expo1

This past weekend I installed the Racing Beat front & rear sway bars along with the Racing Beat front-end links here are some pics and notes.
After jacking up the car I removed all four wheels as I was going to rotate the tires anyway. Removal of the rear tires are not necessary for the installation of the rear sway bar. From reading threads about the difficulty in removing some nuts I sprayed ALL of them with liquid wrench and let them sit for a few hours. Any photos shown also have a corresponding procedure for the opposite side.

Tools needed to do both bars and end-links are
WD40 or Liquid Wrench
10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 19mm 6-point sockets
Torque wrench
5mm & 6mm Allen keys
12mm Drill bit
14mm & 19mm box end wrench (less than 10” in length)

I choose to use the Allen key / box end method to remove the end link nuts. I found that method to be necessary as they were on VERY tight and the bolt would rotate when I used a socket. For the rear end links you need a 14mm wrench and 5mm Allen key. The clamps are held on with 12mm nuts and they came off easy. The bar slides out with room to spare. It’s easy to see and feel the difference between the old and new bars.

PICS: Rear end link. Rear clamps, old & new bars

expo1

RB gives you new bushings and grease for the bars; I liberally applied it to the new bushings. The retaining clamps from the old bar are reused on the RB rear bar. It’s easy to install the rear bar upside down as I did that (see 1st pic). You will find that out quickly on the first drive. I think the Racing beat sticker threw me off. I installed the bar with the sticker right side up which puts that on the passenger side (wrong way). Based on another pic I saw the correct way puts the sticker on the drivers side upside-down (the sticker) as shown in the forth pic. Takes less than a half hour if you install the bar correctly the first time.

Bar clamp torque 13-19 ft-lbs
End-link torque 32-44 ft-lbs I used the highest numbers for ALL nuts.


PICS: Bar in place WRONG, New bar with clamps, Grease , Bar CORRECT

expo1

For the front bar you begin with the removal of a 10mm bolt that holds a piece of plastic trim to the car. You will need the trim loose in order to remove / install the front sway bar. Since I was also going to install the RB front end links I removed BOTH 14mm end link nuts using the 5mm Allen Key / 14mm box end method. If you were going to keep the stock links you only need to remove the top nuts. The new end links have 19mm nuts so these will not be needed. Should you strip the nuts on the rear these can be used on them.
The Clamps come off easy with a 14mm socket, RB gives you NEW clamps and bushings so you do not need to keep them.



PICS: Plastic trim, end link nuts, bar clamps. Lower link

expo1

The new RB end links have a 12mm bolt size as apposed to the 10mm OEM. You will need to enlarge the holes in the new bar and the holes on the lower control arms to accept the new front-end links. RB gives you a 12mm drill bit and a drill guide. After you remove the clamps you will need a 2nd person to help guide the bar out of the car. The instructions from RB for this step are good and I didn’t get a good pic of this steep, but you do need two people to do this.
After you get the new bar in grease the new bushings and put on the new clamps. I went to install the new end-links with 19mm nuts and also ran into the issues of the bolt turning and needed to use a 19mm box end wrench + 6mm Allen key. Here I ran into a small problem, the box end I had was over 11 inches long and would not give me enough room to tighten the nut. I had to run out and buy a new 19mm box end that was less than 10” long. So if you doing this make sure your box end is not too long. Once you get these nuts tight with a wrench you can use a torque wrench to finish it off without the bolt turning.

Clamp Torque 30-36 ft-lbs (go high on this)
End links 65-69 ft-lbs


PICS: Drill & guide, Drilling Control arm, Old & New, installed bar, installed links

expo1

The last pics are of the bar installed with the new end links. I have not gotten a chance to do any aggressive driving with the new bars yet but you can feel the difference just by taking turns around the neighborhood. I would have to say along with the others members new sway bars are one of the best mods you can do. Provided you have the right tools this is an easy Do it yourself. I already have the Mazdaspeed strut tower braces and next year I will add MazdaSpeed shocks & springs.

Jonjieracer

thanks for the pics! sway bars are one my upgrade list. Will be doing my own replacement too!

Omicron

A very nice DIY, expo1! Thanks for the contribution - great job! :D

RXE16T

Swaybars are my next planned mod, now I'm starting to think that I can do them myself.
Thanks for this informative thread mate.

Go48

Great DIY! I may even tackle this one myself.

