Sways are on. Total installation time was about 1.5 hours for both. Cliff notes when I get back home, gotta take the dog to the vet.

Driving feedback when I get back

 

Awesome!!! Good job, San.. 1.5 hours is making good time. I think it took me closer to 2 hours, but I did have some trouble getting the front end up on the ramps, so that slowed me down a little.

Hope your dog is alright..

 

That's not good. Which Costco jack did you have? The blue/silver aluminum? This is the one I have.

 

Yup, the "Torin" 1.5 ton aluminum jack. Was about 99 or 109.00. Stupid thing leaked almost all the hydraulic fluid on my garage floor. Gotta love Costco, took it back no questions asked

Cliff notes:

(I think I got the nuts sizes right, I should have wrote them down when doing the installation but I was pressed for time).

1. The front is super easy. Frame bolts are 14mm, end link bolts are 17mm. Strangely enough, the outer side of the end link bolt were you need to use a box wrench when tightening is 19mm.

2. Rear is a bitch. Tip: loosen the back and second to the back exhaust hangars (at the frame, not the rubber donut) and it'll drop the exhaust enough to slide the rear stock bar out. Frame bolts and end links were 14mm, the exhaust hangar bolts were 12mm.

3. I put the rear on the softest setting. I didn't do much "spirited" driving, but there is an immediate, obvious difference. Body roll is greatly reduced. The car is actually pleasant to drive around turns now. Handling seems more neutral than under steer at the moment. If the middle hole induces some under steer, it'll be fine if it reduces roll at the same time (to me).

4. I'm going to drive on the softest rear setting for a week, then try the middle hole. Changing the settings is a 10 minute task at that. It'll take more time to jack up the car than to change the setting.

5. Thank god I bought the breaker bar. My end link nuts were stubborn to get off and I doubt the regular 3/8" socket handle would've been long enough to provide enough torque. Don't forget to spray wd40 on the nuts before you start removing them.

If I forgot anything, I'll add it in this post. To all of you on the fence about buying the bars, don't hesitate to do so. I'm bone stock other than the bars and they made a tremendous difference for $399.00. It's a no-brainer.

**Thanks to Adrian and everyone else who gave me install tips. I hope the above notes will help anyone installing their bars after me.**

 

congrats on the install san man.

1.5 ton jack? I think you should consider a 3 ton jack and 3 ton jackstands. 1.5 ton are really flimsy stuff.

If anything, stiffening up the rear sway bar will give you more oversteer.

Also, where did you get this that you paid $399? I thought we all got it for $369?

 

I returned that 1.5 ton costco jack and got a 3 ton craftsman aluminum lo-pro professional Seems to be a good jack so far

I'll see on the rear bar next week. For sure I don't want oversteer, so if that happens I'll just put it back to the first hole. That's the great thing about being adjustable

Extra shipping to Hawaii We always get "fugged in the drive thru" on shipping lol.

 

Do not, I repeat, do not buy the Craftsman aluminum jack that Sears sells... Unfortuantely that is the worst jack I have ever owned. I had mine replaced twice in 3 months before I finally gave up on it and returned it for my money back and went to Harbor Frieght and bought American General one that the shop I go to uses. I funny too, because I read all of the bad revies about the Craftsman jack before I bought it, but I ignored them, because I worked fro Sears for a number of years and am a huge Craftsman fan... Oh well, live and learn.

You live in Hawaii, San? Which Island? WooHoo... Now I know where I'm staying the next time I visit!!!

 

Great post, San!!!

I posted some comments in blue below.

FYI... I'm always happy to help.

 

I read the reviews of the smaller jacks (1.5 or 2 ton), and they absolutely sucked. The one I got (3 ton) had 7+ and 1- review, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I have 90 days to return it or 1 year in store replacement. Hopefully it works out since I sure as hell don't want to drop the $$$ for a blue point or similar That wasn't the ****ty one, was it?

I'm on Oahu.

It's funny that the rear end link bolts weren't off sized like the fronts were. Both on the rear were 14mm. No biggie for me since I had sockets and open/box wrenches, but I thought it was strange that the fronts were different. Just something to note for future installers.

 

Oh, very nice... I've flow through Honolulu serveral times, but have never visited. We usually gp to the big Island and or Maui.

 

Yeah... The one I had all the problems with was the 2 ton version... I already have a 3 ton jack I use for my truck, so I just wanted something smaller and lighter... So far, I'm happy with the 2 ton one I got at Harbor Freight, although it does take a little effort to use,but only time will tell how it holds up.

 

Cool. The 3 tons seems to be built pretty stout, but looks can be deceiving.

 

Aaahhhh, this is what i need to do, to stop scraping the bottom of the bumper on the ramp!
What did you use? a 2x4 or something thinner?

thanks

 

BTW, did all of your cars come with the dirt shields in the rear that you had to remove, like the instructions mentioned (I'm assuming that it's KulG35's car)? Mine didn't and I thought that was odd. I've never had any work done to my car back there.

 

I have a similar one--I think it was on sale for $140 though. The only problem with it is that it drops down way too fast--just about slammed my car to the ground one time. The handle adjustment is like a hair trigger--you really have to turn it minutely to get it to drop slowly.