No, I bought the Stock Sport Tuned Suspension from one of
the board members for a give away price. It only had 6400
miles on it. I hear it is a definite improvement over the non-
sport suspension. I don't know what setting to use for the
sways, so hard all around for me until I know different.

03 5AT Sedan, sunroof, splashguards, HKS muffler,
14 wire Grounding kit, Z Duct, Stillen HF/AB
Underbody rear diffusers, Drilled alum pedals,
Stillen sway bars H/H

 

How much is the set of Nismo sway bars for the coupe? Anyone know?

Thanks - Joey Avino

 

I bought mine from www.performancenissanparts.com for ~$350. Install was free (I did it myself).

 

385 on the site now

 

Quote: ***I got Nismo sway bar too, but when i see my old stock sway bar...i felt that there is no difference....the nismo one is only little bit fatter....thats all >_<***

Here's a pic of the stock sways... although the Nismo bars look pretty much the same, if you measure the Nismo mounting points (i.e. between the two 14mm frame bolt openings) the front is about an 1/8th inch shorter (i.e. the stock sways are slightly wider) and the rear about a 1/4 inch shorter (than stock).

Basically this slightly shorter bar acts to tighten the connection between the left and right suspension members, while the bushings (which are basically the same as the stock bushings) allow for some rotation of the bar (i.e. as the outside suspension member compresses in a turn it applies torsion to the bar which limits the upward movement of the inside suspension member -- and vice-versa -- so the car stays flat in the turn).

I have the adjustable Hotchkis sways on my G, which are set "soft" on front and "medium" on rear, which I think gives about the same torsion as the Nismo bars. This setup counters the stock G's inherent understeer at the limit and gives both (1) neutral balance and (2) reduced body roll.

There is a long right-handed sweeper on the circuit at our local track that I can drift with VDC off using this sway setting. With the "hard" rear setting the car leans toward oversteer and the back end is too squirrley. The first time on the track I did not have the sways on, and the car understeered badly with a lot of body roll. The car really wanted to plough/ push on hard corners. Without the sways I could still drift the car with VDC off, but it was much harder to do and less predictable since I had to use throttle to keep the back end broken.

I would go so far as to say that for both the track and the street, this was one of the best-value mods I have done for my car's performance (i.e. quicker lap times via better handling in the corners).

Highly recommended! (either Nismos or the Hotchkis)



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I just had my Hotchkis installed at Street Image (Baldwin Park, highly recommended) today, and I noticed an immediate difference in handling. Normally I am pretty skeptical about mods (such as my K&N) but the sways DEFINITELY made a difference.

As others have mentioned, the car handlings flatters, it's much easier to load and unload the suspension. (at turn in, the car settles a lot faster and more stable) Cornering with the sways is amazing, the push is gone, the wobbly feeling on the switchbacks is gone, and under hard braking the car feels a lot more composed. The car is rougher over uneven roads, I definitely feel more road feedback and uneven highways than before the install.

I have been doing a lot of mountain roads and I AutoX before..... now I regret not having done this mod a long time ago. The car handles a lot sharper than before. The loss of understeer at the corners makes the car feel 150lbs lighter and tighter. I seriously recommend everyone to do the sway bars (Hotchkis, Stillen or Nismo) before any engine mods. The difference would be a lot more dramatic. Definitely the best performance mod for the money IMHO.


CPV35 G35C Maliblue

 

Stillen sways are on sale for $289, down from $499.
Unbeatable deal

03 5AT Sedan, sunroof, splashguards, HKS muffler,
14 wire Grounding kit, Z Duct, Stillen HF/AB
Underbody rear diffusers, Drilled alum pedals,
Stillen sway bars H/H

 

Have anyone ever tried the Stillen ones? Are they worth it? I was going to go Nismo but for $289.00... wow, that's for both bars, the front and back, correct?

Thanks - Joey Avino

 

Lol what am I saying? I'm getting those things now! When I order them later in the week I'll post a DIY installtion guide.

Thanks - Joey Avino

 

I like the adjustability of the Hotchkis bars... simply use a different hole on the endlinks to fine tune the car's balance.

Although they recommend starting with the stiffest setting (maximum understeer and thus "safer" I'm assuming) I ended up using the softest/ lightest front setting (and because I have 10.5 inch rear tires, I need to counter a lot of additional understeer)

With their DYI manual, installation is pretty straightforward.
Just remember to use a non-lithium based grease to lube the bushings (i.e. won't wash out with water).





343007-blog_0409week10152cfr.JPG

 

Although Hotchkis recommends starting with the softest rear setting (again, probably to avoid oversteer), I ended up using the middle setting to get a neutral balance.



343008-blog_0409week10153cfr.JPG

 

I bought the Stillen sway bars for $313 delivered to my door.
That price is for both front and rear bars. These sway bars are
great, 5 way adjustable, up to 70% stiffer than stock. I spent
$90 to have them installed at my local Firestone store. I had
them installed at the 70% setting. The sedan drives like a
different car now. In 2 weeks I will have the Sport Suspension
added to my sedan. Whoa baby!!! It's time for some fun.

03 5AT Sedan, sunroof, splashguards, HKS muffler,
14 wire Grounding kit, Z Duct, Stillen HF/AB
Underbody rear diffusers, Drilled alum pedals,
Stillen sway bars H/H