Silvershadow and I have recently "upgraded" our front anti-swaybars. He's now got a modified Saner and I've got a new Comptech installed. That leaves us with 2 extra Saner swaybars. We're giving the Team AZ drivers first crack at our used sway bars. They won't be cheap but they are both immediately available and we can sure help with the install. I think we've got installation down now since we've done at least 4 installs now.

One of the Saner swaybars has been modified per the specs on SS's new bar. The modification adds a fourth adjusment hole (to make it stiffer) and machines the ends slightly thinner to provide additional end-link to shock clearance.

I'd like to sell the modified bar for $450. I know that's a lot but here's what you get:
Original bar cost - $185 + shipping, this includes Bar, Saner end-links, and mounts
Modification machining cost - $125
New McMaster-Carr end-links- $75 + shipping
Time to figure out how to do it, get mods done, and immediate delivery - priceless or in this case $65

Here's some pictures of the modified bar including comparisons to the original Saner:

Modified Bar on Left, Original on Right

Modified Bar on Right, Original on Left

4 holes vs 3 holes

4 holes vs 3 holes

Modified bar w/Saner end-links& mounts bottom, McMaster-Carr end-links and mount stops top
Passenger end view

Driver end view




The other swaybar is a Saner bar as shipped from Saner, but used. If the buyer wants to get this one modified to match the bar above, then I have the connections to get the machining done. The machining cost would be separate from the purchase. Considering that it could take months to get a new bar from Saner and the last time I checked the bar cost $185, I'd like to sell this bar for $185.

Stock Saner w/end link loosely bolted to end

Side view

Side view

 

Mike,

Would this help with the slight wiggle in the rear on my lowered car in extremely fast cornering?

Why did you "upgrade"? was this one not performing well enough?

JJ

 

There are several issues with the stock Saner bar. One is that some (including me) had problems with the bar clunking, primarily from the end links. One way around it was to go to McMAster-Carr end links, but they would not fit the stock Saner (too thick). Additionally, the Saner is not stiff enough on grippy concrete auto-x's. The car, on race rubber, would lift the inside rear wheel when cornering. This bar keeps the inside rear wheel planted, so you can put the power down much faster when coming out of a corner, by adding a fourth adjustment hole - stiffer. So there were two mods made to the upgraded bar: one was to machine the bar thickness so that the McMaster-Carr end links could be used and the second was to add a fourth adjustment hole.

It also helps solve the tendency of the 00-03 cars to snap oversteer. The downside is that (on stock size tires) it causes a low speed understeer (push).

 

Doc,

I'm no expert or anything, but I think with your reduced front to rear tire stagger because of your after market 17" wheels and tires, the bigger bar will help with the "wiggle." Of course you must know I'm tryng to sell a swaybar too. Take a look at this http://www.quickor.com/pages/handlingtips.html

I bought the Comptech bar because I could get it locally from a fellow auto-crosser at a pretty good price. The Comptech can go stiffer than the stock Saner which makes it better for grippier auto-cross surfaces (concrete). The Comptech also doesn't have any clearance issues and the mounting system is beefier than Saner's. Of course the Comptech costs more than 3 times as much as a stock Saner.

Since I had the modified Saner bar available, I decided to get one of the bars machined with an extra hole. With the extra hole, the modified Saner should be just as stiff as the Comptech.

If you're NOT going to auto-cross, then for your car I'd recommend the stock Saner set on the second adjustment hole as a starting point. Available for immediate installation. All's it takes is $$$$.

Silvershadow and I modified his Saner mounting system to provide some grease zircs. (We took a lot of pictures of the process, and when I get time I'm going to post a how-to.) We're hoping that this will help out with the noise issue that seems to come with all of the after-market swaybars. The thinking is that the noise comes from the mounts when the special grease used to lube the bar at the mounts, gets used up or squeezed out. It would take an extra hour or so to do the greasable mounts for "your" Saner.

Here's a picture of what that looks like installed:

 

If I went with the stock saner bar, would I get the "clunking" that was mentioned above? I don't want any strange noises to deal with if I were to upgrade.

I don't plan on autocrossing, but on aggressive drives I can feel exactly what SS was talking about - the rear inner wheel feels light at high speed corners. So I think stiffening the sway bars would help that, but don't want something that will make more rattles.

Does machining the ends thinner compromise saftey? Make the bar more prone to breakage?

JJ

 

The machined bar I bought has been through several years of auto-xing by a national level auto-xer. There are no signs of cracking or chipping around the adjustment holes. In addition, the bar is radiused where the machining stops so that there are no stress risers there.

Also, I noticed on the drive home from Gloffers, my bar doesn't make any noise - HOORAY

 

Doc, what wheels and tires (size) are you running now?

I ran Volks CE28's 17" with a combination of 235 f/255 r and the car did not understeer at all with the Saner bar. There is less stagger between front and rear with this setup, so the Saner would be a good choice to reduce the oversteer tendency. It should also plant the car a lot better in corners and allow you to get back on the throttle earlier in the corner.

 

We can take care of any routine clunking (if it occurs) with our zirc mod. I think there's no way to get rid of the clunking that occurs when going over large bumps, like RR tracks. As long as you're aware that the noise is coming from the sway bar, and is not really a concern, then I think you can be comfortable with the noise. It's not really a rattle and doesn't occur at speed or even on fairly rough roads.

From what I've gleaned the clunking comes from a sudden release of the twisting motion of the swaybar within the mounts. With lubrication, the sudden release shouldn't occur and voila, no clunking. When doing the install, careful attention to the end-link clearances will prevent any end-link clicking.

Of course any reduction in thickness probably makes the bar a little weaker, but I'm sure the bar is over-engineered. Even with the amount of machining that was done, I think that the bar is still well above the yield strength that our cars can provide to the bar. I went to two machine shops, before I found one willing to do the machining, and each of them couldn't believe the bar was for a Honda. They all thought it was for a Mustang or something larger. Even when I talked to Quickor Suspension this morning he couldn't believe that I had a 1.25 inch diameter bar for a Honda.

The bar was machined on a huge Bridgeport milling machine with plenty of cooling/cutting oil. The shop was careful to radius any sharp corners to prevent developing any stress points. The bar that was used as a template was on a national caliber auto-cross car and has seen far more stress, than your meager driving skills can attain and it is still intact, and now on Silvershadows car.

Besides if it doesn't work out, you know where I live. Try it, I know you'll like it. If you're just using it as a street bar, then I think the stock Saner will be the hot ticket for your car.

 

Hmm...

any clearance issues with the stock saner bar and my lowered settings?

I have the same wheels CE28n's 235/255.

Getting more interested...

JJ

 

I don't think so. From what I remember you just have shorter springs (Eibachs) on stock shocks. This should NOT affect the clearance to the swaybar end-links. Only one way to find out for sure though. A test install at the Gloffer garage should only take 1 to 2 hours.