PT's on the softest setting might be a bit much for most people, unless you like that kind of thing.

I have them currently set full soft rear, mid stiff front and I think I am picking up a bit of oversteer...I'm going to adjust the front +1/2 stiff to see if I can pick up a difference.

The only other downside...its skiptastic on rippled or wavy roads...

where is the cheapest place to order the Progress front and rear swaybars, i thought someone posted one time saying someone had free shipping on them.

i search on google sent me to the site autosportstyle.com who has the progress technology swaybars front and rear for 268.86, what do you guys think......i tried calling them and was not able to talk to anyone, this is an awsome price i just dont wana loose my money

I ordered a pair from Progress but they were back ordered so i tried to find another vendor who had them in stock. I found them at autosportstyle.com and the site looked pretty legit so i bought them. Now im thinking i've made a huge mistake.

Has anyody bought anything from them before? Have i made a $267 mistake? No one ever answered ca18detsilvia question so im kind of worried.

TEAM: great find... i know this thread may be old, but i'm considerin sways and have the RB's catalog. though RB is a reputable brand, i know they're exact one out there for less $$$.

but question, are the progress manufactured in the U.S.? it don't really matter either way...i just thought the RB springs was weird that its made in japan.

question 2, other than price difference. what are the difference between the progress and the RB? they run the same diameter...is it just more adjustability and thicker wall with alloy steel?

thanks team,
trochoid

P.S. search, ftw! i know we pick on noobs, but i'm still one and i try to use search on things that i want. everything is a lot easier that way... great find again, now just need some more input from anyone thats ran the progress.

ALL WITH PROGRESS sways: what are your feedbacks? i like RB stuff, but how's the comparison? any feed backs welcome. especially those who've tried both.

are the progress manufactured in the U.S.?

Anaheim, California. Been there, watched them get bent.

anaheim? it wouldn't be close to racingbeat's facility would it?

so where is the cheapest place to spot the progress sways for? i still think $268 is not a bad price at all for both.

Encountered my first issue with these sways, this happened under normal (while somewhat spirited) use; no large potholes or anything of that sort perhaps a few bumps in the road.

Encountered my first issue with these sways, this happened under normal (while somewhat spirited) use; no large potholes or anything of that sort perhaps a few bumps in the road.


Probably your infamous NE potholes over a period of time. I put in the heavier brackets / bushings from Energy. Have to modify the bracket a bit...but they are stronger than the ones that come with the sways

Encountered my first issue with these sways, this happened under normal (while somewhat spirited) use; no large potholes or anything of that sort perhaps a few bumps in the road.

Your hear clunking or visually found it?

I had one break on a softer TeamRX8 bar last year. Those brackets typically aren't made from the best material. Just buy a new pair of Energy Suspension bushings/brackets from Jegs, Summit Racing, etc..

I had one break on a softer TeamRX8 bar last year. Those brackets typically aren't made from the best material. Just buy a new pair of Energy Suspension bushings/brackets from Jegs, Summit Racing, etc..

Could you provide a link to the bushings and brackets, or the part numbers, I searched on Jegs and summit racing but couldn't find them.

I run the Energy Suspension brackets and bushings, but I think I purchased direct from them. Get the ones with grease zircs.;)

I have looked at Agency Power, Eibach and Hotchkis sway bars.

Has anyone else used these brand of sway bars? If so, which is best and how was your driving experience?

Thanks!

Encountered my first issue with these sways, this happened under normal (while somewhat spirited) use; no large potholes or anything of that sort perhaps a few bumps in the road.


Same thing happened to me after a AutoX event last year...PT bracket sanpped straight off..upgraded to energy suspensions and they have been holding up so far but my AWR endlinks ripped out under stress :Eyecrazy: ,have since then replaced w/whiteline endlinks and have bar adjusted to medium setting....

No problems for me with OE endlinks and the original brackets on the PT bars

I did have an ES bracket break on DKNV's Stock class TEAMRX8 front bar last year, it's probably only 1/2 as stiff as the Progress bar

sometimes poopy just happens :dunno:

Could you provide a link to the bushings and brackets, or the part numbers, I searched on Jegs and summit racing but couldn't find them.

Energy SUspension Part No. 5113G

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=ENS%2D9%2D5113G&N=700+4294841743+4294891681+4294907051+4294903076+ 4294812167+115&autoview=sku

The only problem with the ES parts is that because it's a universal fit with slotted holes you have to center it on the chassis studs before tightening it down fully because you can slide it too far in either direction such that a socket won't have enough clearance between the nut and the bracket if it's slid over too far either way. The bracket mount will also overlap onto the bolt head for the ABS sensor wire locating bracket above the swaybar bushing. You can either let it overlap and then bend down tight when you tighten down the swaybar bushing bracket or you can trim the end off the bracket with a hacksaw or bandsaw.

