Si Front & Rear Sways on an EX Sedan

[Garrison]

Originally Posted by mikeymike

I did the front and rear SI sway bar install a couple of weeks ago on my DX-G sedan, and I would never go back to stock. Handling improved 200%; it feels like a real car now (no more floaty cloud...); pretty much the same experience as others on this forum.

I spent more money buying good jack-stands and a good hydraulic jack than the parts (and yes, stay away from Canadian "stealerships" unless you want to pay twice the American price).

My next project is to install the full Si coupe suspension on the car (arriving in a week hopefully). Once I got my hands dirty in the sway bar install, I am iching to do the suspension.

NOW FOR THE QUESTION: the front sway bar end links. On one web site (hondapartdeals.com), they list the links as the same part # for the Si coupe, as the sedans. On another site (I can't remember which one now), they list two different parts (different part #s). I left the old ones on my sedan, and they seem to fit fine. Can anyone shed some light on this? Is there really special front sway bar end links for the Si Coupe? If I'm not racing or rallying (!), would I even need beefier end links? Would the stock sedan end links do the trick?

Thanks,
-Mike

Mike,

What may I ask did it cost you to get the Honda civic si springs, shocks, and struts?

Thanks

[mikeymike]

It cost me $200 for the Si springs, struts and shocks (slightly used, of course). Looking forward to the install...

[Garrison]

Yeah let me know your impressions. I just ordered my sway bars. That is my next upgrade is the SI Struts, Springs, and Shocks.

[mikeymike]

Hi all, for those of you who would like comparison pics, I just got the pics off of my digital camera (click thumbnail for larger image):

1st pic: Front ex sway bars (with end-links and brackets) vs. Si sway bars
front_sway_comparison.jpg

2nd pic: Rear ex sway bars (with end-links and brackets) vs. Si sway bars
rear_sway_comparison.jpg

[NHBeX]

Hi all,

I am in Canada, and i was wondering if any Canadians had problems ordering from the states at the boarder.

Any of you guys got it at some cheaper place in Canada?

Thanks!

[mikeymike]

Originally Posted by NHBeX

Hi all,

I am in Canada, and i was wondering if any Canadians had problems ordering from the states at the boarder.

Any of you guys got it at some cheaper place in Canada?

Thanks!

As long as the shipper uses regular mail (USPS) you should be fine (slips in under the RADAR). Don't use FedEx or UPS unless you really want to pay $50-$80 in customs brokerage fees (not including duty and GST).

Just my $0.02 CAD

[Garrison]

So Mikey Mike tell us what you feel in the difference after your upgrade?

[mikeymike]

Originally Posted by Garrison

So Mikey Mike tell us what you feel in the difference after your upgrade?

Well, I upgraded the sway bars one by one. I put on the rear one first, and took the car out for a spin. The rear bar removed a lot of the floatyness from the rear end. The car felt much more controlled at highways speeds. Cornering also improved dramatically; tight highway offramps were a blast to drive through, and it felt like I could accelerate and push the car through the curve. Like others have said, it seemed to reduce the understeer a lot (I guess the effect is a lot like increasing the rear tire pressure, giving it a bit of oversteer to counter the cars natural understeer). I can really see why a lot of people are going with the even larger Progress rear sway bar (or the Si rear bar without the Si front bar), because it is a blast to drive.

Having only the rear sway bar on still didn't reduce the body roll very much; I guess that is because most of the weight is at the front of the car (I guess that's why the larger Si front sway exists).

So I put on the front sway bar (a somewhat tight fit to get the sway bar & end links inserted properly into the tight space in the lower control arms), and took it out for a spin. The car definitely felt like more controlled and refined. The front bar reduced the body roll big time. In addition, the steering felt much more tight (the front sway bar is an integral part of the steering system). Now the car feels like a much more expensive car. Gone is the loosey-goosey feeling that was there before. It now has a very neutral, very well-behaved driving feeling.

The only disadvantage that I see from putting on the front Si sway bar, is that it lost the "wow" factor from when I just had the rear Si sway bar upgrade. I hear that it is for this ieason, a lot of people are also upgrading to the Progress rear sway bar (I may end up going this way eventually...).

After doing this upgrade (both Si sway bars) I am much less disappointed with the handling of the new Civics. It's still not nearly as good as the Mazda Protege5 that it replaced, but it's getting there. I am getting a whole new suspension soon (sock Si susp.), so we'll see where that gets me.

Cheers,
-Mike

[Garrison]

Thanks Mike!!!

[Garrison]

Okay!! It is shipping today and HondaPartsDeals.com upgraded my shipping to 2 day after taking a week to process the order. They had to order two of my parts and they upgraded the computer system. So Big thanks to Kim @ HondaPartsdeals. So I hope to have these in on Friday along with my fit horn.

