New 911 Eibach Sway Bar Feedback Anyone?

[Helix8]

I was hoping to receive feedback on any recent Eibach's new for the 911 sway bar installs by the community. How did your install go? How is the adjust-ability and overall performance? Also, is the front sway bar geometry different and does this raise any issues? I see they are currently unavailable from Eibach. Thank you in advance.

[Helix8]

Wanted to bump this up and ask if any participants of this earlier thread have actual real life experiences to share with the Eibach sway bars for 911's? Thank you -

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/970881-sway-bar-upgrade.html

[tirwin]

I'd like to hear feedback as well. That other thread got me interested.

[A 911 Dream]

+1

I would be interested in feedback as well including ease of installation detail.

I am considering a new sway set-up for my 1981 SC and Eibach is on my consideration list.

Thanks,
Chris

[Helix8]

Originally Posted by Helix8

Wanted to bump this up and ask if any participants of this earlier thread have actual real life experiences to share with the Eibach sway bars for 911's? Thank you -

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/970881-sway-bar-upgrade.html

I have to say that I am surprised that there is no follow-up feedback on the Eibach 911 Sway Bars. The above thread had 81 posts (mostly by a couple of participants installs) and nothing further only serves to raise questions.

Full disclosure, I have now completed my install of the Eibach 911 Sway Bars on a MY84 Carrera Coupe. This is my DE car and I have driven it about 2 hours on the street and highway trying to get a sense of things before taking it to track. The car was not pushed on public roads.

I did not want to modify the chassis and A-arms for a through body bar as I expect to take this car back to stock at some time. I am also using Tarett Engineering rear drop links and had the rear sway bar attachment areas gusseted (still looks stock).

In anticipation of next weekend's DE I did have the car aligned and corner balanced.

I was hoping to receive some feedback so I could get a better idea of what to expect before taking it to the track. I would still like to hear any of the other installs experiences and impressions (over-steer, under-steer?). My first impression is that the ride is marginally stiffer, not as much as anticipated, on public roads within normal speed limits. Front end seems a bit lighter but this could be solely due to stiffer rear sway bar. I will most likely post my impressions after DE next week.

If anyone has anything to add please feel free. Thank you it is greatly appreciated.

[BuddaLun]

Originally Posted by Helix8

My first impression is that the ride is marginally stiffer, not as much as anticipated, on public roads within normal speed limits. Front end seems a bit lighter but this could be solely due to stiffer rear sway bar. I will most likely post my impressions after DE next week.

When you say the ride is stiffer, do you mean there is less sway? I'd be surprised if the sway bars added firmness/stiffness to the ride quality.

[Helix8]

Originally Posted by BuddaLun

When you say the ride is stiffer, do you mean there is less sway? I'd be surprised if the sway bars added firmness/stiffness to the ride quality.

I am certainly not trying to confuse anyone. What I said was "My first impression is that the ride is marginally stiffer, not as much as anticipated..." Which is of course subjective and fraught with bias...this was my first impression and reading somewhere in one of the threads about the Eibach bars that the front bar is appx 70% stiffer than stock while the rear being appx 67% stiffer I could have easily anticipated a stiffer ride. Also, seeing as though suspension components make up a "system" and can/may have influence on one another it would not be a stretch to think the ride was indeed "marginally stiffer"? I am asking this as a question as I am obviously not a suspension expert which is why I am looking for feedback and comments. Thank you for your reply.

[Ryan H]

Hi Helix8,

There are some review here:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/970881-sway-bar-upgrade-4.html

Our first production run of these was pretty small, which we blew through quickly. Quite a few sets went to builds that were not complete yet (myself included).This might help explain the lack of reviews.

We currently have 100 kits in production that will be complete shorty.

Ryan

[Helix8]

Originally Posted by Ryan H

Hi Helix8,

There are some review here:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/970881-sway-bar-upgrade-4.html

Our first production run of these was pretty small, which we blew through quickly. Quite a few sets went to builds that were not complete yet (myself included).This might help explain the lack of reviews.

We currently have 100 kits in production that will be complete shorty.

Ryan

Thank you for your reply Ryan - I will look to provide a review of the new sway bars early next week. I have 2 days of track time this weekend. Again, any feedback from the "early adopters" with any relevant/important performance changes is greatly appreciated.

[Jens L]

Hi,
Just installed them. Will be at the Nurburgring in late may for 3 long days. Then I can give you a European review!

[Helix8]

Originally Posted by Jens L

Hi,
Just installed them. Will be at the Nurburgring in late may for 3 long days. Then I can give you a European review!

Thank you Jens - that sounds legit!!! All the best

[goat]

Look forward to more feedback as well. read the other threads. Thanks Ryan.