I just ordered a set of progress sway bars given the great reviews. They will be partnered with Tockico D-spec struts and Tien S-tech springs. Any suggestions on initial sway bar settings for the street? Thanks

Bracket just snapped on me...ordering new ones..

bump for a shameless plug

i just learned that Never Enough Auto Accessories (www.neverenoughauto.com) also sells these Progress sways. I thought to look there after recalling that i had purchased a Progress rear sway for my Toyota Matrix a few years ago. Brad is a great guy and provided me excellent service and quick email replies. i plan to order from him over ptuning. he also offers free shipping i believe.

http://www.neverenuf.com/catalog/anti-sway-bars-c3010-p-1.htmlJust bought mine from there. Awesome customer service. And that is MAP listed on the website. It clearly says if you email them, they may be able to give you yet a lower price than that. They did.:) :)

Question though... are either of these greases worth a damn?
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=RED%2D80402&N=700+4294847950+4294865024+115&autoview=sku
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=LUC%2D10301%2D1&N=700+4294847950+4294908424+115&autoview=sku

Or should I just stick with this?
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=PTP%2D19%2D1751&N=700+4294847950+4294865024+115&autoview=sku

It's half the price, so I'd obviously like to save 10-15 bucks if there's really no difference.

If you're talking about for lubricating the polyurethane bushings for the anti-roll bar, go with this. You won't need it all. That 14-oz tube from Prothane is enough for five lifetimes.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=ENS%2D9%2D11110&N=700+4294925094+115&autoview=sku

But it comes in a tube. Slap it in a grease gun and make use of the zerk fittings... It's worth the $15 to save me time each relube.

Has anyone tried full stiff front and rear? (Preferably on stock springs and shocks, since that is what I'll be running for now) Understeer, oversteer?
Basically I'm just curious as to why most run full or mid soft in rear and not full stiff.

Basically I'm just curious as to why most run full or mid soft in rear and not full stiff.

Because most people use this car as a DD.

Is it really that stiff at full stiff in the back for daily driving? And it's hard to believe that that is the main reason, I mean quite a lot of people on car forums are willing to sacrifice comfort usually for looks. It is true that some will do it for performance gains, but they will be fewer (I'm basing this on the fact that a lot of cars with extensive suspension work will never see a track or a auto-x event).
What about TeamRX8, that uses the car for autocrossing, he's at full soft in the rear.

I guess I just assumed that people who often go to HPDE's wouldn't think much of it to swap the setting back and forth.

I know I have my wheels off constantly when at the track.

its simple...at full stiff...the front will "skip" over the irregular stuff on the street...not such a good thing during certain weather conditions...

run it at full stiff all the way around...you'll see the light...

It's been several months now and I just wanted to tell everyone..... I LOVE THESE SWAY BARS!!

Quick question, I 'mputting these Progress sway bars on my next shopping list, but when I was checking the Progress website they only list the bars for up to 2006 RX8s. Will they fit my 2007? I'm new to the RX8 but I was under the impression there haven't been any significant suspension changes through the years. Did they just not update their webpage for the later years?

Quick question, I 'mputting these Progress sway bars on my next shopping list, but when I was checking the Progress website they only list the bars for up to 2006 RX8s. Will they fit my 2007? I'm new to the RX8 but I was under the impression there haven't been any significant suspension changes through the years. Did they just not update their webpage for the later years?

07 is fine.

beers :beer:

OMG, i just read 12 pages of good stuff. While resurrecting the dead. Those who have these, still happy.

Great Infor by the way.

Basically I'm just curious as to why most run full or mid soft in rear and not full stiff.

Soft will give the rear end traction keeping it planted in turns. Stiff will tend to oversteer i.e., less traction in the rear. Take your pic what you want to deal with on turns.

I have them and still LOVE THEM!!!

I've had them in for about 2 months now and I LOVE them!!!

yes,

have them.

med in front soft in the back.. they work very well..

beers :beer:

i love mine as well

OMG, i just read 12 pages of good stuff. While resurrecting the dead. Those who have these, still happy.

Great Infor by the way.


You should pick a set up before they are out of stock again :)

OK I just got the progress tech sways installed on my car and I used prothane grease on the bushings. My question is are the sway bars supposed to swing freely once they are mounted to the frame but before they are attached to the endlinks. The grease was extremely sticky and the bar has a good bit of resistance when I would try to move it up and down. Is this resistance going to affect how the sway bars perform or how they interact with the shocks and springs. The bars can stay in a horizontal position on their own just to give you an idea of how much resistance there is. I'm not sure if I used too much prothane or not enough. I liberally applied the grease to all bushings and when I tightened them to the frame, some grease would come out of the crack but not much. Just wondering if this is normal for these sway bars as the old stock ones seemed to move much easier. Thanks

thats perfectly fine.

You may think there is resistance you pushing the bar, but your car's weight bearing down on the bar is huge compared to any bushing friction. Too loose would be more troublesome.

And the point of the better bushings is too provide more resistance to bushing deformation and squish. They need to be firmer.

Re: the issue of bushing bracket strength, why not just double up? That is, you could just get another pair of brackets and run the bolts through the stack of two on each side. I seriously doubt any bar could bust through that much metal. Seems like the most cost-effective solution, and I want my sway bar bracket to have zero chance of breaking while I'm at ten tenths in a corner.

When I get my Progress bars, I'll do this and post pics.

