Thread: Rear Progress sway bar

I am looking to upgrade from the rear stock bar on my 91 SER, and I know that the progress bar with the hemi links is what is recommended most. My one concern is associated noise. With metal to metal contact at the endlinks I've got to think you'd hear some rattling or contact noise when driving, even when the set up is properly adjusted. So, you fellow members out there let me know if I am correct, or is it going to be just as quiet in operation as my stock bar. Thanks

It will be as quiet as your stock bar (or quieter if you stock bushing squeak). It will only make noise if one of the spherical links is failing (which doesn't happen unless you install it incorrectly like I did). There is no slop in the links to allow rattling or anything.

Should not make any difference that my current set-up is Hypercos Gen II with CSKs ? For DD is the middle postion the way to go ?

Different ride heights are going to require slightly different installation of the end links (height) but that's all there is to it. When you install the bar make sure you check the entire suspension travel making sure the bar doesn't come in contact with anything (parallel links or strut body on a B13, no idea on a B14).

I leave mine on the middle setting for daily driving but that's a personal preference (I have a XE bar up front and wider tires up front right now). Starting out in the middle setting is usually a good guess though. See how you like it. Change it if you want more or less oversteer. You'll probably have to shorten or lengthen the end links when you change positions to make sure clearance is good.

Thanks...I'll bet with that EX bar up front it's still a little tail happy with the rear bar in the middle ?

It was pretty tail happy. At first I liked it. It had lift throttle over steer and during hard braking into a 90 degree turn you could flick the wheel at the apex and the rear would come right around. It would be a great auto-x setup.

Now that I'm taking more high speed corners the fear of the back coming out is unsettling. It also seems to come out at the wrong times. I was going to move the bar to the least stiff setting for more confidence in high speed sweepers. But I had some rear alignment issues crop up and bought some new tires. Then I had an alignment done and after the new tires and alignment the rear started behaving a lot better than before so I didn't have to change the sway bar setting. That's where I stand right now. When I get wider tires in the rear maybe I'll change something.

So, then I'm guesting with my stock front bar (has energy suspension endlink bushings) with the rear bar set in the midlle, it should be fairly "neutral" handling ?

That would be my guess, but you won't know for sure until you put it on. If you're looking for a setting that you should put it on and you're never going to change it, then the middle setting is what I'd recommend as the best guess.

I tracked my B13 SE-R with no drama on 300/200 Hypercos, street touring tires, stock front bar, and Progress rear bar in the middle setting. I wanted for more stiffness all around in autocross, but it was a good basic setup for mixed use.

I've got Hyperco II/AGX's, with a Progress rear bar set on medium (plus all the suspension "extras" like FSTB, RSTB, etc....etc...), and the OEM front sway bar on my Classic.

I am not a very skilled pilot. In my limited track experience the vehicle is very neutral. On the track or street, with a little extra steering wheel flick on turn-in, you can get the ass to swing out a bit. However it is very easy to recover and I never feel like it is going to swing all the way around on me. I can only go fast enough to get the ass end out on a track or laaaaate at night with no other folks around, lonely roads, etc... At any reasonably normal street speeds the car is just planted.

I would *guess* that a guy with more skills would want to go to the stiffest setting for the track (?).