Eibach Sway Bars

[Theil24]

I had the F&R sways installed a few months ago. Recently noticed the front seemed a bit harsh when turning through a small dip in the street. I wondered if something was loose. Took the car in where I had them installed and it turns out they set the front bar to the firm setting and the rear bar to soft. Before install I requested both set to the soft setting, so not sure what happened. They changed the front bar to soft (no charge to me) and now the car feels better, still very responsive but a bit more less aggressive in the front end. Would driving that way for a few months have caused any issues? From the research I've done Eibach recommends both bars set to soft for everyday driving, which I'm completely fine with. Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Snicklefritz]

Would driving that way for a few months have caused any issues?

None. Eibach's recommendations for setting stiff or soft only address handling and riding comfort differences.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Yup no concerns at all your car is fine.

 

[Stinger GT SS]

I had the F&R sways installed a few months ago. Recently noticed the front seemed a bit harsh when turning through a small dip in the street. I wondered if something was loose. Took the car in where I had them installed and it turns out they set the front bar to the firm setting and the rear bar to soft. Before install I requested both set to the soft setting, so not sure what happened. They changed the front bar to soft (no charge to me) and now the car feels better, still very responsive but a bit more less aggressive in the front end. Would driving that way for a few months have caused any issues? From the research I've done Eibach recommends both bars set to soft for everyday driving, which I'm completely fine with. Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

FYI, these are Eibach setting explanations for front & rear.

 

[ElChanclo]

I had mine set to soft front and rear on install and absolutely loved the tighter cornering, but I'm pretty sure the upgraded sways were the reason both front sway links wore out and needed replacement after ~a year & 15kkm. Started making an obnoxious clunk over every uneven bump in the road.

I just set my rear sway to hard in prep for an upcoming track day, hope it helps with the understeer.

 

[socalvn]

Lose the stock weak end links and get some God Speed ones forget White Line can't ever keep them tight you won't be disappointed, it's almost a waste to do sway bars without

 

[Volfy]

Lose the stock weak end links and get some God Speed ones forget White Line can't ever keep them tight you won't be disappointed, it's almost a waste to do sway bars without

I beg to differ.

But... it's your car, your choice.

 

[socalvn]

I beg to differ.

But... it's your car, your choice.

Well for me anyway being lowered as much as I am the stock links would place the sway bar in the incorrect position instead of being vertical and maybe just me but they seem to have to much flex and play in them and take away from the purpose of the aftermarket swaybar

 

[Volfy]

Well for me anyway being lowered as much as I am the stock links would place the sway bar in the incorrect position instead of being vertical and maybe just me but they seem to have to much flex and play in them and take away from the purpose of the aftermarket swaybar

These are Porsche 911 OEM anti-roll bar end links that look just like ours, except even longer. I doubt anybody would argue Porsche specs "weak" end links for their top-of-the-line halo sports car.

We put our Stingers and G70 through their proper paces (track days, autoXs, etc.) and the OEM endlinks work just fine.

Also, the anti-roll bar end link geometry - relative to the attachment points - doesn't change when you lower the ride height. Adjustable links are meant for racing teams that want to corner balance the suspension, such that the anti-roll bars are neutral with race car driver's weight on board. Such endeavors are practically pointless in a street car. Would having adjustables hurt? Of course not... unless installation (e.g., length) is done wrong. Are they necessary? Hardly.

 

[D.J.]

Well for me anyway being lowered as much as I am the stock links would place the sway bar in the incorrect position instead of being vertical and maybe just me but they seem to have to much flex and play in them and take away from the purpose of the aftermarket swaybar

Flex?

Maybe play in the ball joints of the end link if they are completely worn out, but are you saying your stock end links flex?

 

[NS_Stinger]

I've been on this site since 2018. For every one issue with the stock endlinks I've seen a ton of issues with the aftermarket ones. I'm not even sure I've ever heard of a real oem endlink issue on here.

 

[D.J.]

still very responsive but a bit more less aggressive in the front end.

Was that a typo?
I assume you meant "less aggressive"

 

[Volfy]

I've been on this site since 2018. For every one issue with the stock endlinks I've seen a ton of issues with the aftermarket ones. I'm not even sure I've ever heard of a real oem endlink issue on here.

Every "issue" I've read about is always someone claiming the OEM end links are weak or otherwise prone to failure as a justification for buying aftermarket endlinks, but I've yet to come across any substantiated evidence of such failures. I do remember seeing somebody's post of a grainy picture of a bent end link, which I seriously doubt could've resulted from just driving the car... even in HPDE type settings.

Any anti-roll bar end link see either a tensile or compressive load. A steel bar has enormous tensile strength, so there is simply no way any suspension load could possibly be strong enough to come within 2-3 orders of magnitude of that steel bar's tensile strength.

So that leaves compressive load. Now, one could argue a compressive load on a long slender bar could result in a buckling mode of failure. Even if that were true, which is highly doubtful, any suspension compressive load is almost always a temporary one (e.g. when cornering at the limits, or when impacting a bump over the road surface). In that scenario, at most the end link would experience is a slight momentary buckling. Because such deformation is elastic, there is no way the end link would sustain a permanent plastic deformation. Those pics of "bent" end links were either from a car that sustained major crash damage... OR somebody falsifying evidence of the supposed "weak" OEM end link... with a big ol' sledge hammer.

Any self-respecting suspension engineer would have done their due diligence by applying Euler's buckling load equation to make sure their end links will not experience buckling. My money is on the competence of the Kia/Genesis engineer that worked on the Stinger/G70 - knowing how to balance strength and weight, such that the OEM end link is just strong enough, but with sufficient safety factor to preclude possible failure in worse case usage.

 

[ElChanclo]

Any anti-roll bar end link see either a tensile or compressive load. A steel bar has enormous tensile strength, so there is simply no way any suspension load could possibly be strong enough to come within 2-3 orders of magnitude of that steel bar's tensile strength.

My links wore out at the joint (forget if it was the top or bottom). It's a shear force on those bolts/balls and they both started knocking about. Never saw the joint under the boot though. I asked to keep it but they had to send it back to kia for "inspection". Probably went straight in the scrap bin.

 

[D.J.]

My links wore out at the joint (forget if it was the top or bottom). It's a shear force on those bolts/balls and they both started knocking about. Never saw the joint under the boot though. I asked to keep it but they had to send it back to kia for "inspection". Probably went straight in the scrap bin.

You had your end links warrantied, while using aftermarket sway bars?

The dealership easily could have denied that warranty coverage stating aftermarket parts etc..
+¹ for that dealership

 

[ElChanclo]

You had your end links warrantied, while using aftermarket sway bars?

The dealership easily could have denied that warranty coverage stating aftermarket parts etc..
+¹ for that dealership

I had a kia service dept try to deny it on those grounds. I explained the eibach sway bars were an optional add on advertised on the Kia.ca website, sold by kia, sourced by kia, and installed by kia, as part of the purchase of a new kia. They gave me the run around and ghosted the issue.

My 3rd and current kia depot was on the ball and got it fixed .

 

[Volfy]

My links wore out at the joint (forget if it was the top or bottom). It's a shear force on those bolts/balls and they both started knocking about. Never saw the joint under the boot though. I asked to keep it but they had to send it back to kia for "inspection". Probably went straight in the scrap bin.

I was referring to the steel bar itself, but yes, at the ball joints on each end it would be shear, of course. And those do wear out over time. I prefer the rubber-booted internally-greased style like on most OEM joints, over the dry exposed Heim joints used on most aftermarket end links.

All of the end links on all 3 of our Stingers/G70, oldest is a '19, are still good and tight. All with Whiteline bars.