Re: the issue of bushing bracket strength, why not just double up? That is, you could just get another pair of brackets and run the bolts through the stack of two on each side. I seriously doubt any bar could bust through that much metal. Seems like the most cost-effective solution, and I want my sway bar bracket to have zero chance of breaking while I'm at ten tenths in a corner.

When I get my Progress bars, I'll do this and post pics.

This sounds like a great idea, if it all fits properly. Let us know!

Also - any updates on longish-term reliability with the OEM endlinks or the PT supplied bushings/brackets? Thanks!

check out this awsomeness

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/hockey555/swaybracket.jpg

My sway bar braket snapped. It was only a matter of time that these broke cuz the brakets that come with the sways are infamous for snapping. I just didn't think it would be soo soon. The sways were on for 2 months. The best part of it all is that I had no idea that it snapped and I drove my car the entire week with a busted bracket.:Eyecrazy:

This happened to me last friday while changing my oil. So what did I do about it?

Energy SUspension Part No. 5113G

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=ENS%2D9%2D5113G&N=700+4294841743+4294891681+4294907051+4294903076+ 4294812167+115&autoview=sku

The only problem with the ES parts is that because it's a universal fit with slotted holes you have to center it on the chassis studs before tightening it down fully because you can slide it too far in either direction such that a socket won't have enough clearance between the nut and the bracket if it's slid over too far either way. The bracket mount will also overlap onto the bolt head for the ABS sensor wire locating bracket above the swaybar bushing. You can either let it overlap and then bend down tight when you tighten down the swaybar bushing bracket or you can trim the end off the bracket with a hacksaw or bandsaw.

^I ordered these and they should be here sometime today, but I won't be able to install them until this weekend.

"the brakets that come with the sways are infamous for snapping" Really? I mean, there have been 1 or 2 reports on here....but anything more than than? (I'm NOT including people installing the bar wrong/upside-down, breakin endlinks, etc)

Let us know how the install goes....I'm on the fence as to if I should just stick with the PT-supplied brackets or use something else. I'll definitely use a different, teflon-based lube such as "Formula 5", though.

"the brakets that come with the sways are infamous for snapping" Really? I mean, there have been 1 or 2 reports on here....but anything more than than? (I'm NOT including people installing the bar wrong/upside-down, breakin endlinks, etc)

Let us know how the install goes....I'm on the fence as to if I should just stick with the PT-supplied brackets or use something else. I'll definitely use a different, teflon-based lube such as "Formula 5", though.

I know there haven't been many reports, but teamrx8 said the brackets were not made from the best material, which, to me, will only lead to failure in the future. Also, some the people who have had their brackets break were not driving spirited and they broke anyway, such as mine.

I just installed the brackets on my car and so far so good. Just don't use the bushings that come with the engery brackets. Use the PT bushings because the energy bushing wouldn't fit when I tried to put everything back together.

Just as an FYI we will be happy to send out Replacement brackets if need be, no questions asked to any customer that has purchased Progress Sway Bars from us.

This does happen from time to time and occurs when It is not tightened down securely, or the bolt backs out.

Okay, so I installed my Progress bars on Sunday and had an extra pair of front brackets on hand from Fluid Motorsports (good vendor). Before the install, I reformed the spare pair so that they'd fit tightly over the first set. Unfortunately, when I got under the car, I realized there was no way they would fit doubled-up due to the bracket studs on the car -- they're way too short. There's basically just enough length to get on one set of brackets and the nuts. So right now the best solution is probably to use the Energy brackets. My setup would have been stronger had it worked, but I don't think I'll be press-fitting in a longer set of bracket studs any time soon.


Re: the issue of bushing bracket strength, why not just double up? That is, you could just get another pair of brackets and run the bolts through the stack of two on each side. I seriously doubt any bar could bust through that much metal. Seems like the most cost-effective solution, and I want my sway bar bracket to have zero chance of breaking while I'm at ten tenths in a corner.

When I get my Progress bars, I'll do this and post pics.

I dunno if I should post this here or on the DIY sway bar install page, but I have a few (hopefully helpful) ntoes about installation.

I just isntalled front and rear progress technology sways. They feel really good, really help with body roll, and the best part is they do not significantly hurt ride comfort nor drivability, which was a big concern for me, as I drive it every day on sorta crappy NY roads.

Things I wish I knew before installing them:
1) removal of the large black plastic undertray is highly advisable. This plastic piece is continuous with the plastic inside part of the wheel well, it all has to come off together. Tricky, but it helps a lot. Remove this (sort of a pain), and the two lower radiator mount brackets (takes 30 seconds each) and you're good to go. Use a small phillips-head screwdriver to take out the black plastic clips, but the truth is they are easy to strip. I just got a dozen from my dealer parts dept because they are the same clips used for door panels and other stuff, and I occationally break them.
2) the new front bar is longer than the old one which makes getting it in VERY difficult. It helps to turn the steering wheel all the way to one side and then the other to get the bar back over the steering control arms. Hard to describe, I'm just saying to mess with the steering wheel position to help you get the arms out of the way.
3) This may be obvious for more experienced wrenchers, but I had NO IDEA there was a hex wrench type hole on the back of the endlink bolt. You can't see it without a mirror and you won't see it unless you're deliberately looking for it. I was F%@&ing confused for well over an hour. To loosen it up, use a 5mm allen key and put a thin pipe over the end of the kep to get leverage, and put the end of the pipe against the ground or car frame. Then get a very long 14mm (?) open-ended wrench to turn in the opposite direction. Again, this is probably blindingly obvious to many, but I havnt worked with endlinks before.
4) You REALLY do need to spray everything down with PB-blaster or liquid wrench or wd-40 30 minutes before attempting to take the end links apart.

