Eibach sway bushings too tight?

[gearchruncher]

Anyone find the Eibach sway bar to be way too tight in the bushings? My front bar takes about 80 lbs of force on the end of the bar to make it rotate in the bushings. Not great for consistent feel. It's all due to the bushing being highly compressed when in the bracket. It's enough that my bar a has a lot of the paint missing and transferred to the bushing after about 2000 miles of driving.

Yes, I used the silicone lube, it's dry now because it's so tight it just all got pressed out.

 

[roger525i]

I have the same sway bars and noticed the same thing while removing the front bar to diagnose a clunking coming from the front right.
I wonder if them being so tight may be contributing to this sound I'm hearing.

 

[gearchruncher]

I ended up wrapping some UHMW tape around the inside of the bushings, and out the split in the bushings. Significantly reduced the friction. I never had any noises before or after.

 

[GAGT]

Close to 5,000 miles and 1 winter. No issues.

 

[gearchruncher]

Close to 5,000 miles and 1 winter. No issues.

Have you actually disconnected the end links and tried to move the bar by hand?

 

[Dolemite]

Not sure what'd be considered too tight - aren't the OEM rubber bushings bonded to the bar? IRRC

 

[gearchruncher]

Not sure what'd be considered too tight - aren't the OEM rubber bushings bonded to the bar? IRRC

I've never felt a bar before that takes more than a few pounds to rotate it, and you don't want it to or it will pre-load the suspension. Any pre-load like this causes hysteresis as you transition side to side, and inconsistent handling.

 

[GAGT]

Have you actually disconnected the end links and tried to move the bar by hand?

Given the lack of issues, no.

Did you tighten everything up when the suspension was loaded?

 

[gearchruncher]

Did you tighten everything up when the suspension was loaded?

No, I did not. Swaybars don't need to be tightened that way, only bushings which do not freely spin and will be loaded up by being in the wrong position.

Plus, the issue with the tight bar exists even with the bar off the car- just the bushings in the brackets are super tight.

I noticed the issue when I was corner weighing my car and couldn't get consistent cross weights until I disconnected the bar. This is only something you'd worry about if you were really trying to tune the last 10th out of the car.

 

[Dolemite]

No, I did not. Swaybars don't need to be tightened that way, only bushings which do not freely spin and will be loaded up by being in the wrong position.

Plus, the issue with the tight bar exists even with the bar off the car- just the bushings in the brackets are super tight.

I noticed the issue when I was corner weighing my car and couldn't get consistent cross weights until I disconnected the bar. This is only something you'd worry about if you were really trying to tune the last 10th out of the car.

Yeah I thought that was really the only justification for adjustable end links (and even then, only one). Otherwise I'm not sure how you could do this when the bar's hooked up? Dunno how much that has to do with the bushings being too tight tho. FWIW, I can hear both of mine "squeak" whenever I go over bumps with two wheels simultaneously, although I have questioned whether it took 'too much force to make it move.' I wonder if they did that to avoid people complaining about squeaking. I dunno. Hoping @MountainPass comes out with theirs, soon, so that we can see what design decisions they've made etc. I'd trust them to put more effort into it than Eibach.

Also FYI - Eibach's updated the rear bar to have collars.

 

[gearchruncher]

FYI, I have checked the rear bar and it's what I'm used to, it swings pretty easily. It's only the front that seems tight.

 

[MountainPass]

Yeah I thought that was really the only justification for adjustable end links (and even then, only one). Otherwise I'm not sure how you could do this when the bar's hooked up? Dunno how much that has to do with the bushings being too tight tho. FWIW, I can hear both of mine "squeak" whenever I go over bumps with two wheels simultaneously, although I have questioned whether it took 'too much force to make it move.' I wonder if they did that to avoid people complaining about squeaking. I dunno. Hoping @MountainPass comes out with theirs, soon, so that we can see what design decisions they've made etc. I'd trust them to put more effort into it than Eibach.

Also FYI - Eibach's updated the rear bar to have collars.

That's a good update. When we tested them, the rear bar walked all over the place! The problem is if the bushings are too loose it will clunk. My favorite sway bar bushings I have seen would be Powerflex ones, which have some very nice "knurling" looking grooves cut into them so there is room for the grease to stay in there even with tight clearance to the bar. I guess you'll have to wait and see our bars!