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Unplugged Performance Sway Bar Installed!

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I installed the Unplugged Performance sway bar on my Plaid.. was EXTREMELY easy with a lift.. ****make sure you follow the Torque specs for the bolts***

I put mine on the "stiffest" setting, and its Perfect.. I wouldnt go any softer as It did Not compromise ride quality at all... I was actually expecting it to be stiffer, but it feels very OEM in the hardest setting.. It made the car feel much more stable on the highways and high speeds and it puts the power down much more predictably then with the OEM bar..Its quite fun and in the corners it also has the perfect balance.. Felt a lot like the stability BMW M Cars have..

The bar has brackets which can slide forwards and back by half an inch.. I put mine as far forward (as long as it clears the HV cables) to keep the endlinks as perpendicular as possible allowing for the stiffest setup.. The picture in their installation instructions reflect this as well..

Note* I also have a street/track alignment done on my car so the way this bar acts in the corners may be different than the OEM alignment.. I found the Plaid rear end comes out very quickly with the OEM alignment which may not be best for the firmest setting.. however in my case it has very neutral handling..

Overall very happy with fit / finish / quality... thanks to Unplugged Performance for a great product!
 
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I installed the Unplugged Performance sway bar on my Plaid.. was EXTREMELY easy with a lift.. ****make sure you follow the Torque specs for the bolts***

I put mine on the "stiffest" setting, and its Perfect.. I wouldnt go any softer as It did Not compromise ride quality at all... I was actually expecting it to be stiffer, but it feels very OEM in the hardest setting.. It made the car feel much more stable on the highways and high speeds and it puts the power down much more predictably then with the OEM bar..Its quite fun and in the corners it also has the perfect balance.. Felt a lot like the stability BMW M Cars have..

The bar has brackets which can slide forwards and back by half an inch.. I put mine as far forward (as long as it clears the HV cables) to keep the endlinks as perpendicular as possible allowing for the stiffest setup.. The picture in their installation instructions reflect this as well..

Note* I also have a street/track alignment done on my car so the way this bar acts in the corners may be different than the OEM alignment.. I found the Plaid rear end comes out very quickly with the OEM alignment which may not be best for the firmest setting.. however in my case it has very neutral handling..

Overall very happy with fit / finish / quality... thanks to Unplugged Performance for a great product!

You're telling me a 'simple sway bar' gives the car BMW ///M type handling? if you can get so much bang for so little buck, why didn't Tesla just include this as a stock feature?
 
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Extremely happy with the sway bar.. To answer the question above, factories usually go on the soft side to for ride comfort.. The stiffer sway makes the car a little firmer over bumps, but in this cars case, its practially unnoticable. When I say BMW M handling, what I mean by that is, the stability of the car on the highway is much improved and the way it puts down the 1000hp is much more predictable like a high powered M car.. Its just has that European autobahn stability feel to it now that inspires a lot more confidence and controllability.
 
You're telling me a 'simple sway bar' gives the car BMW ///M type handling? if you can get so much bang for so little buck, why didn't Tesla just include this as a stock feature?
Because it’s always about tradeoffs? If they went with very stiff bar stock, they’d have to deal with a majority of folks complaining about rough ride, etc. Same thing for shocks, springs, brake pads, etc. That’s why there’s an aftermarket…
 
Exactly, and the bar is adjustable so if the stiffest isnt for you, go softer.. however in my testing, the firm is very good, didnt affect ride quality at all.. I wouldnt go any softer.. I was actually expecting it to be a lot firmer, but im quite happy with the driving results..
 
The car actually comes with a huge front sway bar.

A stiffer rear bar, is used to decrease understeer at the limit and make the car more neutral.

Manufactures preferred going with a stiffer bars then Springs, as it provides role stiffness to maintain right comfort, but there is a trade off as the stiffer the bar gets, it reduces traction to the opposite wheel during cornering.

For drag racing, a stiff rear bar can potentially increase traction although that usually requires a really stiff splined bar. I am not sure how it would work on a plaid.

I am pretty sure this bar was designed by unplugged for the Pike's Peak car to reduce understeer at high speeds.
 
True, Unplugged said the Front bar was sufficient.. A stiffer rear can actually induce oversteer, whearas stiffer front induced more understeer (as is the case of our cars and most OEM cars are setup this way).. This can be reveresed depending on how your suspension is setup, but thats the general rule... I did notice the Plaid had a lot of Oversteer dialed on from the factory.. this is based on the cars alignment.. Once I sorted out my alignment, the car was much more predictable and the firmer rear bar really lets me have that perfect neutral balance which can induce oversteer via throttle, and lift understeer.. a safe place to be.. however the traction control limits keep me from really playing with this...