That's all I got, but I have to say, the PT bars really do a lot for the car. I've been using stock endlinks for a few days now with the new bars, everything fits and feels just fine.

Anyone have sound coming from the rear that is a clunking kind of noise, sort if like two solid pieces of metal hitting one another. Don't hear it in the front but in the back I hear it over most bumps. I installed the progress sways with Auto Exe adjustable end links. Any ideas how to fix this?

Anyone have sound coming from the rear that is a clunking kind of noise, sort if like two solid pieces of metal hitting one another. Don't hear it in the front but in the back I hear it over most bumps. I installed the progress sways with Auto Exe adjustable end links. Any ideas how to fix this?

It's possible you have the bar installed upside down. in that case the bar will come in contact with the upper control arm mount, which rightfully would sound like metal on metal - because it is.

If this isn't the case it is just the polyurethane bushings. They do tend to be noisy, which is why nearly all OEM's use rubber. (NVH)

^ Thanks, I'm sure I have it installed the correct way, metal is not close to touching. Maybe I will buy some rubber bushing to see if that will solve it. Very fricken annoying.

^ Thanks, I'm sure I have it installed the correct way, metal is not close to touching. Maybe I will buy some rubber bushing to see if that will solve it. Very fricken annoying.

It can look like its far from touching anything but when it compresses it can still touch. Found this out the hard way myself. You should double check. .02

good luck.

Mine were very noisy after about 100 miles of driving on them. At first they were great. So I decided to take off the rear bar and re grease the bushings. It seemed to help a lot. You really have to put a lot on them. I had excess grease come out both sides once I drew the brackets tight against the chassis. I'm going to do the front bar this weekend. Has anyone noticed excessive under steer with the front bar at the middle setting on both sides and the rear bar at full soft on both sides. I switched the front from full soft because at full soft all around it seemed that the car had slight overseer but now it is definitely under steering. I think my tires suck or else my struts are beat.

Haven't noticed the understeer.

In terms of clunkiness, I am going to try a different bushing from Mazda. Used for either Mazda 6 or 3 and has gone through at least 3 evolutions in the design to correct clunking. It has the same diameter as the rear progress sway bar. I can't stand the noise, it has to go!!!!

Well, I found the clunking culprit and it was not the rear sways, it was a missing bolt on the rear brake caliper.

I ordered the front and rear Progress sways from Fluid Motorsports on 4-30-09. They still haven't shipped yet. No joy from Fluid, does anybody have any idea how long the back order at Progress is? I have an event coming up in June I'd like to have the bars for.

I ordered the front and rear Progress sways from Fluid Motorsports on 4-30-09. They still haven't shipped yet. No joy from Fluid, does anybody have any idea how long the back order at Progress is? I have an event coming up in June I'd like to have the bars for.


They keep telling me 2-3 weeks, and that was last week.

Maybe this next week I will get an email. :)

Thank you for being patient, and my apologies for it being on BO.

I ordered the front and rear Progress sways from Fluid Motorsports on 4-30-09. They still haven't shipped yet. No joy from Fluid, does anybody have any idea how long the back order at Progress is? I have an event coming up in June I'd like to have the bars for.

these people are pretty accurate on timelines..

http://www.ptuning.com/html/search-result.cfm?cmbPriceRange=&cmbCategory=suspen&cmbSubCategory=swayba&MakeModel=rx8&Brand=pro&cmbYear=2004

to bad it is not the rear. i would lend you mine for sebring! :)

beers :beer:

I know there haven't been many reports, but teamrx8 said the brackets were not made from the best material, which, to me, will only lead to failure in the future. Also, some the people who have had their brackets break were not driving spirited and they broke anyway, such as mine.

I just installed the brackets on my car and so far so good. Just don't use the bushings that come with the engery brackets. Use the PT bushings because the energy bushing wouldn't fit when I tried to put everything back together.


I don't believe I ever said that and if I did then I misspoke, my intent was to only provide an alternative i.e. the Energy Suspension setup

I had an Energy Suspension bracket break, it was on a less stiff custom bar I built for Stock Class autox

As pointed out by Fluid, you need to get the brackets tightened to the proper torque spec. If it's loose the bracket will flex under load and eventually break due to fatigue.

The OE endlinks are fine

It's been about 2 months now, and the OEM endlinks are working just fine. The brackets supplied rfom progress tech are working fine, although I used Formula Five lubricant rather than the stuff they supplied, per Team's recommendation.

This was 2 months ago, so I don't know who-has-what-in-stock currently, but I ordered them from ptuning.com both bars were $299 shipped, and they came in 4 days. I got Formula Five lubricant from summit racing.

