I have done a search and can't quite find the answers I am looking for. I have an 05' Coupe MT, and I am looking at buying the Hotchkis sway bars, are they any stiffer than the sport suspension stock bars? If they are which setting should I use? I would like just a little less roll in the corners, Thanks for the help

 

you didn't look hard enough. it's right above where you posted. there is a sticky with everything you need to know about all the brands of sway bars. https://g35driver.com/forums/brakes-suspension/55776-sway-bar-summary.html
Hotchkis Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways:
Front - Rate Increase over stock +9%,+32%,+63%
Rear - Increase over stock +54%,+92%,+146%

 

I read that thread. Are all the sway bars the same on the coupes? If not that thread does not say if that is for the sport suspension or the base.

 

i believe coupes only come in one suspension package...

 

there is such a thing as the oem sport package..

 

Sway Bar Summary!

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Hey everyone, I thought it would be a good idea to create a thread w/ a summary of info for sway bars. Please add posts and I will try to update this original post with your information so that people can see a lot of info in 1 spot. Hopefully people will do a search and find this thread.

Please help to fill in the blanks below....

Hotchkis:
Construction: Front 1 3/8" (35MM) Hollow (Bar Weight 13.5lbs), Rear 15/16"(24mm) Hollow (bar weight 5.5lbs)
Bushings: rubber?
Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways: Front - Rate Increase over stock +9%,+32%,+63%
Rear - Increase over stock +54%,+92%,+146%
Approximate Price: ~$260
Pros/Cons/Experiences/Settings: some people complain about squeaking w/ Hotchkis (but I've read that you should just put more grease on them)
The bars do not incorporate bushing “stops” to locate the bar. Some people have noticed the bar shift to one side or another. The fix is to purchase a pair of “collars” from McMaster Carr (part Number?)


Stillen:
Construction: 1 3/8-inch diameter (front) and 7/8-inch diameter (rear) tube bars
Bushings: None included (re-use OEM bushings or buy aftermarket ones)*
Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways: from 7% to 70% stiffer than stock
Approximate Price: ~$275
Pros/Cons/Experiences/Settings: Excellent construction, excellent packaging & instructions, reasonable price, no noise. No cons. kenchan drives on Front soft / Rear med. tgenius drives Front med/ Rear med for his sedan.


*Polyeurethane Bushings compatible w/ Stillen sways:
Summit racing carries the bushings too for less than suspension.com.
Prothane part # 14-1115 - 13.99
Prothane part # 14-1116 - 19.39 Possibly backordered though
(info courtesy of sin4me)

*Energy Bushings for Stillen Sways:
ENS-9-5168R for the front 1 3/8" bar
ENS-9-5158R for the rear 7/8" bar
and they are $36+ shipped. (info courtesy of Jamaica2G)


350evo:
Construction: cold formed, high strength aircraft grade steel, powdercoated finish
Bushings: polyurethane
Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways:
Approximate Price: $360
Pros/Cons/Experiences/Settings: Front/rear bars can be purchased separately.


Nismo:
Construction: Front: 36mm, hollow steel, Rear: 22mm, hollow steel
Bushings: firmer bushings with higher density rubber
Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways
Approximate Price: ~$440
Pros/Cons/Experiences/Settings: Nismo has warranty


Eibach:
Construction: Front bar diameter: 34mm, Rear bar diameter: 22mm
Bushings:
Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways
Approximate Price: ~$350
Pros/Cons/Experiences/Settings: Million Mile Warranty


Cusco:
Construction: Front: 35mm, Rear: 22 mm
Bushings:
Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways: Front - 120% and 137% stiffer than stock. Rear - 173% stiffer than stock (22 mm). Approximate Price: ~$470
Pros/Cons/Experiences/Settings:



Progress:

Construction: Solid; Front bar diameter: 27mm, Rear bar diameter: 22mm; Powdercoated graphite finish
Bushings: Polyurethane
Stiffness settings for the front/rear sways: Fronts non-adjustable; Rears are adjustable
Approximate Price: $260?
Pros/Cons/Experiences/Settings: Front/rear bars can be purchased separately


__________________
'01 Jet Black BMW ///M3 coupe 6MT, 19" BBS CH, Bilstein PSS9 susp, UUC sways, K&N CAI | RIP '04 G35c 6MT DG/G

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Last edited by P_Diddy : 12-06-2005 at 09:13 AM.

 

I have a 2005 coupe 6MT, so it came with the stiffer sways. Since then I swapped those out for the Hotchkis and set them to med/med, and there is a huge difference. lateral motion is greatly reduced. The one issue I have with it is when you go over speedbumps at an angle. Because they're a lot stiffer it really rocks the car pretty hard when the wheels travel asymetically L to R. With these sway bars and using a non-staggered setup on the track, the understeer has been greatly reduced. The tendency for the rear to step out is much greater now. I would highly reccomend changing the sways for the price. When I bought mine there were no collars so I went to McMaster Carr and added them on. I believe the newer Hotchkis ones have collars built-in. I couldn't tell you if its necessary since I installed the collars when I installed the sways, but from the feedback I read from the forums, they seemed necessary. Also, some people talked about changing the endlinks to stronger ones, but I've put 3 hard track days on the car with these sways and the stock end links and haven't had a problem yet (knock on wood). I also did have some problem in the beginning with the nuts not staying on the endlinks, but some thread lock and more torque on the nut fixed that issue.

On a side note, changing the sways should be used more to manage understeer /oversteer by adjusting the relative stiffness front to back rather than just reducing sway. Stiffening up the rear sways relative to the front will increase over steer, softening them up relative to the front will decrease oversteer.

 

Thanks hayaku! I guess I could have just asked if anyone with a 6MT used Hotchkis sways and if they were better than oem's. Thanks again for the info, and I will start with the med/med setting.

 

i have the hotchkis sways on mine...i have a 05 6mt coupe with sport suspension... and what a difference..

 

What setting did you use lakeshore?

 

I just bought a set of hotchkiss sways and they came in today.

These sways have collars welded on them, and the front has 4 positions of adjustability, not 3 like the old ones.

anyone have any idea what the new realative stiffness rating is on this new bar???

 

straight from their website:
http://www.hotchkis.net/products.php...3b48a032fc0c4c

Specs:
Front 1 3/8" (35MM) Tubular(Bar Weight 13.5lbs)
4 Position Adjustable
Rear 15/16"(24mm) Tubular(bar weight 5.5lbs)
3 Position Adjustable

Bar Rates:
350Z & 03- 05 G35 Front
Hole 1 = 1525 lbs/in (22% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 2 = 1845 lbs/in (48% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 3 = 2270 lbs/in (82% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 4 = 2855 lbs/in (129% Stiffer than stock)

06 G35 Front
Hole 1 = 1525 lbs/in (5% Softer than stock)
Hole 2 = 1845 lbs/in (15% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 3 = 2270 lbs/in (42% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 4 = 2855 lbs/in (78% Stiffer than stock)

Rear:
Hole 1 = 520 lbs/in (80% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 2 = 655 lbs/in (125% Stiffer than stock)
Hole 3 = 840 lbs/in (185% Stiffer than stock)

 

Just went back a bit and noticed my old post. I did manage to break an endlink, so maybe the aftermarket endlinks aren't a bad idea. Just FYI.