Lock & Load

No regrets , as ILIV48 said its more of an inconvenience THAN ANYTHING ELSE , and my cornering has been fun

cheers
michael

Spin9k

I certainly enjoy these sways, my only regret is my thinking Whiteline's products were thoroughly engineered. My bad, their web site and history fooled me. My bad. They got (are) sloppy for unknown reasons, and so far haven't even admitted to having 'figured out' the adequate 'fix' yet. Go figure.

The fact that ILIV48 and others came up with fixes that 'worked', is a testament to how inventive and resourceful car enthusiasts can be when faced with imminent safety/performance issues not of their making. Kudos to all for that! I know ILIV48's fix saved my car from track disaster. Again thank you.

The fact Whiteline doesn't seem willing / able? to pony up with much of anything is sad (how many weeks has it been since march 25th?).

The only 'fix' I think is acceptable at this late point, is replacement of all bars with ones with the metal rings already on them, just like the OEM sways.

If they do sell more RX-8 product like we got it is inevitable someone will have problems with serious result...so IMO their options are few - re-engineer the sways like the OEM bar, or go back to making/selling product that isn't so 'hard' for them.

Am I upset with them? - YES! I want the properly made product I paid for.
Do they deserve criticism? - absolutely YES! They endangered my personal welfare.
Will they ever deserve praise? - YES when they rectify the problems they've caused for everyone.
Do I enjoy my (modified) sways? - YES! so far anyway.

Bottom line - WAIT until WHEN and IF Whiteline re-engineers the sways before giving them any (more) money. It';s the only leverage we have in a free market.

Lock & Load

You would think that a company such as whiteline would try and do everything it could to keep the overseas market happy certainly not coming up with a solution for spin9k since march 25th is not good
America is an untapped market for their goods bad publicity is not a good way to sell your products .

cheers
michael

Wildcard

I agree. This should have been done when they were manufactured. To say they "forgot" is BS. Sometimes you just have to admit you were wrong and take the consiquences.

mikeyr

Getting mine fitted Tuesday week, away in asia next week.

The guy from Kiwi-re took one look at the clamp pictures and a page i copied from mcmastercarr, (pointed out by someone spin9k??) with "shaft clamps" as said, bugger the hose clamps I'll fabricate a couple of those (shaft clamps.....)

Sounds good, I'll send some photo's once it's done.

jowettw

damn. unfortunately i live in Canada and had to "special order" them from the local distributor so i already paid for one bar - non refundable.

if i knew that you guys were having trouble i would have NEVER even consider the Whiteline bars.

so this situation is happening with both the adjustable and non-adjustable bars?

mikeyr

Yes but not an insurmountable issue amd teh guy's who have sorted seem very happy with performance. Just let the distributor know and he should ensure the clamps are sent with it. I'd email whiteline direct if i was you!

Muzz

Anyone received theirs from the group buy batch yet? Whats the ETA?

Wildcard

No sign of the official Whiteline clamps yet...

takahashi

Besides ILIV48, who has made the whiteline sway working ?

Lock & Load

Whiteline have all the details addresses of the group buy members , waiting for the fix , i suggest wait a few more days then ring them .

Taka i have a temporary fix same as ILIV48 so far so good.

cheers
michael

jowettw

i emailed Whiteline and got this response:


-----------------------------------
Hello,

Thank you for your interest in Whiteline sway bars.

I am glad to say that the problem has been rectified, so there is nothing for you to be concerned about.
Regards,
Wayne Cunningham
-----------------------------------
Technical support
Go Flatout with Whiteline Automotive
* Email: wayne@whiteline.com.au

------------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:jowettw@telus.net]
Sent: Saturday, 7 May 2005 1:36 PM
To: Support
Subject: RX8 Swaybars

Hi, I was reading about the trouble people were having with your Mazda RX-8 swaybars and movement of the bar when installed on the car on https://www.rx8club.com

I was wondering if you have redesigned or fixed this problem?

Thanks.

ozzie8

I, too, emailed Whiteline. They said clamps are being made please allow 2 weeks so let's hope!!!

Spin9k

Also waiting for reply - i emailed them this AM.

Lock & Load

Spoke to whiteline hopefully we will be recieving the clamps by the end of this week .

cheers
michael

Spin9k

I'm posting this as a FYI for all those current owners of Whiteline's bars.