These bars are excellent!

Just installed the front (finally had time), rear has been on for some time. Man rusted endlinks suck. Regarding performance, I can't give an objective one since I've only been on the highway. I can say ride is definitely harsher. Expansion joints, potholes, etc rattle the front pretty good.

Finally got my front and rear sway bars in. Time was running short before my event and Brice from Fluid Motorsports was able to ship the front and I got it the next day. I got the rear bar from ptuning.com and it arrived in 2 days.

While I was waiting for the rear I installed the front. Based on some descriptions in this and the DIY thread I was anticipating difficulty with the front but it turned out to be relatively easy. The key apparently is to do what the Progress installation instructions say and what is alluded to in the DIY Racing Beat sway bar installation thread. The Progress instructions say to remove the lower splash tray and the lower radiator brackets. The DIY RB thread mentions removing the upper splash tray bolt and loosening the tray. I found that if I took the weighted average of the 2 instructions (I removed some of the trays attachments, 4 bolts and 4 plastic connectors) and just loosened the splash track and removed the radiator brackets I was able to work the bar forward and over the steering rack and it came out relatively easy just working by myself. There is a kink in the tie rods that gives you a little extra room to work the bar end over the tie rod. New bar went in the same as the old one came out. As recommended I used Energy Suspension zerk fitted bushing caps for the front and bought some of the Prothane grease (OMG that grease is like gorilla spunk, it is REALLY sticky and I got it all over everything and all my tools are all funky now:Eyecrazy:). :scratchheHere's an important note to everybody, the Progress instructions end with an incorrect and confusing (to those that don't already know better) comment. STEP 3 states "THIS IS AN ADJUSTABLE SWAY BAR. THE HOLE TOWARD THE FRONT OF THE VECHICLE (sic) IS THE SOFEST (sic) SETTING. CHARACTRISTICS (sic) IN HANDLING HAVE BEEN ALTERED. USE EXTREME CAUTION DURING DRIVING. Attach the end links to the bar. The hole toward the front of the car is the firmest setting." As you can see the two sentences are contradictory. When I read the first part in CAPS I thought they're nuts, then I read the correct instruction at the end. I'm going to try and contact them and see if they can fix this before somebody loses their car into a wall. I'll also try to get them to correct their spelling:uhh: The statement in CAPS is a cut and paste lifted from the rear bar instructions. The statement in CAPS is correct for the rear bar ONLY since it is installed facing the opposite direction. The stiffer setting is always closest to the main sway bar cross arm (ie the shortest lever arm is stiffer).

Next day the rears came in and again based on the threads I was anticipating an easy install. I had some trouble because one of the endlinks was stubborn but a bigger wrench and a captured allen wrench got it off eventually. Things then began to go more smoothly, I drilled an tapped the Progress rear bushing caps and installed zerk fittings purchased at Autozone. Future note, if you drill for the zerk fittings angle them down a little bit, I centered them and the muffler prevents my grease hose nipple from attaching properly. I ran into a minor snag when I was having trouble getting the bushing caps installed. Turns out the Progress bushing caps are just a tad too wide for the OEM studs and nuts. As a result if you tighten the bottom nut before the top the socket wrench won't fit over the top nut because it is too close to the cap. For the longest time I thought I had stripped the nut and was cursing it. When I took the cap back off and started over I realized what had happened. Tighten the top cap nut first with a socket then you can easily tighten the bottom cap nut with a open end wrench.

I set the front bar in the middle of 3 holes and the rear bar on the softer of the 2 holes. I won't have a complete and accurate assessment until I get to Sebring on June 13. The car handles well enough now that it is difficult to find the limits on the street without endangering the populace. I was able to go out to my brake bedding road on Sunday and throw the car around a bit and it is much flatter in the corners and seems pretty neutral, transitioning from mild understeer to mild oversteer with throttle. When it did break loose is wasn't dramatic and the car felt like it was under control. Currently I'm on OEM springs and shocks, -1.2 camber front and -1.8 camber rear. Tire pressures are 35 psi front and rear. All in all I'm very happy with the performance. Now if I can just get the gorilla spunk off of my tools I'm good:fingersx:.

I got a chance to track test my Progress front and rear sway bars Saturday at Sebring. Started off with the rear bar on soft and the front bar on the middle hole. I'm running Hankook 245/40/17 R-compounds with the OEM springs and shocks and my camber maxed out at -1.2 in the front, 38psi front and rear. With that setup I had too much understeer at the track. I tried dropping the rear tire pressures a couple of psi which helped but wasn't enough. I moved the rear bar to full stiff at lunch time. Stiffening the rear bar helped balance the car, there was still a touch of understeer at turn in, but backing off the throttle would bring the rear around controllably. Perhpaps I could benefit with a little toe out for the front and rear? The Progress bars made the car nice and flat in the high speed sweepers and through the esses. I wasn't able to better my best time but I blame that on the 98+ degrees at the track. Late in the day I corded my R-compounds and went back to 225/45/18 street tires. Swoope showed up in the afternoon after I changed the tires and rode around with me, there was lots of squealing and weeping on gnashing of teeth with the street tires, but the car was well balanced on street tires as well with the new sway bar settings. Swoope only had minor burns from me using the car heater to cool off the engine on a very hot track day:sweatdrop