Questions:

1. Does changing the front sway bar actually or potentially affect the front end alignment?

2. Can you elaborate a bit on why you need a second person to facilitate the removal of the front sway bar? My potential "second person" is not very excited about ME messing around with the car, let alone asking her to help me out.

Thanks.

expo1

1, No it does not.

2, My 2nd person was my wife. Imagine the front sway bar as a “see-saw”, if you were by-yourself moving the right side would cause the left to move the opposite way. So once you got one side of the sway-bar over the steering rack you would mess it up by moving the other side were you not to have any help. So what you do is get the bar over the left side of the steering gear then go to the right. Have you assistant keep the left side of the bar in place as you maneuver the right over the steering rack. Then the bar comes out easy.

EDIT:
Found two pics from this board that might better explain. The 1st one shows how close the front sway bar is to the steering rack. The 2nd shows the OEM bar from the side and why removing the 10mm trim piece bolt provides more room to maneuver the bar over the steering rack. You need the 2nd person to do the maneuvering.

Go48

Many thanks expo1! Maybe Santa will be good to me this year.

Go48

Finally got my RB sway bars and installed them today. Installation was not difficult. Only thing that was a PIA was snaking the original front bar out and the new one in. The rear bar installation was a piece of cake. Entire project took about 2.5 hours including jacking up the car, removing the wheels, and other preps.

The instructions that came with the bars were pretty good, although they could stand some improvements, particularly larger/better pictures to go with the instructions. The pictures included were pretty small and in some cases it was difficult to make out the details referred to in the instructions. I also printed out and reviewed the original DIY posted in this thread by expo1. That was definitely helpful also. The shop manual was not much help since it assumed that the large plastic pan under the front of the car was not there. I wasn't about to take off that pan.

I took a short run through the twisties in the mountains near me after installation and had the following impressions:

**Steering was noticably more precise. It was already precise/tight, but now it is REALLY so. And the turn-in-point/apex relationship definitely felt different. The slightest movement of the steering wheel translated immediately into a change in direction. Seemed as though I needed to be more focused on driving to keep from drifting out of the travel lane.

**Most of the minor body roll previously experienced during heavy cornering is gone. I said MOST, not ALL, but it is much improved. Installation of certain aftermarket springs would likely eliminate nealy all of the body roll, but I'm not willing to give up more ride comfort for the last little bit of body roll. Now I need to think about 4/5-point racing harness to keep me in the seat when cornering. (Note to self: Gotta think about mounting options for such a belt.)

**Ride was slightly harsher but not objectionably so. It seemed to me that small bumps/ripples in the road that I didn't notice before are now noticable. Might just be my senses being more acute to such things because of the desire to feel the difference in ride after installing the bars.

All-in-all, I am pleased with the handling and the feel of the car with the RB bars installed. It's about what I expected so that's all I can ask. It was money well spent in my opinion.

rxeightr

Go48,
Did you need a 2nd person to help you with installing the front sway bar?

Go48

No. I managed to work out the OEM sway bar by myself. I didn't dare ask my sig other for help since she is not a car person and doesn't like me working on the car anyway. The instructions from RB helped a lot and I just took my time and carefully worked at it until it came out. The new bar went in fairly easily after figuring out how the old one came out.

willhave8

Okay, I have a 6 inch 14mm box wrench and the 5mm Allen wrench. Hit the bolts with WD40... Busted blood vessels trying to get the front sway bar off the OEM end links...
Perhaps I was tired as I had also just installed the REVi and the AC & Oil cooler screens.
Oh yes, I had to think hard about what direction to turn the wrench since you can only get at from 'behind'. Never got it to budge.
Had the clamps off with no problem.
Any other tricks. I know it looks simple.
Thanks Craig

<<EDIT>>

Liquid wrench a night's sleep and a new wrench..2 hours and they were off and the new bars on. Quick drive and there is a noticable 'tightness' to the car. More connected. Feels good, I am pleased with them. Now for some track time a few weeks.

modena

Doing the same project as you man!
(Tanabe sways)
The end links where no problem, used motorcycle chain lube,
But on of the bolt that holds the bars is stripped....
Can not get the bolt off!
Wife is of to Home Depot to get a good metal saw, and new bolt....

Cutting the sucker of, no choice, replace bolt, see how it goes....
(The Tanabe's are a grey color, not red as RB)
They have instructions in Japanese, and have new rubber mounts for the brackets....

