Like the title said, I installed the stillen sway bars last night. This was my first "real" DIY project (I don't count z-tube and pop-charger). I've heard from lots of people on the forum that this is an easy DIY project so I thought I'd give it a go myself. I just wanted to share my experience for those considering going the DIY route with little experience like myself.

First, I'd say it helps to have the right tools. Regular sockets, deep sockets, a breaker bar, torque wrench and a can of PB blaster are a must. I wished I had an air wrench for some of the bolts, but you definitely couldn't use one to get to all the bolts. And I now realize I should invest in a pair of mechanics gloves...my knuckles are pretty beat up this morning. Also helps to have a buddy help out. I honestly don't know if I had the patience (or stamina) to do this myself.

As for the install process, the rear is by far the harder of the two. If it wasn't for the exhaust, it would be a 30 minute job. If you don't plan on dropping the rear exhaust you definitely need to take off the right rear wheel. I couldn't get the exhaust lowered so my friend and I wrestled for a good 30 minutes getting the old sway bar out. After that, it took probably an hour to get the stillen bar back in. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get it in place. I had given up all hope of getting it in with the exhaust up and was trying to pull it out and start from scratch when by the grace of God it somehow fell right into place. Call it good luck, but if you're leaving the exhaust in place and working on jack stands, plan on the rear taking anywhere from 1 hour to a frustrating eternity depending on your geometry skills.

The front is easy...30 minutes to install the bar, 30 minutes to uninstall/reinstall that stupid splashguard.

Right now I have the car set at med/med and it feels great! Exactly like it should have come from the factory. I certainly recommend this mod to anyone considering their first real DIY project. Just don't buy into those people claiming it takes 45 minutes for each bar. They either have access to a lift or have done the process before. My install time was in the neighborhood of 4-5 hours...2/3rds of that being spent on the rear. Hope this helps those considering the job...

 

I have a sedan and plan on this being my next mod. The rear installation should be a breeze I'll remove the coupe mid first. Then I'll have full access to the rear sway.

For those of you that might be thinking about doing this, Stillen has the F/R sways on sale for $249. They don't come with replacement bushings so you should look at purchasing those separately as the Stillen bars are larger than the OEM sways.

OP IIRC the front sway bars are not adjustable but the rears are. Is this correct?

Thanks for the write up, it's helpful to those of us who are contemplating this mod.

 

They both are adjustable..I did the same install about 2 weeks ago and agree that the rear is the worse of the two. I ended up dropping the exhaust after arguing with the rear sway bar for half an hour. I was amazed at all the bolts that held the front sway bar on!