Shows how the car is inherently balanced and even slightly out of balance sway settings make a difference. Great how adj bars allow seeing these changes, and give the ability to tune to any particular handling sweet spot you want. Tire pressure is a bit more tricky due to temp deltas esp. cross carwise. So much fun making it right :cool:

I'm running Hankook 245/40/17 R-compounds with the OEM springs and shocks and my camber maxed out at -1.2 in the front, 38psi front and rear. With that setup I had too much understeer at the track. I tried dropping the rear tire pressures a couple of psi which helped but wasn't enough. I moved the rear bar to full stiff at lunch time. Stiffening the rear bar helped balance the car, there was still a touch of understeer at turn in, but backing off the throttle would bring the rear around controllably. Perhpaps I could benefit with a little toe in for the front and rear?

You may wanna try trial braking, it helps a lot of understeer
b4 I didnt know how to trial braking, I used to get a lot of understeer
Now I know the weight transfer, use trial braking + counter steer, it just works fine :)

I guess you brake on the straight, then turn and give some gas, right?
You may try brake at the same braking point, then leave some brake, bring brake in the apex, when you hit the apex, then release all and step on the gas

Reason why is the weight, if you brake on the straight, first the weight all goes to the front, but when you release the brake and turn and put some gas, the weight all goes to the rear, then your front tire will not have enough weight to grip the ground. At this moment, most people will think, wow the front tires has no grip, screaming and understeer, but actually is not, just because your way to drive.

If you change to way you drive, brake at the same braking point, leave some brake when you turn, and keep the weight to the front, you will have a lot more grip than the other way. When tou hit the apex and fast the exit, then you full gas to hit the exit. (you may have a little oversteer, just counter steer a little, then you will be fine)
ps:the fastest way to take corners is between Grip and Drift

here is a video of the instructor who thought how to drive on track
( Look at his steering carefully and here when he give gas!!!)

Winner of Skip Barbra
Winner of Red line time attack

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Right now I'm using
32mm front sway bar
19mm rear
both of them from tanabe
I love it

also with megan coilovers 8Kg 6Kg
mazdaspeed F+R strut bars
and 4 pieces under braces
with Mazdaspeed spoiler

Camber -3 front, -2.5 rear

I love this set up !

That's a great vid, thanks for posting that....oh too have such HP :), I feel like I the enemic skinny kid in the beater car compared to that :lol:

That's a great vid, thanks for posting that....oh too have such HP :), I feel like I the enemic skinny kid in the beater car compared to that :lol:
Thanks :)
yea...the Z06 team invite him to be the driver to the red line time attack
Some more video for the same person
What about this then
NA 1.6 Miata with GT wing and R tires
drifting all the way...lol
So hard to drift for only 100 hp
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and he actually own a stock s2k
counter steering all the way
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You may wanna try trial braking, it helps a lot of understeer
b4 I didnt know how to trial braking, I used to get a lot of understeer
Now I know the weight transfer, use trial braking + counter steer, it just works fine :)

I guess you brake on the straight, then turn and give some gas, right?
You may try brake at the same braking point, then leave some brake, bring brake in the apex, when you hit the apex, then release all and step on the gas

Reason why is the weight, if you brake on the straight, first the weight all goes to the front, but when you release the brake and turn and put some gas, the weight all goes to the rear, then your front tire will not have enough weight to grip the ground. At this moment, most people will think, wow the front tires has no grip, screaming and understeer, but actually is not, just because your way to drive.

If you change to way you drive, brake at the same braking point, leave some brake when you turn, and keep the weight to the front, you will have a lot more grip than the other way. When tou hit the apex and fast the exit, then you full gas to hit the exit. (you may have a little oversteer, just counter steer a little, then you will be fine)
ps:the fastest way to take corners is between Grip and Drift


Well that is good advice, however I was in fact trail braking and am well familiar with the concept. Perhaps Swoope can offer a critique as he was sitting there cooking in the passenger seat. As I said above after I reset the rear sway at lunch the car had much better balance and it was easy enough to get the rear around by feathering the throttle through the apex.

Well that is good advice, however I was in fact trail braking and am well familiar with the concept. Perhaps Swoope can offer a critique as he was sitting there cooking in the passenger seat. As I said above after I reset the rear sway at lunch the car had much better balance and it was easy enough to get the rear around by feathering the throttle through the apex.

Cool, good to know....sorry about didnt read all the post:lol2:

Urrr, I hate tracing during the summer time :(

why would you lower the rear pressures and give the rear more grip to try to combat understeer?

lose some PSI's from the front half, or put some more in the rear. This would be best decided by taking tire temps.

why would you lower the rear pressures and give the rear more grip to try to combat understeer?

lose some PSI's from the front half, or put some more in the rear. This would be best decided by taking tire temps.

I agree :)
and depends on what tire, R tires should be hot 38~42, best is around 40
but still depends the temperature of the tires after run
inside, middle and out side
should be close to each other :)

why would you lower the rear pressures and give the rear more grip to try to combat understeer?

lose some PSI's from the front half, or put some more in the rear. This would be best decided by taking tire temps.