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Installed mine today...and adjusted the ride height on the coilovers. Off to the alignment rack tomorrow to tweak the alignment. The front bar is a PIA by yourself :D the rear is a 10 min job..so it makes up for it.
can't find a place to corner weigh the car...that knows what they are doing. the only place I could find does it in the parking lot "and doesn't worry if its perfectly level " DUH

expo1

Just wish to add this link to another thead I started that relates to this DIY.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/something-owners-aftermarket-swaybars-might-want-lookout-65304/

~)(

I just finished installing my RB sways today, and let me tell you that you guys are right on the money on just about everything.

Installing the front sway was a bi***! First of all, getting the damn sway bar off is a major PITA. I managed to do it by myself, but there was no way in hell I was going to try installing the RB front sway by myself. It took two of us quite a bit to snake it through. After 15 mins of so we were able to get it mounted.

The rear sway was a breeze; however, I have no idea how you guys can do this thing in under 30 mins. Jacking up the car alone takes about 5 - 10 mins. About 2-4 mins on each bolt with exception of the top rear sway clamp nut. If you have a ratchet, you keep on scraping against the little aluminum sheet of metal down there, and this sound makes anyone cringe. After 30-45 mins of install -- it took forever to torque it properly, I lowered the car and took it for a spin.

First thing that happens as I drive off, I hear a thunk. WTF? I drive over another speed bump and THUNK! I figure... maybe it's just "repositioning" itself... THUNK! I come back home, and check the forums as I remembered that someone had installed the rear sway backwards. I re-read this thread and voila! I discovered I'm an idiot. I installed it backwards!

So the sticker goes on the driver's side and faces upside down! Argh! Anyhow, as I'm redoing the rear sway bar, I managed to break one of the clamp bolts!

Does anyone know where's the best place to pick one up? I wonder what specs I need for it. Can I order it from the Mazda dealer? What the part #?

So... first impressions....

- Body roll is a thing of the past; it's negligible. It's a totally different car, and I have to re-learn its limits. Swirving left and right continuously doesn't make the car roll at all (atleast I didn't notice any). What's weird and I guess due to the flattening, is that right after you swerve, you feel the tail straightening out. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it feels significantly different than stock. Changing lanes at high speeds feels more confident than ever.
- Breaking the tail loose on a gradual turn feels completely different. It feels like a car from a friggin' video game (a 'la Burnout 3). I can't immediately tell when its about to break loose since the car is so damn flat, but at least my new tires let me know so. (I installed my new Toyo T1-R's a couple days ago.) I'm not saying that it isn't controllable, I'm saying that you need to pay more attention to it and spend more time (cautiosly) trying to figure out your new limits. I haven't tried powersliding into a 90 deg turn yet since I'm not too comfy taking the to its limits with that broken bolt. I'll update this post once I get a chance to fix the darn thing and experiment.

expo1

The nut in this pic? https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=32631

Go to a any hardware store that has a large nut / bolt section. Bring one of the good nuts and see what bolt the nut fits, buy another high quality nut that fits that bolt.

30 min install didn't count jacking the car up

~)(

Yup! That's the bolt! I think I said nut earlier, but I meant to say bolt. Thx. :p

expo1

Broken bolt = more work

Looks like there is enough space for you to drill it out and use a new nut / bolt combo. Need to feel behind that clamp to make sure there is room.

~)(

I just called my Mazda dealership, and they couldn't give me a part number for the stud/bolt I broke. Can anyone help me out with that? Thanks.

-jc

Go48

The parts manual shows the nut for the rear stabilizer bar bushing clamp, but not the stud. I think the stud is welded to the chassis and, therefore, is not a shelf part. You will probably have to drill out the stud and replace it with a short bolt and matching nut of a size comparable to the OEM stud. So go to a hardware and purchase a couple of short-length bolts and matching nuts, drill out the stud and install the new bolt and nut. Depending on how much space is available underneath the mounting point, you may or may not be able to slip even a short bolt up under the mounting point into the hole you drilled. In which case, swap the bolt/nut position so that the nut is under the mounting point and the bolt screws down into the nut. Good luck!!

expo1

Go48 is correct, the part you seek is attached to part # 28-800 which is in the photo. To install that part requires the entire disassembly of the rear suspension & removal of the rear differential, clearly not an option for you. Drilling out the broken bolt and replacing it with another is your only real option. There is enough room behind the bracket to fit the bolt.