I wrote asking of the latest 'fix' as a post on the board said it was now ready. Wayne replied (bolding is mine, not Wayne's and it is not the complete text of the emails):

"The rectification of the problem experienced with the RX8 sway bars has been rectified with the use of the same "flimsy clamps" as you have referred to them, and some polyurethane rings that we have had manufactured for the application. We are still awaiting the first production batch of the rings to come into stock for dispatching to existing customers of the RX8 sway bars.

.... The rings that I sent you did not come with fitting instructions as it was assumed that the installation would be self explanatory.

The components that you received are well and truly good enough for permanent rectification of the lateral movement problem that you have experienced (this has been the method used on all previous sway bars that require clamping), once installed, so there is no need for you to be concerned of there strength.

In order to carry out the fitment you need to clean the area that the rings are to be installed from all greasy residue. You must then place the rubber rings in place (on either the inside or the outside edge of the 'D"-bush) and fit the steel clamps over the rubber rings. You are then required to clamp tightly the steel clamp with the use of a set of crimping pliers on the protruding nodule section of the clamp in order to lock both components in place."

So the 'permanent fix' is just the 'temporary fix' put into production. But for us who have purchased the bars already - here's the rub - they are leaving it up to us to find/make do for the tool to install them with, because the correct tool is too expensive for them to supply. Ummmm....

Anyway wrote back saying I had never really heard of this tool or these clamps, I needed more direction / where to buy / or send it to me. Wayne's reply:

"The rings and clamps that you have received are now going to be installed to all sway bars prior to dispatch, but due to the need of clamps on the RX8 sway bars being discovered after the original product being released, we were unable to do this (such as your sway bars).

The crimping pliers that are required are too expensive for us to be able to supply them with all the clamps that we have sent out. I have also had success fitting the clamps with the use of a pair of side cutters or the cutting section of a pair of pliers. The crimping pliers that we use look very similar to a pair of pincers (if that is of any help to you), unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the tool that I can send you."

Wildcard

unsat

Speed Racer

You will need a long handled pair of pliers with a set of pinchers at the front to properly crimp the ring.

Lock & Load

Spin9k

Cannot read yellow writting

cheers
michael

xxup

Michael, just highlight the yellow text by selecting it with your mouse (as if you were going to copy a block of text in a document)- the highlight colours should enable you to read the text..

Adrian

xxup

Why not buy one tool and share it around the group.. This sort of tool is useful for other things.. In my younger days I used to own one of these as it was the only way to crimp the CV joint boot clamp on the various FWD VW/Audi cars that I used to own..

ILIV48

They should have just used their profit margin from the sways we all bought to supply us all the tools needed to fit these clamps.

For me whiteline has lost any future business on my part. My last 2 cars I have spent well over $8000 on full setups from them and the only reason on the 8 I didn't was because they do not have a complete setup for sale.

If you f#ck up then you fix it. Don't just supply a couple pieces and say sort out the rest at the customers expense. Very sad!

timbo

Have been watching this thread with interest. FFS, if I had been in on this group buy, I'd be mightily p!ssed off with Whiteline. Obviously, they have released something to the market that has not even had the most rudimentary testing...something that is potentially very dangerous in that it can potentially make the handling of the car unpredictable!

I think a concerted campaign is worthwhile, guys. I 'm certainly of the opinion that Whiteline stinks after this...so you guys should let them know, in no uncertain terms. No testing, and contemptible after-sales follow-up! They should be run out of business

Revolver

I agree with Timbo.

I've also been toying with the idea of sway bars but after reading this thread over the past few weeks there is absolutely no way Whiteline will get my business.

I'm happy to confess that I'm no backyard mechanic. I'm fully prepared to pay for someone with the proper skills to fit after market parts. However, if you cannot trust the supplier to provide a properly sorted and tested part with adequate after sales service then it all becomes just too hard.

With the kind of driving I suspect most of us do, be it on the track or the road, I don't believe you can risk some dodgy part failing at a crucial moment.

jowettw

yeah i would cancel my order if i could as well.

it would be like paying for an oil change where you have to get under the car to screw in the oil filter yourself... not exactly hard, but not what you're paying for.

the group buy guys should refer whiteline to this forum thread and let them know they screwed themselves ...