Whiteline sway bars. clamp thing

[seeyainakia]

Just installed new sway bars front and back. Big improvement, love it. They provide a little clamp thing that you're supposed to install ~1/2" from each mount, inside or out. I've never seen this before and just assumed most sway bars were self-centering. I did make every effort to ensure the bar was centered as much as possible before tightening the mounts. Regardless, I installed the clamps as directed, 1/2 inch from each mount on the inside. (in the front, not yet in the back).

After some spirited driving today (hauled ass across a bumpy intersection) I noticed a new sound from the front. After inspection It seems the driver side clamp is now butting up against the mount.

I'm not sure what to do here. There are no visible indicators as to what "center" should be. What is the point of these clamps? How do I know what is center? Should I loosen the clamp and give more distance? If I give too much distance than what is the point of the clamp?

HELP!?!?!?

 

[socalvn]

I would measure side to side center the sway bar and install the clamp on the outside close to the mounts.

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Those clamps look so ghetto. Almost looks like unfinished prototype. Can you not use them at all?

 

[D.J.]

Just installed new sway bars front and back. Big improvement, love it. They provide a little clamp thing that you're supposed to install ~1/2" from each mount, inside or out. I've never seen this before and just assumed most sway bars were self-centering. I did make every effort to ensure the bar was centered as much as possible before tightening the mounts. Regardless, I installed the clamps as directed, 1/2 inch from each mount on the inside. (in the front, not yet in the back).

After some spirited driving today (hauled ass across a bumpy intersection) I noticed a new sound from the front. After inspection It seems the driver side clamp is now butting up against the mount.

I'm not sure what to do here. There are no visible indicators as to what "center" should be. What is the point of these clamps? How do I know what is center? Should I loosen the clamp and give more distance? If I give too much distance than what is the point of the clamp?

HELP!?!?!?

picture?

 

[seeyainakia]

Those clamps look so ghetto. Almost looks like unfinished prototype. Can you not use them at all?

That is part of the question. I just don't know. I think I will back the clamp off a little more

 

[95oRANGEcRUSH]

Did you try contacting Whiteline to see what they suggest for the lateral collars? I watched an install video on a WRX where they were installed right up against the bushing. But their own instructions say a few millimeters out on the inside or outside. I guess you have flexibility and will need to do some trial and error. Maybe someone else who is running them will chime in.

I’m actually tempted right now since they are running a 20% off sale.

 

[seeyainakia]

Did you try contacting Whiteline to see what they suggest for the lateral collars? I watched an install video on a WRX where they were installed right up against the bushing. But their own instructions say a few millimeters out on the inside or outside. I guess you have flexibility and will need to do some trial and error. Maybe someone else who is running them will chime in.

I’m actually tempted right now since they are running a 20% off sale.

Probably right with the trial and error. If you do get them the best deal I found was on Amazon. BKK002 - front and back but without the end links. Was $301 just a month ago.

 

[Volfy]

I installed mine pretty much butted right up against the brackets. Maybe at most 1/8" gap. I see no reason to do otherwise. Nor do I see anything wrong with the way they were made. Sure there might be some expansion and contraction with varying temp, but 1/2" on either side seem awfully excessive.

Yes, it does require installation, but it ain't rocket surgery. Both G70 and Stinger have been to track since, no problem.

 

[seeyainakia]

I installed mine pretty much butted right up against the brackets. Maybe at most 1/8" gap. I see no reason to do otherwise. Nor do I see anything wrong with the way they were made. Sure there might be some expansion and contraction with varying temp, but 1/2" on either side seem awfully excessive.

Yes, it does require installation, but it ain't rocket surgery. Both G70 and Stinger have been to track since, no problem.
View attachment 81018

These are Whiteline? My mounting brackets don't have a bung for greasing.

 

[Volfy]

These are Whiteline? My mounting brackets don't have a bung for greasing.

Whiteline. I added those grease nipples front and rear. Not that difficult. Drill and tap, then install with blue locktite.

I love modifying the modifications. LOL...

 

[seeyainakia]

Whiteline. I added those grease nipples front and rear. Not that difficult. Drill and tap, then install with blue locktite.

I love modifying the modifications. LOL...
View attachment 81019

Nice. that's a great idea. The threads on that nipple look like they go way deeper than bracket thickness. Did you grind them down?

 

[JSolo]

Could the OP's issue be a result of the bar "centering" itself after some use?

I installed eibach bars f/r on the g37. They reused the oem brackets but included different bushings. Used stock endlinks. Never had any issues with anything loosening, or end links breaking. The car was stock and rarely driven in rain let alone snow.

 

[NS_Stinger]

What a junky design, Eibach has ridges built right into the bar to keep bushings where they should be and they come from the factory with zerk grease nipples.

 

[socalvn]

What a junky design, Eibach has ridges built right into the bar to keep bushings where they should be and they come from the factory with zerk grease nipples.

This is why I installed Eibach

 

[Volfy]

Nice. that's a great idea. The threads on that nipple look like they go way deeper than bracket thickness. Did you grind them down?