[Ryan H]

I cant top Nurburgring feedback. LOL

[zeusdog]

I posted unboxing and installation photos in the earlier http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/970881-sway-bar-upgrade-4.html#post9937690 thread.

I installed the Eibach kit on my 1983 SC Targa. The suspension is otherwise stock, although the front end has been lowered to around 140 mm (about 25 1/4" at the front fender arches) and she is running 7x17 F and 9x17 R rims with 215/45 and 245/40 tires.

With the Eibach bars, the car handles much flatter than before and understeer is noticeably reduced in spirited cornering on twisty rural public roads. Left to right and right to left transitions are snappier and the car feels much more "planted." Body roll feels nearly non-existent. The other most noticeable effect is decreased independence of the suspension when turning into a driveway or going over a speed bump at angle. I don't find it annoying, just different.

Although others have said that sway bars should be upgraded as a fine tuning adjustment after stiffer torsion bars and better shocks, I have found that the Eibach kit works nicely with my stock suspension. Perhaps if I had stiffer T bars already installed, the effect of the sway bars would be less noticable. I still intend to upgrade the t bars and shocks, which will collectively cost more than twice as much as the Eibach sway bars and be a more time-consuming install. If I get as much incremental improvement out of those upgrades as I got out of the Eibach sway bars, I will still consider them well worthwhile.

The only negative I can find with the Eibach bars is that it would be difficult (on my car) to set the front bar at the softer setting, and if they were installed at the softer setting, I would be concerned about bending or breaking the end links at full droop of the front suspension because the middle of the links would be forced against the metal end loops on the control arms. IIRC, I posted about this in the earlier thread.

My bottom line: for a car with stock or near-stock suspension, the Eibach sway bar kit provides great bang for the buck. If you have a stock or near-stock 911 and are wondering if the kit would make worthwhile difference...you won't be disappointed.

I can't speak to how much difference the Eibach bars would make on a car already equipped with stiffer suspension. In the earlier thread, fellow Pelican Douglas Bray seemed quite pleased with the Eibach bars on his cab with significantly upgraded suspension.

[zeusdog]

Originally Posted by BuddaLun

When you say the ride is stiffer, do you mean there is less sway? I'd be surprised if the sway bars added firmness/stiffness to the ride quality.

In my experience, the sway bars did not increase the vertical firmness of he ride. However, the significantly increased roll stiffness and the decreased independence of the suspension might be perceived as a "stiffer" ride.

To illustrate this, consider what happens when your left front wheel encounters a bump in the road that your right front tire misses. In a car with no sway bars or soft sway bars, the left tire sort of "steps over" the bump quite independently. In a car with stiff sway bars, the upward travel of the left suspension causes the sway bar to apply upward force on the right suspension, making it "feel," to some extent, like both front wheels had hit the bump. In that sense, the ride may feel stiffer.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by zeusdog

In my experience, the sway bars did not increase the vertical firmness of he ride. However, the significantly increased roll stiffness and the decreased independence of the suspension might be perceived as a "stiffer" ride.

To illustrate this, consider what happens when your left front wheel encounters a bump in the road that your right front tire misses. In a car with no sway bars or soft sway bars, the left tire sort of "steps over" the bump quite independently. In a car with stiff sway bars, the upward travel of the left suspension causes the sway bar to apply upward force on the right suspension, making it "feel," to some extent, like both front wheels had hit the bump. In that sense, the ride may feel stiffer.

I think that is a really good explanation.

[Jens L]

So.

After 2 days on the Ring I can say they work fine.

Based upon my experience they balanced the car perfect.

The car seamed more stabil and direct then before.

I like the more solid feel they gave the car under braking also.


Here is the ringracer911 resting after a days hard work.

[donlan]

Hello, Good to see some feedback starting to happen. I like the "un-cluttered" look of the white car and by the look of the wheels the brakes have been busy. Regards,Michael.

[tirwin]

Glad to hear the positive report! And the fact that you got to drive on the 'ring... well... that's awesome!

FYI... I spoke to Ryan at Eibach last week. They sold out of the first run of the sways. He said the next batch should be available in about a month.

Jens, would you mind telling us how your current suspension is set up? It's always helpful to know these things to make comparisons easier to understand.

[Jens L]

Spec on my car is:
Elephant rac, poly bronze all around
22/29 t bars
Adjustable camber plates from FVD
De camber, ball joints
Turbo tie rods
C12 brakes, with 300mm disc front, stock rear
Bilstein sports( need something new in this area)
7/8 15" fuchs, 5mm spacer rear, Trofeo R, 205/225.
Settings, I canīt remember, but nothing to extreme. I have 1500km to the Ring before I do some track time..
Stock 3,6 from 1992, lighten flywheel,
Stock 915, no LSD.
No interior, kind of.
Around 1050kg with gas.