Fronts were already at optimum pressure for lateral traction. Overinflating or underinflating a tire from optimum will lessen the traction, the traction vs air pressure graph is, however, a lopsided bell curve. That is. traction falls off more gradually on the underinflation side of the bell curve and it is easier to calibrate the traction on the low pressure side of optimum. Traction falls off more abruptly on the high pressure side of the bell curve which makes for a twitchy car that breaks away with less warning and is less well suited to a high speed road course but maybe OK for a lower speed autocross. As a result, I prefer to lower my tire pressures from optimum to reduce traction. Furthermore, in the rear, I can maintain a better fooprint under braking with an underinflated tire.

just the thread i was looking for, posting so i can come back for research when buying.

Progress Tech is now using their own redesigned bracket for the front bars on the RX-8. It will flex much less under load and not contort or bend from any off-track excursions. haha I have them on my car now. Trust me, these things are beefy.

http://www.progressauto.com/products/sfID1/15/productID/636

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/ThePunisher522/progressbrackets.jpg

Dammit... Im going to have to get those arent I... :/

Progress Tech is now using their own redesigned bracket for the front bars on the RX-8. It will flex much less under load and not contort or bend from any off-track excursions. haha I have them on my car now. Trust me, these things are beefy.

http://www.progressauto.com/products/sfID1/15/productID/636

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e187/ThePunisher522/progressbrackets.jpg

Do these fit the stock bar? Beefy they are, but do you feel any benefit beyond the assurances of advertising?

I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a pair for the front. My r/f one broke. Just noticed it today when i was doing an alignment.

Regarding the issue of periodic bushing regreasing, has anyone tried this product? Sounds promising and there's even a positive testimonial regarding sway bushings in the Amazon reviews. It would be nice not to have to remove and regrease (or deal with a grease gun and zerks) if you could just point and shoot with a spray can.

Wurth HHS-2000 / HHS-K Penetrating High Temperature Lubricant

http://www.amazon.com/Wurth-HHS-2000-Penetrating-Temperature-Lubricant/dp/B0002XRDLE

Was adjusting my bars the other day while I greased the bushings and forgot to spray down the adjustment nuts that hold the endlink to the swaybar holes prior to removal and ended up slightly rounding one of them and now have to figure out how I'm going to remove this? I read some people were using a "nut crusher" tool or something, but I was thinking I'd just go out and buy a dremel for this type of job.

Does anyone know the threading size of the 14" nut that holds the swaybar endlink to the swaybar holes itself? Before I try anything I wanna have a replacement nut in order to be able to drive my car after.

Was adjusting my bars the other day while I greased the bushings and forgot to spray down the adjustment nuts that hold the endlink to the swaybar holes prior to removal and ended up slightly rounding one of them and now have to figure out how I'm going to remove this? I read some people were using a "nut crusher" tool or something, but I was thinking I'd just go out and buy a dremel for this type of job.

Does anyone know the threading size of the 14" nut that holds the swaybar endlink to the swaybar holes itself? Before I try anything I wanna have a replacement nut in order to be able to drive my car after.

Drive to the hardware store and take the nut off the other side. Bring it in with you and find a match. Or take it off at home, swing the link away from the bar, and drive to the store with the bar disconnected from the link. It's not going to hurt anything as long as you drive carefully.

Drive to the hardware store and take the nut off the other side. Bring it in with you and find a match. Or take it off at home, swing the link away from the bar, and drive to the store with the bar disconnected from the link. It's not going to hurt anything as long as you drive carefully.

Being off at college, I don't have another car I can take, and I'd prefer just to replace the nut without having to take off the endlink because I don't want to strip the other connecting part.

Wait... Reread your post... So I **can** drive with the endlink disconnected or fully off if I have to, drive to a hardware store, buy the nut, then reinstall the endlink when I get home? If necessary?

Someone has to know the proper nut size to buy?

Being off at college, I don't have another car I can take, and I'd prefer just to replace the nut without having to take off the endlink because I don't want to strip the other connecting part.

Wait... Reread your post... So I **can** drive with the endlink disconnected or fully off if I have to, drive to a hardware store, buy the nut, then reinstall the endlink when I get home? If necessary?

Someone has to know the proper nut size to buy?

You can. Your shocks and springs will still work with no bar attached. Just don't drive like you're at the track. It is unlikely anyone here would care to record the nut sizes on their endlinks. Now go to the hardware store already.

^^So are the endlink nuts the same size on both sides? And now back to the original question? How should I safely go about removing the rounded one? Would a dremel be a feasible method?

^^So are the endlink nuts the same size on both sides? And now back to the original question? How should I safely go about removing the rounded one? Would a dremel be a feasible method?

From these questions I'm assuming you didn't do all those mods in your sig yourself. :)

If you plan to continue doing your own work, you need to make friends with a mechanic you can call with questions.

I'd try a vise grip on the nut before going the dremel route. And for future reference, download an owner's manual to make sure you're not over-torquing your nuts. I tighten my endlinks a couple of ft-lbs more than the spec, but even at that tightness, you shouldn't have problems rounding off the nut. I assume you own a torque wrench?