Actually, I chose those long 1/4-28 threaded nipples on purpose, so they poke past the steel bracket thickness and into the polyurethane bushings. This way, the injected grease is more encouraged to fill the hole drilled through the bushing and down into the tight gap between the bushing and the anti-roll bar, which is where you'd want the grease to go. Between the bushing and the bracket is fixed and needs no grease.

As for the Whiteline being junkie design... well, to each his own. I actually prefer not having the stop cast into the bar. Mass production on an automated line means tolerances on cars vary more than you might think. For Eibach to make sure their pre-cast ridges fit the likely mfg tolerance variations, they would likely have to keep a good amount of play in the dimensioning of those stops. Whiteline chose NOT to cast the stops into the bar, allowing the positioning of the stops to be optimized for each car at time of installation. This requires the installer to know how and where to position the stops precisely depending on the prevailing ambient temp and the likely range of expansion/contraction, and whether it's better on the inside or the outside. This does require a degree of expertise on the part of the owner/installer. Thinking man's set, if you will.

Eibach went the idiot-proof way, keeping it loose enough that it can be installed at any temp, any time by any one and still work well enough. BTW, quite a few guy that have installed the Eibach complained the rear bracket was a bish to install one of the bolts. The access is already tight on the driver's side, due to the fueling funnel. Eibach's backet has a gusset that makes it even tougher to get at. But, if you paid somebody else to install it, then who cares, right?

As for the grease fittings... I installed 6 of them for a total cost of probably less than $3 (I have a whole assortment box). I've already got the drill/tap and actually prefer installing my own, so again I can position them where I deem best. I ended up installing two of them per bracket on the front bar, as the bushing is quite large and two fitting have a better chance to coating the entire length of the bearing surface than only one.

But...both Eibach and Whiteline have their merits. We are all free to judge these design decisions and vote with our purchase accordingly.

 

[Volfy]

Could the OP's issue be a result of the bar "centering" itself after some use?

I installed eibach bars f/r on the g37. They reused the oem brackets but included different bushings. Used stock endlinks. Never had any issues with anything loosening, or end links breaking. The car was stock and rarely driven in rain let alone snow.

Not necessarily "centering", but they will move if given the latitude, be it cast-in ridges or bolt-on caps.

An anti-roll bar is essentially a torsion bar spring. Under compression, the spring will deform and move. That is how they work. As mention above, I myself prefer to set the tolerances tight, so lateral movement is minimized when these torsion springs are under load, reducing the amount of non-linearity.

it is no different than a precision rifle builder choosing to set the headspace of the chamber tight, to minimize bullet jump and to improve accuracy, whereas a military service rifle is best kept loose so feeding is guaranteed not to be an issue under combat situations. Neither is wrong, both approaches have their merits... depending on the intent and application.

I know how I intent to run my car, so I chose accordingly.

 

[sil25rs]

Reviving this thread.

I have the Whiteline BKK002s shipping to me soon. Which is best to install first, the rears or fronts? I hear the rears are a PITA but wouldnt mind getting it out of the way.

thanks!

 

[Volfy]

If you plan on driving the car for a while on only one thicker anti-roll bar, I suggest you do the front first, unless you really know what you are doing behind the wheel. It's the easier one to R&R anyway.

Increasing roll stiffness on the front will increase the car's tendency to understeer. That tends to scrub speed off the front going into a turn, and makes the car less willing to rotate, but at least it's safer for less experienced drivers, especially on public roads.

Increasing roll stiffness on the rear will increase the car's tendency to oversteer. Might be a bucket of fun if you are used to dealing with a loose tail end. Potentially disastrous if you are not.

That said, Stinger is not particularly tail happy to begin with, so realistically you might be okay either way. All depends on your confidence level.

 

[sil25rs]

thanks for the input @Volfy. definitely something to consider.
i imagine the awd will compensate for the pushing of the fronts, if only the rear sways are installed. itll make for fun summer backroad runs but cautious when on wet roads.

i plan to have both installed without too much of a gap in time.

 

[Volfy]

i imagine the awd will compensate for the pushing of the fronts, if only the rear sways are installed.

Actually, no. This might be a bit counter-intuitive, but actually fairly easily understood. What AWD helps the most is when road surface traction exceeds tire adhesion when accelerating in a straight line.

Cornering attitude is another animal entirely. Understeering going into a turn, your front tires are already struggling to maintain enough traction to steer the car into the turn, sending torque to the front wheels and trying to make them accelerate at the same time actually robs the front tires of precious traction when they can least afford. It's the same thing if you try to brake and steer at the same time. A tire only has so much traction. At a time when all 100% of that traction is needed for lateral traction, trying to make them drive or brake will only exacerbate the problem.

This is why a lot of FWD-biased AWD cars like Subarus and Audis are typically an understeer fest. RWD-based AWD cars , like the Stinger, fair a bit better, but the same limitations apply. These days, some cars have torque-vectoring via computer control, which helps with this. Torque vectoring can be done by torque and/or by brake. The former typically involves sending more torque to the outside rear wheel - not more torque to the front.