So ive been running around with the H & R Sway bars ( Front & Rear ) for a few months now so had chance to put them through their paces
First off the install , I couldn't find any info regarding DIY installs on the web so tackled this in my mates garage with axle stands and trolley jacks
The front was tackled first , with the wheels left on this was relatively straight forward , the bracing underneath had to come off but apart from this it went relatively straight forward. Install time was 2 hrs. The front bar felt heavier than stock and was non adjustable.
I spent a week or so rolling around with the front on only and the front end felt alot flatter , however I found the rear wanting to step out at junctions with the power down. Still a fair bit of rolling around with the rear when tackling bends and roundabouts.
The rear bar was then installed and was an utter 'ba$tard' to fit. I've read on other forums about install time of 30 mins and 1.5hrs on a post lift
I would really like to see someone do this job in 30mins ! 1.5 hrs on a post lift with 2 people and air tools who have done dozens of installs is a maybe !
This took us 4 hrs of struggling and cursing , mainly as it was trying to work out how to get the oem bar out
A few pointers for anyone else thinking of doing this job -
1.Rear wheels off , car jacked up as high as it will go from the rear , support on axle stands on the sills , slide wheels under car
2.Exhaust bracket nuts above the back box tailpipes need to come off they will be very tight so spray with WD40 , the exhaust needs dropping down
3.All bracing which leads to the rear jacking point needs to come off
4.The exhaust bracing needs to come off
5.The two main exhaust hangers rubbers behind the back box needs to come off, if you take the hangers off the rear diff will drop down with it which is not required. You can just prise the rubbers off the mounts , the exhaust needs to drop down a few inches , note even with all the brackets off you will not drop the exhaust to the floor as its still connect to down pipes and supported by rubbers behind the exhaust bracing.
6.The main drop link bolts behind the spring cups need to be undone and removed
7.The 13mm sway bar bushings nuts and bolts need to come off
8.At this point the sway bar will be loose , pull the right hand sway bar drop link off by twisting and spraying with WD40 ( takes ages)
9.The right hand end of sway bar needs to be dropped past the drivers exhaust back box piping which is a big struggle , this is achieved by pulling down on the exhaust and wiggling and rotating the bar till you can force this past the piping. You will also need to push the bar towards the passenger side to force the end past the exhaust.
10.Once the end of the sway bar is dropped down after much cursing and jiggling you need to slide the sway bar as far towards the
passenger side caliper brake caliper hose as possible ( will take you 30 mins of jiggling the bar). We left on the left hand sway bar link although would have been easier if we managed to pull this off. At this point the sway bar will drop down and can be released.
11.The drop links were replaced with OEM and greased up prior to refitting , we set the bar into the middle adjustment hole and tightened up the drop link bolts until the rubber drop link bushes started to distort.
12.The H & R kit comes with new sway bar bushing which are noticeably stiffer than the oem soft rubber. The bushings were pushed onto the bar after the H&R bar was back into position. The rear bushings were easier to press on by hand on the rear bar compared with the front sway bar which need to pushed on prior to installing the front bar otherwise you will never get them on as they are very stiff.
13. Everything was greased up with white lithium grease and put back together.
Road test following install proved the car was now much stiffer , much less body roll and car feels planted. Turn in seems to be more direct and the car has less oversteer.
I already had Eibach springs fitted which did Improve handling slightly and bodyroll by 20% over stock , with the new sway bars body roll reduced by a further 50 - 60%.
For £330 for the sway bar kit direct from Germany & £130 for the Eibach springs I feel was money well spent , I can highly recommend the sway bars really really pleased with them. I haven't tried adjusting the rear bar to a stiffer hole as at the moment happy with the car.
The rear install really is a pain it is not an easy job , if you are going to tackle this DIY it is doable but expect a big struggle !
For anyone with a Z4 E89 I would say this mod is a must , If you are not happy with the handling and body roll I would go for the sway bars first before the springs and see how you get on.