[dcfife]

Originally Posted by mikeymike

Well, I upgraded the sway bars one by one. I put on the rear one first, and took the car out for a spin. The rear bar removed a lot of the floatyness from the rear end. The car felt much more controlled at highways speeds. Cornering also improved dramatically; tight highway offramps were a blast to drive through, and it felt like I could accelerate and push the car through the curve. Like others have said, it seemed to reduce the understeer a lot (I guess the effect is a lot like increasing the rear tire pressure, giving it a bit of oversteer to counter the cars natural understeer). I can really see why a lot of people are going with the even larger Progress rear sway bar (or the Si rear bar without the Si front bar), because it is a blast to drive.

Having only the rear sway bar on still didn't reduce the body roll very much; I guess that is because most of the weight is at the front of the car (I guess that's why the larger Si front sway exists).

So I put on the front sway bar (a somewhat tight fit to get the sway bar & end links inserted properly into the tight space in the lower control arms), and took it out for a spin. The car definitely felt like more controlled and refined. The front bar reduced the body roll big time. In addition, the steering felt much more tight (the front sway bar is an integral part of the steering system). Now the car feels like a much more expensive car. Gone is the loosey-goosey feeling that was there before. It now has a very neutral, very well-behaved driving feeling.

The only disadvantage that I see from putting on the front Si sway bar, is that it lost the "wow" factor from when I just had the rear Si sway bar upgrade. I hear that it is for this ieason, a lot of people are also upgrading to the Progress rear sway bar (I may end up going this way eventually...).

After doing this upgrade (both Si sway bars) I am much less disappointed with the handling of the new Civics. It's still not nearly as good as the Mazda Protege5 that it replaced, but it's getting there. I am getting a whole new suspension soon (sock Si susp.), so we'll see where that gets me.

Cheers,
-Mike

Welcome to the Si swaybar club! All I need to do now is get some wheels and tires and I'll be a happy camper.

[Garrison]

Ok sway bars are done. I am glad to say worth every penny. I didn't know this upgrade would make the steering so much firmer. Corners are more planted, and responsiveness is almost perfect. A required upgrade for any non-si civic owner.

[iVTEC]

Glad you like them!

[ipod]

Originally Posted by mikeymike

Well, I upgraded the sway bars one by one. I put on the rear one first, and took the car out for a spin. The rear bar removed a lot of the floatyness from the rear end. The car felt much more controlled at highways speeds. Cornering also improved dramatically; tight highway offramps were a blast to drive through, and it felt like I could accelerate and push the car through the curve. Like others have said, it seemed to reduce the understeer a lot (I guess the effect is a lot like increasing the rear tire pressure, giving it a bit of oversteer to counter the cars natural understeer). I can really see why a lot of people are going with the even larger Progress rear sway bar (or the Si rear bar without the Si front bar), because it is a blast to drive.

Having only the rear sway bar on still didn't reduce the body roll very much; I guess that is because most of the weight is at the front of the car (I guess that's why the larger Si front sway exists).

So I put on the front sway bar (a somewhat tight fit to get the sway bar & end links inserted properly into the tight space in the lower control arms), and took it out for a spin. The car definitely felt like more controlled and refined. The front bar reduced the body roll big time. In addition, the steering felt much more tight (the front sway bar is an integral part of the steering system). Now the car feels like a much more expensive car. Gone is the loosey-goosey feeling that was there before. It now has a very neutral, very well-behaved driving feeling.

The only disadvantage that I see from putting on the front Si sway bar, is that it lost the "wow" factor from when I just had the rear Si sway bar upgrade. I hear that it is for this ieason, a lot of people are also upgrading to the Progress rear sway bar (I may end up going this way eventually...).

After doing this upgrade (both Si sway bars) I am much less disappointed with the handling of the new Civics. It's still not nearly as good as the Mazda Protege5 that it replaced, but it's getting there. I am getting a whole new suspension soon (sock Si susp.), so we'll see where that gets me.

Cheers,
-Mike

Did the upgrade of the SI front and rear sway bars on my ride too.

Same observations :

1. Putting in only the rear Si sway bar reduced understeer and made the car's handling more neutral. But roll is not much reduced.

2. After putting in the front SI sway bar as well, the roll is substantially reduced and steering became firmer. But the understeer came back....

[lowerlevel]

after a couples months using the si sway combo.. i switched to the progress rear bar.. i have to say i like it better. much stiffer in the rear.. just a thought for anyone about to replace ur sways.. go si front , and progress rear...

[tegrady]

Originally Posted by lowerlevel

after a couples months using the si sway combo.. i switched to the progress rear bar.. i have to say i like it better. much stiffer in the rear.. just a thought for anyone about to replace ur sways.. go si front , and progress rear...

Sounds like a plan! Time to go shopping again.

[iVTEC]

I've thought about that combo too. I had the progress rear sway in my old RSX-S and loved it.

[Garrison]

what did the progress rear sway cost you?

[06CIVICFLBOI]

I upgraded my ex with the si sway bar the dealership installed it all he needed to change were the rear bushings and the bars used the same brackets it handles well i tested it on the road where i snaped my excel on my my 98 integra it cornered well do you thank i will have any problems without them installing everything?

[blaznhot_23]

nice write up!!!!