Your correct that there is a point when the rear is too stiff and the inside wheel starts to lift and then you loose traction. This Unplugged bar is well below the threshhold limit of lifting the wheel.. your correct it was for the Pikes Peak vehicle, but it also with customer cars in mind.. Ive had other bars on past cars which were much stiffer.. Personally on the stiffest setting for this car. its absolutley magical and really lets you put the power down hard much more confidently.
 
True, Unplugged said the Front bar was sufficient.. A stiffer rear can actually induce oversteer, whearas stiffer front induced more understeer (as is the case of our cars and most OEM cars are setup this way).. This can be reveresed depending on how your suspension is setup, but thats the general rule... I did notice the Plaid had a lot of Oversteer dialed on from the factory.. this is based on the cars alignment.. Once I sorted out my alignment, the car was much more predictable and the firmer rear bar really lets me have that perfect neutral balance which can induce oversteer via throttle, and lift understeer.. a safe place to be.. however the traction control limits keep me from really playing with this...

Your correct that there is a point when the rear is too stiff and the inside wheel starts to lift and then you loose traction. This Unplugged bar is well below the threshhold limit of lifting the wheel.. your correct it was for the Pikes Peak vehicle, but it also with customer cars in mind.. Ive had other bars on past cars which were much stiffer.. Personally on the stiffest setting for this car. its absolutley magical and really lets you put the power down hard much more confidently.
How did you get the alignment sorted ? Did you take the car to a local performance shop? I'd like to do the alignment and sway bar as well. Sounds like a good mod for only $500. I have 19s so I might get spacers too.
 
I had mine installed last week and it is definitely a great upgrade. Car feels way more stable at high speeds and when weaving in and out of traffic.

Had it installed at RCA (Race consulting Agency) in IL. The owner of the shop also has a Plaid that he races. He is also the guy that works on your car. They know what they are doing!! Couldn’t have hoped for better shop for my Plaid. They will be doing other upgrades for me as well.

They also did my Alingment about a month ago since Tesla SC would not touch my car with Signature Wheels on it. FYI, front driver side Alingment was way off from the factory.
 
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I had mine installed last week and it is definitely a great upgrade. Car feels way more stable at high speeds and when weaving in and out of traffic.

Had it installed at RCA (Race consulting Agency) in IL. The owner of the shop also has a Plaid that he races. He is also the guy that works on your car. They know what they are doing!! Couldn’t have hoped for better shop for my Plaid. They will be doing other upgrades for me as well.

They also did my Alingment about a month ago since Tesla SC would not touch my car with Signature Wheels on it. FYI, front driver side Alingment was way off from the factory.
That's awesome, thanks. I'm definitely looking to mod my plaid as well. Now I need to find a reputable shop in NY or NJ that works on Tesla's.
 
Just remember to let any shop you use, have the directions which can be downloaded from Unplugged Perf. website.. There are specific torque ratings for certain bolts that the shop must adhere by (specifically where the main brakets mount to the frame) its aluminum and the torque spec is very low to not strip it..

Love this sway bar.. major improvement for sure
 
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Did you install yourself ? I just ordered mine from Unplugged Performance so hopefully I'll receive it soon.
I might try to do it myself.
Same. I'm waiting to see what folks say about self install. I'm willing to let a shop do it, but I really like working on cars and I feel like, on the Plaid, the only place I'd want to work is the brakes/suspension/wheels - no ice engine to tinker with 😂
 
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I did install it myself. The PlaidAF install takes way longer than it did for me. I put the rear wheels on ramps and it took less than an hour. There are two panels. One behind the rear wheels and one next to and foward of the rear wheels. The rear most panel stays on. Remove the other one. You have to reach in to get the bolts out and remove the stock bar but its not that hard. Install is opposite of the removal. Very easy with basic tools.

As for the change in handling, it makes a marked difference. I always felt like the rear of the car was rolling over. Front seemed fine. This fixes that issue. For example, car is much flatter taking a 180 to 270 degree on ramp at speed. I would prefer a bit more negative camber but its not critical.

I also installed lowering links last week and dropped the car about 3/4" all around.
 
I did install it myself. The PlaidAF install takes way longer than it did for me. I put the rear wheels on ramps and it took less than an hour. There are two panels. One behind the rear wheels and one next to and foward of the rear wheels. The rear most panel stays on. Remove the other one. You have to reach in to get the bolts out and remove the stock bar but its not that hard. Install is opposite of the removal. Very easy with basic tools.

As for the change in handling, it makes a marked difference. I always felt like the rear of the car was rolling over. Front seemed fine. This fixes that issue. For example, car is much flatter taking a 180 to 270 degree on ramp at speed. I would prefer a bit more negative camber but its not critical.

I also installed lowering links last week and dropped the car about 3/4" all around.
Thanks, I'll do it myself as well. There are 3 holes to choose from; which one did you go with ? I read somewhere to try the middle hole but someone else recommended the 3rd hole. I'd prefer the stiffest setting.

So do you notice better handling with the lowering links ? Besides looks, any other advantages with the lowering links?