Well, I'm home from my trip to Italy and I was happy to see my NISMO sway bars I had ordered from Groupe-S had arrived.

I got unpacked, put on my work gear and wasted no time in getting to the job. Right out the box, the sway bars looks great! The enclosed instruction are in japanese, but putting on sway bars is not rocket science, so I didnt even need them.



First off, you need to remove the plastic cover underneath the engine. A bunch of little screw hold it in place, but its easy to do. From there you have to remove the two sway bars brackets which are each held in place with 4 bolts, and then the single end bolt at each end of the sway bar. Then you simply bring the bar down and pop in the new one.





PS: The blue springs, for those who may be wondering, are not OEM. They're Sprint 1.75" springs, which have also helped the car in the handling dept a great deal, while keeping the ride still surprisingly very comfortable.

Next to each other, you can clearly see the NISMO's larger diameter.



The rear is also just easy. You have to remove two brackets, each held in place with 2 bolts, and the two end bolts. Simply remove and place the new in. Boom you're done!







After I got them on, which took about an hour and a half, I went for a test drive, and believe me when I tell you this - it was a night and day diference! The kits is awesome! It had greatly eliminated body sway to the point I was taking turns with the tires screaching, pleeeeeease slow down!

The car feels much more stable and responsive around the twistys. I must admit, it was well worth the $500 and change I sported for the kit, and best of all anyone with basic mechannic skill and hand tools can get the job done in under 2 hours.

 

And here she is.....

 

Admins/Mods

Please place this on the DIY section too!! Awesome job Ducati! Thank you for giving a real world insight on them. This is $500 well used on something that actually performs as promised.

Thanks again!

- Don't argue with idiots. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.=P-

 

duc, the man. wonderful job, wonderful description, great looking car. thanks for the words and pics. very helpful. may just spring for it and do the changes, too. all of us on this forum are appreciative.

BONDg35c

 

Nice job Ducatiguy. Can you post the link where you bought the NISMO Sway bars?
Also I thought that Nismo has the sway bars for the cars without VDC.
Did you see any problems when the VDC is on?

 

Good point! A lot of what I am finding on the Net regarding the Nismo Sway Bars is that it for those without VDC. So, how does it effect your car's VDC function?


"Use the Forced Induction Luke!"
-Jedi
2003 G35C, 6MT, Navi, Black Obsidian/Graphite

 

I got the bars from Groupe-S Performance, and the website is:

http://www.gruppe-s.com/350z.htm

As for VDC issues, foremost I rarely drive with the VDC on. If I do its usually becouse I have forgotten to get to it before taking off. In the day or so of use with the bars on, I have seen NO adverse effect with the VDC on. I can see why many would think it would be a problem, but I put them on for real spirited driving, and not computer enhanced stability control. If it was up to me, and if I could, I would rip that whole VDC out of the car, as it serves no purposes in my G.

 

Nice better ride when laid to the side.....

The sky is the limit
350gt Ride on [img]/w3timages/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

 

So it comes down to either Nismo or Stillen. Seems as though Stillen's SB's have some adustability.
Per their site:
"STILLEN sway bars are considerably thicker and more rigid than stock. Both Bars are also 5-way adjustable. Allowing drivers to adjust the ride from 7% to 70% stiffer than stock, making the 350Z/G35 Coupe pleasant on the boulevard and aggressive at the track. 1 3/8-inch diameter (front) and 7/8-inch diameter (rear) tube bars. This set uses all stock mounting points for a hassle-free installation process. The result is a 350Z/G35 Coupe better able to carve through canyons and slice through slaloms at a quicker pace, while not sacrificing ride or height quality. "

Which do I pick?? Hmmmm......



"Use the Forced Induction Luke!"
-Jedi
2003 G35C, 6MT, Navi, Black Obsidian/Graphite

 

Ducatiguy, did you know that you are my hero?

Jedi, are you a sales men? Cause you just sold a set of Sway Bars to me : )

 

How many millimeters are they compared to stock?

Please take ur OEM sway bars to a sedan owner and see if they fit. I WANT!!


It's still a G thang!!

 

Stock oem sway bar diameter for the Z, G35 coupe and the sedan with sport suspension is 33mm front 20mm rear. I have every reason to believe that they are all in fact the same part.

Here's my list of info on aftermarket sway bars.
One very important note, the EVO rear bar's different shape is also to allow clerance for running true dual exhaust setups.

Nismo:
front- *36mm
rear- *22mm

*However this same person got different measurement's than I got when I used a dial caliper on the stock bars. So I have to question the accuracy of the above measurements. But their all I could find.

Cusco sway bar
35mm front
22mm rear
Front sway bar has two settings of 20% and 37% stiffer then stock Rear sway bar is 73% stiffer then stock.
$450 shipped

Stillen 5-way adjustable bars
35mm front 22mm rear (converting from 1 3/8" & 7/8")
Adjustment range 7% to 70% (unknown if both front and rear bars have the same full 7% to 70% range)
$479

Mines Sway bars
Front 20% stiffer rear 30% stiffer
$699.00(OUCH!)


Eibach specs from Eibach.com 34mm front 22mm rear
ETA 09/01/03 $264 from www.tirerack.com

350EVO Sway bars 3-way adjustable
32mm front and 23mm rear.
$495
Front bar
middle adjustment 11% stiffer
stiff adjustment 33% stiffer

Rear bar
middle adjustment 25% stiffer
stiff adjustment 53% stiffer






Ivry 6mt sed
Injen CAI, 22" resonator
8X18 Enkei RPM2 45mm
Kumho MX 245/40
clear corners

 

Zen: Too funny man, nah just trying to help you and myself make an informed decision.

I spoke at length yesterday with Adam (Stillen Rep.) about various products and so forth. He wasn't sure about whether or not the VDC would be adversely affected or not so he's gonna check with their R&D guys and get back to me. And I'll do the same when I hear something. Till then, keep Mod'n.

"Use the Forced Induction Luke!"
-Jedi
2003 G35C, 6MT, Navi, Black Obsidian/Graphite

 

Day two with the NISMO's and Im starting to really test the limits of the car. I love it! Having been on the track with E30 and E36's Bimmer, I know all too well what happens when you have too stiff of a sway bar. The cars limit or boundaries gets completely lost and 1 sec you're going straight, the next your *** comes loose and you're doing donuts into the ruts. In every car, even fully prepped race cars you HAVE to feel body sway. Its the key factor thats gonna keep you from either slamming the pedal into the twistys or keep it modest. Going with too stiff of a setting sway bar on the street is even worse (specially with street tires - oh man thats a NO NO!) Can have serious effects on your judgement as to whether or not your car can trully "hang" with the new setting. So these systems that are adjustable to as high as 70% stiffer, well thats just scary for street use! The last thing I would want is my G to come out side ways off an exit ramp and end up wondering, well what did I do? My car wasn't even leaning...

Something to think about...

 

Ducatiguy, what is the website for Groupe-S? I searched the web but did not find it?