How should I safely go about removing the rounded one? Would a dremel be a feasible method?

Unfortunately you are going to run into a few problems here. A dremel is fine, just be careful not to go too far and start hacking the threads of the endlink.

Vice grip is fine if you can get a good grip on it, make sure you use an allen key to prevent the link from spinning with the nut

a nut-cracker is something i have used to get a nut off of an endlink on a friends car that was rusted on hard. Just go slow and you may manage to get it off without damaging threads.

Hey guys,

I was about to purchase rears by PT until i saw Teams post about losing control in wet conditions and decided i might just get front and rears.

I wanted to know in advance before i get them what setting i should use for fronts and rears. I know some of you have gone back and forth between different setups of stiffness and wanted to know what you stuck with.

I have the 40EA Bilstein shocks(I think they are similar to the bilstein HD's) with stock springs along with the other 40AE suspension goodies.

Ill be using the oem endlinks as well.

Thanks!

^^Really depends on your setup (alignment, suspension, driving style, etc.). We can't really tell you without trying it out, but I for example had great success on full soft front and rear (even full soft is stiffer and OEM), so try that first, then adjust from there. Even those settings made the body roll go almost completely away. Many people say full stiff in the front is too much, which I had considered, so I'm about to try the middle as it will probably be perfect for me, but I can't say for sure just yet.

^^^ Forget the bars & adjustments for a minute and consider the car is generally well balanced to start, even wo/bars. So now say you use the bars and set the same stiffness increase front & rear. You are not changing the balance, but you are increasing roll stiffness.

The result is less lean, meaning the suspension may stay in its optimal range of movement better, but harsher, with less overall grip, plus less side to side suspension independence. It's a compromise that might be benefical if you track the car say, much less so in a DD situation.

Likewise, changing the front to rear stiffness ratio is something only you can decide by driving the car in the manner and place where *your car's* handling performance is lacking in your judgement. It's so dependent on your own tires, springs, alignment, etc., that advice here is conceptual and offered so you can anticipate what adjustments might do.

Where do you want more grip? With that in mind, stiffer in front and /or softer in rear produces more understeer (aka "safer" lol) and the reverse is the opposite effect. You can adjust yourself into get loose trouble (big oversteer) or turn the car in to a pig (big understeer). In the middle is balance. It's totally up to you.

^ thanks for the info. I use the car mostly for daily but am hoping to get in some autox with some of my rx8 friends.

I bought my rx8 used with shitty nexen tires and looking to replace them for some s drives, after them id like to try the direzzas.

anyway... im looking to increase the cars potential at autox with something besides tires and was recommended to look into sway bars since i dont need to replace my shocks that alot of S1's need to do. Though since i use the car as my daily i cant have it getting erratic when it rains, i lost my 09 rx8 that way from hydroplaning downhill on a curve.

Ive never dealt with sways before, is it something i can set to soft for daily (even though it would be harsher than oem) and then jack the car up and switch it to stiff on a track day with relative ease?

^ absolutely. Once you get in the swing of things and know how to do the adjustment it's only a couple minutes (that is considering the bolts on your endlinks are not rusted). The rear is easiest, it's right there when you slide in behind the wheel. The front's are easiest w/wheel off. 2c is to set the front and then play with the rear adjustments (one or both side, one side adj is for finer adjusting) to make it easier.

The only thing to watch though, depending on how your adjustment holes are laid out on the bar's end, you MAY want an adjustable endlink to keep from having preload situation (bar under tension on flat ground). With the car on level ground - if you can unhook one side endlink and put it in the other hole(s) on the bar without tensioning the bar itself in order to get the link bolt in the new hole, you'll be ok. Ohterwise, not so much and an adj endlink on one side would make it much easier (and better) allowing it to be done without any preload.

Two adjustable endlinks allow you to do both ends of the car, one per end.

Oh and believe it or not, tires really are everything. I've had two sets of extreme performance tires, (Bridgestone Potenza RE01R, and currently Advan AD08's) and as a result I feel I kinda have to spoil myself and get this category for now on because anything else is a MASSIVE downgrade! The grip is insane, even in wet, and they're totally livable it daily drive.

^ thanks for the info. I use the car mostly for daily but am hoping to get in some autox with some of my rx8 friends.



Set the front at the middle setting and leave it. It's comfy enough for DD, and full stiff is so stiff it completely defeats the suspension of the car. Set the rear soft for DD. For autox, experiment with the hard setting if you want more rotation.

seems fitting .... :fingersx:

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=180712&d=1327375956

Hehe, thanks guys for the help. I take research to a whole unfun level before i buy something, i want to know the ins and outs before doing anything especially because i dont want anything to break and/ or replace because i didnt do my homework.

Also my bolts shouldnt be rusted as my car has never seen snow and is garaged.

Ill have to read up on this Preload, I think i might have my mechanic do it for me the first time that way i see what needs to be done and can do it myself later when adjustment needs to happen.

http://chzscience.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/funny-science-news-experiments-memes-dog-science-fuzzy-logic.jpg