Author Topic: IE sway bars (Read 7671 times)

longms · « **on:** November 26, 2007, 02:05:07 PM »

I have heard some bad things about setting up the 25/22mm IE sway bar kit on a stock car. Why is this? Or is it just a tough ride. Will they damage my car in any way?

DaveM-sport · « **Reply #1 on:** November 26, 2007, 02:43:20 PM »

They could rip off your top mounts I reckon. Might be a good idea to get Z3 reinforcement plates on the back

longms · « **Reply #2 on:** November 26, 2007, 03:17:56 PM »

Hmmm....Extra mounting stuff came with the kit and I had to drill 2 holes above the mounts into the trunk. Do you think this is in place to solve the problem you talked about? It is reinforced at the mount and bolted through the floor of the trunk.

Anyone ever have these bars and have any problems with them? I bought them thinking go big or go home. Just dont want to rip my car apart now.

silverblades181 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 26, 2007, 07:58:29 PM »

the top mounts will not be affected. The rear bar mounts will need to be reinforced with their kit. Bigger bars make the independent suspension a bit less independent...and might make the car a bit oversteery.

longms · « **Reply #4 on:** November 26, 2007, 09:24:04 PM »

should the reinforcement plates they provide for the rear be welded in?

robweenerpi · « **Reply #5 on:** November 28, 2007, 05:46:49 PM »

Yes they need to be welded. Any bigger bar than stock should have them added. The front bar will come with a plate what is welded to the front subframe to keep that tab from breaking off as well.

Get the 19mm bar in the rear.

dhirsch · « **Reply #6 on:** November 29, 2007, 08:30:00 PM »

I've got the set of 22/19's on my car. they were a great addition, but not too rough on the road. I welded the reinforcements onto the trailing arms and installed the mounts through the trunk floor of the car and so far have had no problems.

I have a friend that's got the 25/22's on a 325 and his only conplaint is that if he's going through a bumpy turn he gets a fair amount of wheel hop which can lead to not fun things.....

longms · « **Reply #7 on:** November 30, 2007, 01:19:58 PM »

I will get them welded in, thanks. Hopefully I don't have too much wheel hop. Thanks guys.

318iSdaniel · « **Reply #8 on:** December 01, 2007, 01:55:36 PM »

ive read from others with these that the 25mm in the front can rub on the control arms.

longms · « **Reply #9 on:** December 02, 2007, 10:48:26 AM »

How so?

Just from not flexing under pressure?

318iSdaniel · « **Reply #10 on:** December 02, 2007, 11:25:59 PM »

i am not sure why, perhaps with other suspension mods the spacing changes between things. but hey if they work for you then great! with that stiff of a bar make sure to weld in the mounts though, as others have stated. with a 19mm rear bar on my 325e i had one of the rear mounts came apart, luckily nothing unfixable though.

longms · « **Reply #11 on:** December 03, 2007, 11:23:18 AM »

I appreciate all the advice. I am beginning to think I may have gotten too big of bars but I will reinforce the hell out of them and hope for the best.

arthurc · « **Reply #12 on:** December 05, 2007, 11:32:34 PM »

I autocrossed my 318is for two years, and was running the IE 25mm hollow bar on a suspension that was fully stock aside from Koni dampers. For street driving the bar made cornering really flat but yes, it made the ride somewhat more harsh over any kind of bumps. For autocross, it was a huge improvement.

I did get some major rubbing from the control arms when either side was at full droop, as you can see in this photo. I don't think there is any major harm in this, but it's not ideal. The other rubbing is from using 225 wide V710 tires with stock rims.

I don't know about any welding - I guess it could help, but doesn't really look necessary to me.

longms · « **Reply #13 on:** December 06, 2007, 09:26:23 AM »

I think people are just talking about welding the tabs that came with the kit to help reinforce where the linkage connects. I am going to contact IE and ask them if those tabs need to be welded in. As long as that rubbing is only cosmetic I am not too worried about it.

By harsh ride do you mean like sucked to ride in or just stiff? I drive an '03 M3 with suspension setup and it is very stiff. Stiffness I am not too worried about. But can the wheel hop be dangerous at times depending on speeds and bumps? I will just have to be more attentive when driving.

For autocrossing, did the car feel more on rails and wanted to actually stick with your inputs around the corners or does the car want to oversteer through the corners?

Sorry for all the posts and such guys. I am new to suspension and have zero experience. You guys have the experience and I am trying to do it right the first time so I don't have to do it again later.

And, have you, arthurc, done the 5 lug conversion or do you still have the 4 lug setup? What rims are you running with 4x100 that can fit 225 if this is the case?

Thanks for the input and suggestions.

arthurc · « **Reply #14 on:** December 07, 2007, 12:40:39 AM »

I guess I would say it was just "stiff". I am not quite sure what you mean by "wheel hop" but in my opinion, if your dampers are in decent condition it should be fine. I think the control arm rubbing is cosmetic, but also probably enough to decrease the value of the bar if you ever want to sell it again in the future.

One definite tip I have for you though - be sure to periodically check that your link bolts are snug after driving for a bit, and if you hear/feel any unusual clunking then definitely check it right away. I ended up letting mine get loose and it just went downhill from there, eventually tearing off the tab a few months later: http://vcmc.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=49323&postcount=12

There is also a big difference between the stiffest and softest settings, feel free to try them both - it will be a compromise between reduced lean and ride comfort/compliance over bumps.

My car (on race-compound tires) still had a lot of body lean in autocross conditions, and would constantly lift the front inside tire - it was a real crowd pleaser :-) I had no oversteer whatsoever. I only had a stock rear bar though, so I can't speak to how it will be with the 19mm. I would suggest driving a g-circle in an open lot and just find out how the car handles at the limit. If you get oversteer on pretty much any application of the throttle or even worse - at steady state - I think that's a pretty dangerous setup for street driving.

I only ran with 4 lug - also limited by autocross classing rules. I ran the V710 225/50R14 on the stock 14x6.5 BBS rim with a 5mm spacer (and conversion to longer studs) and had a few mm of clearance on the strut.