First off the install , I couldn't find any info regarding DIY installs on the web so tackled this in my mates garage with axle stands and trolley jacks
The front was tackled first , with the wheels left on this was relatively straight forward , the bracing underneath had to come off but apart from this it went relatively straight forward. Install time was 2 hrs. The front bar felt heavier than stock and was non adjustable.
I spent a week or so rolling around with the front on only and the front end felt alot flatter , however I found the rear wanting to step out at junctions with the power down. Still a fair bit of rolling around with the rear when tackling bends and roundabouts.
The rear bar was then installed and was an utter 'ba$tard' to fit. I've read on other forums about install time of 30 mins and 1.5hrs on a post lift
I would really like to see someone do this job in 30mins ! 1.5 hrs on a post lift with 2 people and air tools who have done dozens of installs is a maybe !
This took us 4 hrs of struggling and cursing , mainly as it was trying to work out how to get the oem bar out
A few pointers for anyone else thinking of doing this job -
1.Rear wheels off , car jacked up as high as it will go from the rear , support on axle stands on the sills , slide wheels under car
2.Exhaust bracket nuts above the back box tailpipes need to come off they will be very tight so spray with WD40 , the exhaust needs dropping down
3.All bracing which leads to the rear jacking point needs to come off
4.The exhaust bracing needs to come off
5.The two main exhaust hangers rubbers behind the back box needs to come off, if you take the hangers off the rear diff will drop down with it which is not required. You can just prise the rubbers off the mounts , the exhaust needs to drop down a few inches , note even with all the brackets off you will not drop the exhaust to the floor as its still connect to down pipes and supported by rubbers behind the exhaust bracing.
6.The main drop link bolts behind the spring cups need to be undone and removed
7.The 13mm sway bar bushings nuts and bolts need to come off
8.At this point the sway bar will be loose , pull the right hand sway bar drop link off by twisting and spraying with WD40 ( takes ages)
9.The right hand end of sway bar needs to be dropped past the drivers exhaust back box piping which is a big struggle , this is achieved by pulling down on the exhaust and wiggling and rotating the bar till you can force this past the piping. You will also need to push the bar towards the passenger side to force the end past the exhaust.
10.Once the end of the sway bar is dropped down after much cursing and jiggling you need to slide the sway bar as far towards the
passenger side caliper brake caliper hose as possible ( will take you 30 mins of jiggling the bar). We left on the left hand sway bar link although would have been easier if we managed to pull this off. At this point the sway bar will drop down and can be released.
11.The drop links were replaced with OEM and greased up prior to refitting , we set the bar into the middle adjustment hole and tightened up the drop link bolts until the rubber drop link bushes started to distort.
12.The H & R kit comes with new sway bar bushing which are noticeably stiffer than the oem soft rubber. The bushings were pushed onto the bar after the H&R bar was back into position. The rear bushings were easier to press on by hand on the rear bar compared with the front sway bar which need to pushed on prior to installing the front bar otherwise you will never get them on as they are very stiff.
13. Everything was greased up with white lithium grease and put back together.
Road test following install proved the car was now much stiffer , much less body roll and car feels planted. Turn in seems to be more direct and the car has less oversteer.
I already had Eibach springs fitted which did Improve handling slightly and bodyroll by 20% over stock , with the new sway bars body roll reduced by a further 50 - 60%.
For £330 for the sway bar kit direct from Germany & £130 for the Eibach springs I feel was money well spent , I can highly recommend the sway bars really really pleased with them. I haven't tried adjusting the rear bar to a stiffer hole as at the moment happy with the car.
The rear install really is a pain it is not an easy job , if you are going to tackle this DIY it is doable but expect a big struggle !
For anyone with a Z4 E89 I would say this mod is a must , If you are not happy with the handling and body roll I would go for the sway bars first before the springs and see how you get on.
