I had a rear sway bar fitted... see the instructions here:

http://www.fastmagna.com/km/whit/instructions.jpg

Notice how the "L" bracket in the top left area (with the bolt going through it) goes upwards... towards the boot. We tried fitting it like this however when the car was put on the ground the swaybar was up too high and hit something (another bracket - exhaust or something).

We had to flip that bracket upside down so that it came downwards. This gives it clearance so that the swaybar does not bump on the rest of the car when there is weight on it.

See this fitted photo:

http://www.fastmagna.com/km/whit/fitted.jpg

Has anyone else noticed the same thing when fitting theirs? Would it be a problem?

Kim

I had to fit mine like your's Kim; I have a feeling that possibly the 4cyls had a smaller diameter exhaust and that might have been what Whiteline did their test fit on? It shouldn't have too much of effect on the effectiveness of the bar.

Cool, thanks tek :)

Going to take the car for a drive at lunch and see how it handles now :)

oh, one other thing tek... have you (or anyone else) noticed that if you go over a pothole or something a bit too quick - the swaybar hits something at the back?

Since the swaybar being on I've heard a loud *thump* when hitting a couple of potholes by mistake.

Should I be concerned?

Don't have any such noises in mine; but with the bar on the rear gets unsettled more easily if hitting a hard bump or hole during high speed cornering.

Kim,
please keep us informed - what's the handling etc. like now that you have fitted the sway bar. Was it worth it ? etc. etc.

Also, (you can PM this to me if you want to - or ignore me altogether).
What did the sway bar cost?

very nice bushes!!!!, a somewhat overlooked mod/matenence.

Ok, question/answer time :)

Turbo_charade: Apparently the bushes in that pic are over-tightened (because they bulge out at the sides - they are supposed to be flat at the sides?). I'm going to have that fixed.

GRD_Puck: Can't remember what the swaybar cost me as I purchased it with the front strut brace at the same time... I think it was $180 or something (prices are on the whiteline website).

Anyway, as for the difference, etc. I have not lowered the car at all - the only changes are the front strut brace and the rear sway bar.

I probably had unrealistic expectations as to how the car would feel after the modifications (eg: turning a Magna into a slot-car), so it is not as "WOW!" as I thought it would be. So in reality the difference in handling after these modifications is just a "noticible improvement".

The Strut Brace

I fitted the strut brace about 2 weeks prior to the swaybar, so I had a good chance to test this out on its own. I wasn't really expecting much with the sway bar, and after fitting it at first I thought the difference was hardly noticible... almost to the point where I wondered if I was just imagining any improvement. Thats until I drove the car into a corner at a higher speed - where the difference is more noticible.

For example, theres a few corners near my place where I remembered feeling the front tyres loose their traction and 'hop' or 'skip' towards the outside of the bend as the weight of the car shifted onto the outer wheel (before fitting strut brace). So I decided to tackle those corners again at speed (with the strut brace), and found that the body roll is not quite as bad, and traction can still be felt reasonably firmly on both wheels.

So, you wouldn't really notice much difference with normal driving - but if you take the car onto the track - or have a love for fast windy roads - you would certainly benefit from the handling improvements. Plus it looks good under the bonnet :D

The Rear Sway bar

This is where I was expecting the biggest improvement (the driving on tracks feeling)... however in reality it wasn't really that amazing. The improvement is more noticible than what the strut brace was, though. Like the strut brace, the sway bar would be most beneficial if you're pushing the car hard... as I couldn't really tell any difference driving at normal speed. At higher speeds I've noticed that the rear of the car now feels like it is turning in the direction of the car - instead of just following (if you know what I mean... kind of hard to explain). Body roll is slightly reduced, but not by heaps. Replacing my factory shocks and springs would probably help in that department.

Anyway - as I have only had the chance to test these under public roads, I have not pushed it too hard and not exceeded the speed limits... so perhaps if I ever get the chance to take the car onto the track I'll give it a bit more of a go :)

Worth it?

The biggest handling improvement I have done to my car is, without a doubt, good wheels (slightly wider) and good tyres - so if you are looking for a handling improvement and haven't got wider rims and tyres yet - do that first. I can't comment on shocks and springs, as I haven't done that yet (can't afford the Koni's I want!) - however I have a feeling that might be the second best handling improvements. The sway bar and strut brace, in my opinion, would be good things to finish off a handling package. Still beneficial when used on their own - but best as part of a package.

Anyway - would like to hear other peoples opinions, comments, suggestions, experiences :)

Cheers,
Kim :)

magnas have good suspension from factory, so any improvement will be even better. i havent driven a magna that feels sh*t to drive.

Don't forget though that swaybars rely on springs/dampers that are in good condition, to be effective (Lowered even better). On a TS the original ones would for sure be on their way out, in which case not even a 50mm swaybar is going to do a whole lot.

Don't forget though that swaybars rely on springs/dampers that are in good condition, to be effective (Lowered even better). On a TS the original ones would for sure be on their way out, in which case not even a 50mm swaybar is going to do a whole lot.

Yeah. I had my springs checked out a few months ago and was told they are in good condition - but yeah, definately wouldn't be anywhere near as good as new springs.

How does the swaybar rely on the springs?

Cheers,
Kim

A swaybar effective works by evening out the loading of the left hand suspension to the right hand. For example when you corner left the right suspension would become more compressed as your car leans to the right. A swaybar reduces this by diverting some of the force to the left hand side (and vice versa) so that the car body is basically rolling less.

For this to happen your springs/dampers have to be in good condition because... the swaybar doesn't do much except act as a lever. If the car leans heaps to the right because your springs/dampers are shot, even with the bar diverting some to the left, as those parts are worn too then there is only a marginal improvement.

This is also the reason why extremely thick bars are not recommended for road use as the car can become very skatey and be thrown right off course by bumps/potholes (because you are reducing the suspension's independency left/right. Look at V8 touring cars... they probably run like 30mm thick bars which is why the car sits almost as flat as an F1 car around corners.