I35 Rear Sway-Bar Installed
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,572
From: Middleboro/Carver, Ma
I35 Rear Sway-Bar Installed
Well I came across an ad on craigslist for some 4th gen nissan maxima performance parts. Well I ended up scoring this sway-bar for $50 and I got FOUR FREE TIRES!! I had the 'drag slicks' taken off to replace them with the two turanza's that are not pictured which had about 75% tread left on them! and I now have a back-up set with about 65% (in the pics) sweet deal or what!!! What are the odds the guy had some stock size turanzas for my moms car, I was just about to shell out $125 for a used set of 4 from a junkyard that were in much worse condition 
On to the sway bar...............I don't know what kind it is, I thought the guy said it was a stillen, might be a progress, but I'm pretty sure it's not an addco, but for $50 WHO CARES!! So I decided to throw it on my moms car that night since it fit's 5/5.5 gens also.......... WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! The car is unbeleivable, I wouldn't recommend trying to drive it onto a lake anymore!! High speed on-ramps while pushing the limits are slightly more comfortable (ie, you're not sliding out of the seat as bad) but don't appear to be improved in the maximum spead you can take them at since it still seems to come down to the front tires grip more than anything, however, at full cornering during high-speeds any 'dips' in the road don't make your heart stop as the i35 yaws and oscillates around in a way that makes you think-"Damn, I should slow down, I could have instantly lost it there".
HOWEVER, while not pushing the limits, or while pushing the limits during u-turn manuevers, this thing MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE! During normal driving the turn-in response is greatly improved, the slightest pressure on the wheel causes the car to stay level and actually turn! It stays much more level during normal driving and gives the feel of a car that goes where you tell it to while staying firmly planted to the road. During u-turns or hard cornering at low-speeds it is also amazing, the car stays much more flat while nearly eliminating the understeer which is excessive imo on this thing, now it feels like it has near 50/50 wieght distribution!
My mom was pretty addamant about expressing concern over me putting any sort of 'performance' item on her car, well I threw it on anyways and SHE LOVES IT! She says it's like a totally different car and handles so much better! My dad even told me that she was raving to him about how much of a difference she noticed and she couldn't beleive how much better it drove!! I've been working on her letting me do headers and an intake for quite some time, I'm alot closer now, I plan on slapping on a set of stainless line, some new front rotrs, and a fstb within the near future, hopefully after that she'll let me take care of those damn pre-cats and stock air-box...........
On a side note, the way in which these things work is nothing like a conventional sway-bar that limits body roll by not allowing one side of the suspension to travel away from the body if the other side is travelling towards the body. I think a stiffer rear beam (or some sort of bar clamped to it that strengthened it, ie this "sway-bar") would have the same effect as this rsb, so some of the 'independent suspension' effect that is had by using such a flexible rear-beam may be lossed, but the improvement outweighs any negative effect of a stiffer beam IMO, and also the negative effects of adding unsprung wieght IMO
On to the sway bar...............I don't know what kind it is, I thought the guy said it was a stillen, might be a progress, but I'm pretty sure it's not an addco, but for $50 WHO CARES!! So I decided to throw it on my moms car that night since it fit's 5/5.5 gens also.......... WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! The car is unbeleivable, I wouldn't recommend trying to drive it onto a lake anymore!! High speed on-ramps while pushing the limits are slightly more comfortable (ie, you're not sliding out of the seat as bad) but don't appear to be improved in the maximum spead you can take them at since it still seems to come down to the front tires grip more than anything, however, at full cornering during high-speeds any 'dips' in the road don't make your heart stop as the i35 yaws and oscillates around in a way that makes you think-"Damn, I should slow down, I could have instantly lost it there".
HOWEVER, while not pushing the limits, or while pushing the limits during u-turn manuevers, this thing MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE! During normal driving the turn-in response is greatly improved, the slightest pressure on the wheel causes the car to stay level and actually turn! It stays much more level during normal driving and gives the feel of a car that goes where you tell it to while staying firmly planted to the road. During u-turns or hard cornering at low-speeds it is also amazing, the car stays much more flat while nearly eliminating the understeer which is excessive imo on this thing, now it feels like it has near 50/50 wieght distribution!
My mom was pretty addamant about expressing concern over me putting any sort of 'performance' item on her car, well I threw it on anyways and SHE LOVES IT! She says it's like a totally different car and handles so much better! My dad even told me that she was raving to him about how much of a difference she noticed and she couldn't beleive how much better it drove!! I've been working on her letting me do headers and an intake for quite some time, I'm alot closer now, I plan on slapping on a set of stainless line, some new front rotrs, and a fstb within the near future, hopefully after that she'll let me take care of those damn pre-cats and stock air-box...........
On a side note, the way in which these things work is nothing like a conventional sway-bar that limits body roll by not allowing one side of the suspension to travel away from the body if the other side is travelling towards the body. I think a stiffer rear beam (or some sort of bar clamped to it that strengthened it, ie this "sway-bar") would have the same effect as this rsb, so some of the 'independent suspension' effect that is had by using such a flexible rear-beam may be lossed, but the improvement outweighs any negative effect of a stiffer beam IMO, and also the negative effects of adding unsprung wieght IMO
Nice job.
Definately not a stillen though. It looks like an addco style. Eitherway, a rsb is just another one of those things that along with a fstb, and stiffer springs and shocks, that help stiffen up the ride a little and improve handling in both performance and day to day driving.
BTW, have fun roasting those free bee tires you got!!
Definately not a stillen though. It looks like an addco style. Eitherway, a rsb is just another one of those things that along with a fstb, and stiffer springs and shocks, that help stiffen up the ride a little and improve handling in both performance and day to day driving.
BTW, have fun roasting those free bee tires you got!!
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