Eibach or UP Sway Bars -- Experience?

[longbeachblue]

Does anyone have any experience with the Eibach or Unplugged Performance sway bars for the Model 3 Dual Motor/Performance?

I'm thinking about buying them. Not sure if they will be useful for street driving or my occasional track use.

Please let me know what you think or share your experiences with them. Curious to hear your opinions.

 

[tm1v2]

What other suspension upgrades do you have already?

What handling change are you seeking? Just less lean in corners, or are you also trying to change the car's balance at the limit? How does its balance feel on your current setup?

If you haven't upgraded the dampers and springs yet, start there! Those are the weakest link for handling in the stock suspension. Sway bars can partially make up for soft springs, but they can't help at all with the poor damping, and they'll compromise the ride some as well. Good dampers / coilovers can greatly improve the handling of this car while also improving the ride at the same time (because the OEM ones are so lackluster).

For pure street driving I think stiffer sway bars would not be useful on this car. Sporty (but not racecar stiff!) coilovers and the softer stock bars make for a great combo on the street, especially for real world bumpy roads. I do a fair amount of fast canyon carving and I wouldn't want stiffer sway bars for it. Now for track use I agree they make sense, in my experience on past cars back when I did occasional track days. But start with upgraded dampers/coilovers on this car, I don't think anything else is worth upgrading for handling on the Model 3 before the dampers.


Edit: If you already have upgraded sporty coilovers, then my vote would be try stiffer sways and see if you like them! Even though I wouldn't get them for street driving, I think you'd be still be fine on the street, especially mounted in their softest setting. You'll probably like them on track. I'm sure you know how a suspension setup which feels nicely firm and sporty on the street, can still feel soft on on track. In my experience stiffer sways were useful as another tool for adjusting that compromise, as well as adjusting the car's balance of course.

 

[Lindenwood]

@tm1v2 pretty much nailed it!

I put a rear UP bar on my car mostly to get a little more understeer at the limit. Otherwise, the front should have a much bigger impact on overall feel.

 

[longbeachblue]

Gotcha. Thanks for the very informative reply.

My main goal with the sways is to reduce body roll during fast turns on both the street and track, at the lowest cost possible while only having a minor compromise to ride quality.

I'm not sure I'm really willing to splash all that money for new dampers, etc. when I can get some used sways for $300 that will probably have some noticeable improvement over stock.

THat being said:

Does anyone have advice as to how to set them up? The Eibachs have soft/medium/firm on the front bar, and soft/firm on the rear bar. I currently have less sticky tires on my front 2 wheels than on my back 2 wheels.

Perhaps soft setting on the front and the firmer setting on the rear?

 

[longbeachblue]

My front 2 tires are budget ones (but identical in size and ratings to the stock PS4S) because the LA potholes have been killing my wallet with blowing out so many tires recently.

 

[Lindenwood]

Gotcha. Thanks for the very informative reply.

My main goal with the sways is to reduce body roll during fast turns on both the street and track, at the lowest cost possible while only having a minor compromise to ride quality.

I'm not sure I'm really willing to splash all that money for new dampers, etc. when I can get some used sways for $300 that will probably have some noticeable improvement over stock.

THat being said:

Does anyone have advice as to how to set them up? The Eibachs have soft/medium/firm on the front bar, and soft/firm on the rear bar. I currently have less sticky tires on my front 2 wheels than on my back 2 wheels.

Perhaps soft setting on the front and the firmer setting on the rear?

I’d honestly expect heavier anti-sway bars on stock dampers will only increase the bouncy, unsettled feel when cornering hard on uneven pavement. I had to turn up the damping on my Coilovers a bit after getting my aftermarket rear bar.

As to setup, I’d just start in a neutral position and tune by feel.

 

[longbeachblue]

I’d honestly expect heavier anti-sway bars on stock dampers will only increase the bouncy, unsettled feel when cornering hard on uneven pavement. I had to turn up the damping on my Coilovers a bit after getting my aftermarket rear bar.

As to setup, I’d just start in a neutral position and tune by feel.

Got it -- thanks man.

What do you recommend as the most cost-friendly method of improving the dampers?

Eibach Pro-Kit springs? Or do you think I need to go all the way with some coilovers/adjustable dampers.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Lindenwood]

Got it -- thanks man.

What do you recommend as the most cost-friendly method of improving the dampers?

Eibach Pro-Kit springs? Or do you think I need to go all the way with some coilovers/adjustable dampers.

Thanks again for the help!

In my experience with aftermarket coils before stepping up to the suspension upgrades in my signature block, anything less than adjustable dampers with matched coils isn’t worth the money or effort. Non-adjustable Comforts seem better than stock, but I’d wait for a used set of adjustable dampers before spending $1800+ install on the non-adjustable Comforts.

Coils and stock dampers certainly still look great, but I think most anyone reporting significant handling benefits is succumbing to the placebo effect.